Cary Nord

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Jaknife
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Cary Nord

Post by Jaknife »

I'm late to the game, currently reading X-O Manowar #14. Nord is in no way a bad artist, but seems just average. I'm not inspired or wow-ed by anything yet. I love the story. The Vine are a great update to the Spider aliens, and loam has had some great moments. But the art still holds me back from truly loving it. The classic X-O armor looked so cool as it wrapped around Aric.
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Vs.

Image


The difference to me is enormous.

Energy sword is really badass though
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Jaknife »

Hooboy, didn't realize that second image was that big.
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Shadowman99 »

Hopefully the story quality is enjoyable enough to keep you reading the comic regardless of your gripes with Nord's work. Other artists draw on the book too and (from memory) some do the whole armour-wrapping thing much better than others.
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Phoenix8008 »

Shadowman99 wrote:Hopefully the story quality is enjoyable enough to keep you reading the comic regardless of your gripes with Nord's work. Other artists draw on the book too and (from memory) some do the whole armour-wrapping thing much better than others.
What he said.
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Jaknife »

Shadowman99 wrote:Hopefully the story quality is enjoyable enough to keep you reading the comic...
Definitely. I've enjoyed a lot of the rebooted titles so far.
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by nycjadie »

Admittedly, not his best work, but I'm a huge Cary Nord fan.

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Re: Cary Nord

Post by greg »

nycjadie wrote:Admittedly, not his best work, but I'm a huge Cary Nord fan.
It's hard not to be, when there are more X-O Manowar pages like this:
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by DirtbagSailor »

Cary Nord's work is stylalized and visually unique, and in no way a traditional house style.

I respect and admire Nord's work (and own several iconic pieces of his work). I do prefer Doug Braithwaite's work on X-O Manowar (see Unity #1), and the previews for Tomas Giorello's work on the upcoming X-O Manowar #1 look incredible.

Additionally, Clayton Crain is more than capable of creating a masterpiece with X-O Manowar in space and on different worlds. CAFU's work on the 25th Anniversary Special was as clean as it was flawless.

Cary Nord would be fantastic on Divinity perhaps or the Eternal Warrior. His work on Days of Steel was quality work.

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Re: Cary Nord

Post by jmatt »

And to be fair, I think you're comparing cover art with interior art. Cover art gets more effort and has a lot more space for detail.

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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Sven the Returned »

Jaknife wrote:Hooboy, didn't realize that second image was that big.
Aric has a serious bush. I guess he never shaved in a thousand years.

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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Shadowman99 »

Sven the Returned wrote:
Jaknife wrote:Hooboy, didn't realize that second image was that big.
Aric has a serious bush. I guess he never shaved in a thousand years.
Actually, yeah - where did the bear pelt pants come from? I don't remember him ever wearing anything like that in the comic :lol:
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by ShadowTuga »

greg wrote:
nycjadie wrote:Admittedly, not his best work, but I'm a huge Cary Nord fan.
It's hard not to be, when there are more X-O Manowar pages like this:
Image
Image
I so LOVE these pages. Cary is simply awesome.
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Jaknife »

jmatt wrote:And to be fair, I think you're comparing cover art with interior art. Cover art gets more effort and has a lot more space for detail.
Yeah, the classic picture was just the best I could find on google.


And yes, The legend of Shanhara was beautifully done.
So I don't mean to dog on it totally. It just feels very sketch-y a lot of times.
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by greg »

Jaknife wrote:
jmatt wrote:And to be fair, I think you're comparing cover art with interior art. Cover art gets more effort and has a lot more space for detail.
Yeah, the classic picture was just the best I could find on google.


And yes, The legend of Shanhara was beautifully done.
So I don't mean to dog on it totally. It just feels very sketch-y a lot of times.
You may be right that the art isn't always completely "finished", but there is the possibility that the "sketchy" panels are on purpose. History books speak of the Roman/Visigoth battles, and those are beautiful panels when they look like scenes from a history book. Only the narrator knows Aric's background, and may not know what he wore. Sketchy details, sketchy art. Then for the origin of Shanhara, the story is literally a tale of worship for the vine... reflected in the detail of the art... like scenes from a holy book.

Could the circumstances of the story guide the circumstances of the art? Maybe.

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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Shadowman99 »

greg wrote:
Jaknife wrote:
jmatt wrote:And to be fair, I think you're comparing cover art with interior art. Cover art gets more effort and has a lot more space for detail.
Yeah, the classic picture was just the best I could find on google.


And yes, The legend of Shanhara was beautifully done.
So I don't mean to dog on it totally. It just feels very sketch-y a lot of times.
Could the circumstances of the story guide the circumstances of the art? Maybe.
And this is why comics are wicked :thumb:
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Sunlight on Snow »

You better keep reading! Some of the best story arcs are still ahead and the artists are changing from arc to arc anyway.

Cary Nord's art on issue #19 is totally different (watercolors) including a pretty cool fist fight! Then issues #20-22 have Nord doing the layouts and Cifuentes the finishes/pencils along with colors by Arreloa with a totally different result, too. And after that arc you will only see Nord on issues #25 and 50 again, as most of the latter issues are drawn by Diego Bernard and Rafa Sandoval, IIRC.

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Re: Cary Nord

Post by jeremycoe »

Cary Nord might just be my favorite X-O artist. Everyone has different favorites (as well they should).
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Jaknife »

Holy smokes! I take back anything bad I said about Nord. A million miles ahead of Ming Doyle. Just finished Quantum and Woody 1-8. Fowler was fantastic. Asmus and Fowler was possibly my favorite team for that brief moment, but Doyle... Hooboy. Like a Deviantart fan comic. Just bad.

Here's a question: Why has Valiant traded off artists so frequently on their books? May not be the case for all the titles, but I can't think of a single artist lasting more than 6 issues so far.
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Sunlight on Snow »

Jaknife wrote:Holy smokes! I take back anything bad I said about Nord. A million miles ahead of Ming Doyle. Just finished Quantum and Woody 1-8. Fowler was fantastic. Asmus and Fowler was possibly my favorite team for that brief moment, but Doyle... Hooboy. Like a Deviantart fan comic. Just bad.

Here's a question: Why has Valiant traded off artists so frequently on their books? May not be the case for all the titles, but I can't think of a single artist lasting more than 6 issues so far.
Ming Doyle's sketchy style isn't the perfect fit for Q&W. I didn't really like the art in the second arc either.

Only a few Valiant series have regular artists:
  • Divinity Vol. I-III (by Hairsine & Winn)
  • Doctor Mirage Vol. 1 & 2 (by De La Torre)
  • Harbinger: Renegade (by Darrick Robertson... first two arcs, at least)
  • Rai #1-12 and then 4001 AD (by Clayton Crain)
Why is Valiant doing this? Perhaps so you keep reading regardless of someone's style you don't appreciate very much (names like Nord or Doyle come to mind). Some readers may not like the frequent change of artists but it does help keeping it fresh. It is a nice bonus to see a series and its main character/s being drawn by different talents - everyone has a different approach - and many stories take place in different locations and times. It makes sense to let them look different, too.

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Re: Cary Nord

Post by tchalla8 »

Sunlight on Snow wrote:
Jaknife wrote:Holy smokes! I take back anything bad I said about Nord. A million miles ahead of Ming Doyle. Just finished Quantum and Woody 1-8. Fowler was fantastic. Asmus and Fowler was possibly my favorite team for that brief moment, but Doyle... Hooboy. Like a Deviantart fan comic. Just bad.

Here's a question: Why has Valiant traded off artists so frequently on their books? May not be the case for all the titles, but I can't think of a single artist lasting more than 6 issues so far.
Ming Doyle's sketchy style isn't the perfect fit for Q&W. I didn't really like the art in the second arc either.

Only a few Valiant series have regular artists:
  • Divinity Vol. I-III (by Hairsine & Winn)
  • Doctor Mirage Vol. 1 & 2 (by De La Torre)
  • Harbinger: Renegade (by Darrick Robertson... first two arcs, at least)
  • Rai #1-12 and then 4001 AD (by Clayton Crain)
Why is Valiant doing this? Perhaps so you keep reading regardless of someone's style you don't appreciate very much (names like Nord or Doyle come to mind). Some readers may not like the frequent change of artists but it does help keeping it fresh. It is a nice bonus to see a series and its main character/s being drawn by different talents - everyone has a different approach - and many stories take place in different locations and times. It makes sense to let them look different, too.
I think it's more about the time it takes to draw an issue. The primary artist gets a head start on a series before it's released, but eventually it catches up them. Having a second artist in the wings for the next arc allows them to get ahead of the curve for arc two while the first artist finishes his arc. It's either that or the series goes on a temporary hiatus (Rai, for example) to allow the artist to get back ahead of the deadlines. For the most part, it just takes more than a month for an artist to draw an issue. It's a more detailed medium than it used to be.
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Phoenix8008 »

Sunlight on Snow wrote:
Jaknife wrote:Holy smokes! I take back anything bad I said about Nord. A million miles ahead of Ming Doyle. Just finished Quantum and Woody 1-8. Fowler was fantastic. Asmus and Fowler was possibly my favorite team for that brief moment, but Doyle... Hooboy. Like a Deviantart fan comic. Just bad.

Here's a question: Why has Valiant traded off artists so frequently on their books? May not be the case for all the titles, but I can't think of a single artist lasting more than 6 issues so far.
Ming Doyle's sketchy style isn't the perfect fit for Q&W. I didn't really like the art in the second arc either.
Ming Doyle's art 'style' doesn't seem like a good fit for anything that I would choose to pay money for. Or anything that a publisher should pay out any money for. No, I can't draw even as good as Ming Doyle, but I don't try and get paid for work like that in professional comics either.
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Sunlight on Snow »

tchalla8 wrote:
Sunlight on Snow wrote:
Jaknife wrote:Holy smokes! I take back anything bad I said about Nord. A million miles ahead of Ming Doyle. Just finished Quantum and Woody 1-8. Fowler was fantastic. Asmus and Fowler was possibly my favorite team for that brief moment, but Doyle... Hooboy. Like a Deviantart fan comic. Just bad.

Here's a question: Why has Valiant traded off artists so frequently on their books? May not be the case for all the titles, but I can't think of a single artist lasting more than 6 issues so far.
Ming Doyle's sketchy style isn't the perfect fit for Q&W. I didn't really like the art in the second arc either.

Only a few Valiant series have regular artists:
  • Divinity Vol. I-III (by Hairsine & Winn)
  • Doctor Mirage Vol. 1 & 2 (by De La Torre)
  • Harbinger: Renegade (by Darrick Robertson... first two arcs, at least)
  • Rai #1-12 and then 4001 AD (by Clayton Crain)
Why is Valiant doing this? Perhaps so you keep reading regardless of someone's style you don't appreciate very much (names like Nord or Doyle come to mind). Some readers may not like the frequent change of artists but it does help keeping it fresh. It is a nice bonus to see a series and its main character/s being drawn by different talents - everyone has a different approach - and many stories take place in different locations and times. It makes sense to let them look different, too.
I think it's more about the time it takes to draw an issue. The primary artist gets a head start on a series before it's released, but eventually it catches up them. Having a second artist in the wings for the next arc allows them to get ahead of the curve for arc two while the first artist finishes his arc. It's either that or the series goes on a temporary hiatus (Rai, for example) to allow the artist to get back ahead of the deadlines. For the most part, it just takes more than a month for an artist to draw an issue. It's a more detailed medium than it used to be.
Totally. How could I not think of this? facepalm

I do believe Crain is one of the big exceptions though. His art is exceptional. Many other artists may very well be able to draw 20+ pages a month. From a publisher's perspective it makes sense to stay ahead of schedule and give your exclusive artists 5-6 months for a four-issue story arc.

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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Sunlight on Snow »

Phoenix8008 wrote:
Sunlight on Snow wrote:
Jaknife wrote:Holy smokes! I take back anything bad I said about Nord. A million miles ahead of Ming Doyle. Just finished Quantum and Woody 1-8. Fowler was fantastic. Asmus and Fowler was possibly my favorite team for that brief moment, but Doyle... Hooboy. Like a Deviantart fan comic. Just bad.

Here's a question: Why has Valiant traded off artists so frequently on their books? May not be the case for all the titles, but I can't think of a single artist lasting more than 6 issues so far.
Ming Doyle's sketchy style isn't the perfect fit for Q&W. I didn't really like the art in the second arc either.
Ming Doyle's art 'style' doesn't seem like a good fit for anything that I would choose to pay money for. Or anything that a publisher should pay out any money for. No, I can't draw even as good as Ming Doyle, but I don't try and get paid for work like that in professional comics either.
That's very harsh! Doyle's style didn't bother me while reading The Kitchen (Vertigo) and it looks great on Mara (Image).

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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Phoenix8008 »

Sunlight on Snow wrote:
Phoenix8008 wrote:
Sunlight on Snow wrote:
Jaknife wrote:Holy smokes! I take back anything bad I said about Nord. A million miles ahead of Ming Doyle. Just finished Quantum and Woody 1-8. Fowler was fantastic. Asmus and Fowler was possibly my favorite team for that brief moment, but Doyle... Hooboy. Like a Deviantart fan comic. Just bad.

Here's a question: Why has Valiant traded off artists so frequently on their books? May not be the case for all the titles, but I can't think of a single artist lasting more than 6 issues so far.
Ming Doyle's sketchy style isn't the perfect fit for Q&W. I didn't really like the art in the second arc either.
Ming Doyle's art 'style' doesn't seem like a good fit for anything that I would choose to pay money for. Or anything that a publisher should pay out any money for. No, I can't draw even as good as Ming Doyle, but I don't try and get paid for work like that in professional comics either.
That's very harsh! Doyle's style didn't bother me while reading The Kitchen (Vertigo) and it looks great on Mara (Image).
To each their own. I haven't seen Doyle's art anywhere else to compare it to this, but based on the potato car and the floating plane in Q&W, I'm not in that much of a rush to see it elsewhere. Not my cup o' tea, I guess.
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Re: Cary Nord

Post by Sunlight on Snow »

Phoenix8008 wrote:To each their own. I haven't seen Doyle's art anywhere else to compare it to this, but based on the potato car and the floating plane in Q&W, I'm not in that much of a rush to see it elsewhere. Not my cup o' tea, I guess.
Aw, man, I think you'd love all the flying objects in Mara. :P


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