Worst Artist of 2009
Jim Doom says Ethan Van Sciver
I do not get the excitement around this guy. He’s like a slightly more successful Tony Daniel – all post-Image muscular rigidity and no soul. The stiffness and lifelessness of his figures was made much more obvious when DC stuck him on Flash: Rebirth, a book in which people are constantly running. Is it any surprise that his most popular DC art was those Countdown teasers in which everyone was just standing around? Even then, he found a way to make standing still look wooden. He also knows how to draw one face. When people have their masks off, look out – you’d better hope someone has a mustache!
For the record, I’m not even blaming him for the ridiculous mid-battle costume redesigns – he earned this honor even without that Absurd Moment in Comic Art History. I’m just glad that DC didn’t put him on Blackest Night.
Here are our picks for Worst Artist in previous years:
2008:
Fin Fang Doom: Larry Stroman
Jim Doom: Billy Tan
Doom DeLuise: J.G. Jones2007:
Doom DeLuise: Michael Turner
Jim Doom: (tie) Billy Tan, Joe Madureira, Michael Turner
Doominator: Chris Bachalo
Fin Fang Doom: One of the artists from Countdown2006:
Jim Doom: Michael Turner
Doom DeLuise: (tie) Andrew Currie and Scott McDaniel
Fin Fang Doom: Rob Liefeld
Doominator: Rob Liefeld2005:
Colonel Doom: Pat Lee
Fin Fang Doom: Pat Lee
Jean-Claude Van Doom: Pat Lee
Jim Doom: honorary vote for Joe Madureira
I never minded his art, but the wooden description of his work does fit as he draws very stiff figures. I’d say he deserves the award just for being arguably the creepiest person in mainstream comics as evidence by his latest wordballoon interview.
http://wordballoonpodcast.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/the-ethan-van-sciver-special/
Highlights include him signing a number of songs while playing a cheap keyboard. Him being bothered that someone said he looks like Joe Pesci. A funny rant about how artists are now second rate to writers in mainstream comics. Then listening to him sound like a disappointed kid whose parents were ignoring him when DC wasn’t happy with the redesigns he came up with for the Flash costumes (apparently the costumes seen in the comic were different from what he wanted to do).
I would love to see what he came up with. The redesigns in the book were ridiculous.