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I Hate Alex Ross - The Anti-superhero Artist


Dolphin-Snagger

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I've never been that big of a fan of DC, but I've always had a certain amount of love for it's lower-tier characters, Batman's a wimp, Superman's an idiot, Hal Jordan's an #$###, Wonder Woman's useless, but characters like the Flash, Aquaman, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, the ones that managed to actually have some damn personality without making them unworthy of breathing, so ocasionally, I'll pick up a DC comic book, and I've come to realize Alex Ross is the devil. When he does Superhero art, he makes them human, and I find it utterly deplorable, he doesn't make Superman a superman, he makes him a muscley old dude, and worst of all, he doesn't make Wonder Woman that forever 29 year-old uber-attractive lady, we all know she is and forever will be, he makes her a muscley forty year old saggy thing. The way he does Superheroes simply makes it obvious why movie-makers feel the need to "update" the look of their star, because you put a normal human being in a costume like Superman's and it isn't heroic, inspiring, it's simply pathetic, going to Marvel for a moment, Wolverine can look extremely bad ass wearing that uber uncool Yellow and blue suit (I don't have a problem with it, but you translate it no matter how acurately to real life, and you've just got a dork.) but you put a real person inside that costume, and in that exact same scene, and you've just got a joke.

 

 

This doesn't really have a direction, or any real meaning, it's just Alex Ross is the devil.

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100% disagreement with all these sentiments.

 

I think Ross is the biggest breath of fresh air the comics industry has seen in the past 20 years.

I think he's lent his skills to some of the most iconic representations of superheroes done to date.

His DC "portfolio" book, Mythology has some incredible artwork.

 

Me thinks you've not yet peered into that particular tome.

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100% disagreement with all these sentiments.

 

I think Ross is the biggest breath of fresh air the comics industry has seen in the past 20 years.

I think he's lent his skills to some of the most iconic representations of superheroes done to date.

His DC "portfolio" book, Mythology has some incredible artwork.

 

Me thinks you've not yet peered into that particular tome.

I completely agree with you Ken! Well said!

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His DC "portfolio" book, Mythology has some incredible artwork.

Yeah that's so true, to me it's been nice seeing something different. Most comics that try to be different just make the characters look very cartoony and well Alex stuff just look fresh compared to that.

 

I'm not saying I would want every comic to use his style, cause I really wouldnt, that would be too much....but it's still a nice change.

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I've never been that big of a fan of DC, but I've always had a certain amount of love for it's lower-tier characters, Batman's a wimp, Superman's an idiot, Hal Jordan's an #$###, Wonder Woman's useless, but characters like the Flash, Aquaman, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, the ones that managed to actually have some damn personality without making them unworthy of breathing, so ocasionally, I'll pick up a DC comic book, and I've come to realize Alex Ross is the devil. When he does Superhero art, he makes them human, and I find it utterly deplorable, he doesn't make Superman a superman, he makes him a muscley old dude, and worst of all, he doesn't make Wonder Woman that forever 29 year-old uber-attractive lady, we all know she is and forever will be, he makes her a muscley forty year old saggy thing. The way he does Superheroes simply makes it obvious why movie-makers feel the need to "update" the look of their star, because you put a normal human being in a costume like Superman's and it isn't heroic, inspiring, it's simply pathetic, going to Marvel for a moment, Wolverine can look extremely bad ass wearing that uber uncool Yellow and blue suit (I don't have a problem with it, but you translate it no matter how acurately to real life, and you've just got a dork.) but you put a real person inside that costume, and in that exact same scene, and you've just got a joke.

 

 

This doesn't really have a direction, or any real meaning, it's just Alex Ross is the devil.

Alex Ross has some nice art talents

However I do agree with u that Superhero costumes cant really 100% be transfered to movies.They always need to be updated or the character will look like a dork.

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I've never been that big of a fan of DC, but I've always had a certain amount of love for it's lower-tier characters, Batman's a wimp, Superman's an idiot, Hal Jordan's an #$###, Wonder Woman's useless, but characters like the Flash, Aquaman, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, the ones that managed to actually have some damn personality without making them unworthy of breathing, so ocasionally, I'll pick up a DC comic book, and I've come to realize Alex Ross is the devil.  When he does Superhero art, he makes them human, and I find it utterly deplorable, he doesn't make Superman a superman, he makes him a muscley old dude, and worst of all, he doesn't make Wonder Woman that forever 29 year-old uber-attractive lady, we all know she is and forever will be, he makes her a muscley forty year old saggy thing. The way he does Superheroes simply makes it obvious why movie-makers feel the need to "update" the look of their star, because you put a normal human being in a costume like Superman's and it isn't heroic, inspiring, it's simply pathetic, going to Marvel for a moment, Wolverine can look extremely bad ass wearing that uber uncool Yellow and blue suit (I don't have a problem with it, but you translate it no matter how acurately to real life, and you've just got a dork.) but you put a real person inside that costume, and in that exact same scene, and you've just got a joke.

 

 

This doesn't really have a direction, or any real meaning, it's just Alex Ross is the devil.

Alex Ross has some nice art talents

However I do agree with u that Superhero costumes cant really 100% be transfered to movies.They always need to be updated or the character will look like a dork.

Love Alex Ross so I too completely disagree with the first poster.

 

The Costumes DO transfer to the big screen (original Superman movie, Spiderman)......Its when they try to make them "real" with an update that there are problems (X-Men, Batman, just about any other super hero movie).

 

People go see super hero movies FOR (or to see) super heroes. People will accept them as they look in the comics.....thats how they are supposed to look, THEY ARE SUPER HEROES.

 

Just my two cents.

 

John

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Batman Begins and Spiderman 2 were both directly influenced by Ross's work--and those are arguably two of the better superhero films out there. Heck, Ross's artwork is even part of Spiderman 2's titles.

 

Ross also heavily influenced the fan-film by Sandy Collora--Batman: Deadend--also arguably one of the best renditions of Batman yet put to film.

Ross understands cinema and the human form, and has a deep abiding love for all things superheroic.

His work has gone a long way towards legitimizing superheroes with people that are not fully cognizant of the characters.

 

I mean, if one really wants something....ahem..............different, one could always feast their eyes upon the work of .........<cough>........Rob Liefeld.

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I'm torn because on the one hand I like the man's art, he is talented. On the other hand I cannot stand the man's ego. In every Ross magazine interview I have read- namely Wizard, he comes off as the biggest know-it-all there is, he just exudes this "my version is the best and everybody else is wrong" smug attitude. I also dislike Wizard's writing and editorial staff for feeding his ego by asking him a bunch of "state of the industry" questions and then printing his answers as "end-all-be-all, it must be right if Mr. Ross says so" bolony!

 

Whenever I see his art I think of the man behind the art and it makes what I'm looking at less enjoyable.

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Yeah this first poster is really out to lunch. Not only did Ross send a breth of fresh air, portraying superheros in an all new light but he raised the bar for art in comics. Some of the cover artiasts out there are amazingly talended and Ross raised the bar.

 

As to the comments about the superhero looking to old etc... i have to agreethat Ross followed his referance models a little too colosely at times, but theres NO doubt that he does super-awe-inspiring and iconic interpretations of these heroes.

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I love Alex;s art. I mean, i cringed when the Spiderman movie was being developed years ago since l strongly believed that his costume CANNOT be translated nicely in live action; Before the movie, all the costumes ppl wore durin costume parties and previous spiderman appearances in the media looked tacky.

 

However, I was awe that someone managed to make the costume cool on the big scene with subtle changes. I then realize that Alex Ross was in charge of character designs.

 

I started to love the "live" artwork that he and Greg Judge makes.

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Alex Ross has shown that superhero costumes can work in live action movies by making his artwork as believable as you can get. I see his art & truly can imagine those characters he draws being up on the big screen. As was stated here before, the costume that Sandy Collera chose for Batman: Deadend was inspired by Ross's version of Bats. & it's the best Batman costume ever put on film. Why DC couldn't use that costume for the Batman begins movie is a mystery? If it's the debut of the batman, that is the costume he shoulda sported & maybe by Batman 3, he coulda advanced to what he was wearing in this film. Just my 2 cents.

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Alex Ross has shown that superhero costumes can work in live action movies by making his artwork as believable as you can get. I see his art & truly can imagine those characters he draws being up on the big screen. As was stated here before, the costume that Sandy Collera chose for Batman: Deadend was inspired by Ross's version of Bats. & it's the best Batman costume ever put on film. Why DC couldn't use that costume for the Batman begins movie is a mystery? If it's the debut of the batman, that is the costume he shoulda sported & maybe by Batman 3, he coulda advanced to what he was wearing in this film. Just my 2 cents.

For me, the costume in Batman Dead End was one of the worse costumes of all. The only good part was the nice sclupt mask.

It really proves how silly Batman looks in spandex.

 

ps. I'm not the only one who hates the costume.Coz I saw a lot of negative feedbacks in other forums.

 

But that has nothing to do with Alex Ross's art.

His art's deffinately good and his paint/colouring is terrific.

Just check out the Countdown to Infinite Crisis cover he painted. It's just good!

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If there's someone that would get the mantle of "anti-superhero artist" from me it'd be Todd Macfarlane.

 

This might come as a suprise, considering I was the guy's assistant for a few months and I still think he's a good fellow.

 

But his art...............well.................blows chunks.

 

Alex Ross took the classic illustrative method of using live models and exagerating them to create his renditions. He made attractive people more attractive and used real-life personalities for some of them.

Anyone glancing at his Marvel's renditions of Russell Johnson as Mr. Fantastic, or Timothy Dalton as Iron Man knows that those "casting choices" just nail the characters.

That's Ross' strength and, perhaps, greatest contribution.

 

Todd, on the other hand, garnered a lot of press with ugliness.

When I look back at his Spiderman and early Spawn work I see a lot of grimy, ugly characters. I remember his first Spiderman issue--the one he was "owning" without the "amazing" or "spectacular" by-lines--and seeing his version of Mary Jane.

well, the poor gal was mascara sodden to the point she looked like she was hopelessly hooked on the plant that uses he very name as a moniker. Awful stuff.

Too many lines on the faces, too much hatching and cross-hatching.....it was less the cartoony nature of the drawing than the over-rendering of those drawings.

 

Sadly, Todd takes my least-favoured status because his worked spawned ( pun intended) a whole legion of copy-cat and derivative looks in many other artists.

The idea of classical anatomical figures became superceded by a cartoony "comic-book" exagerated human form.

 

Some might argue that Jack Kirby could be tagged with this as well, but Kirby, unlike those that followed him was gifted at classical drawing as well and did so with aplomb when called upon.

Macfarlance, Leifeld et al and their "students" have never really shown a understanding of classical form.

 

Guys like Ross, Adam Hughes, Bryan Hitch--all are very accomplished draughtsmen, in the traditional sense.

Because they have mastered the human forms, with appeal, they can convey qualities beyond the norm in their human characters.

Ross does more with a stance and a piercing gaze that most artists do with 22 pages of continuity.

 

I like cartoony styles too, but realistic stuff, when done right elevates the superhero image to a whole new plane.

Alex Ross can do it right.

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As to the comments about the superhero looking to old etc... i have to agreethat Ross followed his referance models a little too colosely at times, but theres NO doubt that he does super-awe-inspiring and iconic interpretations of these heroes.

yes, sometimes he makes them look old, but can´t bash him because of that!!! He gives textures, colors, dimensions so damn nice, i mean...just look at Jase´s Shazam image!!!

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As to the comments about the superhero looking to old etc... i have to agreethat Ross followed his referance models a little too colosely at times, but theres NO doubt that he does super-awe-inspiring and iconic interpretations of these heroes.

yes, sometimes he makes them look old, but can´t bash him because of that!!! He gives textures, colors, dimensions so damn nice, i mean...just look at Jase´s Shazam image!!!

Or these:

 

f54bdeaf.jpg

 

f54be116.jpg

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Hey I'll be the first to burn Superman comics with you, but dissing Batman's fighting words!

 

I don't like Alex Ross, at all, but I really can't get an amount of feeling to hate him. To me he is just ininspiring, not the devil.

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At least, Ross's art knows the concept of foreshortin and perceptive. Leifield's art, imo is awful. For ex, that Cable comic included with ml cable has terrible art. No backgrounds and some stuff looks funny. The way when two characters are standin, whereas they appear to be on different planes, but shouldn't and where Cable holds the spear.

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