I have, for what it's worth, been collecting comics actively for thirty years now. And here are two truths:
1. Writer and artists never get the same amount of respect at any given time.
2. There are periods when writers dominate. There are times when artist dominate.
3. The contribution of writers vs. artists has (and always will) vary from title to title (and over time).
Okay, that was three truths.
I think it's fair to be sure and mention both writer and artists in reviewing a given comic. Sometimes I'll include the inker and colorist (rarely the letterer) in that, if I think they've been an integral part of the creation. (And that's sometimes difficult to tell, especially if there are creative discussions going on behind the scenes we aren't privy to.)
But sometimes, the writer is, in fact, more important. Sometimes the draw (so to speak) is the artist. Many times it's both, whether the book is full-scripted or Marvel scripted. It's messy, as any collaboration tends to be.
For myself, there are certain writers I will pick up regardless of the artist. There are some artists who will act as a serious incentive to get a particular book. It's not quite the same thing, to be sure, and if I had to (unfairly) balance it, I'd say it's 60-40 writer-vs-artist as being important to a book (on the assumption that each are creating semi-independently and not actually collaborating on the story). But that's just me.
Creative work together, like in the movies, is a difficult thing to parse out. How much of what you see and love in a given movie is the director (who often gets a lion's share) vs the writer(s) vs the actors vs the cinematographers? Pointing at any given comic as being strictly the product of a writer (and ignoring the art staff, as well as editorial) is 90% of the time going to be unjust, but the same is true for pointing at any given individual.
If, at the present time, the writers are getting the bulk of the credit … well, I'll nod back to the equally unjust Image glory days, where more than one of the artists involved made it quite clear that, as a visual medium, the art was far more important than the story (and went on to work just that way). Neither is a good situation, but this, too, shall pass.
Does anyone care about the artists on comics any more?
Yet another discussion of what happened to the artist being the big dogs of comics, and a chance to make your feelings known via a survey!
I do they are amazing people
I love comics
How would the writing be perceptive to all if the drawing wasn't there?
+Sue Cameron Writing without art is text. Art without writing is pin-ups. Bad writing will drive me from a title a lot more quickly than bad art.
That said, when they two mesh together, it can be awesome, and certainly artists should get credit for their work when talking about comics.
Nice commented