Why does nobody talk about how comic book fans trash older art styles? I've had people tell me Jack Kirby's stuff looks 'ugly' and 'primitive' in Facebook groups.

I saw a thread where like 30 people said Silver Age art is unreadable, but then they praise Frank Miller's Dark Knight which has chunky blocky figures too. Are we gatekeeping the past or do you think older art actually aged poorly compared to modern hyper-detailed stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_riley16d ago

I remember a guy in a Facebook group saying Jack Kirby's art looked like "a five year old drew it" and that REALLY bothered me. Kirby literally created the visual language of superhero comics, every big panel you see today has his DNA in it. Calling it primitive is missing the point, those older artists were working with tight deadlines and basic printing tech, not modern digital tools. Frank Miller's art gets praised for the same kind of raw energy people trash Kirby for, it's just a double standard. Older art might not have all the little details but it has a POWER and a style that stands on its own.

williamhill15d ago

Nodding hard at this, the Frank Miller comparison is spot on. People will frame Kirby's stuff as messy or childish but Miller's whole Dark Knight Returns run has that same jagged, raw feel and it's called "groundbreaking." It's like people just refuse to see the context, the man was pumping out a whole universe on a typewriter with a brush in his hand. That "five year old" take is just lazy, it ignores the sheer force of a double page spread where Doom or Galactus is just filling the frame. Simplicity isn't a flaw when it's carrying that much weight.

terry_thomas15d ago

Honestly, @the_riley, you hit it right on the head with that "five year old" comment. People who say that just don't get how hard those guys worked with old school tools and tiny deadlines. Calling it primitive is so unfair, especially when Frank Miller gets a pass for the exact same kind of wild energy. Kirby was making this big, explosive stuff that no one had seen before, and it still looks powerful today because of how bold and simple it is. It's not about the little details, it's about the feeling you get when you look at a page. Double standard for sure.