One of the most successful and popular artists to work in comics, Jim Lee is revered by fans worldwide thanks to his hyper-dynamic artwork and innovative character and costume design.
Now, his work on Batman and Superman — not to mention his legion of WildStorm heroes including WildC.A.T.s, Divine Right and Deathblow — is celebrated in this beautiful hardback, which includes an exclusive interview with Jim Lee, a tour of his studio and hundreds of full-colour illustrations and pencils spanning his entire career!
Plus an all-new cover by Lee and an exclusive, all-new eight-page comic strip, written by Paul Levitz (Legion of Super-Heroes) with art by Lee!
Read more
378 reviews for Icons: The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee
4.7out of 5
★★★★★
★★★★★
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★★★★★
MR SIMON GEE –
Beautifully presented volume of some of Jim Lee’s iconic art… A must for any comic fans, or anyone interested in superb illustrations…
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★★★★★
Stormraven24 –
I am brand new to the comic scene, but not to comic heroes and characters. After picking up Batman: Hush, I fell in love with the artwork. I mean literally head-over-heels in love! Googling the artist responsible, Jim Lee, I came across this book. I am so very happy I bought it! I wasn’t expecting much more than a few pretty pictures and maybe an introduction. I got that and a lot more! A full introduction, notes and/or thoughts on every image, comparison shots of Jim’s sketches for staues and figures along with photos of the final product, and even brainstorming sketches compared to the final pieces. My absolute favorite part of this book is the page with two panels of Superman and Batman…along with some snarky comments from Jim (“This image is so wrong on oh so many levels…”). I do wish it included other art of Jim’s, especially from his time on the X-Men series, but I do understand why it wasn’t included. Maybe that could be something for another artbook like this one (my own wishful thinking).
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to oggle and drool over this book again…
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Dario De Rosa –
Poco da ridire su questo volume nel suo complesso, focalizza l’attenzione sull’arte di Jim Lee in riferimento ai personaggi DC e Image, presentando tavole solo a matita, matite e chine, e le versioni finali colorate. Permette di apprezzare al 100% tutti i punti di forza di questo straordinario cartoonist, evidenziandone peraltro anche la versatilità (davvero apprezzabili tutti i lavori in cui Lee stesso si cimenta con le chine o con i colori).
Semplicemente stupende le prime 100 pagine, interamente dedicate a Batman.
Se proprio si volesse trovare un difetto, ho sofferto come un cane per non poter apprezzare allo stesso modo il lavoro svolto sui supereroi Marvel, ma essendo un’edizione DC Comics ciò era irrealizzabile. Ciononostante, la qualità dell’edizione e la quantità del materiale presente non possono che portare ad una valutazione da 5 stelle.
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★★★★★
Jedha –
Dc ve Marvel dünyasının efsanevi çizeri Jim Lee onurlandırılmış ve hakettiği saygı sunulmuş, baştan sona kariyerinin dc ve marvel ekseninde nasıl gelişip ilerlediği keyifli bir anlatım ve görsel çeşitlilikle başarılı bir şekilde sunulmuş.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Radioactive man –
Seguramente conoces el trabajo de Jim Lee, de lo contrario no estarías leyendo ésto.
Éste es un libro recopilatorio de los trabajos en DC y Wildstorm del autor. Muchos de los dibujos son trabajos a lápiz y bocetos, y muestra el progreso de los dibujos hasta el resultado final. Sí tiene texto, pies de nota y varios datos como fechas y números de la edición en que se publicaron. También algunos tips sobre técnicas empleadas para realizar las obras. Increíble calidad de papel y de impresión. Todos los personajes importantes de DC están aquí, tanto como pin ups y portadas, incluyendo páginas completas de sus comics. El trazo de Jim Lee es super detallado, por lo que puedes volver después de un tiempo y encontrar algo nuevo cada vez. Éste libro salió en 2010, por lo cual después de todos estos años, ya debe haber suficiente material para hacer un Icons II.
Lo único que no me agradó, y no depende de la editorial, es el envío. Mi libro llegó en una caja un poco más grande y sin protecciones por lo cual las cuatro esquinas y el lomo estaban golpeados. Toma nota, Amazon.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Spyder –
Here’s why it gets a four star instead of a five star, HUGE CHUNKS of his life is not represented through his work in marvel, his development process and his own thoughts on his career–compared to todd macfarlane’s book, there’s not as much for a teenager to relate to except as a figure of aspiration. That said, this is a good artbook, I just hoped there would be more of jim lee’s personality in it.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Arturo Marquez –
This book chronicles the many different eras and works attributed to Jim Lee. It gives an in depth look at the many aspect of his works of artwork. Nice thick paper with shiny pages that make the artwork pop. A must for any comics fan.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Parka –
The media could not be loaded.
2010 has seen some great comic artists with their art books getting published. There’s Alex Ross, Joe Quesada, Adam Hughes and now Jim Lee. What a fantastic year!
Jim Lee’s Icons is a bargain for the price. It’s hardcover with 296 pages of amazing artwork printed on good paper. Just one look at the cover and you can tell that it’s really good. Publisher Titan Books has done a very good job with the printing and construction.
The amount of work featured is stunning.
Right from page 1, it’s a non-stop flow of beautiful artwork featuring the superheroes of DC Comics and WildStorm — Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. There are sketches, inks, layouts and full coloured illustrations. Many are printed at full page size, some across two pages, showing off all the intricate line work, grain left by the pencil hatches, details in the characters and background. You won’t see any work from his days at Marvel though.
I spent a while on each page marveling at the quality of work, thinking about his dedication to comics. It’s really inspiring.
You probably won’t get as many page-pausing moments with other art books in 2010.
Highly recommended.
(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Pedro Pontes –
There’s probably very little to add to the previous reviews made, so I will not make it very long.
Even though the Marvel years of Jim Lee’s work were not dealt with in this book, the rest of the artwork more than makes up for that absence. Two things in particular got my attention: 1) the size of the reproductions, which are bigger than what you would see in a comic book and 2) the quality of the printing, which is considerably better than that of your average comic book.
For an artist such as myself, those were very pleasant surprises. One can tell where the pen hit the paper, and you can even try to guess how fast or how slow this or that mark or line was made. My point being: this is FANTASTIC material if you’re interested in studying Jim Lee’s drawing style and Scott Williams crispy inks. There’s much to study here: perspective, cross-hatching, posing… all very non-academic, but superbly comic-bookish.
For artists and non-artists, all comic book enthusiasts, this is a feast for the eye, a coffe table comic book art piece. It will definetely find it’s place among your fine arts books. I mean, it did in mine.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Nana –
Für jeden Fan ein definitives Muss! Tolle Zeichnungen von Jim Lee, dieses Buch ist definitiv sein Geld wert! Würde es auch noch mal für Freunde kaufen 😀
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Jocko –
After waiting for what seem to be ages for this book to be released, it appears that the wait was well worth it!
Released in line with the Jim Lee collaboration, the DC Universe Online video game, ICONS: Jim Lee displays the progression of a young Jim Lee, at first co-founding Wildstorm Comics and then eventually moving on to working on the ICONS of DC comics (hence the double meaning in the book’s title). Included are his labors of love on Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Wildcats, Deathblow, DV8, and a multitude of his lesser known efforts.
My reaction: The art is gorgeous! ICONS: Jim Lee contains page after page of colorful artwork, with black and white pencils side-by-side with his accomplished finished work. The printing is outstanding and the book itself is quite sturdy.
(Note: due to the book being shipped with a lack of bubble-wrap around the book, I had to exchange my dented copy for a new one; but as usual, Amazon’s exchange process was seamless.)
If you leave this on your coffee table, I guaranteed it will be the quickest dog-eared tome you’ll have in your living room. A true bargain at ~$30; get it before the price goes up!
My only regret is that, with Jim Lee now being a corporate big wig at DC, we’ll not be seeing his Marvel X-men work any time soon in this format.
MR SIMON GEE –
Beautifully presented volume of some of Jim Lee’s iconic art…
A must for any comic fans, or anyone interested in superb illustrations…
Stormraven24 –
I am brand new to the comic scene, but not to comic heroes and characters. After picking up Batman: Hush, I fell in love with the artwork. I mean literally head-over-heels in love! Googling the artist responsible, Jim Lee, I came across this book. I am so very happy I bought it! I wasn’t expecting much more than a few pretty pictures and maybe an introduction. I got that and a lot more! A full introduction, notes and/or thoughts on every image, comparison shots of Jim’s sketches for staues and figures along with photos of the final product, and even brainstorming sketches compared to the final pieces. My absolute favorite part of this book is the page with two panels of Superman and Batman…along with some snarky comments from Jim (“This image is so wrong on oh so many levels…”). I do wish it included other art of Jim’s, especially from his time on the X-Men series, but I do understand why it wasn’t included. Maybe that could be something for another artbook like this one (my own wishful thinking).
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to oggle and drool over this book again…
Dario De Rosa –
Poco da ridire su questo volume nel suo complesso,
focalizza l’attenzione sull’arte di Jim Lee in riferimento ai personaggi DC e Image, presentando tavole solo a matita, matite e chine, e le versioni finali colorate. Permette di apprezzare al 100% tutti i punti di forza di questo straordinario cartoonist, evidenziandone peraltro anche la versatilità (davvero apprezzabili tutti i lavori in cui Lee stesso si cimenta con le chine o con i colori).
Semplicemente stupende le prime 100 pagine, interamente dedicate a Batman.
Se proprio si volesse trovare un difetto, ho sofferto come un cane per non poter apprezzare allo stesso modo il lavoro svolto sui supereroi Marvel, ma essendo un’edizione DC Comics ciò era irrealizzabile. Ciononostante, la qualità dell’edizione e la quantità del materiale presente non possono che portare ad una valutazione da 5 stelle.
Jedha –
Dc ve Marvel dünyasının efsanevi çizeri Jim Lee onurlandırılmış ve hakettiği saygı sunulmuş, baştan sona kariyerinin dc ve marvel ekseninde nasıl gelişip ilerlediği keyifli bir anlatım ve görsel çeşitlilikle başarılı bir şekilde sunulmuş.
Radioactive man –
Seguramente conoces el trabajo de Jim Lee, de lo contrario no estarías leyendo ésto.
Éste es un libro recopilatorio de los trabajos en DC y Wildstorm del autor. Muchos de los dibujos son trabajos a lápiz y bocetos, y muestra el progreso de los dibujos hasta el resultado final. Sí tiene texto, pies de nota y varios datos como fechas y números de la edición en que se publicaron. También algunos tips sobre técnicas empleadas para realizar las obras. Increíble calidad de papel y de impresión. Todos los personajes importantes de DC están aquí, tanto como pin ups y portadas, incluyendo páginas completas de sus comics. El trazo de Jim Lee es super detallado, por lo que puedes volver después de un tiempo y encontrar algo nuevo cada vez.
Éste libro salió en 2010, por lo cual después de todos estos años, ya debe haber suficiente material para hacer un Icons II.
Lo único que no me agradó, y no depende de la editorial, es el envío. Mi libro llegó en una caja un poco más grande y sin protecciones por lo cual las cuatro esquinas y el lomo estaban golpeados. Toma nota, Amazon.
Spyder –
Here’s why it gets a four star instead of a five star, HUGE CHUNKS of his life is not represented through his work in marvel, his development process and his own thoughts on his career–compared to todd macfarlane’s book, there’s not as much for a teenager to relate to except as a figure of aspiration. That said, this is a good artbook, I just hoped there would be more of jim lee’s personality in it.
Arturo Marquez –
This book chronicles the many different eras and works attributed to Jim Lee. It gives an in depth look at the many aspect of his works of artwork. Nice thick paper with shiny pages that make the artwork pop. A must for any comics fan.
Parka –
The media could not be loaded.
2010 has seen some great comic artists with their art books getting published. There’s Alex Ross, Joe Quesada, Adam Hughes and now Jim Lee. What a fantastic year!
Jim Lee’s Icons is a bargain for the price. It’s hardcover with 296 pages of amazing artwork printed on good paper. Just one look at the cover and you can tell that it’s really good. Publisher Titan Books has done a very good job with the printing and construction.
The amount of work featured is stunning.
Right from page 1, it’s a non-stop flow of beautiful artwork featuring the superheroes of DC Comics and WildStorm — Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. There are sketches, inks, layouts and full coloured illustrations. Many are printed at full page size, some across two pages, showing off all the intricate line work, grain left by the pencil hatches, details in the characters and background. You won’t see any work from his days at Marvel though.
I spent a while on each page marveling at the quality of work, thinking about his dedication to comics. It’s really inspiring.
You probably won’t get as many page-pausing moments with other art books in 2010.
Highly recommended.
(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
Pedro Pontes –
There’s probably very little to add to the previous reviews made, so I will not make it very long.
Even though the Marvel years of Jim Lee’s work were not dealt with in this book, the rest of the artwork more than makes up for that absence. Two things in particular got my attention: 1) the size of the reproductions, which are bigger than what you would see in a comic book and 2) the quality of the printing, which is considerably better than that of your average comic book.
For an artist such as myself, those were very pleasant surprises. One can tell where the pen hit the paper, and you can even try to guess how fast or how slow this or that mark or line was made. My point being: this is FANTASTIC material if you’re interested in studying Jim Lee’s drawing style and Scott Williams crispy inks. There’s much to study here: perspective, cross-hatching, posing… all very non-academic, but superbly comic-bookish.
For artists and non-artists, all comic book enthusiasts, this is a feast for the eye, a coffe table comic book art piece. It will definetely find it’s place among your fine arts books. I mean, it did in mine.
Nana –
Für jeden Fan ein definitives Muss!
Tolle Zeichnungen von Jim Lee, dieses Buch ist definitiv sein Geld wert!
Würde es auch noch mal für Freunde kaufen 😀
Jocko –
After waiting for what seem to be ages for this book to be released, it appears that the wait was well worth it!
Released in line with the Jim Lee collaboration, the DC Universe Online video game, ICONS: Jim Lee displays the progression of a young Jim Lee, at first co-founding Wildstorm Comics and then eventually moving on to working on the ICONS of DC comics (hence the double meaning in the book’s title). Included are his labors of love on Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Wildcats, Deathblow, DV8, and a multitude of his lesser known efforts.
My reaction: The art is gorgeous! ICONS: Jim Lee contains page after page of colorful artwork, with black and white pencils side-by-side with his accomplished finished work. The printing is outstanding and the book itself is quite sturdy.
(Note: due to the book being shipped with a lack of bubble-wrap around the book, I had to exchange my dented copy for a new one; but as usual, Amazon’s exchange process was seamless.)
If you leave this on your coffee table, I guaranteed it will be the quickest dog-eared tome you’ll have in your living room. A true bargain at ~$30; get it before the price goes up!
My only regret is that, with Jim Lee now being a corporate big wig at DC, we’ll not be seeing his Marvel X-men work any time soon in this format.