Alex Ross' Justice

[thatdandydinty]

Anybody following the new Alex Ross series, JLA:Justice ??

I just finished the first issue and it is looking to be another grandslam series for Ross. any thoughts?

 

[Lynx]

I really liked it. Bascially, all it is is a mature Superfriends vs Legion of Doom.

 

[Dr.Strangefate]

Its essentially "All-Star Justice League of America" just called something different.

It looks great, but will read better once its all out.

 

[moonmaster]

I'll probably be picking the first issue up at some point....

 

[Patriot Mk2]

The first issue rocked.The Apocalypse sequence was just beautifull, along withe underwater scenes. The Aquaman/Black Manta fight was just brutal, you'd never see that on tv.....and Luthor looks fairly overweight.

 

[Hello Meg It's Jon]

Looked wonderful and about time he did something like this, I have difficulty accepting his great paintings as comic art though.

 

[thatdandydinty]

what do you mean?

you think it is almost too good to be done as sequential comic art?

if that is so personally, i think it is about time somebody actually is doing something so beautiful that mainstreamers are stopping and going "wow comics are an art form"

 

[mutantfreak]

Is it only me who doesn't like Alex Ross that much? I don't like his realistic stile, it's too realistic. When he draws spider-man you see spideys costume all lose and crumbled, almost as it was a swet shirt. I think he over uses photographic references and his superheroes end up looking like ordinary people in costumes. His superman looks old. I love when he works on Jim Lee's pencils though.

 

[thatdandydinty]

hmmm.

i'm completely in love with his style. Especially his handling of superman. i read his stuff and feel completely transported into it. My favorite (obviously) is his green lantern! his vintage rockwell style is just so suited to the era that he draws from, the silver age, that it gives it this mix of realism, while still feeling like it is that golden era of the post world war 2 baby boom. it has this pure feeling to his style that i really dig

 

[ourchair]

Is it only me who doesn't like Alex Ross that much? I don't like his realistic stile, it's too realistic. When he draws spider-man you see spideys costume all lose and crumbled, almost as it was a swet shirt. I think he over uses photographic references and his superheroes end up looking like ordinary people in costumes. His superman looks old. I love when he works on Jim Lee's pencils though.

You're not the only one. I do think the man is a competent artist, but the fact that he's now considered one of the definitive visual interpreters of DC characters really annoys me.

I mean as one writer put it, "Yes, stiffly posed, realistic paintings of people in funny costumes sure are a breathtaking and revolutionary development in art…THAT IS IF you lived in Northern Europe 600 years ago."

It's also rumored that he's got an ego that's as large as Kurt Busiek's sense of humility.

 

[marvelman]

Alex Ross = great silver age painter, which is the era he loves most.

Alex Ross NOT=a good modern age painter; he does overdo the photo ref.

 

[thee great one]

I agree. I never really liked Ross either.

 

[Dr.Strangefate]

Me Neither.

His stuff fit beautifully with Marvels and with Kingdom Come.... but It's not Comic Book art. And he acts like his oppinions are more important than anyone in the industry, and demands creative control over his stuff, regardless of his blatant inability to write dialogue.

Thats why he and Mark Waid got soooo pissed off at eachother, Alex Ross tried to take ALL the credit for Kingdom Come, when the exact same script in the hands of any other competant artist would have made the book just as amazing.

He's good for a poster every now and then, like the Crisis on Infinite Earths super painting, which he rightfully considers to be his Sistine Chapel... I mean, he does good stuff, but Alex Ross does not = Good.

And the fact that he had the nerve to diss the upcoming superman movie because his idea of a Clark Kent (Smallville's Tom Welling) didn't make it... *shrug* I respect his work, not him.

 

[Hello Meg It's Jon]

I am in no way saying that it alex ross is tooooooo good to be used as comic art!!!

Crikey - I prefer most well crafted comic art over all other forms of art.

The point I was making, which has been supported sme what by other members, is that it is not true "comic art".

Jae Lee may have a style which many dislike but his "paintingesque" style is a better blend of "so-called real art" and "comic art".

The likes of Steve Rude are closer to "comic art" though.

 

[ourchair]

Well I think the idea that something painterly is somehow less "comic art" is complete bunk.

And again, I don't mean to be annoyingly reasonable, but I think the exact division between Waid and Ross over who contributed what to Kingdom Come will never be known to us.

For us to presume that somehow Ross is claiming credit we think he does not deserve is kinda like saying that Jack Kirby had no right to hold a grudge against Stan Lee.

If anything, it's the fans who willingly consume his work in such an uncritical fashion that are annoying. The covers that Alex Ross creates and the work he does seem to be a means for people to cover up their internalized embarassment.

As Kevin Beaucoup writes:

"The people that go towards things with Alex Ross covers generally don't want to read older comics - they want to feel like they're getting in touch with some sort of pseudo-art that's ponderous and important. Superhero comics, while culturally significant as a genre and a great deal of fun when done properly are not, in fact, important a good 99.95% of the time. It's not enough to tell your audience that something is important because it's drawn in a dark, brooding style and some rape happens within; you have to give them more.

So, it's not enough that heroes wives have to go and get the Law And Order: SVU treatment. Now we have to make sure that people go "Oh my god, this comic is important because that Alex Ross painted that cover and he's a real ****ing artist" in order to get more sales on a title that is going to do gangbusters anyway because it's Geoff Johns doing Hal Jordan?"

 

[Patriot Mk2]

I like his stuff?

The guy himself is a dick, but I like the art. It conveys an epic feel that I adore, and, once in a while, can be a real treat. Kingdom Come, Justice, the current JSA covers, Earth X as a project in general.

If anything, it's the fans who willingly consume his work in such an uncritical fashion that are annoying. The covers that Alex Ross creates and the work he does seem to be a means for people to cover up their internalized embarassment.

Care to explain?I wasn't embarassed at all to pick up Justice#1, or to read it. I was excited to do both, so how was I "covering up my internalized embarassment?"

 

[Bass]

I like Alex Ross and think the works he's involved with that I've got; Kingdom Come, the Earth X trilogy, and Justice, are all very entertaining (though, it is a bit early for Justice). As for his art - I like it because not only is it well crafted and competent, but it is distinctive and honest (not 'oooh, they look real' honest, but they feel true to who they represent).

It seems to me most criticisms about his work seems to be about his personality, while any criticisms of his art are subjective and buried underneath snide remarks.

I don't really have much opinion on Alex Ross as a man, and I don't pick up comics that he just did the cover for (only Adam Hughes does it for me), but in my opinion, Kingdom Come was an intelligent story about mass production and the entertainment industry, and the Earth X trilogy was a powerful spiritual journey into the meaning of life. If only 0.05% comics are important, Alex Ross has done his fair share.

 

[moonmaster]

I don't agree with a lot of what Ross says (He called Spider-Man 2 "really dumb" yet he contributed tons of artwork too it. :x ) but he's a damn good artist.

 

[Bass]

But... Spider-Man 2 was really dumb. Anyone want to give me that transcript from the recent Wizard issue? Scan it in so I can read it? Huh? Huh? Anyone?

 

[moonmaster]

But... Spider-Man 2 was really dumb. Anyone want to give me that transcript from the recent Wizard issue? Scan it in so I can read it? Huh? Huh? Anyone?

I was upset when everybody kept saying "Spider-Man 2" was the best comic book movie of all time. Because I kept thinking, 'Oh guys you don't realize how dumb this movie is.' You're not going to be able to say that in five years. This is a really dumb script. The things these people are saying to each other are dumb. You need some perspective.

I'm not mad that he said Spider-Man 2 was dumb (though I disagree), its just that he painted the opening art in the frickin' movie! If it was so terrible he shouldn't have done the movie.

He also hated The Hulk (I'll give him that one), Star Wars Ep. III (Yep.), and Sin City (Jackass). And he got all pissed about Superman Returns because the costume is "clearly something he would not have envisioned."

I kinda wish I hadn't read the article.