Well, we were comparing covers and like you said #5 is the most iconic which is why that sprung to mind - and just to clarify: no, I'm not saying that the entire early marvel run looked like that. but ok - better example: #12 - one of my favorite covers, where the cover actually look like what is in the comic. And it's the content design that is so awesome to me, I just love that design and compared to that, yes I do find the UK stuff ugly. They are more proportionate, they don't have those freaky liquidy faceplates and they just look more intricate (yes, there are always exceptions, ofc) and...impressive. By comparison the later comics stories feel alot darker, but it's drawn in a more "simplistic" way (by that I mean that they don't pay as much attention to detail) which to me made it feel aimed for a younger audience than the earlier issues, and that never did sit right with me. Just my personal taste. But you gotta admit - it would have been awesome if this cover held the same standard as #5...I know I would have loved that nod to continuing the comics, given that #5 was also a continuation of what was to be a canceled transformers comic.
Looks great Josh! And I've always been a fan of Geoff's work. Granted as a kid, when I saw his work on the TF comic for the first time it looked a little weird, in the sense that it had matured beyond the conventional José Delbo stuff that I'd had gotten so used to. And Delbo himself is a very good artist. So is Don Perlin - it's just that they both weren't exactly suited to do Transformers.
The art was 'marginal' ish / not perfect..but never too terrible, IMHO. Oh dat Power Master Prime Hi-Q.
G1 UK my sine function! Are you telling me Geoff Senior was also responsible for the G2 art style (which took me away from Floro Dery and Andrew Wildman's goodness?)
Geoff Senior!!!. His full page art of Galvatron riding Ultra Magnus in the EPIC fight from Target 2006 is what I always, always remember. Lets face it, that issue was one of the BEST!! Fandom be Damned!!
Was disgusted by Geoff Senior then and disgusted by him now. Never liked it period. 1 in 50 incentive cover? hahahaha No comic shop will even have 1 then.
I think with Geoff, you either get it or you don't. For me, I love the energy and character that he brings. Compared to the early stuff like issue 12 for example, the transformers are characterless, expressionless robots. To be fair, my main man would be Andrew Wildman, but I always enjoy Geoff's art, it always seems more 'fun!' EDIT: I also wanted to mention that whilst I think the early Delbo stuff is excellent, it's a generic 'comic book' style, that seems very rigid. The UK stuff has a style all of its own, even though there were many artists working on it.
As much as I love the old TF comic style and a lot of it is what I used as a guide when developing my own inking skills growing up I do agree that the proportions on Optimus there are kinda clunky. Sure the old stuff could be a bit 'off' at times but I don't think it was so much like this. The first thing I thought of when I saw the cover was that Optimus' proportions were all over the place. Maybe I'm looking at TF art now with a more modern eye compared to how I used to look at the old stuff way back when, but even allowing for the old style that Optimus kinda sticks out from it. The Decepticon arms on the cover remind me more of the old comic style than that Optimus does. It looks more like someone trying to copy the old style and not quite getting it. So for me personally this cover isn't 'getting away' with hokey proportions compared to how people judge movie or IDW stuff. But then back in the old days things were simpler and people could be less demanding so I suppose some allowances have to be made for a project of this nature as it's trying to ape those simpler times and I guess shouldn't be judged by the standards of modern titles. Maybe people still will judge it with a modern eye because perhaps that's all they've known, but if it was trying to appeal to the sensibilities of those people then it wouldn't be done in the old style at all. It's a risk they've gotta run when doing a title with what's essentially a heavy nostaligia slant at the base of it.
Yeah great to see something by Geoff but I agree it's not his best. Didn't he basically quit drawing comics long long ago though? Maybe he's a little out of practice at TFs. I always loved the clean lines of his G1 artwork, he was by far my favourite. Those Decepticon arms around the frame demonstrate his skills as good as ever; only Prime himself looks a bit odd. Feels almost G2 in pose and proportions (and I don't mean Senior's own G2 work, either).
That's a pretty good cover, with all the Autobots in the foreground in various contortions, like figures in a baroque painting. In an ideal world, covers should represent their contents, AND should have more compositional and artistic rigour than your average interior panel. However, the early interior Marvel art rarely rose above simple banality. Perlin was not bad, aside from his Transformers, but Delbo was dull, dull, dull, and mostly just copied Hasbro's concept art directly. Frank Springer was legendary for his speed, but it tends to show in his work. Very sloppy. Liquid faceplates? Are you sure you're thinking of Senior and not Wildman? I actually really disliked Wildman's work from that time. My initiation to Geoff Senior (and Simon Furman for that matter) was the old UK Dragon's Claws series. His work is certainly stylized, but I wouldn't call it "simplistic" and in no way would I ever consider it more "younger audience" friendly... especially compared to the very simplistic, bland art in mot of the early Marvel stuff. Senior sometimes has a cartoony touch, but one that conveys a certain edge of grit, detritus and decay. Sometimes he streamlines the robots' designs, but in order to give them a more vivid, dynamic energy. Yeah, but what you're reallyu responding to there is the full-painted qualities of that cover, and the fact that the artist clearly was directly referencing the Shockwave toy... which doesn't work so well for some of the other characters. However, if Transformers had managed to keep William Johnson through the 80's, I think I would have been a staunch defender. He always seemed to have the right balance of expression and observed detail. He stands as probably the only artist in the history of the comics to actually get the shape of Shockwave's face right! Agreed... well put. "Matured" is the right word, though I already associated his style with apocalyptic Brit sci-fi comics, so that helped. The first few issues of G2 had really interesting art, but it started to go downhill very quickly, as if Derek Yaniger couldn't keep the pace. Yeah, that's what I generally refer to as being very dull or bland about Delbo's stuff. It has no style to it, no personal sense of expression. zmog
Yes, according to his TF Wiki page, Geoff works mostly in the advertising industry these days, producing storyboards, etc. It's clear from his current online portfolio (which you can view here) that his art style has diversified greatly over the years. There's still occasional glimmers of his old, more "solid" style that he used during his time drawing for Marvel, but there's also a lot of a more experimental heavily stylised approach too - which seems to be where his interests lie these days. He felt like using the latter technique on this cover, and that's perfectly fine by me. Some people seem to be actually suggesting that this cover is somehow an indication that he's lost his drawing ability altogether(!?) Seriously, take the time to browse his portfolio. This man has lost none of his artistic prowess. To me, a lot of the criticism here seems to stem from people having very strict criteria about how Transformers should be drawn - in particular, the proportions of characters. There always seems to be a knee-jerk reaction when an artist approaches the Transformers' proportions in a more abstract or stylised way - prompting comments that the characters look "wonky" or "off". Such comments would therefore imply that there is a "correct" way to draw these characters. Newsflash: There isn't. An artist can draw these characters any way he or she damn well pleases. Just because an artist uses abstract proportions doesn't mean that they don't have a grasp of the rudiments of drawing, or that they're using that technique out of necessity because they "lack the skill" to replicate more realistic proportions. It seems silly having to spell that out, but it feels necessary sometimes. Yeah. Reminder: The topic of discussion here is a drawing of an alien robot toy. Chill bro.
There is a difference between saying you don't like something and saying it can't be done that way. He's free to draw Transformers however he likes. You're free to like it. I'm free to dislike it. To me these irregular proportions make the robot look goofy. I have enjoyed his earlier work. This, not so much.
Wow, Geoff has some nice stuff up there. Anybody doubting his bots might want to check this out: http://www.geoffsenior.com/artwork/gallery/g38.jpg
Equally silly to have to say it, but just because an artist chooses to use a stylized approach on purpose, doesn't mean that the work cannot be BAD. Just to point to the other side of the equation. Artistic choices are not necessarily exempt from evaluative judgment, of course. Sometimes people make poor stylistic choices. I've always maintained that "taste" is not purely "a matter of opinion", but rather the product of one's ability to reflect on the aesthetic object and support their opinions through credible discourse. But yeah, I do agree with your main point, which is that stylization is also not an indicator necessarily of an artist's incompetency. zmog
