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Spider-Man, by Frank Quitely.

The middle one was a pinup that was included with one of the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie box sets. The sketch covers were both done for the Ultimate Spider-Man 100 HERO Initiative Benefit auction.

Mark Bagley.

Mark does not get enough credit. He really does not. As fans, it is easy to brush over what Mark does and say that we like a trendier artist more than him. Mark Bagley is consistent, fast, and he can tell a damn good story. The guy is great at every aspect of comics, frankly. I have never seen a story he illustrated that was not perfectly plotted, paced, and rendered in just the right way to fight the writing. He is versatile, switching from cover work to storytelling effortlessly. He handles cheesecake/beefcake as well as any of his peers, and the list goes on and on. But, more than anything, Bagley is dependable. Bendis and Bagley did Ultimate Spider-Man for 110 issues or (some similarly ridiculously high number of consecutive issues) and I do not think they even missed a solicitation date. That means that Mark penciled the covers and 22+ pages of interiors for more than a hundred issues without ever missing a beat or a deadline. Back in the ‘90s, Todd McFarlane on Spider-Man was all the rage. McFarlane set the tone in the early 90s, but when I think of Spidey in the ‘90s, I think of Bagley. From 2001 onward, most Spider-Fans I know would agree that Ultimate Spidey was the best and most consistently good Spider-Book around. And Mark did all of it. He made it look easy too. Bagley is frigging great at what he does, and he should be treated as such.

Mark Bagley is a true professional and I think his art style was paramount in defining the aesthetic of the 90’s comic book scene. He’s a really cool dude. I got some stuff signed by him at Dallas Comic Con a few years ago.

Professional. You hit the nail on the head with that one.

John Romita, Jr., Stuart Immonen, Mark Bagley, Salvador Larocca, Chris Bachalo, and Scott McDaniel share three traits that are as rare as they are valuable: they are professional, consistent, and nice.

They hit their deadlines, they tell damn good stories, and they are great at what they do. They are professional comic book artists in every sense of the word. And, of the three I listed, I think it would be a toss-up between Mark and Johnny for who the quickest is.

Mark Bagley.

Mark does not get enough credit. He really does not. As fans, it is easy to brush over what Mark does and say that we like a trendier artist more than him. Mark Bagley is consistent, fast, and he can tell a damn good story. The guy is great at every aspect of comics, frankly. I have never seen a story he illustrated that was not perfectly plotted, paced, and rendered in just the right way to fight the writing. He is versatile, switching from cover work to storytelling effortlessly. He handles cheesecake/beefcake as well as any of his peers, and the list goes on and on. But, more than anything, Bagley is dependable. Bendis and Bagley did Ultimate Spider-Man for 110 issues or (some similarly ridiculously high number of consecutive issues) and I do not think they even missed a solicitation date. That means that Mark penciled the covers and 22+ pages of interiors for more than a hundred issues without ever missing a beat or a deadline. Back in the ‘90s, Todd McFarlane on Spider-Man was all the rage. McFarlane set the tone in the early 90s, but when I think of Spidey in the ‘90s, I think of Bagley. From 2001 onward, most Spider-Fans I know would agree that Ultimate Spidey was the best and most consistently good Spider-Book around. And Mark did all of it. He made it look easy too. Bagley is frigging great at what he does, and he should be treated as such.

Mark Bagley is a true professional and I think his art style was paramount in defining the aesthetic of the 90’s comic book scene. He’s a really cool dude. I got some stuff signed by him at Dallas Comic Con a few years ago.

Professional. You hit the nail on the head with that one.

John Romita, Jr., Stuart Immonen, Mark Bagley, Salvador Larocca, Chris Bachalo, and Scott McDaniel share three traits that are as rare as they are valuable: they are professional, consistent, and nice.

They hit their deadlines, they tell damn good stories, and they are great at what they do. They are professional comic book artists in every sense of the word. And, of the three I listed, I think it would be a toss-up between Mark and Johnny for who the quickest is.

I’m often asked by young artist and fans about the use of photo reference. How often do artist use it and when? While I can’t speak for other pros, the answer for me is different with every single piece. Every professional illustrator uses photo ref in one form or another whether it’s to base a drawing directly or as reference to get certain elements just right, folds, buildings, textures, what have you. I look at photo ref as one of hundreds of tools that I have in my arsenal in order to get the job done and make it look the best it can within my abilities, limited or otherwise. Sometimes that can mean taking a photo of my hand for a gesture or a full figure in order to get just the right posture. Back in 2011 I was asked to draw the cover to the death of Ultimate Spider-Man. I came up with an idea that I thought would work and sketched and sketched but I couldn’t nail the emotion of the moment I was seeing in my head. It happens sometimes, I see it but can’t make it happen on paper so I decided to take some pics and enlisted my daughter to play the part of Peter. I think having her in the photos allowed me to get into the moment and hit the sweet spot that was lacking in my sketches. So here’s some never before seen stuff. And for those who are really interested in the subject check out “Norman Rockwell: Behind The Camera”. It’s an amazing book that shows how a master illustrator used photography to it’s fullest. My favorite thing is seeing how he deviated from the photos to give his paintings a life of their own.

Hmmm....

Agreed. Co-Signing this.

I feel sometimes he follow stories with incredible buildup with a fluff ending. Its a matter of focus though and i have rarely seen anyone else doing a tapestry of multiple scenarios in a single run or story.

His work from 2005 to 2010 is one of the chief reasons for current marvel landscapes and event formats.

Bendis is the most pervasive writer for Marvel comics since 2005 onward. His writing had influenced every major storyline at the House of Ideas, and that includes times when people thought his books were not good or that they fizzled.

House of M was not well received after it initially finished publication. People were kind of ambivalent about it, and a lot of people were mad about how Scarlet Witch got handled.

House of M turned out to be THE pivotal storyline that jump started both the Avengers and the X-Men, and ultimately lead to Avengers Vs. X-Men.

Ultimate Spider-Man/Miles Morales has consistently been the best Spider-book on the shelves. Amazing, Spectacular, Peter Parker, Superior, Marvel Knights, etc. have all had ups and downs, but been pretty good. Compare that with Ultimate Spidey, which has never wavered from being one of the best books on the shelf, every month when it gets released. And it is released like clockwork.

Bendis made me an Avengers fan. Flat out. Before Bendis, I thought of the Avengers like new readers think of them: no idea where to start, and no inclination to do so. Avengers: Disassembled got all the toys out of the box, and New Avengers got the games rolling. By the time of Age of Ultron wrapped, I was beginning to go into withdrawal.

Hating on Bendis for how he writes for Marvel is akin to link baiting. People that hate on Bendis are only saying it because they want to stand out and SEEM intelligent. They want to seem intelligent as a mask for their ignorance of the reality.