Most Improved Artist

[brendan1]

Chris Weston's contribution to "worst Dredd artist" thread got me thinking.

Which artist has made the biggest leap from "hmmm, not so promising" to "Christ, he's amazing"?

I know most artists improve sligtly over time from a fairly decent start point (Henry Flint, Colin MacNeil), some stay pretty much the same (Ezquerra, Dillon, Cam Kennedy, Simon Fraser, SB Davis), some appear as almost fully-formed genius (Fabry, Jock, Bolland, Bisley), some even seem to get worse, as their new style doesn't get anywhere near their heyday (McMahon).

But who for you has gone from someone you never really enjoyed, to an artist whose work you would crawl over broken glass to enjoy?

I'll start with Simon Coleby.

[Noisybast]

I'll second Coleby. Odd that he had a bunch of stuff published during his earlier, awkward phase, then a big gap, then came back with the awesome work he's renowned for today. Did he have anything published outside of the prog during those wilderness years?

[TordelBack]

Coleby for me too.  There's no-one else who has soared up from the depths of my indifference to the heights of my adoration.  

Jon Davis Hunt has also improved immeasurably in recent months, but he wasn't half bad to begin with.

Carl Critchlow has been more of a rollercoaster, from the genius of Thrud to the murk of the painted years, to the glories of Lobster Random.

While Holden's work has always had vim and solid storytelling going for it, his recent work has been eye-meltingly good (Dead Signal, the Rennie Tour of Duty, the recent Ewing Dredd, the Lost Cases, Happy Valley.... -drool-)

[brendan1]

Kev Walker?

[Greg M.]

Greg Staples. I really didn't enjoy his early, cartoony, painted Dredd work at all (possibly because I wasn't that fond of many of the stories it was appearing in, stuff like 'Babes In Arms' and the like.) But I think it might have been a Slaine story he did when I thought 'Hold on a minute, something's changed here!', and then he started working in much more detail, style and subtlety.

[mygrimmbrother]

Alex Ronald

[brendan1]

Greg Staples. I really didn't enjoy his early, cartoony, painted Dredd work at all (possibly because I wasn't that fond of many of the stories it was appearing in, stuff like 'Babes In Arms' and the like.) But I think it might have been a Slaine story he did when I thought 'Hold on a minute, something's changed here!', and then he started working in much more detail, style and subtlety.

I've noticed that being a fan of painted "post-Bisley" work isn't very fashionable on here. But I adored almost all of it. Brashill, Staples, Percival, Murray; loved all of them then, and now.

[brendan1]

Alex Ronald

Always quite liked his stuff, especially Missionary Man.

[mygrimmbrother]

Yeah, his stuff was always good, but his recent output is just phenomenal.

I'll second Jon Davis Hunt - he's maturing right before our very eyes!

[brendan1]

Yeah, his stuff was always good, but his recent output is just phenomenal.

I'll second Jon Davis Hunt - he's maturing right before our very eyes!

Recent output? On 2000AD?

[uncle fester]

Thing is as much as I love Alex Ronald's recent stuff, I adore his earlier linework, so I guess my admiration stems from the fact he just changed his style from top to bottom and still came out with stunning results.

Brendan, you're not alone in the Brashill and early Staples fan club I think possibly there were a lot of pale imitators around at the time and unfortunately some folks (not everyone) lump them all in together.

[mygrimmbrother]

Yeah, his stuff was always good, but his recent output is just phenomenal.

I'll second Jon Davis Hunt - he's maturing right before our very eyes!

Recent output? On 2000AD?

Sorry no, not in 2000Ad. I'm just talking about the stuff he posts on his blog (including a stunning Dredd page)

[brendan1]

Yeah, his stuff was always good, but his recent output is just phenomenal.

I'll second Jon Davis Hunt - he's maturing right before our very eyes!

Recent output? On 2000AD?

Sorry no, not in 2000Ad. I'm just talking about the stuff he posts on his blog (including a stunning Dredd page)

I've seen that shiny-helmeted Dredd. S'lovely.

[Colin YNWA]

I'de defo go Kev Walker and Carl Critchlow.

As for Alex Ronald I'm with Uncle Fester. His new stuff is really good but I love the line work he was doing. You really see his progression as an artist across what maybe 150 progs? Mind as he said when I asked if he planned to do anymore line work (or some such question) it did rather divide opinion and the art he does now is how he always wanted his art to look.

[worldshown]

Another vote for Alex Ronald.

Not that I thought he was a bad artist but his early layouts seemed rather static to me. I'd love to see his more recent stuff in the prog now.