Alex Ross facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alex Ross |
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Ross in 2003
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| Born | Nelson Alexander Ross January 22, 1970 Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Painter and illustrator |
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Notable works
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Alex Ross (born January 22, 1970) is a famous American comic book artist and writer. He is best known for his amazing painted artwork inside comics, on covers, and for character designs. His unique style makes superheroes look very realistic and human.
Alex Ross first became well-known in 1994 with the comic series Marvels. He worked on this project with writer Kurt Busiek for Marvel Comics. Later, he created many more projects for both Marvel and DC Comics. One of his most famous works is the 1996 series Kingdom Come, which he also helped write.
Besides comics, Alex Ross has also worked on movies. He created concept art for Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). He has also designed covers for TV Guide and promotional art for the Academy Awards. His realistic superhero drawings have even been turned into action figures!
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Early Life and Art Style
Alex Ross was born in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in Lubbock, Texas. His mother, Lynette, was a commercial artist, and she taught him many art techniques. Alex started drawing when he was only three years old. He first became interested in superheroes after seeing Spider-Man on a TV show called The Electric Company.
As he grew up, Alex was inspired by other comic artists like John Romita Sr. and George Pérez. He also admired realistic illustrators such as Norman Rockwell. By age 16, Alex dreamed of applying this realistic painting style to comic books.
At 17, Alex began studying painting at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. There, he discovered artists like Salvador Dalí, whose super-realistic art wasn't so different from comics. This is when he decided he wanted to paint his own comic books. He finished his studies after three years.
Alex Ross's art style often uses a mix of gouache (a type of paint) and wash. People often describe his work as a blend of "Norman Rockwell meets George Pérez". He is praised for making classic comic characters look very human and real.
Career Highlights
After art school, Alex Ross worked as a storyboard artist for an advertising company. His first published comic book work was in 1990 for a series called Terminator: The Burning Earth. He did all the art for this series, from the drawings to the colors.
Working with Marvel and DC
Alex Ross met writer Kurt Busiek and they decided to create comic series using painted artwork. Marvel Comics agreed to their idea for Marvels, which came out in 1994. This series showed the history of the Marvel Universe from the view of an ordinary person. It followed a photojournalist reacting to a world full of superheroes and villains.
With Kurt Busiek and penciller Brent Anderson, Ross also helped create Astro City. This series started in 1995 and explored how regular people, heroes, and villains live in a world where amazing things are common. Ross paints the covers and helps design the characters for this series.
In 1996, Ross worked with writer Mark Waid on the DC Comics series Kingdom Come. This story showed a possible future for the DC Universe. In it, older heroes like Superman come out of retirement to deal with a new, tougher generation of heroes. Ross redesigned many classic DC characters for this series.
Between 1998 and 2003, Alex Ross and writer Paul Dini created special large-sized comics. These celebrated the 60th anniversaries of DC Comics heroes like Superman, Batman, Shazam, and Wonder Woman. They also made two specials about the Justice League.
Later Projects and Other Media
In the early 2000s, Ross helped plan and design characters for a Marvel series called Earth X and its follow-ups. These comics brought together many Marvel characters from different time periods.
Alex Ross also contributed to movies. He designed costumes for the 2002 Spider-Man film, though they were not used. His designs were later included as unlockable costumes in the movie's video games. In 2004, he designed 15 paintings for the opening credits of the film Spider-Man 2. These paintings showed important moments from the first movie.
In 2002, Ross designed the official poster for the 74th Academy Awards. This poster showed the Oscar statue on top of a famous building. He even borrowed a real Oscar statue to help him paint it accurately!
Ross has also created album covers for the band Anthrax. He painted the covers for their albums like We've Come for You All (2003) and Worship Music (2011).
In 2003, a book called Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross was published. It showed off his amazing artwork for DC Comics.
In 2005, Ross worked with writer Jim Krueger and artist Doug Braithwaite on a 12-issue series called Justice for DC Comics. This series focused on the villains of the Justice League teaming up to try and defeat the heroes.
Alex Ross has also worked on projects for Dynamite Entertainment. In 2008, he started Project Superpowers, which featured older comic book characters. He also wrote and drew Avengers/Invaders, which brought together World War II versions of heroes like Captain America with the modern Avengers.
2010s and Beyond
In the 2010s, Alex Ross continued to create covers for many comic books, including The Green Hornet and Lord of the Jungle.
In 2012, he drew promotional art for the video game Assassin's Creed III. He also returned to painting interior art for a comic called Masks. This story brought together classic pulp heroes like the Shadow and the Green Hornet.
For Marvel's "All-New, All-Different Marvel" relaunch, Ross created many covers for popular comics like The Amazing Spider-Man. In 2015, he designed a new, high-tech costume for Spider-Man.
In 2020, Ross provided the main cover for Marvel's The Rise of Ultraman #1. He also became a regular cover artist for other Marvel titles, including Iron Man and Captain America.
In 2022, Alex Ross released Fantastic Four: Full Circle. This was a 64-page graphic novel where he was both the writer and the artist. It was his first long story where he did both jobs. The book was praised for its unique art style, which used bold colors and a classic comic book look.
Personal Life
As of 2018, Alex Ross lives in the suburbs of Chicago.
Toys
Alex Ross's artwork has inspired many action figures and collectibles. DC Direct, a company that makes collectibles for DC Comics, has created several sets of action figures based on his art from the comic series Kingdom Come. These sets included popular heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Captain Marvel.
DC Direct also released a line of action figures based on Alex Ross's art from the Justice comic book series. These figures included heroes and villains like Flash, the Joker, Green Lantern, and Lex Luthor.
In 2019, Hasbro released figures based on Alex Ross's art as part of their Marvel Legends toy line. These toys celebrated Marvel Comics' 80th anniversary and included Ross's designs for Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America.
Awards
Alex Ross has won many awards for his amazing comic book art:
- National Cartoonists Society Comic Book "Reuben" Awards
* 1998: Won the Comic Book "Reuben" Award for Superman: Peace on Earth.
- Eisner Awards (These are like the "Oscars" for comic books!)
* 1994: Won Best Painter/Multimedia Artist for Marvels. * 1996: Won Best Cover Artist for Kurt Busiek's Astro City. * 1997: Won Best Cover Artist for Kingdom Come and Kurt Busiek's Astro City. * 1997: Won Best Painter/Multimedia Artist for Kingdom Come. * 1998: Won Best Cover Artist for Kurt Busiek's Astro City and Uncle Sam. * 1998: Won Best Painter/Multimedia Artist for Uncle Sam. * 1999: Won Best Painter/Multimedia Artist for Superman: Peace on Earth. * 2000: Won Best Cover Artist for several Batman comics and Kurt Busiek's Astro City. * 2000: Won Best Painter/Multimedia Artist for Batman: War on Crime. * 2003: Won the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award.
- Harvey Awards (Another important award in comics!)
* 1994: Won Best Artist or Penciller for Marvels. * 1997: Won Best Artist or Penciller for Kingdom Come. * 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999: Won Best Cover Artist multiple times for series like Kurt Busiek's Astro City and Kingdom Come. * 1994: Won Best Continuing or Limited Series for Marvels. * 1995: Won Best Single Issue or Story for Marvels #4. * 2000: Won Best Graphic Album of Original Work for Batman: War on Crime.
Alex Ross also won the Comics Buyer's Guide's CBG Fan Award for Favorite Painter seven years in a row! This was such a record that they retired the category. He was also named Best Cover Artist by the CBG Awards 11 years in a row, from 1995 to 2005.
See also
In Spanish: Alex Ross (ilustrador) para niños
