| Alex Ross | |
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 Alex Ross, 2008 |
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| Born | Nelson Alexander Ross January 22, 1970 Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Painter and Illustrator |
| Awards | Will Eisner Award (1997) National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Award (1998) |
Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter, acclaimed for the photorealism of his work. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters.[1] Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics (e.g. Marvels and Kingdom Come, respectively), as well as being involved in creating independent works featuring superheroes (e.g. Astro City and Project Superpowers. Because his painting style is time-consuming, he primarily serves as a plotter and/or cover artist.
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Career
Ross first became enamored of superheroes as a child, when he saw Spider-Man on the children's TV series The Electric Company.[2]
Ross' first published work was the 1990 five issue miniseries, Terminator: The Burning Earth, which was written by Ron Fortier. 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. In 1993, he completed his first painted superhero assignment, the cover of a Superman novel: Superman: Doomsday & Beyond.
During this time, Ross met writer Kurt 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 the Marvel Universe from the perspective of an ordinary person. That limited series, Marvels, was released in 1994, and chronicled the life of a photojournalist, as he reacted to living in a world of superheroes and villains.
Busiek, Ross, and penciller Brent Anderson went on to create Astro City, first published by Image Comics in 1995 and later by Wildstorm Comics. The series features an original superhero world and continues the theme of Marvels, exploring how ordinary people, and superheroes and villains too, 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.
In 1996, Ross worked with writer Mark Waid on the DC Comics limited series Kingdom Come, which presents a possible future for the DC universe, in which Superman and several other classic superheroes return from retirement to tame a generation of brutal anti-heroes. The work featured Ross' redesigned versions of many DC characters, as well as a new generation of characters.
Ross followed Kingdom Come with Uncle Sam, a non-superhero work for DC's Vertigo line, an experimental work that examined the dark side of American history.
In the early 2000s, with writer Jim Krueger, Ross plotted and designed characters for a trilogy of Marvel limited series, Earth X, Universe X, and Paradise X, which combined dozens of Marvel characters from various time periods.
Between 1998 and 2003, writer Paul Dini and Ross produced annual tabloid-sized editions celebrating the 60th anniversaries of DC Comics' Superman (Peace on Earth), Batman (War on Crime), Shazam (Power of Hope), and Wonder Woman (Spirit of Truth), as well as two specials featuring the Justice League, Secret Origins and Liberty and Justice.
In 2001, Ross won acclaim for his work on special comic books benefiting the families of those killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, including his portraits of paramedics, police and firefighters. He has also designed DC merchandise, including posters, dinner plates, and statues. In late 2001, Ross painted four covers to the December 8, 2001 TV Guide, which depicted Tom Welling, Kristen Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum of the TV series Smallville, and Superman.[2]
In early 2002, Ross designed the promotional poster for the 2002 Academy Awards, which depicted Oscar perched atop the First 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.[1][2] That same year, he was one of four artists who depicted Spider-Man on one of the covers to the April 27, 2002 issue of TV Guide as a promotional tie-in to the feature film Spider-Man.[2]
In 2004, DC compiled the coffee table book Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, written and designed by Chip Kidd. In late 2005, a paperback version of the book was published to include new artwork by Ross, including sketches for his Justice mini-series.
Also in 2004, Ross designed 15 paintings for the opening credits of the film Spider-Man 2. The paintings presented key elements from the first film. Ross later donated the paintings to be auctioned off on ebay to benefit the United Cancer Front.[3]
In August 2005, Ross worked again with writer Jim Kreuger and penciller Doug Braithwaite on 12-issue, bi-monthly limited series Justice for DC Comics. The series focuses on the enemies of the Justice League of America banding together to in an effort to defeat them.
After Justice he started on projects focusing on Golden Age characters: Project Superpowers with Jim Krueger for Dynamite Entertainment.[4] and in 2008, Ross began work on Avengers/Invaders[5] featuring Marvel characters but published by Dynamite Entertainment. The story pits World War II versions of Captain America, Namor, and other classic war characters against the modern Avengers groups. He has not stated what will happen in the series, but he has stated the recent death of Captain America has improved the story, since it was conceived a year before his death.[6][7][8] He also collaborates on DC's Justice Society of America. Ross is also set to draw the covers of Dynamite Entertainment's comic book series featuring The Phantom. He will also redesign the hero's costume. In 2009 he was announced as cover artist for Fighting American.
Toys
DC Direct (the exclusive collectibles division of DC Comics) has produced 3 sets of action figures from the comics book Kingdom Come based on Alex Ross' artwork. The first set of figures included Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Hawkman. The second set included Batman, Red Robin, Captain Marvel and Kid Flash. The last set included Magog, Flash, Armored Wonder Woman and Deadman. An exclusive figure of Red Arrow was released through ToyFare magazine. DC Direct also released several other Ross-designed characters through their Elseworlds toylines. These figures included The Spectre, Norman McCay, Jade, Nightstar, Aquaman and Blue Beetle. Ross designed the costume the current incarnation of Batwoman 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 book Justice based on Alex Ross' artwork:
- Series 1: Bizarro, Sinestro, Cheetah, Flash, Superman, Superman (Variant)
- Series 2: Aquaman, Batman, Black Canary, Black Manta, Parasite
- Series 3: Green Lantern, Joker, Plastic Man, Poison Ivy, Wonder Woman
- Series 4: Black Adam, Hawkman, Shazam!, Solomon Grundy, Zatanna
- Series 5: Brainiac, Green Arrow, Lex Luthor, Martian Manhunter, Martian Manhunter (Translucent), Red Tornado.
- Series 6: Batman Armored, Green Lantern Armored, Hawkgirl, Scarecrow.
- Series 7: Aquaman Armored, Gorilla Grodd, Green Lantern John Stewart, Superman Armored
- Series 8: Batgirl, Captain Cold, Supergirl, Toyman
Other media
- Alex Ross drew the cover picture on the Anthrax albums We've Come for You All and Music of Mass Destruction.
- Ross had a feud with filmmaker Kevin Smith because Smith's film Mallrats seemed to imply that Stan Lee was the sole creator of the Marvel Universe. Ross stated that he feels that Jack Kirby should have half the credit. This feud was referenced in the DVD for Mallrats.
- Ross had designed a series of costumes for the 2002 film Spider-Man, but director Sam Raimi instead chose not to use them. Rather, many of the costumes were redesigned prior to filming. In the film's video game counterpart, as an easter egg, it is possible to unlock a playable version of Ross' Spider-Man design. When using this unlockable, the Green Goblin will also feature one of Ross' unused character outfits. As such, Ross was commissioned to do a series of drawings for the opening credits of Spider-Man 2, which recapped the major events from the first film.
- Ross painted the Kollectors Edition cover for the console game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. A smaller version of this painting is included on a separate textured card inside the case. He is also featured in his own segment on the Blu Ray/DVD included in the package.
Awards
His awards include a 1997 Will Eisner Award for the limited series Kingdom Come (with Mark Waid) and a 1998 National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Award for Superman: Peace on Earth.
Notes
- ^ a b Mark Evanier. "Alex Ross' Hollywood press conference"; "Point of View" Comics Buyer's Guide #1474; February 15, 2002
- ^ a b c d Comics Buyer's Guide #1485; May 3, 2002; Cover
- ^ "Opening Title Paintings From Spider-Man 2 To Be Offered in Charity Auction on eBay Starting September 22" Alex Ross Art
- ^ Ross! Krueger! Dynamite! "SUPERPOWERS!", July 18 2007, Comic Book Resources
- ^ Avengers/Invaders at the Comic Book DB
- ^ Interview: Alex Ross Returns to Marvel, IGN, August 11, 2007
- ^ Ross' Return = "Avengers/Invaders", Comic Book Resources, August 14, 2007
- ^ Alex Ross Talks Avengers/Invaders, Newsarama, August 14, 2007
References
- Alex Ross at the Comic Book DB
External links
- Official website
- Alex Ross at Marvel.com
- A video showcasing Alex Ross at work on the cover to JLA: Liberty and Justice
- Alex Ross (VII) at the Internet Movie Database
Interviews
- Interview at Alex Ross Art (1997)
- Interview at The Jack Kirby Collector (1999)
- Interview at FilmForce (2003)
- Around Comics Interview on Around Comics 01/01/08
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