| Alex Ross | |
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 Ross in 2003 | |
| Born | Nelson Alexander Ross (1970-01-22)January 22, 1970 (age 55) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Painter andillustrator |
Notable works | |
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| www | |
Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970)[1] is an Americancomic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994miniseriesMarvels, on which he collaborated with writerKurt Busiek forMarvel Comics. He has since done a variety of projects for both Marvel andDC Comics, such as the 1996 miniseriesKingdom Come, which he also cowrote. Since then he has done covers and character designs for Busiek's seriesAstro City, and various projects forDynamite Entertainment. His feature film work includes concept and narrative art forSpider-Man (2002) andSpider-Man 2 (2004), and DVD packaging art for theM. Night Shyamalan filmUnbreakable (2000). He has done covers forTV Guide, promotional artwork for theAcademy Awards, posters and packaging design for video games, and his renditions of superheroes have been merchandised as action figures.
Ross's style, which usually employs a combination ofgouache andwash,[2] has been said to exhibit "aNorman-Rockwell-meets-George-Pérez vibe",[3] and has been praised for its realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters.[4] His rendering style, his attention to detail, and the perceived tendency of his characters to be depicted staring off into the distance in cover images has been satirized inMad magazine.[5]
Alex Ross was born inPortland, Oregon, and raised inLubbock, Texas,[6][7] by hisUnited Church of Christminister father, Clark,[8] and his mother, Lynette, a commercial artist[6] from whom he would learn many of the trademarks of his artistic style.[3] Ross first began drawing at age three, and was first influenced by superheroes when he discoveredSpider-Man on an episode of the children's TV seriesThe Electric Company.[6][9]
He would later be influenced by comics artists such asJohn Romita Sr.,Neal Adams,[10]George Pérez andBernie Wrightson, and attempted to imitate Pérez' style when he did superhero work, and Wrightson's when he did what he calls "serious" work. By age 16, Ross discovered the realistic work of illustrators such asAndrew Loomis andNorman Rockwell, and envisioned one day seeing such styles applied to comic book art.[6]
At age 17, Ross began studying painting at theAmerican Academy of Art in Chicago,[6][11] where his mother had studied. During his years there, Ross discovered the work of other artists likeJ. C. Leyendecker andSalvador Dalí, whose "hyper-realistic quality", Ross saw, was not that far removed from that of comics. It was during this time that he formed the idea to paint his own comic books. Ross graduated after three years.[6]
After graduating, Ross took a job at an advertising agency[6] as astoryboard artist.[11] Ross's first published comic book work was the 1990 five-issue miniseries,Terminator: The Burning Earth, written byRon Fortier and published byNOW Comics.[12] Ross created all of the art, from pencils through coloring for the series. He performed similar work on a variety of titles over the next few years. His first work forMarvel Comics was to have been printed in the science-fiction anthology seriesOpen Space #5 but thetitle was cancelled with issue #4 (August 1990). Ross's story was printed in 1999 as a special supplement toWizard'sAlex Ross Special.[13] In 1993, he completed his first painted superhero assignment, the cover of aSuperman novel,Superman: Doomsday & Beyond.
During this time, Ross met writerKurt Busiek, and the two began submitting proposals for series that would feature paintings as their internal art. Marvel agreed to a project that would tell much of the history of theMarvel Universe from the perspective of an ordinary person. Thatlimited series,Marvels, was released in 1994,[14] and chronicled the life of aphotojournalist, as he reacted to living in a world of superheroes and villains.
Busiek, Ross, and pencillerBrent Anderson createdAstro City, first published byImage Comics in 1995 and later byWildStorm Comics. The series features an original superhero world and continues the theme ofMarvels, exploring how ordinary people, superheroes and villains react to a world where the fantastic is commonplace. Ross paints the covers and helps set the costumes and the general look and feel for the series, which has been published sporadically in recent years.[12]
In 1996, Ross worked with writerMark Waid on theDC Comics limited seriesKingdom Come,[15] which presents a possible future for theDC Universe in which Superman and several other classic superheroes return from retirement to tame a generation of brutalantiheroes. The work featured Ross's redesigned versions of many DC characters, as well as a new generation of characters. Ross co-created the original characterMagog, patterning his appearance and costume onCable andShatterstar, two characters created byRob Liefeld.[16][17] DC Comics writer and executivePaul Levitz observed that "Waid's deep knowledge of the heroes' pasts served them well, and Ross' unique painted art style made a powerful statement about the reality of the world they built."[18]
Ross followedKingdom Come withUncle Sam,[12] an experimental non-superhero work for DC'sVertigo line that examines the dark side ofAmerican history. Ross drew thelenticular covers forSuperman: Forever #1 (June 1998)[19] andBatman: No Man's Land #1 (March 1999).[20] Between 1998 and 2003, writerPaul Dini and Ross produced annualtabloid-sized editions[21] celebrating the 60th anniversaries of DC Comics'Superman (Superman: Peace on Earth),[22]Batman (Batman: War on Crime),[23]Shazam (Shazam! Power of Hope), andWonder Woman (Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth), as well as two specials featuring theJustice League,Secret Origins andLiberty and Justice.[12]
In the early 2000s, with writerJim Krueger, Ross plotted and designed characters for a trilogy of Marvel limited series,Earth X,[24]Universe X, andParadise X, which combined dozens of Marvel characters from various time periods.[12]
WhenM. Night Shyamalan's filmUnbreakable was released to video in 2001, the DVD included an insert with Ross's original art, as well as a commentary by Ross, regardingsuperheroes, in the movie's special features.[25]
In 2001, Ross won acclaim for his work on special comic books benefiting the families of those killed in theSeptember 11, 2001, attacks, including his portraits of paramedics, police and firefighters. He has designed DC merchandise, including posters, dinner plates, and statues. In late 2001, Ross painted four covers to the December 8, 2001,TV Guide, which depictedTom Welling,Kristin Kreuk andMichael Rosenbaum of the TV seriesSmallville, and Superman.[9]
Ross designed a series of costumes for the 2002 filmSpider-Man,[26] though they were not used in the film. In the film's video game tie-in, as anEaster egg, it is possible to unlock a playable version of Ross'sSpider-Man design. When using this, theGreen Goblin will feature one of Ross's unused character outfits. Ross's design was featured as an unlockable costume and available in a white version in thePlayStation gameSpider-Man 2: Enter Electro.
In early 2002, Ross designed the promotional poster for the2002 Academy Awards,[11] which depicted Oscar perched atop theFirst National Building. The Academy loaned Ross an actual Oscar statuette for a week for him to use as reference for the painting. Ross stated that he photographed members of his family as if they were receiving it.[4][9] That same year, he was one of four artists who depicted Spider-Man on one of the covers to the April 27, 2002, issue ofTV Guide as a promotional tie-in to the feature filmSpider-Man.[9]
Ross illustrated the cover art on theAnthrax albumsWe've Come for You All (2003),Music of Mass Destruction (2004),Worship Music (2011), andFor All Kings (2016).
In 2003,Pantheon Books published thecoffee table bookMythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, written and designed byChip Kidd,[27] and featuring a foreword written by M. Night Shyamalan. In late 2005, a paperback version of the book was published to include new artwork by Ross, including sketches for hisJustice mini-series. Also in 2004, Ross designed 15 paintings for the opening credits of the filmSpider-Man 2.[11][25][28][29] The paintings presented key elements from the first film. Ross later donated the paintings to be auctioned off oneBay to benefit the United Cancer Front.[29]
In 2005, Ross designed the DVD illustration covers for the re-release ofGatchaman byADV Films.[30] He appeared in a featurette discussing his involvement of Gatchaman in his career.
In August 2005, Ross worked again with writer Jim Krueger and pencilerDoug Braithwaite on 12-issue, bi-monthly limited seriesJustice for DC Comics.[12][31] The series focuses on the enemies of the Justice League of America banding together in an effort to defeat them.
The cover of the "Savior of the Universe Edition" DVD of the 1980 filmFlash Gordon, released on August 7, 2007, features a cover painted by Ross. An avid fan of the film, he starred in a featurette on the DVD where he discussed the movie, which he names as his favorite movie of all time.[32]
In 2008, Ross embarked on projects focusing onGolden Age characters:Project Superpowers withJim Krueger forDynamite Entertainment.[33] That same year, Ross wrote and illustratedAvengers/Invaders. It features Marvel characters but was published by Dynamite Entertainment. The story pitsWorld War II versions ofCaptain America,Namor, and other classic war characters against the modernAvengers groups.[34][35][36] Late 2008 saw the release of two Ross prints that were made into T-shirts: one, "Bush Sucking Democracy Dry", featuringGeorge W. Bush as a vampire sucking the blood fromLady Liberty, and the other, "Time for a Change", featuringBarack Obama as a superhero.[37] The latter was made into a T-shirt, with which Obama was seen posing at a public event.[38] Ross painted the "Kollectors Edition" cover for the console gameMortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The artwork was released on October 9, 2008, as was a video chronicling Ross's process of painting it.[39] Ross is featured in his own segment on the Blu-ray/DVD included in the package.
Dynamite Entertainment announced that Ross would illustrate covers for theFighting American series.[40]
Other Ross projects for Dynamite include acting as the creative director onThe Phantom comic book series.[41] and teaming with Kurt Busiek onKirby: Genesis, an eight-issue miniseries which debuted in 2011. The series was their first full collaboration sinceMarvels 17 years previous, and features a large group of Jack Kirby's creator-owned characters, the rights to which were acquired by Dynamite, such asSilver Star,Captain Victory, Galaxy Green, Tiger 21, and the Ninth Men. Ross handled the series' co-plotting, designs, and covers, apart from overseeing the book overall with Busiek, who was the writer.[42][43]
Since 2011, Ross has been painting covers for several Dynamite titles such asTheGreen Hornet,Silver Star,Captain Victory,The Bionic Man,Lord of the Jungle,The Spider, among others.[12]
In 2012 Ross drew promotional artwork ofRatonhnhaké:ton, the main character of the video gameAssassin's Creed III, used on the cover of the April 2012 issue ofGame Informer and the collectible steelbook case provided with certain editions of the game.[25][44][45] that same year, Ross returned to interior painted art withMasks, a story in whichthe Shadow, the Spider, theGreen Hornet,Zorro, and others join forces to combat a mutual threat.[46]
In 2013 Ross created an exclusiveGameStop pre-order poster for the video gameWatch Dogs, which was scheduled for debut November 19 of that year, but was delayed to 2014. The game is set in Ross's home city, Chicago, which Ross emphasized in the image by placing theWillis Tower and theelevated train tracks in the background.[25]
With Marvel's "All-New, All-Different Marvel" relaunch, Ross did a variety of covers for the main comics in the relaunch such as the cover forThe Amazing Spider-Man andSquadron Supreme.
In 2015, following the conclusion of that year's "Secret Wars" storyline, Ross designed the high-tech variation of Spider-Man's costume that the character wore duringDan Slott andGiuseppe Camuncoli's run onThe Amazing-Spider-Man.[47]
In 2020, Ross provided the main cover for the Marvel Comics bookThe Rise of Ultraman #1.[48] In the ensuing early part of that decade, he had stints as the regular cover artist on Marvel titles includingIron Man,[49]Black Panther,Captain America, andImmortal Hulk.[50]
In April 2022, Ross was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed toOperation USA's benefit anthology book,Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded by editorScott Dunbier, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ross provided the cover to the hardcover edition of the book.[51][52][53]
In September 2022, Ross releasedFantastic Four: Full Circle, a 64 page graphic novel in which the Fantastic Four venture through theNegative Zone,[54] on which Ross served as both writer and artist,[55] in collaboration with colorist Josh Johnson for Marvel Comics. The book was the first long-form work that Ross both wrote and drew, and was his take on a classic '60sFF story byStan Lee andJack Kirby.[56] The American Library Association listed it among their 2022 Best Graphic Novels for Adults, noting "The layouts and storytelling are unmistakably those of Alex Ross, but he has also exchanged his usual realistic palette for a bolder more expressive color scheme."[57] Chris Neill, writing forKotaku, praised the book, noting the "fairly meat and potatoes plot", but applauding the art, calling it "the best looking comic you'll see this year". Neill opined that whereas Ross' usual style can exhibit a stiffness by making the reader too aware that they are looking at a painting, thus hampering the storytelling flow, his decision to ink his lines and use a limited palette of flat colors with no modern computer shading techniques gave the art a greater quality of grit and texture. Neill also lauded the digital dot screen effect that harkened back to the technique used to render comics in decades past.[50] Michael Cavna included it inThe Washington Post's list of the Ten Best Graphic Novels of 2022.[56]
As of December 2018, Ross lives in the suburbs ofChicago.[58]
DC Direct, the collectibles division of DC Comics, has produced three sets of action figures from the comic bookKingdom Come based on Alex Ross's artwork. The first set of figures includedSuperman,Wonder Woman,Green Lantern, andHawkman. The second set includedBatman,Red Robin,Captain Marvel, andKid Flash. The last set includedMagog,the Flash, Armored Wonder Woman, andDeadman. An exclusive figure ofRed Arrow was released throughToyFare magazine.DC Direct also released several other Ross-designed characters through theirElseworlds toylines. These figures included theSpectre,Norman McCay,Jade,Nightstar,Aquaman, andBlue Beetle. Ross designed the costume the current incarnation ofBatwoman wears; this character has been released in action-figure form by DC Direct as part of its "52" line of toys.
DC Direct has released a line of action figures for the comic bookJustice based on Alex Ross's artwork:
In 2019,Hasbro released several figures based on Alex Ross's art as part of theMarvel Legends line. The toys were released to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Marvel Comics, and included Ross-designed versions ofIron Man,Thor and Captain America.[59]
Ross won theComics Buyer's Guide's CBG Fan Award for Favorite Painter seven years in a row,[61] resulting in that publication's retirement of that category.Comics Buyer's Guide Senior EditorMaggie Thompson commented in regard to this in 2010, "Ross may simply be the field's Favorite Painter, period. That's despite the fact that many outstanding painters are at work in today's comic books."[62] Ross was also named Best Cover Artist by the CBG Awards 11 years in a row, from 1995 to 2005.[61]
Ross won the 2005Wizard Fan Award for Favorite Painter (Justice)[63]
I was personally influenced by what John Romita or Neal Adams brought to art.
From 1998 to 2003, [Paul Dini and Alex Ross] produced a series of fully painted oversized books featuring DC's biggest heroes.
Set in its own Elseworlds-like alternate reality, this 12-issue series became the next big project for show-stopping painter Alex Ross.
