Comic Artist Alex Ross Breaks Down The Big Differences Between Marvel and DC Characters

Alex Ross is an iconic comic book artist that has created some incredible art for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics for nearly 30 years. Over that time, he has come to know a great deal involving the characters from both comic publishers. So if anyone could offer us some interesting insight on how the characters are different from each other, it's him.

While talking to EW in a recent interview, Ross addressed the topic and offered an explanation breaking down what he feels is the biggest difference between the characters in the Marvel and DC characters are:

"There’s certainly an argument to make for similarity of iconic status, but what’s always separated the two for me is Marvel’s material has always had a kinetic quality to it, particularly based on the design aesthetics of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. DC characters are not defined by a singular artistic voice influencing all the rest, but that’s what happened with Jack Kirby’s leadership of the entire Marvel brand. Everything is affected by what he led the charge of. That 10 years where he created the majority of those characters in the ’60s, that’s what every artist and writer has built their process upon, including the movies today. There’s a kinetic energy and a chaotic energy that embodies Marvel’s stuff."

I've never heard that before in any discussions involving the differences between Marvel and DC and it's a fantastic point. There were only a few creative minds that built the cornerstone of the Marvel universe. DC's characters came from a wider range of creative influences and styles, which isn't a bad thing, it's just different. Ross goes on to say:

"DC is the foremost component of where the DNA of what makes a superhero came from. They did the very first superhero in Superman, and the first great embodiment of the dark superhero in Batman, and of course the first female superhero in Wonder Woman. All those key things are lined up by them, and they go in a nice descending ladder of importance with their Justice League. With Marvel it’s clear that Spider-Man is not the same kind of hero as Superman; Cap has similarities but he has differences as well and has been used in very interesting ways that stop him from being a clone of any DC counterpart. The Marvel characters are all over the place in terms of what makes them unique, and there’s a hip energy that’s been instilled in them since their creation. Every other superhero company follows the mold of having their heroes follow those archetypes that DC embodies, but Marvel broke away."

He makes some more great points here, especially with how Marvel went against the archetypes and wanted to break the mold and do their own thing. Ross isn't saying that one is better than the other. He's just pointing out how he feels the two comic universes are different from each other and it's a fascinating outlook on it that I've never heard in a discussion or debate before. 

What do you think about Ross' explanation of how DC and Marvel are different from each other?