Sorry Joe, I Respectfully Disagree

I recently read this little tidbit from Comic Book Resources during an interview with Joe Quesada about Dark Reign and other hot items:

"Kiel Phegley: I don’t think there’s a fan of superhero comics in general who wouldn't want Romita to draw their favorite character at some point.

Joe Quesada: I've often referred to Johnny as the world's greatest comic book artist, and I still stand by that statement. It's based upon the fact that he can draw anything and do it amazingly well. Johnny can draw two guys sitting at a bar and having a drink and make that compelling. Are there guys out there who maybe can do this quiet scene a little better than Johnny? Yeah, maybe. Johnny can draw a fight scene with two gods demolishing a city and do it brilliantly. Are there some artists who might be able to do that better than Johnny? Maybe. Johnny's knowledge of anatomy, storytelling and action is impeccable. Are there some guys who have one of those three talents who can do it better? Mmmmmaybe. Is there anybody on the planet who can do all those things that Johnny does with the skill and talent that he has? There isn't a person on planet earth who can do it all.

If he were a baseball player, he'd be a five-tool player – a superstar – because he does everything incredibly well. And that's why, to me, he's the world's greatest comic book artist. I don't think there's been a better comic book action artist than Johnny since, well, Jack Kirby is the only person that comes to mind. I think Johnny is the Kirby of his generation, and he produces as quickly as the King without a drop in quality. I always said it even before I worked at Marvel. When I was just a fan, "This guy's the best." I’d love to find Johnny a great nickname, if Kirby was “The King” would Johnny be “The Prince?”"

Sorry Kiel and Joe, but I can think of many comic artists with a greater deal of talent than Romita Jr. I know I have a personal dislike of his work, leading you to believe I may be biased, but I love Romita Sr., and I respect everything his son has done. I mean, damn he got to draw potentially one of the coolest events ever, as I call it "Take Hulk and Pit Him Against Everyone" more commonly called World War Hulk.

I like artists like Dan Jurgens, a writer/artist who not only draws his own books, but does it damn well and has a great partner in crime in Norm Rapmund. Or is it Rapmond? But the point is, I find Jurgen's work in Booster Gold to be that new classic comic style. Is it the best or most interesting? No, not really. But it's the standard. Compared to that, Romita Jr. falls short.

I know, I know, Jurgens is a DC artist, but on the Marvel side you have great talent like Leinil Yu, Adi Granov, and Salvador Larocca. All guys with unique style and approaches, just like Romita Jr., but in my opinion, such as it is, better.

Yu had to draw John McCain, Barack Obama, Jay Leno, Oprah Winfrey, George Bush, Michael Moore and many many others for one splash page of Secret Invasion, and each real life celeb or public figure was captured in Yu's particular style (which I always identify by the way he draws jawlines) while making them easy to recognize for even non-comic readers (my mother could pick out all or her favorite celebs in that page).

Adi Granov, while he takes awhile and is not exactly suited for every comic book given his very realistic and unconventional style, is one of the best artists in comics today (despite my theory that he has a hard time drawing feet... but don't tell him I said that). His artwork is compelling for a variety of books, maybe not ALL books like Quesada says about Romita Jr., but I'd rather see Granov's Eternals and see how they stack up against one another.

Not to mention one of my new favorites, Salvador Larocca, who works just as hard even through a language barrier! His female characters are not idealized, but as a comic nerd I have to point out that I find them much more attractive than Romita's women.

Well, I said it all. I just straight do not believe Joe Quesada when he says John Romita Jr. is the total package. He's better than Larry Stroman, that's for damn sure. He's more suited to mainstream books than Frazer Irving, yeah. But he cannot compete with talent like Amanda Conner (who I think is pretty), Pablo Raimondi, Olivier Coipel, Simone Bianchi... the list goes on.

So no, I don't want Romita to draw my favorite character(s) at any point.