The only artist that makes me buy their book is Tim Sale. Not to slam on artists, but only a select few would really piss me off if they left. Michael Avon Oeming on Powers, Eduardo Risso on 100 Bullets, and John Cassady on Planetary just to name a couple. I don't question that the artist is essential to the book, but only a few are actual storytellers.

Loeb, Ellis, Ennis, Bendis, Millar. These guys are pretty much a guarantee of good writing.

Please excuse that I don't mention inkers or colorists. I don't have that good of an eye for art.

This thread originated from the thought that Jim Lee is the reason that Hush and For Tomorrow sold so well.

Loeb+Batman=Guarantee Hit. Everytime Loeb has touched Batman, it's been a success. I did not buy Hush. If Tim Sale was in on it, I would have been there every month.

Sorry, it's kind of hard not to sound like I'm slamming on Jim Lee, but writing is the deal breaker on comics. I think Image will attest to that.

I agree with you for the most part. For me, the story is everything. But, good artists tell stories with their pictures, right? A comic book can have numerous panels or pages without any text. The exceptional artist can tell you a story with few or no words at all. I think Jean Giraud (Moebius), Frank Miller, and Mike Mignola (some of my favorites) are excellent story tellers in this way. Some people may not care for their artistic style, but few can deny their ability to create a visual story through their art. After all, isn't a picture is worth a thousand words...

A buddy and I were talking about this last night after a tournament.

We're both writer-driven consumers, with a great, or even good, artist being the icing on the cake.

But I know just as many guys who will buy a comic base upon the artist. Pretty much my only two are Corben and Quitely. Maybe a couple more I'm forgetting.

But many, many more specific writers seem to find their way on my pull list.

I'm ignorant of Moebius' work, I know, I know, I should correct that.

In regards to Mike Mignola and Frank Miller, I'm thinking Mignola's Hellboy and Miller's Sin City or Dark Knight Returns, but in both those cases they are also the writer. The art works so well in those books because both duties are done by one person. They both know what they want to achieve. It's like you don't know where the writing ends and the art begins because it seems seamless. That's easy to achieve with one person.

Here's my little test, which was kind of inspired by Marvel's 'Nuff Said and when I was a kid and I just used to look at the pictures. Just look at the art and see if it makes sense.

My number one writing & art duo is Azzarello & Risso on 100 Bullets.

Some really good writing can be wrecked by bad art. See Ultimates Annual for an excellent example.

The thing about good comic art is that it is, in a way, transparent. Good art serves the story and makes you turn pages; bad art makes you cringe. I'm pretty much through looking at anything by Steve Dillon. On the other hand, I find myself looking for old work of Mike Mignola's.

But it is the writers who make me buy something without fail. I love Bendis, Millar, Ellis, Busiek, and Alphonsa, and I'll buy anything that interests me if they wrote it.

I'm a Morrison Quitely nerd.

However, bad art can kill a book stone dead.

New Invaders was brilliant. The writing was stellar on that book, yet the art killed it deader then a door nail. Almost every person who dropped it, all said the same thing 'Story/writing ='s fabulous, art ='s horrible'.

I don't think art can carry a book entirely, but it can carry weaker writing, while I find stellar writing has a hard time carrying weaker art.

Comics are a visual medium. If the art isn't there, then what's the point?

Myself, I think it takes a mix of both to have a good book.

Kurt Busiek's Conan is great, but when Nord isn't doing the art the book isn't nearly as good.

Come on! That recent Powell Conan was sick!

Steve Dillon is not superhero art. I don't mind him, heck, sometimes I enjoy him, but to put him with superheroes is bad business. He was perfect for Preacher, I mean imagine Michael Turner doing Preacher. It would just feel weird.

No, a writing can definitely carry art. As long as the artist's storytelling capabilities are not that of a monkey, a writing can make the book. Daredevil is a prime example, it took me a long time to get used to Alex Maleev.

I'm going to try and find this New Invaders and get back on that.

On the subject of artists: There have been times when an artist has begun a series or taken over a title and I've been unimpressed (or indifferent) with the art.
But, as the series has progressed, I have really come to enjoy it. For me, Barry Windsor-Smith's work on Conan comes to mind. By the end of his run on Conan, the art was strong and Conan became a popular title in Marvel's line. Does anyone else know of an artist (or writer) that you didn't really care for, but who then came to impress you? Interested in your thoughts...

I think it's much harder to give a writer slack, for me personally. If the book is mediocre I'll just drop it. I don't have the collector's mentality where I have to have all the issues.

Writing is what'll decide me on a book. Art is an enhancement, and can make a good book great, but if I don't like the writing on a book, I don't care how good the art is, I won't buy it. On the other hand, the art would have to be really horrid for me to not buy a book that I like the writing on. It'll detract a bit from the experience, but I haven't seen any art so bad that it has stoppedme from buying a book that I like the writing on. If the writing's middle of the road, then maybe bad art in combination with that might make me drop a book when I'm limiting myself of the number of books I buy anyway. That's the only time that the art is a real deciding factor for me.

When it's really magic is when the writing and the art are just perfect for each other. Such as:

Morrison & Quitely - X-Men
Bendis & Bagley - Ultimate Spider-Man
Ellis & Hitch - The Authority and Ulimates
Busiek & Perez - Avengers
Moore & Bolland - Batman: The Killing Joke
Moore & Gibbons - Watchmen
Straczynski & Frank - [/i]Supreme Power[/i]
Loeb & Sale - Batman: The Long Halloween

Writing is great, and art is great, but if they aren't both working together, there's something missing.

Sorry, ANGEHAMM, but the only team I agree with up there is Loeb & Sale. Try to imagine Bagley on any of the other titles that Bendis writes (Daredevil, Powers, etc.), and it won't feel right.