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Average Customer Rating: 
Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross >
Customer Review #1:
 Over the Top, for an over the top artist
What can I say! This book shows it all, Alex Ross shows everything he has ever done for DC and so much more. You cant keep this hidden for long.
Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross >
Customer Review #2:
Beautiful
Alex Ross brings the characters of DC Comics to life in all their glory in this excellent collection. In a multi media medium like comics, moving to an adult level requires elevating every component. In his magnificent painted work, Ross does just that, offering true art and bringing these deep characters to life. The choice of titles, "Mythology" proves prescient, for that is exactly what Ross does to the mythic DC characters of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest. This stands in sharp contrast to his work in Marvels, which does not appear in this collection, where he emphasizes the Marvel characters gritty humanity. While his flexibility allows him to do either scale, his style better suits the more mythological and epic milieu of DC lore. Ross contributes mightily to the stories he illustrates. Each character remains distinctive for reasons beyond the logo on their chests. Wonder Womans pride, Batmans determination, Supermans essential naiveté, all show through in Rosss work. Indeed, who can forget his work in Kingdom Come where he literally created a new universe of characters? With each brush stroke, brings his art leaping off the page and into the readers mind. Any adult lover of comics will delight in this tremendous collection of one the genres living masters.
Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross >
Customer Review #3:
Showcasing the worlds greatest painter of superheroes...
Alex Ross rose to fame with 1994s Marvels, a mini-series that chronicled the Marvel Universe from the perspective of an ordinary person. Yet the comic book painters career really took off when he began working extensively at DC Comics (the Pepsi to Marvels Coke). This is largely because Marvel has attempted to strip superheroes of their myth-like aura while DC has more or less embraced it and there is something very mythic about Ross art. His paintings are larger-than-life, and fully embrace the fantastic nature of superheroes. Common to Ross work is not only flying supermen, but shocked crowds, birds-eye-views of cities and extremes of light and darkness. Meanwhile his use of vintage costumes and reproductions of classic images resonate deeply in the American psyche, where these characters are held as icons.Yet his superheroes are also very human in a way. He never forgets Supermans integrity, Batmans determination, or Wonder Womans pride and makes each heros defining characteristic evident in their faces. He even paints a wonderfully cheeky Plastic Man. The coffee table book Mythology is an excellent sampling of the comics books, posters and T-shirts and more Ross has painted for the company. The three biggest focuses are his kindly, luminous Superman, his dark, noble Batman and his almost overwhelming portraits of the all-star Justice League of America. Lesser coverage is given to Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Green Lantern and others. Mythology also takes readers behind the scenes of Ross work. They get to see fully grown men pose in Superman and Captain Marvel costumes as Ross models and see how a painting develops, step-by-step. There are extensive also looks at Uncle Sam, a series about a homeless man who embodies Americas lost dreams (one of Ross few non-superhero works), and Kingdom Come, Ross beloved series about the DC Universes distopian future. Mythology can be repetitive (How many mighty-looking pictures of superheroes standing together in a chorus line does anyone need?), yet there is no denying that he is the best painter of comic books in the mediums history. His versions of DC characters are bold, captivating and embody all that makes them American icons. For anyone who holds close to his or her heart the creation we call the superhero, Mythology will be a real treat.
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