Usually, my blog has no visitors on a federal holiday.
But, due to all the hubbub around Captain America lately, I felt like I needed to do something special.
The special part?
I found Alex Ross' Facebook page.
He paints comic books. His artwork is in the Smithsonian. You want to know why?
Because this is his version of the above cover.
Do you need to ask why?
And now, for a brief history of Captain America, all around bad ass.
What makes Captain America the perfect American icon? Because he started out as the little guy who just wanted to stand up to injustice. He always wants to do the right thing, he always tries to do the right thing, and always has faith in people -- not governments, people.
He's everything Americans would like to be when they grow up -- if he isn't good, he's doing his damnedest. He will fight against oppression and tyranny until he wins or until he's dead.
It's what we want to be when we grow up. Thirteen colonies fighting against one of the best armies in the world, trying to create a new country out of nothing but ideas and the right chunk of land. When only a decade later, France would try something similar, only to have it end in a bloody disaster and twenty years of warfare, you can see just how dangerous an idea it really was. Having a republic without having mob rule? Cute trick.
Captain America -- what the country would like to become eventually.
But, due to all the hubbub around Captain America lately, I felt like I needed to do something special.
The special part?
I found Alex Ross' Facebook page.
He paints comic books. His artwork is in the Smithsonian. You want to know why?
Because this is his version of the above cover.
Do you need to ask why?
And now, for a brief history of Captain America, all around bad ass.
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| Ross |
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| Original |
What makes Captain America the perfect American icon? Because he started out as the little guy who just wanted to stand up to injustice. He always wants to do the right thing, he always tries to do the right thing, and always has faith in people -- not governments, people.
He's everything Americans would like to be when they grow up -- if he isn't good, he's doing his damnedest. He will fight against oppression and tyranny until he wins or until he's dead.
It's what we want to be when we grow up. Thirteen colonies fighting against one of the best armies in the world, trying to create a new country out of nothing but ideas and the right chunk of land. When only a decade later, France would try something similar, only to have it end in a bloody disaster and twenty years of warfare, you can see just how dangerous an idea it really was. Having a republic without having mob rule? Cute trick.
Captain America -- what the country would like to become eventually.
Besides loving Cap for him, I like the character design-- he didn't try to become more than human, the serum was supposed to make him function perfectly. So he's not more than human, he's just (physically) perfect.
ReplyDeleteI do generally like Alex Ross (I have both Marvels and Kingdom Come on my bookshelf as well as a few other collections) but I have to admit, he seems to have trouble drawing open mouths. Couple of those shots with mouths agape just look weird.
ReplyDeleteBut that 3rd pic with the red/white/blue motif. *sniff* That one is my fave on this page.