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mash1138's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. A cool art book, for sure, but I’ve always felt that Ross’s style is better suited to DC characters. Great design by Chip Kidd (as always)!
strandedinbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I'm in awe of such art. Marvel is so much bigger than what we see at the theater today and *wipes tear* I just love this fandom so much!
trekkifulshay's review against another edition
5.0
This was so much fun to read. When Stan Lee died so many people were like but but you're all grown-ups now why are you still so invested in comics and make-believe? I loved seeing the art from when he was a kid to the art he's making as an adult how that thing you love as a child can stay with you your whole life. As a lifelong lover of sci-fi that hits home. All of the artwork is amazing my husband and son both loved this book too. Great library find.
trike's review against another edition
5.0
After Ross’ collections of DC and Dynamite art, we finally get his Marvel work. Totally worth the wait. I like and read all types of comics, superhero and non, but my first love is Marvel. The first comic book I ever picked out for myself was an Amazing Spider-man where he goes to the Savage Land. So of course I was happy to see this massive collection of gorgeous art kick off with Spidey. A little less happy to see that the drawings he did at age 11 are better than anything I’ve ever done, but that’s why he’s an artist and I’m the guy reading about him.
Speaking of the Savage Land, I was surprised that Ka-Zar didn’t make it in the book, nor his sabretoothed tiger Zabu. Despite Ross painting a couple hundred characters, including some truly fringe one-and-done joke characters, there are actually quite a few major characters he apparently hasn’t painted. (Or they decided against including them.) Two of Spider-man’s major players from his rogues gallery, The Vulture and Kraven the Hunter, are nowhere to be seen. Not even in the numerous covers included. Also missing is the entirety of Alpha Flight.
Given that Marvel has thousands of characters I guess that’s not too surprising. The stuff that is included is, naturally, amazing. All the biggies are here: Avengers, X-Men, FF, etc. There’s a deep dive into Ross’ Universe X story, a book I didn’t particularly like, but there’s no denying the art is cool and the alternate/aged/evolved versions of classic characters are interesting.
His X-Men redesigns are really cool, some of his best. One complaint I had about the Dynamite collection wS the lack of process art, showing how he got from A to Z. This book corrects that, showing process all over the place. I was particularly interested in how he worked out the method to paint a realistic-seeming Human Torch for the time-traveling story of the original Marvel characters from WWII, The Invaders. (Turns out it’s a combination of dramatic lighting and negative images of his photo reference model, which was very effective.)
At the end he even does his own story featuring Spidey, bringing the book full circle. I’m kind of guessing that’s Chip Kidd’s doing. And nicely done it is.
So yeah, another stellar collection of beautiful Alex Ross art, with one of the coolest fold-out covers I’ve seen in a long time.
Speaking of the Savage Land, I was surprised that Ka-Zar didn’t make it in the book, nor his sabretoothed tiger Zabu. Despite Ross painting a couple hundred characters, including some truly fringe one-and-done joke characters, there are actually quite a few major characters he apparently hasn’t painted. (Or they decided against including them.) Two of Spider-man’s major players from his rogues gallery, The Vulture and Kraven the Hunter, are nowhere to be seen. Not even in the numerous covers included. Also missing is the entirety of Alpha Flight.
Given that Marvel has thousands of characters I guess that’s not too surprising. The stuff that is included is, naturally, amazing. All the biggies are here: Avengers, X-Men, FF, etc. There’s a deep dive into Ross’ Universe X story, a book I didn’t particularly like, but there’s no denying the art is cool and the alternate/aged/evolved versions of classic characters are interesting.
His X-Men redesigns are really cool, some of his best. One complaint I had about the Dynamite collection wS the lack of process art, showing how he got from A to Z. This book corrects that, showing process all over the place. I was particularly interested in how he worked out the method to paint a realistic-seeming Human Torch for the time-traveling story of the original Marvel characters from WWII, The Invaders. (Turns out it’s a combination of dramatic lighting and negative images of his photo reference model, which was very effective.)
At the end he even does his own story featuring Spidey, bringing the book full circle. I’m kind of guessing that’s Chip Kidd’s doing. And nicely done it is.
So yeah, another stellar collection of beautiful Alex Ross art, with one of the coolest fold-out covers I’ve seen in a long time.
garberner's review against another edition
5.0
A well-designed retrospective of the comic legend's Marvel output. I thought I knew all his cover work, but there were some surprises including a pop-art aesthetic to a Fantastic Four series which ever launched.
lukeisthename34's review against another edition
5.0
It's just so beautiful. A coffee table book that I actually read from start to finish and then shared with my daughter to talk about the art and the man. It's just silly how talented he is and how detailed the items are within.
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