| Ross Andru | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Andru in 1977 | |
| Born | Rostislav Androuchkevitch (1927-06-15)June 15, 1927 Highland Park, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | November 9, 1993(1993-11-09) (aged 66) Long Island, New York, U.S. |
| Area | Penciller,Inker, Editor |
Notable works | The Amazing Spider-Man The Flash Metal Men Superman vs. Spider-Man Wonder Woman |
Ross Andru (/ˈændruː/; bornRostislav Androuchkevitch, June 15, 1927 – November 9, 1993)[1][2] was anAmericancomics artist andeditor whose career in comics spanned six decades. He is best known for his work onThe Amazing Spider-Man,Wonder Woman,The Flash, andThe Metal Men, and for having co-created the character calledThe Punisher.
His most frequent collaborator was comics inkerMike Esposito, with whom he worked on projects over a span of four decades. The two also founded three short-lived comic books companies:Mr. Publications (1951),MikeRoss (1953) andKlevart Enterprises (1970).
Ross Andru was born inHighland Park, Michigan on June 15, 1927, the third of Alexander and Glafire (née Evanoff) Androuchkevitch's three children.[1] Andru grew up inCleveland, Ohio, raised by Russian émigré parents who came to the US in 1926.
After moving to New York City, Andru graduated fromThe High School of Music & Art, then inHarlem. One of his classmates and friends was future comics artistMike Esposito.[3] While students, they collaborated on flip-book animation.[4] Andru joined theUS Army in 1945, and was discharged in 1946.
In 1947, Andru attended theCartoonists and Illustrators School, studying underBurne Hogarth. Again, Esposito was Andru's classmate.
In 1946, Andru worked for an animation studio in Manhattan drawing artwork forChiclets chewing gum commercials.[5]
In 1948, Andru's first professional work as a comic strip illustrator was drawing layouts for theTarzan newspaper strip. As his longtime partner Mike Esposito recalled, he and Andru were attendingBurne Hogarth'sCartoonists and Illustrators School in 1947 when "Burne took Ross out of the class because he saw the talent he had and asked him, 'Would you like to assist me onTarzan? (the newspaper strip for the Sunday page of theNew York Daily Mirror). He paid Ross by the month... theG.I. Bill gave him a few bucks to live on. Ross would lay it out then Burne would ink it with his approach... actually change everything and it would look really like Burne Hogarth when he got through with it. Ross (Andru) had a great concept for visuals for the layout, for the storytelling. That's what Burne Hogarth saw in Ross and he developed him to pull all that out, the shots and the depth of field. That only lasted a couple of years, because the strip died in about 1950–51... Ross came to me when I started publishing and we more or less teamed up'."[6]
A source claimspenciler Andru first teamed withinker Esposito in 1949[7] for the publisherFiction House, but this is unconfirmed at theGrand Comics Database.
The team's first confirmed collaboration was on the six-page "Wylie's Wild Horses" inHillman Periodicals'Western Fighters vol. 2, #12 (Nov. 1950), signaling the start of a four-decade collaboration.[8]
They quickly founded their own comics-book company, the name of which is variously rendered as MR Publications,[9] the combined initials of their first names; Mr. Publications,[10] after the company's sole series, the whimsical adventure comicMister Universe, which ran five issues (July 1951 – April 1952);[11] or the hybrid MR. Publications.[11] The two also co-founded Mikeross Publications in 1953, which through 1954 produced one issue each of the3Dromance comics3-D Love and3-D Romance, two issues of the romance comicHeart and Soul, and three issues of thesatiric humor comicGet Lost.[12]
Andru and Esposito created early work onKey Publications'Mister Mystery in 1951 andStandard Comics'The Unseen andJoe Yank (the latter credited as "Mikeross").[8]
In September, 1953, the two began a long career as one ofDC Comics' primarywar story creative teams, alongside the likes ofJoe Kubert,Russ Heath, andJerry Grandenetti. Their partnership at DC Comics began with a story each inAll-American Men of War #6,Our Army at War #14, andStar Spangled War Stories #13 (all Sept. 1953).[8] For those titles as well asG.I. Combat andOur Fighting Forces, Andru and Esposito drew hundreds of tales of combat under editor and frequent writerRobert Kanigher's supervision.[8]
From 1957 to 1959, Andru and Esposito shared a studio with fellow comics artistsJack Abel,Art Peddy and Bernard Sachslate,[13] generally credited as either Bernard Sachs or Bernie Sachs.
Andru began a nine-year run onWonder Woman starting with issue #98 (May 1958), where he and writerRobert Kanigher reinvented the character, introducing theSilver Age version and her supporting cast.[14] As well, with writer-editorRobert Kanigher, Andru co-created therobot superheroes calledThe Metal Men inShowcase #37 (April 1962), going on to draw the first 29 issues of the lighthearted seriesMetal Men, from 1963 to 1968.[8] Esposito said Kanigher "left the character design up to Ross and myself, under his supervision, of course."[15][16]
Andru and Kanigher had several other notable collaborations. The "Gunner and Sarge" feature introduced inAll-American Men of War #67 (March 1959) was one of the first war comics to feature recurring characters.[17] Andru drew an early appearance of Kanigher'sSgt. Rock character inOur Army at War #81 (April 1959)[18] With Kanigher, the Andru-Esposito team introduced the non-superpowered adventurers theSuicide Squad inThe Brave and the Bold #25 (Sept. 1959).[19]
Another innovation was the melding of war comics withscience-fiction in "The War that Time Forgot", a feature created by Kanigher and Andru inStar Spangled War Stories #90 (May 1960).[20] The title was set in the South Pacific onDinosaur Island, an island inhabited by giant, living dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. The stories were set in the 1940s during World War II.
Andru also drew early issues ofRip Hunter, Time Master in 1961, and theSea Devils.[8]
In 1967, Andru leftWonder Woman to become the penciler onThe Flash, with he and inker Esposito drawing the super-speedster superhero's adventures from issue #175–194 (Dec. 1967 – Feb. 1970).[8] Reuniting with Kanigher, Andru co-created the "Rose & The Thorn" backup feature inSuperman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #105 (Oct. 1970).[21][22]
ASpider-Man story drawn by Andru in 1968 was originally planned as a fill-in issue ofThe Amazing Spider-Man but was published inMarvel Super-Heroes #14 when regular Spider-Man artistJohn Romita Sr. recovered more quickly than anticipated from a wrist injury.[23]
For theblack-and-white comics-magazine publisherSkywald in 1971, Andru and Esposito contributed many stories across the line, including to thehorror titlesNightmare andPsycho and theWestern titlesWild Western Action,The Bravados andButch Cassidy. With writerGary Friedrich, they created Skywald's motorcycle-riding superheroHell-Rider.[24]
Andru and Esposito formed the publishing companyKlevart Enterprises in 1970,[25] which two years later published two issues of a humor magazine cover-titledUp Your Nose (and Out Your Ear).[26] The name, Esposito said, came from an expression used by late-nighttalk-show hostJohnny Carson, "May the bird of paradise fly up your nose, and out your ear."[3] A third issue was written but never printed because of financial problems.[27]
In the early 1970s, Andru left DC forMarvel Comics. Initially he did short runs on such titles asMarvel Feature where he launched the superhero team theDefenders in issue #1 (Dec. 1971)[28] andMarvel Team-Up, starting in March 1972, where he drewSpider-Manteaming with other Marvel characters.[29] In 1973, he began his five-year stint as regular penciler onThe Amazing Spider-Man,[30] which at that point was Marvel's highest-selling monthly comic. Andru and writerGerry Conway introduced thePunisher,[31] who would become one of Marvel Comics' most popular characters.
In 1976, Andru penciled the first large-scale comic bookIntercompany crossover,Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man, in a story written by Conway and co-published by Marvel and DC. As one comics historian wrote, "The tale was written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Ross Andru, both among the few [at that time] to ever have worked on both Superman and Spider-Man ... The result was a defining moment inBronze Age of Comic Books."[32]
In 1978, Andru returned to DC to work as an editor, a position he held until 1986.[33] During this period his art appeared mostly on the covers of such titles asAction Comics andSuperman. Working with writerMarv Wolfman and collaboratorMike Esposito, he co-created thesyndicatedcomic stripThe Unexplained in 1979. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, Andru and inkerDick Giordano were DC's primary cover artists, providing cover artwork for the Superman titles as well as covers for many of the other comics in the DC line at that time.[34]
In the 1980s, Andru returned to interior artwork. He andRoy Thomas collaborated on the "Superman and His Incredible Fortress of Solitude" treasury edition published asDC Special Series #26 (Summer 1981).[35]Pandora Pann was a proposed series by Andru and writerLen Wein which was to have been published in 1982. But other commitments prevented Wein from writing it, and theproject was cancelled.[36]
In 1981, Andru contributed to theDC Super Heroes Super Healthy Cookbook, illustrating variousJustice League characters as they explained food recipes to a 4th to 6th grade audience. Additional artists includedDick Giordano and Leo Durañona.[37]
Andru made a brief return to theWonder Woman title, drawing six pages in issue #300 (Feb. 1983).[38] The following year, Andru contributed to the 300th issue ofWorld's Finest Comics as well.[39] ANew Teen Titans drug awareness comic book sponsored by theAmerican Soft Drink Industry and drawn by Andru was published in cooperation with The President's Drug Awareness Campaign in 1983.[40][41] Andru also pencilledTeen Titans Spotlight #3–6 (1986–1987). He was one of the contributors to theDC Challenge limited series in 1986.[42] Other Andru artwork appeared inVigilante (1984) andBlue Beetle (1987–1988).
In 1990, Ross Andru contributed a story toValiant Comics'Captain N:The Game Master #1. The same year, he reunited with writer Gerry Conway and inker Mike Esposito for a story inWeb of Spider-Man Annual #6. In 1992, the graphic novelSpider-Man: Fear Itself, pencilled by Andru, inked by Esposito, plotted by Conway and scripted byStan Lee was published. Andru's last published work was forArchie Comics'Zen, Intergalactic Ninja in 1992, on which he was teamed once again with Esposito.[8]
Prior to his death, Andru was working with Esposito on a new project to be calledThe Strobe Warrior for another independent company founded by Esposito and his assistant Blake Seals.[citation needed] The project fell apart after Andru's passing but was revived years later in song by a band called Fling Lois.[43]
Frequent collaboratorGerry Conway commented of Ross Andru's work, "Ross Andru could place a character anywhere he wanted. He had a terrific sense of spatial relations; he could track a battle easily across rooftops, from panel to panel. He drew some great sequences where he maintained the same stationary background, a rooftop or a street, across an entire page, but move the characters from panel to panel. I know there are artists today who do that, but many of today's artists are figure-oriented. Space and context doesn't seem as important to them, whereas it was extremely important to Ross. He used to go around New York City taking pictures of the buildings so he could be accurate about where he put Spider-Man."[44]
Andru suffered a brain aneurysm and died on November 9, 1993, in Jamaica Bay, Queens County, New York.[45][46] His body was cremated and interred at the Fresh Pond Crematory and Columbarium, Middle Village, Queens County, New York.
Andru was inducted into theWill Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2007.
InUltimate Spider-Man issue #87 (Feb. 2006), a "Ross Andru" has a cameo as the principal of Peter Parker's high school.
Comics work (interior pencil art) includes:
I went to the High School of Music & Art ... in HarlemAdditional, June 16, 2012.
Wonder Woman's origin story and character was given a Silver Age revamp, courtesy of writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru.
When John Romita sprained his wrist, Marvel hired artist Ross Andru to draw a fill-in issue ofThe Amazing Spider-Man to give Romita time to recover. However, never less than a consummate professional, Romita turned in his work on schedule as promised, leaving the company with an extra Stan Lee-scripted Spider-Man story on their hands.
[Roy] Thomas and artist Ross Andru reunited [Doctor] Strange, the Hulk, and Namor as a brand new Marvel superhero team - the Defenders."
Having done a special stand-alone Spider-Man story inMarvel Super-Heroes #14, May 1968, Andru came aboard as the ongoing artist withAmazing #125, October 1973.
Giordano was also frequently partnered with penciler Ross Andru, and for several years, the duo illustrated virtually every Superman cover published, and a host of other covers.
This series contains material relating to the development and distribution of theTeen Titans drug awareness comic books. The comic books were designed to communicate the dangers of drug abuse to elementary school children. The Drug Abuse Policy Office coordinated the project, DC Comics developed the story line and artwork, and private companies funded the production costs. The Keebler Company sponsored the fourth grade book (released in April 1983), the National Soft Drink Association sponsored the sixth grade book (November 1983), and IBM sponsored the fifth grade book through the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth (February 1984). The files consist primarily of correspondence with educators, parents, and children.
| Preceded by | Wonder Woman artist 1958–1967 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | The Flash artist 1967–1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | The Amazing Spider-Man artist 1973–1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Justice League of America editor 1979–1980 | Succeeded by |
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