alex is so good that mack swipes from him

[ilia]

This was in Lying in the Gutters under swipes, Rich Johnston posted it this past Monday.

Alex is the King of Ass when David Mack is swiping him.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w218/iliageorgiev/Mack_Swipes_Maleev.jpg

[7h0m45]

i want to hear what Alex and Mack have to say about this.

[Arion]

i want to hear what Alex and Mack have to say about this.

And so do I.

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

We both responded on the newsarama board.

[ilia]

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=147491

I hunted the discussion down for this if you care to read. IT MAKES for interesting reading.

Mack gets butchered by the same people repeatedly, but he does explain his reasons for the Daredevil swipes, but then again....

He did another swipe and you can see it there as well.

[rogerio]

I am not so sure if I agree with Mack's explication...

[Rick America]

Couple of things strike me from the "discussions" in that thread:
--- I don't know Mack at all, but he is clearly a true professional and a class act.
--- I don't know Maleev at all, but his comments strike me the same as David's --- not really blindly "protecting" or "defending" David (as he certainly needs neither), but elevating the discussion to a different level...one I think none of the posters had considered.

What struck me here was the professionalism: both David and Alex took the discussion to a different level that I think expanded the view/perspective of the other readers (I know it did mine). I think Alex's discussion on NA 26 especially did this.

David's most interesting comment (to me at least given the subject matter of his NA issues) is that he was consciously using styles to emulate iconic DD artists from the past...would seem to me that only a "replica" would need to be drawn as it was in the past? (Of course, I could be reading too much into that).

Again, thanks to both David and Alex for their insights on this broader discussion.

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

Couple of things strike me from the "discussions" in that thread:
--- I don't know Mack at all, but he is clearly a true professional and a class act.
--- I don't know Maleev at all, but his comments strike me the same as David's --- not really blindly "protecting" or "defending" David (as he certainly needs neither), but elevating the discussion to a different level...one I think none of the posters had considered.

What struck me here was the professionalism: both David and Alex took the discussion to a different level that I think expanded the view/perspective of the other readers (I know it did mine). I think Alex's discussion on NA 26 especially did this.

David's most interesting comment (to me at least given the subject matter of his NA issues) is that he was consciously using styles to emulate iconic DD artists from the past...would seem to me that only a "replica" would need to be drawn as it was in the past? (Of course, I could be reading too much into that).

Again, thanks to both David and Alex for their insights on this broader discussion.

I am very curious who else got the nod from the DD artists. My guess is Frank Miller, Joe Q, Maybe Lark, but surely JR SR, Kirby, Colan.

[Rick America]

I am very curious who else got the nod from the DD artists. My guess is Frank Miller, Joe Q, Maybe Lark, but surely JR SR, Kirby, Nolan.

Gene Colan

[7h0m45]

I am very curious who else got the nod from the DD artists. My guess is Frank Miller, Joe Q, Maybe Lark, but surely JR SR, Kirby, Nolan.

well of course he chose you since you the GREATEST of all time. But for the rest, i would think Colan, JR, Miller, Mazzucchelli, and Lark are all possibilities.

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

Gene Colan

Of course;)

[Arion]

We both responded on the newsarama board.

OK, I'll check it out now .

[killingyouguy]

If we're talking icons, let's not forget:

http://www.toybender.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/daredevilarmor01.jpg

[Amedeo]

If we're talking icons, let's not forget:

http://www.toybender.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/daredevilarmor01.jpg

Oh, God no.:nonono2:

[rogerio]

Oh, God no.:nonono2:
oh...yes!;)

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

I think I saw a Mazzucchelli on this page:
http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/newavengers/39/na39_5.jpg

I am flattered David put my two DDs over Mazzucchelli's.

[rogerio]

I am flattered David put my two DDs over Mazzucchelli's.
Alex, David Mazzucchelli is one of my all-time favorite artists but you are the best DD artist ever...:)

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

Alex, David Mazzucchelli is one of my all-time favorite artists but you are the best DD artist ever...:)

No doubt about that!:no:

[rogerio]

No doubt about that!:no:

you are an arrogant man...:)
europeans...

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

you are an arrogant man...:)
europeans...

Still, no World cups to my name:(

[killingyouguy]

I was just re-reading Batman: Year One the other day. (I found it cleaning out my closet.) And hot damn is Mazzucchelli awesome.

Though, yes, Alex you and Bill Sienkiewicz are probably by two favorite artists ever.

[rogerio]

http://images.comicbookresources.com/cons/wwla2008/mondomarvel/PWJ-20.jpg
Alex, I loved this piece...cannot wait to see your Spider Woman.
who are the cover girls?:)

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

http://images.comicbookresources.com/cons/wwla2008/mondomarvel/PWJ-20.jpg
Alex, I loved this piece...cannot wait to see your Spider Woman.
who are the cover girls?:)

Some chicks from my harem.

[Arion]

I think I saw a Mazzucchelli on this page:

I am flattered David put my two DDs over Mazzucchelli's.

You sure deserve the honor.

[rogerio]

Some chicks from my harem.
european or american girls?:)

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

european or american girls?:)

both, alway have both.

[rogerio]

both, alway have both.

you need to know some brazilian girls as well...:)

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

you need to know some brazilian girls as well...:)

I can't wait...

[rogerio]

Some chicks from my harem.

your chicks are Silver Sable, Domino and Countess Val...:)

[killingyouguy]

Is that cover traditional (vs digital)? The texture is really nice and rich.

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

Is that cover traditional (vs digital)? The texture is really nice and rich.

Penciled on paper, painted digitally.

[rogerio]

Alex, any chances to see the sketches?;)

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

these are flying sheets of paper. I don't keep them, they got to the trash. They are not even worth keeping for cons.

[Hoggie]

That Punsiher cover is sweet. THe digital paint looks real, just nuts! Do use photoshop for digital painting? Is there any books you suggest that explain how to do it?

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

That Punsiher cover is sweet. THe digital paint looks real, just nuts! Do use photoshop for digital painting? Is there any books you suggest that explain how to do it?

Just made this thread for you. But I don't have that particular cover in stages. I do have a small tutorial on my site though.
http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showthread.php?t=145061

[Josh Hagler]

Hi, I'm new to the boards, and a fan of Alex's work. I have been since back when he did work on The Crow. One of my favorite artists in comics.

I read some of the newsarama content after I saw this, which shed some light on the issue as well.

If I might offer a response that is informed by art outside of comics, my initial reaction to the idea of Daredevil "swiping" was that it's a late arriving debate that's been going on for ages, particularly debated in the 1970's with the height of reappropriation. From my perspective, it's been decided culturally acceptable to reappropriate art, music, film, literature, etc. for a long time, whether you're taking samples from a song, or using another piece of art as reference like a recent Iron Man cover I saw in the comic shop the other day. I do not know the exact issue, but it referenced a famous Andrew Wyeth painting. I pointed it out in the shop, but no one seemed to have a problem with it (neither did I, I thought it was a cool cover). David's been referencing artists like Klimt, Picasso, and others in Kabuki for a long time, and I've never heard any complaints about that either.

I think therein lies the determining factor in how we decide when it's appropriate to take issue with referencing other artists. We tend to accept referencing art we don't know about, because, well, we don't know about it. But when it's something we're familiar with, I would guess that a large part of our motivation for complaining about it is because we feel some kind of ownership over it. The artwork being referenced comes out of a culture we know a lot about--that partially represents something in how we identify ourselves. In my opinion, a motivating factor in people being angry with "art swiping" is that it's a chance to say, "I know about this art, and I want people to know I know about it." In this case, it's part of our comics subculture, a part of how we form our identity, and thus, we feel we have the right to take some authority to be able to judge its ethical merit.

I don't really have a problem with anyone who takes issue with referencing other artists, as it is apparent that originality is part of your criteria in deciding which art is most worth your attention, and that's fine. But it's worth bringing up that the medium of comics, in its popular form, "swipes" from all aspects of our entertainment culture at nearly all times. From that perspective, it's easy to understand people's frustration with one artist referencing another, as it's this quality of popular comics that tends to most frustrate me as a reader. I would surely like to see more originality in comics.

But as far as the issue of one artist referencing another, as part of a lineage of artists, to equate that to outright plagiarism regardless of the reasons or context for the decision to reference, is the same as saying, for instance, that jazz is an irrelevant artform, as the lineage of jazz musicians happily rely on and respond to their predecessors.

Alex Maleev is a fantastic artist as is David Mack. I think there is more to be gained from artists learning from each other than there is in pursuing a boring and outmoded ownership debate.

Thanks for your time.