Someone on one of the comic book forums on Facebook posted a message that read in part…
Tonight, we were talking about how a great many artists' works are highly admired by a certain percentage of fans, yet disliked or even despised by others. This got me to thinking…are there any artists who are universally beloved? Four possibilities who come immediately to mind are [names of four artists]. Is there anyone who doesn't like their styles? Can you think of someone else who art is liked or loved by all?
If you've been on the Internet for more than about an hour in your life, you know what came next: Many, many messages from folks who hate the work of one or more of those four artists this guy believes are universally beloved. There were also a lot of messages like, "Well, everyone loves the work of So-and-So," each followed almost immediately by someone else writing, "I've always hated So-and-So."
I've been around devout comic book readers since I was President of the Los Angeles Comic Book Club, commencing in the mid-sixties. My answer to the question, "Are there any artists who are universally beloved?" is "Don't be ridiculous." Of course not. In fact, if you're in a room with more than about twenty-five comic book fans and you say, "Everyone loves Ernie Shmidlap's drawing," there will be at least three fans present who will tell you of their extreme contempt for the work of Mr. Shmidlap. There may even be one who will deliver a mature, reasoned critique of why his drawing sucks donkey dongs — to use the more intellectual critical terminology.
(This is, of course, assuming the assemblage is not a meeting of The Ernie Shmidlap Fan Club…although even there, you could probably get pushback if you suggested Ernie's best work was on the Manatee Man comics as opposed to some others.)
I guess I'm kind of amazed the fellow asked the question he asked, just as I'm amazed at the vitriol that is sometimes expressed towards someone whose depiction of Batman isn't as pleasing to you as someone else's.
For the record, there are a number of comic book artists (and writers, for that matter) whose work has left me cold. I don't hate them because "hate," I think, is a feeling best saved for those who seriously harm other human beings…but I don't find myself involved by these artists' work and don't enjoy the reading experience. I also think that bad comic book art is often a function of miscasting — the wrong assignment to the wrong story, the wrong match of penciler and inker, etc. — so I'm not that quick to say a given artist is without talent.
And I also remember that just about everyone is someone's favorite. On my little personal list of creators whose work I don't spark to are several that folks in that Facebook thread believe were unanimously beloved. So what? Not every comic has to appeal to me and it's no reason for outrage when one doesn't. Unless it's by that horrible Ernie Shmidlap.