Rough Justice: The DC Comics Sketches of Alex Ross (Pantheon Graphic Library)

More than the finished works themselves, the sketches our favorite artists produce are often sought after more than the published masterpieces given to the public domain. We all just want to know, "Is he or she REALLY that good?!" In the case of Alex Ross, the answer is a resounding YEEEESSSS!!!!! He's got it in spades, and I actually went through this book in one evening: I am on a mission. It is quite easy to take the masters for granted; you know, the ones that you are willing to pay the BIIIIIGGGGG! bucks to own what they create. Here, you discover even more why Alex Ross is truly R.O.U.G.H.~~Re-defining Our Understanding of Great Hands~~and you'll appreciate his outstanding ability even more. The book explains that much of what is presented has never been for our consumption, but I guarantee that once you taste it, like me, it will become a necessary part of your dietary nutrition, both mentally, expressed through the hands physically. He shows us, he teaches us, literally, Practice makes Perfect.~No diggity, No doubt~

If you're a fan of Alex Ross then you will think this book is awesome but truth be told, it's kind of on the boring side.Looking through this book is like looking through an album of drawings of still lifes from art class only with people. Like a pencil rendered version of his photo album. Everything looks like it was copied from a photograph. Page after page of posed characters just standing there holding their cape or with a foot up on a box to look like they’re leaping or running. He can copy the photographs he's taken of carefully posed figures and render them accurately and realistically but there is no energy, no life, no action to his work. He’s technically adept with a pencil and renders beautifully and he obviously knows how to use watercolors but I am not convinced he really knows how to draw. There is even a sketch with a notation "re-take head shot for cover" which really proves my point that he can't draw unless he's copying one of his staged photographs and needed to go back into the photo studio to take a picture before he could draw it.Don't get me wrong, I love Kingdom Come, Marvels but the “rough” sketch books that are the most appealing to me are by guys like Buscema, Frazetta, Neal Adams, Kubert etc. These books are filled with exciting and dynamic drawings bursting with action drawn by artists that can draw what they see in their minds eye, not from a posed photograph. Alex’s renderings are nice and clean and finished but they contain no life at all.If you're looking for some nice, tight finished renderings then you’ll love this book but if you’re looking for a sketchbook full of life then unfortunately this book isn’t it.

I confess I haven't read all of it because I am too busy drooling over the pictures. Alex Ross it so good, dang it! I stumbled across an Alex Ross documentary on YouTube and I went on a bit of a spending spree. Seeing the sketches is very cool and I appreciated the glimpse into his process. Also, this is a big book, so I felt like it was worth the price tag.

I feel like I need to write a lot to tell you how great this book is. I haven't even actually read the book Justice (of which this is something of a "making of" book). However no matter how much I say it can't convey how awesome this man's talent is. Even his rough sketches (which there are plenty of) have more life and character than pictures I work on for a long time.He might just be the comic book equivalent of Norman Rockwell. He’s that good.

One of the best painters in comic book history, love how you can see his work process!

Not a lot of copy on the pages - just mostly beautiful and richly detailed sketches that gives you an idea on how Alex Ross thinks as an artist. When I say mostly, I mean 99% sketches vs 1% copy - it’s a ton of eye candy for art geeks to have eyegasms over, again and again. Perfect for that friend who has everything.

I bought this as a present for a family member who is obsessed with comic books and superheros, as well as an art graduate and current art teacher. I spent roughly three years searching for something like this and finally found it! The description of the item and preview doesn't do it justice. It is just absolutely perfect and the sketches are amazing. It's like a look into not only the superhero and comic book world, but a look into the behind the scenes process of developing the characters along the way.

The item itself is wonderful! My boyfriend loved it. The only issue I had was that the item arrived quite beaten up. All 4 corners were dented, the dust jacket had a tear in it, and it had some kinda sticky gunk on the back.

A must buy for fans of Alex Ross, perhaps one of the finest DC artists to grace the page. This is a fantastic collection of the black and white pencil preliminary sketches and visuals Alex produces before finalizing the finished coloured versions.Alex provides his own insights into the ideas and feedback for many of the pieces in the book which gives a nice 'behind the scenes access to his creative approach.

If you're a comic book fan and love DC characters,you cannot go wrong with this.Alex Ross is a well known comic book artist,he specialises in an almost photo realistic drawing style.And of course this book is a wonderful reference book as well.Mostly black and white with a few colored images.Another good buy and saved on high st prices.You like comics?You like art?Buy this.

Alex Ross is a god, no doubt about it.His artwork is amazing and breathtaking.Even if you're not a fan of comics and all things superhero-related, you still have to check out this book simply to appreciate Mr. Ross' gift!

This is a superb collection of the sketches and concept work of Alex Ross. If you are a fan of his work then this is a must-buy for you.There are lots of pieces that you won't have seen before, and a lot that will be instantly recognisable from his more famous books, such as  Kingdom Come (DC Comics) , Justice: v. 1 , Justice: v. 2 , Justice: v. 3Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1 (Justice Society of America (DC Comics)) , Thy Kingdom Come, Part Two (Justice Society of America (Unnumbered)) , Justice Society of America : Thy Kingdom Come (Part 3) . There are also pieces from the covers of some of his work on Superman, such as  Superman: The Coming of Atlas  and some on Batman, such as  Batman R.I.P. . Also hidden amongst the pages are sketches that have never been published before, like a redesigned Batmobile, or Dick Grayson in his own Batman costume. There are also sections on the Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman ,Martian Manhunter and Batgirl.Throughout the book the sketches are all in black and white, apart from the odd one or two full colour pieces. But then the whole purpose of this book is to show an insight into the workings of Alex Ross' design processes and that is the selling point. It is really interesting to see how all his grand designs began their lives, and how they evolved into the books we know and love today.There are comments by Ross throughout the book, but they are kept to a minimum, which i liked, as it really highlights the artwork on show.Who would i recommend this to? Well, anyone who has read any of Alex Ross' books and loved them. If you haven't, i would start by reading Kingdom Come, and then have a look at this book. It would be an ideal present for an Alex Ross fan , as it is presented in a very stylish hardback.Normally i would shy away from this type of book, but i spent a good couple of hours going through this.Fantastic! Kingdom Come (DC Comics)Justice: v. 1Justice: v. 2Justice: v. 3Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1 (Justice Society of America (DC Comics))Thy Kingdom Come, Part Two (Justice Society of America (Unnumbered))Justice Society of America : Thy Kingdom Come (Part 3)Superman: The Coming of AtlasBatman R.I.P.

If you are a comic book fan. And have gone deeper into comic Nerddom...If you know your Jack Kirby and your Boris Vallejo, then this is a Book you'll love.Alex Ross is one of the.. if not the most respected Comic artists out there with award winning works for both DC and Marvel. His art is not Pencil, Inks and Colour. Rather every panel is sketched and hand painted.Having said that, this book is a collection of his sketches. Before the brush touches the paint.A collection of Superhero form study.