This was, in terms of total nominations, our biggest category. All told, Multiversity staffers threw 87 different artists into the mix. This meant that not only was there a wide and deep representation of internationally recognized talent, but that there’d also be a whole lot of math to do in order to determine a winner! So we rolled up our sleeves and dug in to the voting, finding artists as disparate as Rich Tommaso and Yusuke Murata, or Henry Flint and Farel Dalrymple. Some of the voting was close, and we’ve got a couple of ties in the mix, so read on to find out if your favorites are accounted for. And, as always, let us know your thoughts in the comments!
10. James Harren
(Brian Salvatore) With “Rumble” and “B.P.R.D.,” does anyone draw both dread and disaster better than James Harren? Here’s a partial list of the things that Harren brings to the table: he can draw a wedding full of smiling guests and still make it scary as shit. He can draw action that seems both video game-like and grounded in the real world. He can draw a motherfucking sword fight like no one else on the planet. He’s so young, and so good, that I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t miss one of our year end lists as long as I’m writing for the site. And since I never plan on retiring, I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of him on here. Whether he just is on “Rumble” for the next few years or if he decides to branch out won’t really matter – his work is that striking.
8. (TIE) Mike Mignola
(Mike Romeo) Mike Mignola is, to my mind, one of the world’s greatest living cartoonists. I know that saying such a thing can sound over blown or hyperbolic, but I really think that it’s true. And while he’s been a favorite of mine for a long while now, I found myself genuinely surprised by how good his output was this year. Take the two issues of “Hellboy in Hell” that hit stands this year as an example: not only has Mignola continued to distill his mark making to minimalist perfection, he’s also able to shift gears and deliver beautiful washes and delicate line work. And when you combine that with his visual storytelling? It gives every issue a type of blunt surrealism that I don’t know anyone else could achieve. I mean, who else can draw a zig zag and have it convey, without question, that you’re looking at a distant fire that’s sitting on the surface of a lake?
8. (TIE) Cliff Chiang
(Vince Ostrowski) As far as visual storytellers go, you can’t do much better than Cliff Chiang. It’s one thing for strong linework and minimalism to look good on its own, but it’s that much more impressive when you consider how fluidly the guy can tell a story. Take away the text and you’d have a book that was worth reading all the same. Chiang prides himself on an ability to be an arresting sequential storyteller, and the thought he puts into this is evident. My favorite thing about his art, though? His design sense. His work on “Paper Girls” firmly recalls the ’80s, from the fashion to the technology and pop culture. It’s a subtle view of the decade, though – not an overdone parade of John Hughes allusions. Chiang depicts the sights of Midwestern America with accuracy. Every little choice he makes seems to be a smart one. What better compliment can you pay to a Harvard grad like Chiang?
7. Chris Samnee
(Greg Matiasevich) I picked Chris Samnee as my favorite cover artist last year (http://www.multiversitycomics.com/columns/2014-in-review-best-cover-artist/) and in doing so singled out his cover for “Nightcrawler” #1. While it works exceptionally well as a cover, it also showcases a lot of what Samnee brings to the table in his sequential work as well: balancing detail & texture with clarity & composition on a level that I can’t imagine wouldn’t bring a smile to Alex Toth’s notoriously hard-to-please face.
Continued belowI often say Stuart Immonen is the best all-around artist working in mainstream comics, and I say it with complete conviction. But then I pick up a Samnee issue of “Daredevil” where he brings Mark Waid’s stories to life with such grace that I can’t imagine anyone doing it better. Equally as good? Possibly. Again, I remind you of Stuart Immonen. But better? I dunno…
To make a (hopefully appropriate) basketball analogy, Chris Samnee is Steph Curry from the Golden State Warriors. Young, insanely talented, a joy to watch as a fan, a nightmare to try and compete against as a professional, and someone who’s going to be doing what he’s best at for years to come.
6. Greg Capullo
(Kevin McConnell) It is going to be hard to imagine “Batman” without Greg Capullo on it in 2016. But 2015 was the year Capullo got a chance to show the comic world why he is the best. From “Endgame” and the shocking conclusion, to the daytime out of the shadows approach on ‘Super Heavy,’ Capullo has been incredible. What was interesting is Capullo was always bringing his A game, but he took Batman out of his comfort zone. That is something only few have been able to do.
5. Leila del Duca
(Matt Garcia) Leila del Duca can draw anything. Not only that, but she can draw it all exceedingly well. Her main series, “Shutter,” with writer Joe Keatinge, is a wild, energetic hodgepodge of fantasy, science-fiction, and adventure serials, where she’s juggled anthropomorphic animals, tentacle monsters, interdimensional travel, secret cabals, shoot-outs, and chase sequences with a deft hand, blending it all together with strong, distinct character designs, careful restraint, and honest, empathetic expressions to create a fascinating and exhilarating world. A recent issue of “Shutter,” for instance, involved del Duca imitating the style of a handful of cartoonists, and that she turned in work that evoked them while still remaining firmly her own was impressive.
She also contributed a poignant and melancholic issue of “The Wicked + The Divine” with Kieron Gillen, showing that her devotion to character and ability to conjure deep feeling continue to make her an effective storyteller. It won’t be long before more and more people demand her talents for their projects, and I’m sure she’ll take it all on with the same balanced approach and general aplomb.
4. Fiona Staples
(Paul Lai) We now run the risk of taking Saga’s artist for granted. Forget ye not that 2015’s Eisner, Harvey, and Inkwell Award winner Fiona Staples’ mind-blowing art deserves as much credit for the series’ freshness as BKV’s plot twists. This was a heart-wrenching year for Saga, made poetry by Staples’ character-acting chemistry, wordless Marko drug-induced visions, the colorful assemblage of “the Revolution,” Prince Robot and Ghüs in jammies, and (spoiler) self-fellating giant lizards. No one illustrates intergalactic races in more startlingly distinct yet irrepressibly, identifiably human a fashion as Staples. Her art makes the turmoil between Landfall and Wreath distant enough to seem genuinely fantastic, yet close enough to our own skins to mirror our globally diverse sinews. Staples keeps convincingly painting new horizons, from mountainous planets to Hazel’s aging. And almost four years into Saga, her line looks faster and looser, but her storytelling more assured, striking that delicate balance between iconic and dynamic with seemingly less labor but more zest.
Which gives her time for Riverdale. If Saga earned Staples critical adulation for her Hoth Couture, her mastery of hot-lips/spaceships/Fadeaway-trips, skeptics could wonder if the digital-art maven could equally succeed with a more down-to-earth, slice-of-life, white-bread subject. The three issues of Archie’s relaunch graced by Staples’ drawing and redesigns silenced those skeptics, as she took the earthiest slices of white bread existing in comics, Archie, Betty, Jughead, Veronica, and Riverdale, and sprinkled and pinched just enough spice to make the old new again.
The imitators are starting to appear, and I daresay more than anyone above her on this list, Staples epitomizes what’s stylishly new in the last couple years of mainstream comics art, a splash of the McKelvie-Anka-Wada sartorialism, a dash of the Wu-Tula-Cloonan eclectic elegance, a dose of Moustafa-Robbi Rodriguez ruggedness. But she’s doing it with some old school Kirby-level creature making, Ditko-level composition, Fradon-level freedom and fun. Don’t lose track. Staples remains a generational milestone.
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2. (TIE) Stuart Immonen
(Zach Wilkerson) Though Stuart Immonen’s body of work in 2015 was fairly light, it was no less impressive. Kicking off the year, Immonen helped Rick Remender usher in Sam Wilson as the latest shield-bearing patriot in “All-New Captain America.” While short lived, the series was characterized by Immonen’s smooth, dynamic work. Immonen made the most of Wilson’s aviary background, delivering a high-flying acrobatic Cap for an All-New age. You can check out Stephenson’s review of the final issue here.
The artist’s biggest contribution to 2015, however, is his stunning arc on “Star Wars,” the flagship title of Marvel’s newly launched Star Wars line. Immonen slides into the universe likely a well-fitted and totally dope space jacket. His characters bear a strong likeness to their real-life counterparts without feeling like photo references, a common problem among licensed adaptations and especially among Star Wars books. Immonen’s work is the best kind of super hero art, animated and bombastic but with a high degree of detail and quality.
2. (TIE) Jason Latour
(Keith Dooley) “Southern Bastards” wouldn’t be the book it is without the raw and filthy art of Jason Latour. He brings Jason Aaron’s scripts alive with Southern grit and the feeling of dwelling within the dark mysteries of the South. Latour’s art and colors are visceral, violent, and breathtakingly surreal. He forced us to empathize with some sick bastards and that is indeed a difficult task for any artist to accomplish.
1. Evan Shaner
(Alice W. Castle) This may go down as the most difficult thing I’ve ever hard to write for Multiversity. How, honestly, do I do any justice talking about why Evan Shaner is our best artist of the year? If a picture is worth a thousand words, the two issues of “Convergence: Shazam” as well as the Green Lantern one-shot for “Darkseid War” more than do my job for me.
Evan Shaner’s art style feels almost perfectly tooled for the DC Universe. His art feels like the truest continuation of the art styles that dominated DC’s Silver Age more than any artist since Darwyn Cooke and it’s a truly astounding thing to see him work on their books. While many of their characters are stuck in the grit and grimness that they still haven’t been able to fully shake off, Evan Shaner’s style of art perfectly captured the bright, smiling heroes that these characters were always meant to be.
Editor’s Notes:
Mike Romeo – How do you argue with a list like that? Would I have like to see some non-North American talent on the list? Certainly. But is there anyone that’d be easily removed from the top ten to free up some space? No, I don’t think so.
Brian Salvatore – One of the fun things about exercises like this is that it allows you to really double down on what your idea of excellence is. For example, Doc Shaner (who got my vote) only illustrated four issues this year (along with some cover work) – so clearly, we are more interested in great work than consistent work.
