I was thinking about a comic book artist this morning while reading a comic, I was curious if they ever had a trademark anytime they draw. Anytime you look at something you can really tell by the person drawing no matter how big or small it may be. 
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Iām a little confused. Are you asking whether they have legal trademark rights to their work, or about artists who have a signature stylistic element in their artwork?
The former: I imagine the artistsā contracts with DC stipulate that DC retains all trademark rights. Wouldnāt want another Captain Marvel fiasco.
The latter: It can be easy to ignore the artist a lot of the time, but then sometimes you see a change between two good artists with similar styles, and thereās still a huge difference. For example, during Mark Waidās run on JLA, the switch from Howard Porter to Bryan Hitch is very noticeable. A lot of thatās in the coloring, but Porterās style is also a lot more expressive and lighter on the linework compared to Hitchās. But as for specific artistic traits that Iād characterize as the artistās ātrademark,ā the only thing that jumps to mind is Kirby Dots.
Iām sorry, I shouldāve been more clearer, I was reading Batman Fugitive story and in a panel, I see a little Batman doll by Rick Burrett, (I may have spell the name wrong), So I was thinking maybe every comic artist has their own āpropā tradmark, it can be anything what they draw, like Mike Paraobeck, his tradmark almost always giving his charaters a suprise reaction. Each artist are talented, Iām always amazed by how they draw, Iām sorry for confusing anybody.
Signature style is what I meant.
Steve Rude likes to sneak science fiction characters into his work-- especially Space Ghost.
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George Perez draws noises in a very particular way. Most Gary Frank characters have a super thin upper lip.
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Noses, not noises
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Most great artists have a distinctive style thatās usually a blend of their various influences, filtered through their own unique perspective. When I look at Walt Simonsonās work for instance I see traces of Jack Kirby and Gil Kane and almost every artist who went through the Kubert School seems to channel Joe Kubert at some point but you can usually tell their work at a glance once youāve looked at it long enough (even though I can never keep Adam and Andy Kubertās names straight Iād never confuse their art work).
There are also artists who are known for specific things. Steve Ditkoās use of the 9 panel grid, for instance, or George Perezā ability to stuff a panel with half the population of a given universe without the page ever looking too busy.
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I can aways tell Alex Ross art The old set of The daily show had Alex artwork as a backdrop
Same goes with or by Jim Lee
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I can always recognize Jim Lee art because itās badass.
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