Posted by KB on June 1, 2010
In a bit of recent online scuttlebutt, the name of Mad Men lead Jon Hamm came up in connection to the casting of Marvel's upcoming Captain America movie. The chap credited with this rather inspired notion, was comic book artist Alex Ross.
Ross shot to prominence more than a decade ago. The Portland-born illustrator's instantly recognisable, and instantly iconic, depictions of many of the world's most famous superheroes were (and remain) a thing to behold. 'Cause as his rather canny 'Don Draper as superhero' observation kinda suggests, Alex Ross is a dude who thinks about bone structure. A lot. His versions of Supes and Batman et al, actually look like people. Enviably broad shouldered, really really good-looking people, to be sure. But people all the same.
Early on in his career, Ross dispensed with comics publishing's long established and almost universally subscribed m.o. (pencil artwork, overlaid with black ink, then coloured. Three separate processes, often undertaken by three separate practitioners.) In its place he applied water colours, replacing comics' hyperactive, often unlikely proportions, with something akin to photorealism. At times he seems to owe a certain something to the Saturday Evening Post's Norman Rockwell. It is classic American illustration, shot through with nostalgia. Much of the time it looks freakin' awesome.
This volume collects Ross' pencil sketch work for numerous DC Comics projects over the years. We get thumbnail sketches, page layouts, cover art, character designs, story proposals (a remarkable number of them rejected, interestingly enough). Given Ross's ability with a paint brush, Rough Justice probably isn't the greatest introduction to the man's talents (for that, skip straight to the 1996 graphic novel, Kingdom Come), but then, it isn't really meant to be. This is aimed squarely at the boffin, and it's a treasure trove, crammed with remarkable compositions and delightful, trainspotterish detail.
by Geoff Kerrigan
Rough Justice: The DC Comics Sketches of Alex Ross is available now from Titan Publishing.
alex ross, dc comics, books, superman, batman