Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' Marvels'', on which he collaborated with writer

Kurt Busiek Kurt Busiek ( ; born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer. His work includes the '' Marvels'' limited series, his own series titled '' Astro City'', a four-year run on '' The Avengers, Thunderbolts,'' and ''Superman.'' Early lif ...

for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. He has since done a variety of projects for both Marvel and

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, such as the 1996 miniseries '' Kingdom Come'', which he also cowrote. Since then he has done covers and character designs for Busiek's series '' Astro City'', and various projects for

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded in 2004 by Nick Barrucci in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, known for publishing comic book adaptations of licensed feature film properties, such as ''Army of Darkness'', '' Terminator ...

. His feature film work includes concept and narrative art for ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' (2002) and ''

Spider-Man 2 ''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of Spider-Man. Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story conceived by Michael Chabon and the writing team of Alfred Gough and Miles ...

'' (2004), and DVD packaging art for the

M. Night Shyamalan Manoj Nelliyattu M. Night Shyamalan ( ; born August 6, 1970) is an American filmmaker. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally. Shyamalan has received vario ...

film '' Unbreakable'' (2000). He has done covers for ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'', promotional artwork for the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, 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 of

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouach ...

and

wash Wash or the Wash may refer to: Industry and sanitation * WASH or WaSH, "water, sanitation and hygiene", three related public health issues * Wash (distilling), the liquid produced by the fermentation step in the production of distilled beverages ...

, has been said to exhibit "a Norman-Rockwell-meets- George-Pérez vibe", and has been praised for its realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters.Evanier, Mark "Alex Ross' Hollywood press conference". "Point of View" ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...

'' #1474; February 15, 2002 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 in '' Mad'' magazine.

Early life

Alex Ross was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, and raised in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

, by his

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

minister father, Clark, and his mother, Lynette, a commercial artist from whom he would learn many of the trademarks of his artistic style. Ross first began drawing at age three, and was first influenced by superheroes when he discovered

on an episode of the children's TV series ''

The Electric Company ''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. ...

''.''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1485. May 3, 2002. Cover He would later be influenced by comics artists such as John Romita Sr.,

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (c ...

and

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017) was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein, adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his other ho ...

, 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 as Andrew Loomis and

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

, and envisioned one day seeing such styles applied to comic book art. At age 17, Ross began studying painting at the

American Academy of Art The American Academy of Art College was a private for-profit art school in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1923 for the education of fine and commercial arts students. In July 2024, the college announced its pending closure. History The ...

in Chicago,"The Creators," ''Avengers/Invaders Sketchbook'' (Marvel Comics, 2008). where his mother had studied. During his years there, Ross discovered the work of other artists like J. C. Leyendecker and

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

, 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.

Career

1990s

After graduating, Ross took a job at an advertising agency as a

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and mar ...

. Ross's first published comic book work was the 1990 five-issue miniseries, '' Terminator: The Burning Earth'', written by Ron Fortier and published by

NOW Comics NOW Comics was a comic book publisher founded in late 1985 by Tony C. Caputo as a sole-proprietorship. During the four years after its founding, NOW grew from a one-man operation to operating in 12 countries, and published almost 1,000 comic bo ...

. 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 for

was to have been printed in the science-fiction anthology series ''Open Space'' #5 but the title was cancelled with issue #4 (August 1990). Ross's story was printed in 1999 as a special supplement to '' Wizard's'' ''Alex Ross Special''. In 1993, he completed his first painted superhero assignment, the cover of a

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

novel, '' Superman: Doomsday & Beyond''. During this time, Ross met writer

, 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 The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Superhero teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardia ...

from the perspective of an ordinary person. That limited series, '' Marvels,'' was released in 1994, and chronicled the life of a

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

, as he reacted to living in a world of superheroes and villains. Busiek, Ross, and penciller Brent Anderson created '' Astro City'', first published by

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

in 1995 and later by

WildStorm Comics Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...

. The series features an original superhero world and continues the theme of ''Marvels'', 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. In 1996, Ross worked with writer

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Da ...

on the

limited series '' Kingdom Come'', which presents a possible future for the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

in which Superman and several other classic superheroes return from retirement to tame a generation of brutal

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

es. The work featured Ross's redesigned versions of many DC characters, as well as a new generation of characters. Ross co-created the original character Magog, patterning his appearance and costume on

Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

and Shatterstar, two characters created by

Rob Liefeld Robert Liefeld (; born October 3, 1967) is an American comic book creator. A prominent writer and artist in the 1990s, he is known for co-creating the character Cable (comics), Cable with writer Louise Simonson and the character Deadpool with wri ...

. DC Comics writer and executive

Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002 to 2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...

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." Ross followed ''Kingdom Come'' with ''

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...

'', an experimental non-superhero work for DC's

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

line that examines the dark side of

American history The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...

. Ross drew the lenticular covers for ''Superman: Forever'' #1 (June 1998) and '' Batman: No Man's Land'' #1 (March 1999). Between 1998 and 2003, writer

Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American writer, animator, and comic book artist. He has served as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably ''Batman: The Animated Series' ...

and Ross produced annual tabloid-sized editions celebrating the 60th anniversaries of DC Comics'

('' Superman: Peace on Earth''),

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

('' Batman: War on Crime''), Shazam ('' Shazam! Power of Hope''), and

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

('' Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth''), as well as two specials featuring the

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

, ''Secret Origins'' and ''Liberty and Justice''.

2000s

In the early 2000s, with writer Jim Krueger, Ross plotted and designed characters for a trilogy of Marvel limited series, ''

Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book Limited series (comics), limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian v ...

'', '' Universe X'', and '' Paradise X'', which combined dozens of Marvel characters from various time periods. When

's film '' Unbreakable'' was released to video in 2001, the DVD included an insert with Ross's original art, as well as a commentary by Ross, regarding

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

es, in the movie's special features. In 2001, Ross won acclaim for his work on special comic books benefiting the families of those killed in the

September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Hijackers in the September 11 attacks#Hijackers, Nineteen terrorists hijacked four com ...

, 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, ''

'', which depicted

Tom Welling Thomas John Patrick Welling (born April 26, 1977) is an American actor, director, producer, podcaster, and model. He is best known for his role as Clark Kent in The WB (now The CW) superhero drama ''Smallville'' (2001–2011). He also co-starr ...

Kristin Kreuk Kristin Laura Kreuk (; born December 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress. Debuting on teen drama '' Edgemont'', she became most known for her television roles as Lana Lang in the superhero television series ''Smallville'' (2001–2011), Catherine ...

and

Michael Rosenbaum Michael Rosenbaum (born July 11, 1972) is an American actor and podcaster. He is known for portraying Lex Luthor (Smallville), Lex Luthor on the television series ''Smallville'', a role that ''TV Guide'' included in their 2013 list of "The 60 Nas ...

of the TV series ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'', and Superman. Ross designed a series of costumes for the 2002 film ''

'', though they were not used in the film. In the film's video game tie-in, as an

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

, it is possible to unlock a playable version of Ross's

design. When using this, the

Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...

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 the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

game '' Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro''. 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. 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''. Ross illustrated the cover art on the

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

albums '' We've Come for You All'' (2003), '' Music of Mass Destruction'' (2004), ''

Worship Music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a distinct genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has evolved over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are of ...

'' (2011), and '' For All Kings'' (2016). In 2003,

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint. Founded in 1942 as an independent publishing house in New York City by Kurt and Helen Wolff, it specialized in introducing progressive European works to American readers. In 1961, it was ...

published the

coffee table book A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and which can serve to inspire conversation o ...

''Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross'', written and designed by

Chip Kidd Charles Kidd (born 1964) is an American graphic designer known for Cover art, book covers. Early childhood Born in Shillington, Pennsylvania, Shillington in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up being fascinated and heavily inspired by Am ...

, 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 his ''Justice'' mini-series. Also in 2004, Ross designed 15 paintings for the opening credits of the film ''

''. The paintings presented key elements from the first film. Ross later donated the paintings to be auctioned off on

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

to benefit the United Cancer Front. In 2005, Ross designed the DVD illustration covers for the re-release of ''

Gatchaman is a Japanese animated media franchise about a five-member superhero ninja team created by Tatsuo Yoshida and produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The original anime series, which debuted in 1972, was eponymously entitled ''Kagaku Ninja-tai Gat ...

'' by

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gr ...

. He appeared in a featurette discussing his involvement of Gatchaman in his career. In August 2005, Ross worked again with writer Jim Krueger and penciler

Doug Braithwaite Doug Braithwaite is a British comic book artist. Career Braithwaite began his career working in the British comics industry starting with '' 2000 AD'' and '' A1''; later he worked on Marvel's ''Earth X'' sequels, ''Universe X'' and ''Paradise ...

on 12-issue, bi-monthly limited series ''

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

'' for DC Comics. 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 film ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...

'', 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. In 2008, Ross embarked on projects focusing on

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

characters: '' Project Superpowers'' with Jim Krueger for

. That same year, Ross wrote and illustrated '' Avengers/Invaders''. It features Marvel characters but was published by Dynamite Entertainment. The story pits

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

versions of

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

Namor Namor McKenzie (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc., the character first appeared in '' Moti ...

, and other classic war characters against the modern Avengers groups. Late 2008 saw the release of two Ross prints that were made into T-shirts: one, "Bush Sucking Democracy Dry", featuring

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

as a vampire sucking the blood from Lady Liberty, and the other, "Time for a Change", featuring

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

as a superhero. The latter was made into a T-shirt, with which Obama was seen posing at a public event. Ross painted the "Kollectors Edition" cover for the console game ''

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe ''Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe'' is a 2008 fighting video game developed and published by Midway Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game is a crossover between ''Mortal Kombat'' and the DC Universe, and is the eighth main installmen ...

''. The artwork was released on October 9, 2008, as was a video chronicling Ross's process of painting it. Ross is featured in his own segment on the Blu-ray/DVD included in the package.

announced that Ross would illustrate covers for the '' Fighting American'' series.

2010s

Other Ross projects for Dynamite include acting as the creative director on ''

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

'' comic book series. and teaming with Kurt Busiek on ''

Kirby Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Lofts, a building in Houston, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby Ho ...

: Genesis'', an eight-issue miniseries which debuted in 2011. The series was their first full collaboration since ''Marvels'' 17 years previous, and features a large group of Jack Kirby's creator-owned characters, the rights to which were acquired by Dynamite, such as

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

, 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. Since 2011, Ross has been painting covers for several Dynamite titles such as ''The Green Hornet'', ''Silver Star'', ''Captain Victory'', '' The Bionic Man'', '' Lord of the Jungle'', ''

The Spider The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by publisher Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of '' The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. ''The Spider'' sold well ...

'', among others. In 2012 Ross drew promotional artwork of Ratonhnhaké:ton, the main character of the video game '' Assassin's Creed III'', used on the cover of the April 2012 issue of ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...

'' and the collectible steelbook case provided with certain editions of the game. that same year, Ross returned to interior painted art with ''Masks'', a story in which

the Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

, the Spider, the Green Hornet,

Zorro Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...

, and others join forces to combat a mutual threat. In 2013 Ross created an exclusive

GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer, headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas). The brand is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operated 3,203 stor ...

pre-order poster for the video game ''

Watch Dogs ''Watch Dogs'' (stylized as ''WATCH_DOGS'') is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Ubisoft, and developed primarily by its Montreal and Toronto studios using the Disrupt game engine. The series' eponymous first title was rele ...

'', 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 the

Willis Tower The Willis Tower, formerly and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110-storey, story, skyscraper in the Chicago Loop, Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer F ...

and the

elevated train An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train or el for short) is a railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks). The rai ...

tracks in the background. With Marvel's "

All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline "Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched wi ...

" relaunch, Ross did a variety of covers for the main comics in the relaunch such as the cover for ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and ''Squadron Supreme''. In 2015, following the conclusion of that year's "

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'', is a 12-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter ...

" storyline, Ross designed the high-tech variation of Spider-Man's costume that the character wore during

Dan Slott Daniel "Dan" Slott (born July 3, 1967) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics books such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', as well as ''The Superior Spider-Man'', ''She-Hulk'', ''Silver Surfer (comic book), Silver Surfe ...

and

Giuseppe Camuncoli Giuseppe Camuncoli (born March 2, 1975) is an People of Italy, Italian comic book artist best known for his work on the Marvel Comics titles ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and ''The Superior Spider-Man'' and the DC Comics/Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo ...

's run on ''The Amazing-Spider-Man''.

2020s

In 2020, Ross provided the main cover for the Marvel Comics book ''The Rise of Ultraman'' #1. In the ensuing early part of that decade, he had stints as the regular cover artist on Marvel titles including ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

'', ''

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

'', ''

'', and ''

Immortal Hulk The Devil Hulk, also known as the Immortal Hulk, is a fictional Dissociative identity disorder, alternate-personality character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Devil Hulk first appeared in ''T ...

''. In April 2022, Ross was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to Operation USA's benefit anthology book, ''Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds'', a project spearheaded by editor Scott Dunbier, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. Ross provided the cover to the hardcover edition of the book. In September 2022, Ross released ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

: Full Circle'', a 64 page graphic novel in which the Fantastic Four venture through the Negative Zone, on which Ross served as both writer and artist, 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 '60s ''FF'' story by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

. 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." Chris Neill, writing for

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

, 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. Michael Cavna included it in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''s list of the Ten Best Graphic Novels of 2022.

Personal life

As of December 2018, Ross lives in the suburbs of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Toys

DC Direct, the collectibles division of DC Comics, has produced three sets of action figures from the comic book '' Kingdom Come'' based on Alex Ross's artwork. The first set of figures included

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

, and

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

. The second set included

, Red Robin, Captain Marvel, and Kid Flash. The last set included Magog,

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...

, Armored Wonder Woman, and

Deadman Deadman or Deadman's may refer to: * "Deadman" or "dead man", are alternative terms for a dead man's switch * "Deadman's foot" is another name for a Salamander (metallurgy), Salamander in metallurgy * "Deadman anchor" is a buried object (log, con ...

. An exclusive figure of Red Arrow was released through ToyFare magazine. DC Direct also released several other Ross-designed characters through their

Elseworlds Elseworlds is the publication imprint (trade name), imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that take place outside the DC Universe Canon (fictional), canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realities that ...

toylines. These figures included the

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writt ...

, Norman McCay,

Jade Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

, Nightstar,

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

, and Blue Beetle. Ross designed the costume the current incarnation of

Batwoman Batwoman is a name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies of Batman similarly to Batgirl. The original version of the character, Kathy Kane (eventually given t ...

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 ''

'' based on Alex Ross's artwork: *Series 1:

Bizarro Bizarro () is a supervillain or anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman, and first appeared in ''Superboy (comic bo ...

Sinestro Thaal Sinestro () (or simply Sinestro) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, particularly those featuring Green Lantern. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Sinestro is a former Green Lantern Corps member w ...

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

, Superman *Series 2:

, Batman,

Black Canary Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...

Black Manta Black Manta (David Milton Hyde) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Bob Haney and artist Nick Cardy, the character first appeared in ''Aquaman'' #35 (September 1967). He has since endured a ...

Parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

*Series 3:

the Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, the character first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' on ...

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero featured in American comic books first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Co ...

Poison Ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

, Wonder Woman *Series 4: Black Adam,

, Shazam, Solomon Grundy,

Zatanna Zatanna Zatara (), known mononymously as Zatanna, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in ''Hawkman (comic book), Hawkman'' #4 (N ...

*Series 5: Brainiac,

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in ''Detective Comics ...

, Red Tornado. *Series 6: Batman Armored, Green Lantern Armored,

Hawkgirl Hawkgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, and first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' ...

, Scarecrow. *Series 7: Aquaman Armored, Gorilla Grodd, Green Lantern John Stewart, Superman Armored *Series 8:

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...

Captain Cold Captain Cold (Leonard Snart) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared in '' Showcase'' #8 (June 1957). In his comic book appearances, ...

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

Toyman Toyman is the name of three supervillains and one adolescent superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, as an adversary for Superman. The most well-known incarnation of Toyman is Winslow Schott, a criminal who uses toy-based or to ...

In 2019,

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

released several figures based on Alex Ross's art as part of the Marvel Legends line. The toys were released to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Marvel Comics, and included Ross-designed versions of

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

and Captain America.

Awards

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

Comic Book "Reuben" Awards **1998

Comic Book "Reuben" Award for ''Superman: Peace on Earth''. **2022 National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award Best Graphic Novel Nominee (Pending), ''Fantastic Four: Full Circle'' *

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

**1994 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Nominee – Best Cover Artist: (for ''Marvels'' arvel **1994 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Painter/Multimedia Artist: (''Marvels'' (Marvel)) **1996 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Cover Artist: (for ''Kurt Busiek's Astro City'' ukebox Productions/Image **1997 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Cover Artist: (for ''Kingdom Come'' Cand Kurt Busiek\'s Astro City ukebox Productions/Homage **1997 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Painter/Multimedia Artist: (''Kingdom Come'' (DC Comics)) **1998 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Cover Artist: (for ''Kurt Busiek's Astro City'' ukebox Productions/Imageand Uncle Sam C/Vertigo **1998 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Painter/Multimedia Artist: (''Uncle Sam'' C Comics/Vertigo **1999 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Painter/Multimedia Artist: (''Superman: Peace on Earth'' C Comics **2000 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Cover Artist: (for ''Batman: No Man's Land'', ''Batman: Harley Quinn'', and ''Batman: War on Crime'' C and ''Kurt Busiek's Astro City'' omage/DC/Wildstorm and ''America's Best Comics'' alternate #1 ildstorm/DC **2000 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Painter/Multimedia Artist: (''Batman: War on Crime'' (DC Comics)) **2003 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Bob Clampett Humanitarian **2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Nominee – Best Cover Artist: (''Astro City: The Dark Age'' (DC Comics/WildStorm); ''Project Superpowers'' (Dynamite)) *

Harvey Awards The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which wer ...

**1994 Harvey Awards Best Artist or Penciller Alex Ross, for ''Marvels'' (Marvel Comics) **1997 Harvey Awards Best Artist or Penciller Alex Ross for ''Kingdom Come'' (DC) **1996 Harvey Awards Best Cover Artist Alex Ross, for ''Kurt Busiek's Astro City'' #1 (Image) **1997 Harvey Awards Best Cover Artist Alex Ross, for ''Kingdom Come'' #1 (DC) **1998 Harvey Awards Best Cover Artist Alex Ross, for ''Kurt Busiek's Astro City'' (Image/Homage), ''Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' #100 (DC), ''Squadron Supreme'' (Marvel Comics) **1999 Harvey Awards Best Cover Artist Alex Ross, for ''Kurt Busiek's Astro City'' (Image/Homage), ''Superman Forever'' (DC), ''Superman: Peace on Earth'' (DC) **1994 Harvey Awards Best Continuing or Limited Series ''Marvels'', by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross; edited by Marcus McLaurin (Marvel Comics) **1995 Harvey Awards Best Single Issue or Story ''Marvels'' #4, by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross; edited by Marcus McLaurin (Marvel Comics) **2000 Harvey Awards Best Graphic Album of Original Work ''Batman: War on Crime'' by Paul Dini and Alex Ross, edited by Charles Kochman and Joey Cavalieri (DC) **1995 Harvey Awards Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work ''Marvels'' by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross; edited by Marcus McLaurin (Graphitti Graphics) **1994 Harvey Awards Special Award for Excellence in Presentation ''Marvels'', by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross; edited by Marcus McLaurin; design by Joe Kaufman and Comicraft (Marvel Comics) Ross won the ''

s CBG Fan Award for Favorite Painter seven years in a row, resulting in that publication's retirement of that category. ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' Senior Editor Maggie 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." Thompson, Maggie. "Super-power to the people!" ''Comics Buyer's Guide''. #1663 (March 2010), Page 16. Ross was also named Best Cover Artist by the CBG Awards 11 years in a row, from 1995 to 2005. Ross won the 2005 Wizard Fan Award for Favorite Painter (''Justice'')

Bibliography

Interior work

DC Comics

*'' Sandman Mystery Theatre Annual'' #1 (eight pages, among other artists) (1994) *'' Kingdom Come'', miniseries, #1–4 (1996) *'' U.S. (a.k.a. ''Uncle Sam'')'', miniseries, #1–2 (1997) *'' Superman and Batman: World's Funnest'' (three pages, among other artists) (2000) *'' Batman Black and White'' Vol. 2, "Case Study" (eight pages, among other artists) (2002) *''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'' #800 (one page, among other artists) (2003) *'' The World's Greatest Super-Heroes'', collected anthology (2005) **'' Superman: Peace on Earth'' (1998) **'' Batman: War on Crime'' (1999) **'' Shazam!: Power of Hope'' (2000) **'' Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth'' (2001) **'' JLA: Secret Origins'' (2002) **'' JLA: Liberty and Justice'' (2003) *''

'', limited series, #1–12 (painting over

pencils, 2005–2007) *''JSA Kingdom Come Special:

'' (pencil art, colors by

Alex Sinclair Alex Sinclair (born 2 December 1968) is a Mexican comic-book colorist known for his work with Jim Lee and Scott Williams. Career Sinclair is well known for his collaborations with Jim Lee and Scott Williams. He has previously worked on '' A ...

) (2009)

Dynamite Entertainment

*'' Avengers/ Invaders'', limited series, #1–12 (2008–2009) (Marvel/Dynamite) *'' Project Superpowers'' #1–8; vol. 2 #1–13 (2008–2010) *''Kirby Genesis'' #0–8 (with Jack Herbert) (2011-2012) *''Masks'' #1 (2012)

Eclipse Comics

*'' Miracleman: Apocrypha'' #3 (nine page story) (1992)

Image Comics

*'' Battle of the Planets'' #0.5 (pencils only, among other artists) (2002)

Marvel Comics

*'' Clive Barker's Hellraiser'' #17–18 (1992) *'' Marvels'', miniseries, #0–4 (1994) *''

'', miniseries, #1–12 (backup text stories) (1999–2000) *'' The Torch'', miniseries, #1–8 (script) (2009–2010) *''

'' #600 (two pages, among other artists) (2009) *''Marvelocity: The Marvel Comics Art of Alex Ross'' (ten pages) (2019) *''

: Full Circle'' (writer and artist) (2022)

Now Comics

*'' Terminator: The Burning Earth'' #1–5 (1990)

Cover work

DC Comics

*''

'' #871 (2009) *'' Astro City'': **''Astra Special'' #1–2 (2009) **''Astro City'' vol. 3 #1–46 (2013–2017) **''A Visitors Guide'' (2004) **''Beauty'' (2008) **''Dark Age, Book One'' #1–4 (2005) **''Dark Age, Book Two'' #1–4 (2007) **''Dark Age, Book Three'' #1–4 (2009) **''Dark Age, Book Four'' #1–4 (2010) **''Dark Age 1: Brothers and Other Strangers'' (2008) **''Local Heroes'' #1–5 (2003–04) **''Samaritan'' (2006) **''Silver Agent'' (2010) **''Special'' #1 (2004) *''

'' #676–686 (2008–2009) *''Batman:

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional American character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as a henchwoman for the ...

'' #1 (1999) *'' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' #100 (1997) *'' Batman: No Man's Land'' #1 (1999) *'' Black Adam: The Dark Age'', miniseries, #1 (2007) *'' Captain Atom: Armageddon'' (2005) *''

Countdown to Infinite Crisis ''DC Countdown'', commonly referred to as ''Countdown to Infinite Crisis'', is a one-shot publication and the official start of the "Infinite Crisis" storyline. It was released on 30 March 2005, sold out, and quickly went to a second printing. Wh ...

'' #1 (painting over

Jim Lee Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...

pencils) (2005) *''Crisis on Multiple Earths'' #1, 3–4 (2002–2006) *''

DC Comics Presents ''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...

'' (

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz ( ; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was an American comic book editor, and a science fiction agent. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various times he ...

tribute): **''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

'' (2004) **''

Mystery in Space ''Mystery in Space'' is the name of two science fiction American comic book series published by DC Comics, and of a standalone Vertigo anthology released in 2012. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 to 1966, with a further seven issues ...

'' (2004) *''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' #860 (2010) *''

'' vol. 4 #1 (variant cover) *''The Greatest Stories Ever Told'': **''

'' #1–2 (2005–2007) **''Flash'' (2007) **''

'' (2006) **'' JLA'' (2006) **'' Joker'' (2008) **'' Shazam!'' (2008) **''

'' #1–2 (2004–2006) **''

Superman/Batman ''Superman/Batman'' is a monthly American comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular superheroes: Superman and Batman. ''Superman/Batman'' premiered in August 2003, an update of the previous series, ' ...

'' (2007) **''

'' (2007) *'' History of the DC Universe'' (2002) *''Justice League of America'' vol. 2 #12; ''The Lightning Saga'' (2007–2008) *'' JSA'' #68–69, 72–81; ''Annual'' #1 (2005–2008) *''JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog'' (2009) *''JSA Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom'' (2009) *''Justice Society of America'' vol. 3 #1–26 (2007–2009) *'' 9-11: The World's Finest Comic Book Writers & Artists Tell Stories to Remember'' #2 (2002) *'' Space Ghost'', miniseries, #1–6 (2005) *''

'' vol. 3 #22 (1994) *''

'' vol. 4 #35 *''

'' #675–683 (2008) *''Superman: Forever'' #1 (1998) *''Superman: Strength'', miniseries, #1–3 (2005) *''Superman/Fantastic Four'' (1999) *''Superman vs. the Flash'' (2003)

=America's Best Comics

= *''

America's Best Comics America's Best Comics (ABC) was a comic book publishing brand. It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics. History ''America's ...

Special'' #1 (2001) *''

Promethea ''Promethea'' is a comic book Ongoing series, series created by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, published by America's Best Comics/WildStorm. It tells the story of Sophie Bangs, a college student from an alternate futuristic New Y ...

'' #1 (1999) *'' Tomorrow Stories'' #1 (1999) *'' Tom Strong'' #1 (1999) *'' Top 10'' #1 (1999)

Dynamite Entertainment

*''

A Game of Thrones ''A Game of Thrones'' is the first novel in ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 1, 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award and was nominated for both ...

'' #1–2 (2011) *'' Avengers/ Invaders'', limited series, #1–12; Giant-Size #1 (2008–2009) (Marvel/Dynamite) *'' Bionic Man'' #1–5 (2011) *'' Black Terror'' #1–10 (2008–2009) *''

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily American newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, b ...

'' #1 (2010) *'' Captain Victory'' #1–4 (2011–2012) *'' Death-Defying' Devil'' #1–4 (2008–2009) *''Dragonsbane'' #1 (2012) *''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell (director), James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas i ...

'' #1–12 (2010–2011) *''Kirby Genesis'' #1–4 (2011) *'' Lord of the Jungle'' #1 (2012) *''

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

'' vol. 2 #1 (2012) *''

'' #1–3 (2011) *'' Last Phantom'' #1–10 (2010–2012) *'' Masquerade'' #2–4 (2009) *''

Vampirella Vampirella () is a vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Creepy'' and ''E ...

'' #1 (2010) *'' Voltron'' #1–2 (2011–2012)

Marvel Comics

*'' All-New, All-Different Avengers'' #1–15 (2015–2016) *'' All-New Captain America'' #1 (2014) *''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' #568, 600, 789–800 (2008–2018), vol. 4 #1–32 (2015–2017) *'' Avengers'' vol. 6 #1–674 (2016–2017) *''Avengers'' vol. 7 #10/700 (2018) *''

'' vol. 6 #1 (2016) *''

'' vol. 5 #34 (2008) *''Captain America'' vol. 8 #695 (2017) *''Captain America'' vol. 9 #1–30 (2018–2021) *'' Captain Marvel'' vol. 3 #1, 3, 17 (2002–2003) *'' Captain Marvel'' vol. 8 #1 (2019) *'' Daredevil'' #500 (2009) *''Daredevil/

'', miniseries, #1–4 (2001) *''

'' #0-12 (1999) *''

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

'' vol. 2 #1 (2017) *''

'' vol. 6 #1, 6 *''

: Full Circle'' (2022) *''4 (Universe X Special)'' #1 (2000) *''

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Comic book teams 1969 team The 1969 version of the Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), Guardians of the Galaxy were the origi ...

'' vol. 3 #18 (2014) *'' Guardians 3000'' #1–6 (2014–2015) *'' Marvels X'' #1–6 (2020) *''

The Immortal Hulk The Devil Hulk, also known as the Immortal Hulk, is a fictional alternate-personality character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Devil Hulk first appeared in '' The Incredible Hulk'' (vol. 2) ...

'' #1–50 (2018–2021) *'' The Incredible Hulk'' #600 (2009) *'' Invaders Now!'', miniseries, #1–5 (2010–2011) *'' The Invincible Iron Man'' vol. 3 #600 (2018) *''The Mighty Captain Marvel'' #1 (2017) *'' Miracleman'', reprint, #5 (variant cover) (2014) *'' Paradise X'' #0–12 (2002) *''The Rise Of Ultraman'' #1 (2020) *''

Spider-Woman Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first major version is Jessica Drew (and later impersonated by Veranke), the second major version is Julia Carpenter, and the third m ...

'', vol. 2 #1 (2009) *'' The Torch'' miniseries #1–8 (2009–2010) *''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...

'' #500 (2008) *''Savage Hulk'' #1 (2014) *''

'' #1–9 (2015) *''Tony Stark: Iron Man'' #1, 9 (2018–2019) *'' Universe X'' #0–12 (2001)

Other publishers

*'' Battle of the Planets'' #1–12 (2002–2003) (Image) *''Battle of the Planets/

Thundercats ''ThunderCats'' is a media franchise, featuring a fictional group of cat-like humanoid aliens. The characters were created by Tobin Wolf and featured in an animated television series named ''ThunderCats'', running from 1985 to 1989, whic ...

'' (2003) (DC/Image) *''Battle of the Planets/

Witchblade ''Witchblade'' is an American comic book Ongoing series, series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint (trade name), imprint of Image Comics, which ran from November 1995 to October 2015. The series was created by Top Cow founder and owne ...

'' (2003) (Image) *'' Call of Duty: Black Ops II'' "Origins" Downloadable Content Cover Art (2013) *'' Life with Archie'' #37 (variant cover) (Archie Comics) *''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' #1–20 (2013–2014) (Dark Horse)

References

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

* * *
Alex Ross
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Alex 1970 births 20th-century American painters 20th-century American writers 21st-century American painters 21st-century American writers American album-cover and concert-poster artists American comics artists American comics writers American male painters American storyboard artists National Book Critics Circle Award winners Artists from Portland, Oregon Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award winners Eisner Award winners for Best Cover Artist Eisner Award winners for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior) Harvey Award winners for Best Artist or Penciller Living people Marvel Comics people People from Lubbock, Texas Writers from Portland, Oregon Writers from Texas

Early life

Career

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Personal life

Toys

Awards

Bibliography

Interior work

DC Comics

Dynamite Entertainment

Eclipse Comics

Image Comics

Marvel Comics

Now Comics

Cover work

DC Comics

=America's Best Comics

Dynamite Entertainment

Marvel Comics

Other publishers

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links