As you all know, Chris Bachalo is my favorite comic book artist. A while back Marc Caputo sent me this link and I thought I would share it with everybody. Chris Bachalo: Ten Cool Covers
I really like Bachalo but... I hate nearly all of those covers. There's not much of a sense of design to most of them - they just look like posters that have been turned into covers.
I think there's a couple of great ones (Fantomex, Iceman/Mystique), but yeah, some weird "choices" (With the quotes I mean to imply it looks like he just used the first ten Google Image results for "Chris Bachalo").
I recently went nuts on eBay buying back some of the later Generation X issues by Bachalo I used to own. I do this thing where if I'm not keen on the writing but love the art, I can only own the issues by the artist, story-be-damned. I now own all the New X-Men issues by Quitely, Bachalo and Silvestri (okay, the Silvestri issues are for the story). I guess a lot of people would say I should have the Jimenez issues too, but I do not get that guy at all. Look how long Spider-Man's head is! So long!
Does anyone else do this? Apparently Chris Bachalo drew part of Incredible Hulk #400. Now I have to own it. I will buy the first three issues of Ghost Rider 2099 one day.
Ditto the above on the covers. I do like Bachalo a lot, so I'm also surprised there's no Steampunk. The Buffy, Uncanny, and Generation X seem especially weak. I know have plenty of Generation X laying around, and I definately remember better, heck, even his aborted Captain America run with Mark Morales, before the Kirkman's run (the one before Brubaker).
He's come a long way in making his own style since--I don't know if it was his first--the Sandman issue where Hippolyta Hall appears. I think.
James: I used to track artists, my last one actively was Sean Phillips. I think I have it in my mind to save myself from buying issues (which I dunno if I have space to store anymore) and buy a sketch or some art instead.
hcduvall: The desire for obscure issues by an artist is fairly new for me, but I googled for some pictures of Bachalo's Hulk and now I need it.
Buying around artists though, has got pretty obsessive, like I'm constantly trying to "hone" my collection or something. I don't own the Winter Soldier issue of Punisher War Journal because I don't like the art. What? It's one issue, relax guy. No, YOU relax. And so on.
I've read most of the run of Shade the Changing Man, a proto-Vertigo book which was written by Peter Milligan and drawn by Bachalo, and it's fascinating to see Bachalo's style develop over the course of the series. So there you go, James, that's another 50 issues you can obtain (if you haven't already).
Hcduvall: come on, man, that Generation X cover is one of my favorites! He did plenty of other good ones too, but that one is awesome. That lame X-Men cover of Phoenix is pretty bad though; I'm sure there were a few issues from his run that were much better than that one.
Man, someday (if I ever get the time), I should do a series of blog posts just examining his art on series like Gen X, Steampunk, Shade, etc. He's super-cool, man.
Warren: Ah, I'll admit it's better than what I lumped it with, it's a fun cover, but I've always been a little sketch on his later run on Generation X... when he was super-deformed but not as proportional as now. And he can do the pin up shot better, you know? Which is a falutin' way of saying I wonder where does her left arm go? It haunts me.
Hcduvall: Yeah, he was using a weird, manga-esque style at the time; I think the issue of Gen X previous to that one was the last one I really liked. I don't know if it would hold up now, but I thought it was awesome at the time. Scott Lobdell left the book around that time, and James Robinson briefly came on as the writer, and the characters all started acting completely wrong and the plots took a turn for the stupid (the Operation: Zero Tolerance crossover didn't help). Bachalo's art was decent, but not nearly as good as it was around #17, the Stan Lee-narrated issue. Or that one with Howard the Duck. I don't think it was until Steampunk that his art got much better, although even that was kind of busy and rushed and hard to follow at times. I haven't really been reading his recent X-Men stuff, but I've heard some of the same complaints. Even so, I think he's pretty awesome. Hopefully he'll end up on a book I actually want to read sometime...
I think you need to reread those Generation X issues, because most of all the runs (with maybe the exception of Faeber's) were completely stupid and idiotic. And I liked Gen X. Too much Fairy Tale bullshit for my taste most of the time or otherwise just some bland plot and characters.
And Bachalo's art is great, but seriously unfocused and, unless coupled with the right writer and story, fairly difficult to decipher.
Oh, yeah, I realize Gen X was not an especially good comic, but I do look back on it with nostalgia-tinted glasses. Plus, while I did continue to buy the series through #40 or so, Any good memories stop around #28. And even then, it was past its prime. Actually, I don't know when exactly that "prime" would be. The first few issues were okay, with #4 being the best. Then there was the "Generation Next" bit during the Age of Apocalypse event; that was pretty cool. After that, there were a decent couple of issues. Then Bachalo left for about a year, and it was fairly terrible. He came back with #17, I think, and it was decent again for a little while, but it's not exactly great. Really, the best part is the art, with the occasional creative flourishes Bachalo threw in. After #25, there were a couple decent issues, but by the time Bachalo started goofing around with his style, it went downhill and never recovered. So yeah, it's really not a good series, but I look back on it with fondness, because I was a teenager and just getting into comics, and I still feel like I found some good art and an artist that I continue to dig to this day.
Didn't mean to come off quite as malicient as I did, rereading now.
Generation X had such great characters and premise and it was just mishandled from day one pretty much. I like the idea of Generation X more than the actual comics.
With the exception of that Msytique/Iceman cover and the Cursed cover - I really do not care for these selections. They seem to exemplify bad cover art for comic books. A good cover should tell a story with one picture - and be interesting enough to hook the reader into wanting to dive into the book itself. These covers tell us nothing about what is contained therein - except that it involves said character. They're kind of like the comic book cover equivalent of the bad post-Scream horror film posters that featured a row of faces floating over a sea of black.
I have a love/hate relationship with Bachalo. I love the energy of his work - but his action scenes are often unclear and extremely confusing. He could be the next Bill Sienkewicz - but there's something missing. . .
I really like Bachalo but... I hate nearly all of those covers. There's not much of a sense of design to most of them - they just look like posters that have been turned into covers.
ReplyDeleteI love his poster-like works (though my favourite is the detail-orgy of Steampunk), so I loved these covers, too:) Thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteI think there's a couple of great ones (Fantomex, Iceman/Mystique), but yeah, some weird "choices" (With the quotes I mean to imply it looks like he just used the first ten Google Image results for "Chris Bachalo").
ReplyDeleteI recently went nuts on eBay buying back some of the later Generation X issues by Bachalo I used to own. I do this thing where if I'm not keen on the writing but love the art, I can only own the issues by the artist, story-be-damned. I now own all the New X-Men issues by Quitely, Bachalo and Silvestri (okay, the Silvestri issues are for the story). I guess a lot of people would say I should have the Jimenez issues too, but I do not get that guy at all. Look how long Spider-Man's head is! So long!
Does anyone else do this? Apparently Chris Bachalo drew part of Incredible Hulk #400. Now I have to own it. I will buy the first three issues of Ghost Rider 2099 one day.
Ditto the above on the covers. I do like Bachalo a lot, so I'm also surprised there's no Steampunk. The Buffy, Uncanny, and Generation X seem especially weak. I know have plenty of Generation X laying around, and I definately remember better, heck, even his aborted Captain America run with Mark Morales, before the Kirkman's run (the one before Brubaker).
ReplyDeleteHe's come a long way in making his own style since--I don't know if it was his first--the Sandman issue where Hippolyta Hall appears. I think.
James: I used to track artists, my last one actively was Sean Phillips. I think I have it in my mind to save myself from buying issues (which I dunno if I have space to store anymore) and buy a sketch or some art instead.
hcduvall: The desire for obscure issues by an artist is fairly new for me, but I googled for some pictures of Bachalo's Hulk and now I need it.
ReplyDeleteBuying around artists though, has got pretty obsessive, like I'm constantly trying to "hone" my collection or something. I don't own the Winter Soldier issue of Punisher War Journal because I don't like the art. What? It's one issue, relax guy. No, YOU relax. And so on.
I've read most of the run of Shade the Changing Man, a proto-Vertigo book which was written by Peter Milligan and drawn by Bachalo, and it's fascinating to see Bachalo's style develop over the course of the series. So there you go, James, that's another 50 issues you can obtain (if you haven't already).
ReplyDeleteHcduvall: come on, man, that Generation X cover is one of my favorites! He did plenty of other good ones too, but that one is awesome. That lame X-Men cover of Phoenix is pretty bad though; I'm sure there were a few issues from his run that were much better than that one.
ReplyDeleteMan, someday (if I ever get the time), I should do a series of blog posts just examining his art on series like Gen X, Steampunk, Shade, etc. He's super-cool, man.
Warren: Ah, I'll admit it's better than what I lumped it with, it's a fun cover, but I've always been a little sketch on his later run on Generation X... when he was super-deformed but not as proportional as now. And he can do the pin up shot better, you know? Which is a falutin' way of saying I wonder where does her left arm go? It haunts me.
ReplyDelete"Apparently Chris Bachalo drew part of Incredible Hulk #400."
ReplyDeleteYeah, the latter 18 pages, as I recall. It's not his best work.
I NEED IT, JASON POWELL
ReplyDeleteHcduvall: Yeah, he was using a weird, manga-esque style at the time; I think the issue of Gen X previous to that one was the last one I really liked. I don't know if it would hold up now, but I thought it was awesome at the time. Scott Lobdell left the book around that time, and James Robinson briefly came on as the writer, and the characters all started acting completely wrong and the plots took a turn for the stupid (the Operation: Zero Tolerance crossover didn't help). Bachalo's art was decent, but not nearly as good as it was around #17, the Stan Lee-narrated issue. Or that one with Howard the Duck. I don't think it was until Steampunk that his art got much better, although even that was kind of busy and rushed and hard to follow at times. I haven't really been reading his recent X-Men stuff, but I've heard some of the same complaints. Even so, I think he's pretty awesome. Hopefully he'll end up on a book I actually want to read sometime...
ReplyDeleteI think you need to reread those Generation X issues, because most of all the runs (with maybe the exception of Faeber's) were completely stupid and idiotic. And I liked Gen X. Too much Fairy Tale bullshit for my taste most of the time or otherwise just some bland plot and characters.
ReplyDeleteAnd Bachalo's art is great, but seriously unfocused and, unless coupled with the right writer and story, fairly difficult to decipher.
Oh, yeah, I realize Gen X was not an especially good comic, but I do look back on it with nostalgia-tinted glasses. Plus, while I did continue to buy the series through #40 or so, Any good memories stop around #28. And even then, it was past its prime. Actually, I don't know when exactly that "prime" would be. The first few issues were okay, with #4 being the best. Then there was the "Generation Next" bit during the Age of Apocalypse event; that was pretty cool. After that, there were a decent couple of issues. Then Bachalo left for about a year, and it was fairly terrible. He came back with #17, I think, and it was decent again for a little while, but it's not exactly great. Really, the best part is the art, with the occasional creative flourishes Bachalo threw in. After #25, there were a couple decent issues, but by the time Bachalo started goofing around with his style, it went downhill and never recovered. So yeah, it's really not a good series, but I look back on it with fondness, because I was a teenager and just getting into comics, and I still feel like I found some good art and an artist that I continue to dig to this day.
ReplyDeleteDidn't mean to come off quite as malicient as I did, rereading now.
ReplyDeleteGeneration X had such great characters and premise and it was just mishandled from day one pretty much. I like the idea of Generation X more than the actual comics.
And Bachalo's stuff in it was great.
With the exception of that Msytique/Iceman cover and the Cursed cover - I really do not care for these selections. They seem to exemplify bad cover art for comic books. A good cover should tell a story with one picture - and be interesting enough to hook the reader into wanting to dive into the book itself. These covers tell us nothing about what is contained therein - except that it involves said character. They're kind of like the comic book cover equivalent of the bad post-Scream horror film posters that featured a row of faces floating over a sea of black.
ReplyDeleteI have a love/hate relationship with Bachalo. I love the energy of his work - but his action scenes are often unclear and extremely confusing. He could be the next Bill Sienkewicz - but there's something missing. . .