Comments on: A Year of Cool Comic Book Moments – Day 327

By: Callum

Callum — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:44:53 +0000

Marvels is pretty awesome. I remember being a little disappointed by #4 though (but VERY little) and loving this issue (#2). I’m surprised no one’s brought back a grown version the little mutant girl Phil shelters. Did anybody read the non-Ross follow up? I held off on buying the monthlies of it.
I like Ross sometimes and sometimes I don’t, but now he mostly just does covers.

By: A.J.

A.J. — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:32:51 +0000

Looking at those pages again, Alex Ross’ art on the series isn’t as mind-blowing as I found it to be when I first read the trade paperback in the late 90s. It’s a bit softer and less realistic than I remembered, especially compared to Ross’ current work.

To be fair, I haven’t been blown away by Ross’ work in nearly a decade.

By: Dalarsco

Dalarsco — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:05:06 +0000

I love his work on covers most of the time, but his painted style is just too stiff for interiors most of the time.

By: wwk5d

wwk5d — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:40:27 +0000

“Personally, I love the fact that the old Bruce Wayne in KC looks like John Saxon!”

I thought he was modeled on Gregory Peck.

By: R3D RJ

R3D RJ — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:29:05 +0000

A Batman John Saxon kicks ass! =D

The grandest entrance ever in Marvels

By: benday-dot

benday-dot — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:40:45 +0000

I agree with Gavin Bell. I liked Marvels, but as much for the Kurt Busiek writing as for the Alex Ross art. The paintings are impressive at first, but then they begin to pale next to great classic line drawing. I didn’t much like Kingdom Come, and while Ross is nice to see on covers and the like, his style doesn’t come across as great comic book storytelling to me.

By: dantecat

dantecat — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:08:03 +0000

the Monkees were in Marvels, after all.

I think you meant the Monkees were in Kingdom Come, unless they were in Marvels too and I missed them.

By: JoeMac

JoeMac — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:33:41 +0000

Mary, Marvels is awesome. You should get the TPB. It is a gorgeous work of art and the story has a cool POV. It even made me see boring old Gwen Stacy in a new light.

By: Mary Warner

Mary Warner — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:15:28 +0000

I’ve never read Marvels. It didn’t sound that important when it was new, because I thought it would mostly be a simple retelling of old stories I mostly knew about already. (I don’t want to give the impression that I didn’t think it could be good; just that I had other things to buy with my limited amount of money, and I didn’t want to waste it on old stories from a new perspective.) I really wish I had got it. Everything I’ve heard makes it sound really great.
I like how that photographer is working for Bushkin, rather than Jameson. The Daily Globe was established really early in Marvel, but it never seemed to get used much, except for the brief time Peter Parker worked there. I know it ceased publication at the end of Parker’s time there (that’s why he had to return to the Bugle). Did it ever get revived?

By: Dan Lokhorst

Dan Lokhorst — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:58:38 +0000

Loved that book. Especially the part with the mutants. For modern readers it’s easy for us to say “dude, mutants are awesome,” but his story trying to contact the X-Men really gave you a feeling for why normal, rational would be afraid of mutants.

I’d to see a Marvel continuity set in real time, like it was presented in Marvels.

By: Richard J. Marcej

Richard J. Marcej — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:39:19 +0000

IMO, this was the perfect vehicle for Ross’s art style in a comic.

For a series that tried to tell the “man-in-the-street’s” POV and reaction to all those Silver Age Marvel stories I can’t imagine another artist or style that could have conveyed that perspective like Ross.

By: Blackjak

Blackjak — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:38:56 +0000

That Giant Man shot: AWESOME! I stared at the pages for ages when I first read the book.

Sure, Alex Ross may be a little overexposed these days, what with all his cover work, but Kingdom Come (which I actually read first!) and Marvels are both beautiful pieces of work.

As for the Photo-referencing, if you ever looked at his notes, it’s mostly for lighting reference and the way cloth hangs. Hardly any of his models look like the characters that end up on the page.

Personally, I love the fact that the old Bruce Wayne in KC looks like John Saxon!

By: Dean

Dean — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:15:54 +0000

I love photo referenced art in period stories. Telling a street level story about the Marvel Universe in the middle of the 20th century was a stroke of genius.

By: Da Fug

Da Fug — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:15:20 +0000

Yeah, I’m not much on Ross these days either. And his Batman looks old and flabby.

By: Brian Mac

Brian Mac — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:26:19 +0000

You never know…the Monkees were in Marvels, after all.

By: JoeMac

JoeMac — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:42:47 +0000

Batman was in Marvels?

By: Gavin Bell

Gavin Bell — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:34:51 +0000

I liked Alex Ross at first, but it’s a gimmick that’s wearing thin. The whole photo-referencing thing has gone way too far now. It worked for Marvels specifically, but it’s not really comic art, it’s closer to a photo-story.

Also, I HATE the way he draws Batman.

By: Enero

Enero — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:53:19 +0000

It is a real painting. It’s just put in comic book form. Comics like these show the non comic book world just how great the medium is. This and Astro City and Kingdom Come aren’t just examples of good comics, but good literature. To me, this storytelling is every bit as good as, or better than traditional fiction in novel form.

By: chad

chad — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:38:18 +0000

loved how breathtaking the art work in marvels is almost like a real painting