Vom's Theory of Art and Hatefest essay

[vom_marlowe]

As part of Hooded Utilitarian's blogiversary, Noah's running a Hatefest.  He invited us to write about the comic we thought was most overrated, that we hated the most, or that we found the worst in whatever way.

I chose Alex Ross and wrote four thousand words about why I think it's terrible art. 

(If you are uncomfortable with negative type reviews, this probably will not be something you'll enjoy.)

Comments

[sparkymonster]

YAY!! I fucking loathe Alex Ross' art and thought "Kingdom Come" was waaaay overrated. Perhaps when someone gave it to a friend as the "perfect" intro to superhero comics I lost my mind and gave her a pile of other stuff.

I've always hated the Bruce Wayne exoskelton and you've pinpointed exactly why. Thank you.

I also hate that the white guys all blur together. He doesn't do a good job of differentiating between faces or body types. Batman at any time shouldn't have the same body as Superman. Supes isn't strong due to big muscles but because of the whole red sun/yellow sun situation. URGH. Aquaman should also look different and have a swimmer's body. Also ARGHFJLJSDKLFDJKSL.

I hate how everyone is squinty. I hate that women often look vacant in the eyes. I hate the stiffness of his comic panels. It always looks like a freezeframe to me. No energy, tension or dynamism in the art. Just ugly blahness.

[heavenscalyx]

OMG YES.

I have to quote myself here. One of my characters in Wonder City, talking about the Ultimate, my Superman-equivalent:

"She's fat -- do you know how hard it is to build up a sweat, much less muscles, when you can natively bench-press a planet?"