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Top Five Golden Age Artists

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kusunoki:
I realize it's a bit of trite topic, and probably also done to death on other sites, but I figured it might spark a good conversation. My own list suffers due to my relative lack of experience in golden age reading (which thanks to this site has gone leagues from "no experience whatsoever"). It may seem trite and obvious, but here we go. It's in no order, but I am sticking to only 5 whose work can be found in the archive.

S&K-whose golden age output I am starting to like as much (or more) than Kirby's later work
Mort Meskin-the most criminally underappreciated artist ever, in my humble opinion
Alex Toth-every panel I have ever seen by Toth is gold, and they turn to platinum when viewed in sequence
Mac Raboy-even among the very capable artists in the Fawcett stable, Raboy's work jumps out in a way that is breathtaking
Reed Crandall-I first saw Crandall's work in EC books, where it didn't really impress me, but his earlier stuff is stunning

Well, I'll stand with those five, but I have to add a couple honorable mentions.

Harry Lucey-even before he did the best (the only good?) Archie stories, his superhero stuff was already remarkable
Frank Frazetta-did some reading after the bad news and am gaining a new appreciation for his comics work
Jerry Grandenetti-always on my list of top artists, but I haven't seen any golden age stuff to match his twisted silver age work

How about everyone else? If you had to pick five, who would it be?

jfglade:
I don't know that I would want to pick just five. Candidates for a small, select group who come to mind immediately are Meskin, Raboy, Reed Crandall, Eisner, Sheldon Moldoff, Ken Battlefield (a real workhorse), Walt Kelly, and the list could go on and on. I appreciate the attempt to generate some conversation, and there's always going to be an artist I don't appreciate as much as I should, so I hope this does spark some discussion.

narfstar:
I have always found it hard to rank any of my favorites. I like what I like at the time. There is a reason the big names are the big names. Interesting that so far Meskin has been on both lists but not Lou Fine who is usually listed with Crandall. I remember the first time I saw a Moldoff Hawkman and was blown away. Kubert is unquestionably good but Moldoff's was better to me. At one time I appreciated Powell's bold figures but he no longer appeals to me. Then you have the painted cover artists like Savatt and Wilson who are hard to rank as opposed to inside illustrations. When you throw in differences in genre you run into different issues. How do you compare a Wolverton to an Eisner? I think Crumb was probably a Wolverton fan. Ayers never tops my list except for his Ghost Rider. I think it is much easier to stand out as a bright garrish superhero artist than a crime or romance artist. Matt Baker would have to top any list as long as women were in the story. I guess what I would have to say is my favorites are variable and fluid.

OtherEric:
I don't think I can even come close to creating a list of "top 5".   What I can do is list my personal favorites; the ones whose work I seek out.  Sheldon Mayer and Walt Kelly are far and away the top of that list.  Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta, and Matt Baker are at least currently my top looked for artists beyond the top two; but that can change at any time.

Narf, remind me to scan and mail you a picture of a piece of art I own sometime, if you're a Moldoff fan.

JVJ (RIP):
Since I'm omnivorous when it comes to "seeking out the work", I can't use OtherEric's criteria. And, since I've never understood the concept behind some arbitrary limitation on such a list, I'll tell you the guys I've cared enough about to create, or materially participate in the creation of, an index of their work:
1. Al Williamson (Al Williamson: His Work - 1971)
2. Russ Manning (Much About Manning - Apa-5 1972)
3. Jeffrey Jones (A Touch of the Jones - Apa-5 1972)
4. Bernie Krigstein (Squa Tront #6 - 1975)
5. John Severin (index 1981 - published Squa Tront #11 2005)
6. Frank Frazetta (FF Index - 1980)
7. Alex Toth (Indispensable Index - 1984)
8. Jack Kirby (Art of Jack Kirby - Blue Rose Press 1993)
9. John Buscema (w/Michel Maillot 1994)
10. Wally Wood (Wallace Wood Checklist w/Bhob Stewart & Co. 2003)

With the exception of Jeff Jones, I'd say that's a fairly decent list of my top comic book artists. One of the truly nice things about my collection is that it's been open to serious researchers for decades and there are probably a half-dozen more indices I've worked on that slipped my mind (and hence the list).

(EDIT) See, I just reread OtherEric's post and forgot that I've done a Matt Baker checklist, too. Should be out this fall from TwoMorrows.

If we can only list five, consider the first half to be mine and the second the choices of my evil twin.

Peace, Jim (|:{>

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