Superman & Batman: Generations III #11

DC Comics
Superman & Batman: Generations III #11
By Leroy Douresseaux
January 18, 2004 - 14:52

DC Comics
Writer(s): John Byrne
Penciller(s): John Byrne
Cover Artist(s): John Byrne

For my examination of the closing chapters of John Byrne's DC Elseworlds maxi-series SUPERMAN & BATMAN: GENERATIONS III, I'll scrutinize Byrne's art as the focus of this review of #11. For most of the last decade or so, a vociferous minority (partly lead by useless comic rag magazine WIZARD) has decried the alleged disintegration of Byrne's drawing skills.

The truth of the matter is that while more and more young artists focus on every bell and whistle they can use to draw a comic page, John is a savvy veteran of three decades of drawing comics. By now he obviously knows the short cuts, tricks, and visual shorthand that can tell a story with as much (if not more) power as heavily detailed and worried over illustrations. Byrne's art relies on the sway of suggestion, of something being representational rather than "looking realistic."

Perhaps realizing that he was working with a talented colorist in Alex Sinclair, Byrne made use of a good collaborator. In G3's art, he clearly dictates form, but shares the shaping of the art with Sinclair, to whom the responsibility of creating texture in the art falls. JB made some interesting choices in this series. He's line work is clear and loose while also seeming wild but concise - the sign of an artist who's not worried about criticism. Here's to the hope that he keeps playing with the choices he made in this series.
[DRECK, DULL, READABLE, PRETTY GOOD, EXCELLENT]