Alex Ross opens his private sketchbooks to reveal his astonishing pencil and ink drawings of DC Comics characters, nearly all of them appearing in print here for the first time.
Thousands of fans from around the world have trilled to Alex’s fully rendered photo-realistic painting of their favorite heroes, but as they may not realize, all of those works start as pencil on paper, and the origins of the finished images are rarely seen. Until now.
From deleted scenes and altered panels for the epic Kingdom Come saga to proposals for revamping such classic properties as Batgirl, Captain Marvel, and an imagined son of Batman named Batboy, to unused alternate comic book cover ideas for the monthly Superman and Batman comics of 2008-2009, there is much to surprise and delight anyone who thought they already know all of Alex’s DC Comics work.
Illuminating everything is Alex’s own commentary, written expressly for this book, explaining his though processes and stylistic approaches for the various riffs and reimaginings of characters we thought we knew everything about but whose possibilities we didn’t fully understand.
As a record of a pivotal era in comics history, Rough Justice is a must for Alex’s legion of fans, as well as anyone interested in masterly comic book imagination and illustration. |
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 5 out of 5 pencils |
| Review Date: March 30, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Parka, Singapore |
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2RIIGCM2ETMKT I would say this book is as good as Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, his other art book featuring his paintings.
In this book, we see the groundwork he lays for those paintings. There are sketches storyboards and layouts, character designs, covers and hand scribbled notes. Many of the sketches, like various iterations for covers, are appearing from the first time. And it's not really all black and white, there are a few pieces painted quickly with colour for quick colour tests. I've to add that the scans are really good also, showing off the marvelous shading and grain.
You get to see the final pencil stage, before shadows and paint are added, as he focuses on the contours and surfaces. The usual powerhouse cast of DC characters are all in: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, and many more. But it's not all character art. There are also design sketches for the Justice Batmobile, logo designs and concepts he did for a literacy campaign (which shows Batman hanging from a stone gargoyle from some skyscraper while reading a book).
The drawings look really quite different without the colours and I could barely recognise to compared with the original paintings from his previous book. But make no mistake, the same flair and realism is still there on every page. You can still see the intense attention paid to the detail of musculature, composition, lighting, facial expression, drapery and mood.
There's also commentary by Alex Ross himself, in addition to the hand scribbled notes. He talks about his designs, the creative process and on why some ideas just didn't make the cut.
Highly recommended to fans and comic artists.
(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.) |
Absolute Awesome Sketches
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| Review Date: April 8, 2010 |
| Reviewer: bat fan, Kennewick, Wa USA |
| I was really looking forward to this since first hearing about it. This really is an excellent companion to any of Ross's other books , being that this book is mostly pencil renderings with a few colored works. It also gives Alex's own personal insight on a lot of the projects that did and didn't make it past the proposal stage. That to me is really some of the coolest stuff because this might be the only real chance to see some of that work that isn't going anywhere. (Alex's rework of Captain Marvel) . If you are a fan of Alex's work or concept ideas in comics, then you should pick this book up ! |
No words....excellent.
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| Review Date: April 18, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Andrew loomies, Bogota Colombia |
I dont need said,but ALEX ROSS is a genius.
Perfect no more.Thanks Alex Ross. |
A Treasure Trove to be Explored Here
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| Review Date: June 21, 2010 |
| Reviewer: GraphicNovelReporter.com, New York, NY |
Alex Ross is one of the most iconic artists in comics' history. His painted works are beautiful, and unique in many ways. He often uses real-life models to help him flesh out the otherworldly and superpowered characters who populate comics, and as designer and editor Chip Kidd explains in his introduction to Rough Justice, all of Ross's paintings begin with a pencil sketch.
Rough Justice is a collection of Ross's bold and imaginative work with DC Comics. From the cover image of Superman to page after page of some of the most recognizable characters to ever grace the page, you can tell that Ross is dealing with the best of the best. Rough Justice also includes Ross's notes on two proposed series he had attempted to sell to DC: one on the son of Batman and the other on Capt. Marvel.
If you have any aspirations to be a comic artist, then Rough Justice is nothing short of essential. To read Ross's own comments on his work in progress is a rare treat. Even if you're just a fan, there's a treasure trove to be explored here. Fans don't often get to see the sausage being made, so to speak, when it comes to the comics process, and this look into it is more than just fun. It's fascinating. Much like Ross's artwork itself.
-- John Hogan |
Man...he's amazing.
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| Review Date: August 2, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Anthony Branson, cincinnati, ohio |
| Alex Ross is just fantastic and this is a great way to see his process. I highly recommend this to anyone. That is, unless you get infuriated with your own illustrative skills while cruising through this modern master's work. In that case, buy it for someone else. |
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