Nooo! I honestly love the artwork of After the Fall because it's so moody/atmospheric. It's really dark and gritty but also has a glamorous element to it.
All of those examples were from Urru. I'm pretty much just complaining about Mooney and Runge.
But I also have issues with the art of AtF except Urru. Sometimes it's so bad (because characters only have a dot for eyes/nose/mouse and no facial features) it completely take me out.
Exactly this. The story is SO damn good, but a couple of those issues are just rough. I find myself consciously stopping at nearly every panel to gawk at how much better it could have been.
I love Urru's style. Of all of them he has the best sense of background and atmosphere; however, his likenesses (or lack of them) often frustrate me. The colouring in his work is also often not to my liking - like why does everyone's skin have this weird olive-grey look? I don't much like Runge's work. It often feels quite flat (though perhaps that may have more to do with the colourist than the penciller - I dunno how much collaboration there is on this. Either way, it's horribly bland) and while sometimes he does some good facial work, other times it's like he just can't be bothered to put in those few extra lines to give a character's face depth, especially if the panel is depicting anything further than a close-up.
I think Urru's best trait is his ability to capture mood and atmosphere. Runge and Mooney are simply missing that. It's like their panels are just people standing next to eachother, with random lines all over their faces.
I agree that Urru's likenesses aren't great, but I think he's fully aware of that. If sacrificing realism for a more kinetic and functional approach is what it takes, I'm fine with being a little confused about some of the faces. And honestly, I'd much rather have an artist that has a more traditional comic book style that eschews perfect likenesses rather than an artist that tries
really hard to get it right, but just can't do it. I'm stuck worrying about the quality of the artwork, instead of it just taking me along for the ride.
I can't believe you don't like Mooney, though! I think he has a gift not just likenesses, but a authentic character facial expressions. I love the high contrast style of his art too, although I guess it may not be too everyone's liking.
Yea, I can't stand him. I really find it hard to get through any of his issues. I just think he uses way too many lines, and doesn't give the interiors nearly enough work. Everything looks half-assed to me. Just bland characters, standing in front of bland backgrounds. It doesn't help that the colors are just truly awful on his issues.
