The Drawing Board (an artist messageboard) is currently discussing Rob Liefeld, who is back in the spotlight due to his recent work on Teen Titans. And I mean, they’re really discussing it; the thread is now fifty-seven pages long!
It’s easy for art-lovers to pick on Liefeld’s anatomy, like the small heads with Minbari ears, thumbs that move like fingers and hand-optional swordsmen, but there’s no denying that Liefeld is still very popular and has a devoted following. Why is that?
Consider this analysis by Christopher Knowles as to the strength of Rob Liefeld’s art: (registration is not required to view board but is to post):
“I think the massive size of this thread speaks somewhat to Rob’s hypnotic powers. I mean, you have to admit that it’s a lot of fun deconstructing his work. If you want my take on it, I’ve always felt that the reason he and Todd and Michael Turner and the rest were/are so popular is that they draw like fans. They draw like precocious high school kids. Betty Edwards has said that adolescent boys are fascinated by intricate surface detail and complexity. It’s part of the way their brains process visual information. I think you see in Comics that slick artists who have weak basic drawing skills but have a knack for decorative detail are usually the fan favorites. I think the fact that the superhero audience is getting older accounts for the growing popularity of photo-tracing and “widescreen” artists- older fans are more sophisticated in their visual tastes and want the patina of film and photography (and perhaps “maturity”) in their comics. Younger readers are drawn to Manga, which of course the Image crowd borrowed heavily from. Perhaps if there were more younger ( and I mean 13-20 yo) readers for superhero books, Rob Liefeld would still be very highly in demand. Carmine Infantino had said that Neal Adams never had any big sellers in comics because his style appealed to older readers, and it was the younger kids (7-12 yo) who were still the overwhelming bulk of the audience. The Adams style mutated a bit when Byrne synthesized it with Kirby and Ditko and made it popular with teens.”
This thread may be very long, but it is quite educational. (At least, it is to me because I’m not an artist. Listening to practicing artists as they are analyzing art can be illuminating.)