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So will Alex Ross be considered the next Neal Adams?

Started by MR.COMICBOOK,

91 posts in this topic

Jeffro.

Jeffro.

Posted
Posted

 

I dont understand how people distinguish mcfarlane from liefeld and early lee, they all look exactly the same. also larsen

:P

 

They most certainly do not look all the same.

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Flaming_Telepath

Flaming_Telepath

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Posted
Although I like most of his work, there is still no possibility that any comic book artist post-1994 will ever be a part of the pop culture lexicon.

 

Pretty sill comment there bub. I think your disdain for all things "modern" is skewing your thought process. "No possibility"? Really?

 

Sorry, but you ask 99% of the people out there wearing Spiderman and Captain America t-shirts who Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are and they'll have no idea. Alex Ross will be an icon and comic legend 30 years from now...

 

Just like Rob Liefeld, eh? :insane:

 

Seriously, though, I think JC is right. Look at the 'mega-star' artists of the late 80s/early 90s...Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Whilce Portacio, Michael Golden...and tell me which one has become 'iconic' in the last twenty years?

 

Sure, a few of them are damned good artists...Lee and Golden especially...but to become another Neal Adams?

 

No chance. The fact is that there isn't much ground to break anymore...there's nothing new under the sun, I'm afraid...and without the opportunity to break down the boundaries, iconic status is beyond them all, Ross included.

 

Liefeld is absolutely horrible. From your list Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane may become 'iconic' in then next 20-30 years. 30+ years from now, when I'm in my 60's I'll look back at McFarlane and think about how the 1st comic I purchased was Spawn #1. Me and millions of others. Much like some of the guys on here think about their GA and SA artists. I, personally, don't get the Neal Adams fever so maybe you can school me as well...

 

The fact that the first comic you purchased contained Todd McFarlane art does not qualify him for iconic status. A warm place in your memory, sure, but beyond that...

 

And as for the 'millions' who will have a similar memory, think again. Spawn #1 was bought by the case-load and stored away by dealers...its readership was small in comparison to its print run.

 

And given the nature of the times it was first printed in...the very height of the speculator boom...just how many of those readers do you think remain? How many of them do you think could even recall the name of the character, never mind the artist involved in that weird funny book they bought as a kid?

 

Now consider what the genuine readership was of Green Lantern, Nick Fury, Avengers, Batman, X-Men, etc., etc. back in the late '60s/early '70s...and how many of them are still hip-deep in this little hobby of ours.

 

And here's the problem with waiting around for this iconic status to be conferred on Ross, McFarlane, Lee, et al...

 

Why hasn't it happened, yet? Given the ever-shrinking collecting base, surely they would need to have had their pedestals set up already, if it was going to happen at all?

 

I mean, Adams and Steranko had achieved iconic status within a handful of years of their appearance on the scene. McFarlane's been on the scene for 24 years, Lee for 22, Ross for 19, and none of them have been installed in the pantheon yet.

 

Look, this isn't about whether they are good artists or not...they actually are...but about the legacy they leave and the status that is afforded them.

 

And on that count, they're not even close.

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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30+ years from now, when I'm in my 60's I'll look back at McFarlane and think about how the 1st comic I purchased was Spawn #1. Me and millions of others.

 

I know that, which is why I used "post-1994" as my barometer. After that, comics became totally inconsequential in the grand scheme of pop culture, and have resigned themselves to die a slow death.

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Dale Roberts

Dale Roberts

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My choice would be someone like Jeff Smith, who is actually doing something new and innovative, rather than giving a new paint job to old and tired GA/SA creations.

 

Good point...at leas tthe first half--I was thinking Jeff Smith and Bruce Timm. Bone obviously brought some renewed interest in comics from the current gen (I managed to get a number of Bone graphic novels for a library fundraiser and they're in constant circulation), so that gets a (thumbs u

 

And while Bruce Timm does give "a new paint job to old and tired GA/SA creations," as you'd put it, he really did create a resurgence in the younger and current generations interest in Batman with his very unique style. There have been Superman, JLA, and Teen Titan animated spin offs that follow his style, and I do believe that he will get at least a footnote for his contributions.

 

But please don't mistake me for putting either individual on the same level as Neal Adams. I'm simply pointing out two artists who I think will be relevant and of interest to fans younger than most of us here.

 

Yeah, to me this is apples and oranges. Adams is primarily an artist, whose work brought new life to tired characters and to a tired industry in general. In no way do either of these guys approach this level of effect. Are they innovative? Sure you can argue that, I guess. Smith should be compared to Cerebus and if you want to stretch it, to Barks duck stuff.

 

Jim Lee did the same thing to X-Men and to Batman that Neal Adams did in the late 60s. Todd McFarlane did the same thing to Spider-man and to a lesser extent Batman. These are the only 2 guys who have been similar to Neal Adams in my opinion.

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BRB-migration

BRB-migration

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Posted
Adams and Steranko had achieved iconic status within a handful of years... Look, this isn't about whether (Ross, McFarlane, Lee) are good artists or not...they actually are...but about the legacy they leave and the status that is afforded them.

And on that count, they're not even close.

 

Bam! Nick nailed it. Neal's stature goes beyond his artistic talents. He helped get the companies to return the original artwork to the artists. He tried to unionize the industry and get healthcare for the old-timers. He got recompense/recognition for Siegel and Shuster after decades of neglect. He doubled the amount of colors DC colorists used in their books just by telling a little white lie about yellow ink! This quote from Harlan Ellison sums it up nicely:

 

"There are artists who come along who do wonderful work, innovative work, even stylistically seminal or germinal work, but they don't change the face of the craft or the social conscience of the industry. Neal did that."

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AGGIEZ

AGGIEZ

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Although I like most of his work, there is still no possibility that any comic book artist post-1994 will ever be a part of the pop culture lexicon.

 

Pretty sill comment there bub. I think your disdain for all things "modern" is skewing your thought process. "No possibility"? Really?

 

Sorry, but you ask 99% of the people out there wearing Spiderman and Captain America t-shirts who Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are and they'll have no idea. Alex Ross will be an icon and comic legend 30 years from now...

 

Just like Rob Liefeld, eh? :insane:

 

Seriously, though, I think JC is right. Look at the 'mega-star' artists of the late 80s/early 90s...Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Whilce Portacio, Michael Golden...and tell me which one has become 'iconic' in the last twenty years?

 

Sure, a few of them are damned good artists...Lee and Golden especially...but to become another Neal Adams?

 

No chance. The fact is that there isn't much ground to break anymore...there's nothing new under the sun, I'm afraid...and without the opportunity to break down the boundaries, iconic status is beyond them all, Ross included.

 

Liefeld is absolutely horrible. From your list Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane may become 'iconic' in then next 20-30 years. 30+ years from now, when I'm in my 60's I'll look back at McFarlane and think about how the 1st comic I purchased was Spawn #1. Me and millions of others. Much like some of the guys on here think about their GA and SA artists. I, personally, don't get the Neal Adams fever so maybe you can school me as well...

 

The fact that the first comic you purchased contained Todd McFarlane art does not qualify him for iconic status. A warm place in your memory, sure, but beyond that...

 

And as for the 'millions' who will have a similar memory, think again. Spawn #1 was bought by the case-load and stored away by dealers...its readership was small in comparison to its print run.

 

And given the nature of the times it was first printed in...the very height of the speculator boom...just how many of those readers do you think remain? How many of them do you think could even recall the name of the character, never mind the artist involved in that weird funny book they bought as a kid?

 

Now consider what the genuine readership was of Green Lantern, Nick Fury, Avengers, Batman, X-Men, etc., etc. back in the late '60s/early '70s...and how many of them are still hip-deep in this little hobby of ours.

 

And here's the problem with waiting around for this iconic status to be conferred on Ross, McFarlane, Lee, et al...

 

Why hasn't it happened, yet? Given the ever-shrinking collecting base, surely they would need to have had their pedestals set up already, if it was going to happen at all?

 

I mean, Adams and Steranko had achieved iconic status within a handful of years of their appearance on the scene. McFarlane's been on the scene for 24 years, Lee for 22, Ross for 19, and none of them have been installed in the pantheon yet.

 

Look, this isn't about whether they are good artists or not...they actually are...but about the legacy they leave and the status that is afforded them.

 

And on that count, they're not even close.

 

 

Yep, that was a personal notation for why I will have McFarlane among the legends in my mind 20-30 years from now.

 

As for Neal Adams, I wasn't exactly comparing the two. 20-30 years from now (which I believe is the timing we're talking about) most of those little boys that were reading Neal Adams work in the late 60's and early 70's, and who are driving the market for his books today, will likely be gone and replaced by the little boys that were reading McFarlane Hulk, Spider-man, Spawn in the late 80's and early 90's.

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