Roger Cruz

[Byrne]

The comic you are talking about madman! Is the Uncanny X-Men #325 printed in October 1995.

[Byrne]

I just thought that I would also mention that if you would like to see what Roger Cruz's art is really like, that is if you want to see what his style looks like go to his web site and have a look in the gallery. Look at the others section and there you will find art that is truly his one and not something that he referenced off of Mad! Just thought it was funny however that when I looked there last there was a drawing of a girl standing with her back to you and her left hand is on a sword that looks a lot like….. Well you’ll see what I mean.

[kaos]

Im not quite gettin it byrne, whats the sword supposed to look like?

[Byrne]

Garrison Sword from Battel Chasers. I thought it looked a little like it any way. I could be wrong.

[kaos]

I wouldn't know either. I know nothing of battlechasers. I might get kicked off this site for saying that.......

[Byrne]

I dont think so But you have to check it out. Its some very good stuff. I know you would love it.

[jettison]

Its really too bad....his gallery shows he has skill....But it sucks cuz it just winds up looking like sub-par MAD.

If thats what he wants for himself, I guess.

[xherox]

ahh ok. Sorry madmam. I Didnt Know he copied... Then thats a different story yes ^^. Id like to see this issue of x-men with the newspaper add in it. I think I would Find it quite funny.

[Hephasto]

Guys, Hephasto At your service.

Here's the Picture with the newspaper "thing"




;D

Hephasto

[Byrne]

Thank you Hephasto, I know that someone out there had this.

[kaos]

HAHAHA Thats quite funny actually. At least Mad has a sense of humour.

[xherox]

lol that is pretty funny. Well I guess the guy is a rip off. He may have talent but his ideas are unorignal.

[akujin]

First post so, Hi everyone

While we're at it about Roger Cruz, it's also interesting to note that Mad's! unique style was certainly inspired by the "Bastard!!" anime. This isn't official, but i always suspected it, due to the striking comparison of both Gara and Garrison and the general artwork, mainly the expressions and body frames.

Gara:


Garrison:


I've been a "Bastard!!!" Fan since i watched it, so when i first saw Mad's artwork and Battle Chasers I always thought he was greatly inspired by it. Well, in Wikipedia states that "Bastard!!" is one of Mad's favorite animes, so go figure. The style is similar, though Mad's blended it with his own American style, whereas the anime is obviously more manga-like.

All in all, Mad! has created an unique artwork and was/is almost certainly the most influencial artist today.

So, the same thing could be happening with Cruz. I disliked him at first for copying Mad!, but his recent work shows that he's very skilled. Now, don't get me wrong, there's no point or originality in swiping another artist, no matter how much you love his work, and Cruz probably knows this. I do understand that he loves Mad!'s work, and certainly worked hard to be like him, to the point of mimicking his drawing style. It would be very sad to see such a skilled artist as a mere clone of Joe Mad, and i hope he finds his own style from here on.
Actually, we can see that he's gradually changing it to a more anime-like resemblance.

Check out these pages from 10th muse, and from Victory to see what i mean:





Btw, Madman! stated the he traced over some Mad's work, but I don't think this is true. I mean, the man has enough skill to pulloff semi-original work at least. He doesn't need to trace, IMO.

[upschris]

i myself was trying to break free of the what would MAD! do mentality, but francis manipul has proven that theres not a d**n thing wrong with honoring a master with imitation. MAD! worked with him on iron and the maiden. i dont think he would have if he disapproved of franciss art. IMO

[upschris]

im sorry, forgot to say you HAVE to learn how to draw anatomy before you can manipulate it