Ross, Alex 1970–

PERSONAL: Born January 22, 1970, in Portland, OR; son of Clark Ross (a minister); mother a commercial artist. Education: American Academy of Art, (Chicago, IL), graduated c. 1990.

ADDRESSES: Home—Chicago, IL. Agent—c/o Author Mail, DC Comics, 1700 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER: Caroonist, graphic artist, and writer. Storyboard artist at a Chicago advertising agency, c. 1990; independent comics artist and graphic novelist, 1993–. Designer and illustrator of posters, lithographs, collectors' plates, and magazine covers; painter.

AWARDS, HONORS: Will Eisner Comics Industry Award for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art), 2000, for Batman: War on Crime, and Best Cover Artist, for multiple titles; National Comics Award for Top-Ten Artist Ever, 2002; other awards.

WRITINGS:

(With Kurt Busiek) Marvels, Marvel Comics (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Steve Darnell) U.S.: Uncle Sam, DC Comics (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Elliot S. Maggin, Mark Waid, and Todd Klein) Kingdom Come (originally published in single magazine form as Kingdom Come, numbers 1-4), DC Comics (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Paul Dini) Batman: War on Crime, DC Comics (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Mark Waid, Jerry Ordway, and others) The Kingdom (originally published in single magazine form in Kingdom Come series), DC Comics (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Paul Dini) Superman: Peace on Earth, DC Comics (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Mark Waid and Todd Klein) Kingdom Come Volume 1: Strange Visitor (originally published in single magazine form as Kingdom Come, number 1), millennium edition, DC Comics (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Paul Dini) Shazam! Power of Hope, DC Comics (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Paul Dini) Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth, DC Comics (New York, NY), 2001.

(Illustrator, with Joe Bennett and Rick Veitch) Alan Moore, Supreme: The Story of the Year, Checker (Centerville, OH), 2002.

(With Paul Dini) JLA: Secret Origins, DC Comics (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Paul Dini) JLA: Liberty and Justice, DC Comics (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Chip Kidd) Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, introduction by M. Night Shymalan, photography by Geoff Spear, Pantheon Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor to anthology Superman and the Heroes of September 11, 2001, edited by Paul Levitz, DC Comics (New York, NY), 2002; creator of graphic novel Earth X, 2001.

SIDELIGHTS: American comic-book artist Alex Ross is known as "the Norman Rockwell of comics" because of his photorealistic style. His award-winning work is often called "painted comic books" because he uses live models, light, shadow, and color to create his figures. He depicts such classic comics characters as Superman and Batman as somewhat older men, looking appropriately worn for the work they have been doing to fight crime for so many years.

Ross credits his father, a minister, for providing him with a sense of the morality involved in performing good deeds. In a biography on his home page, Ross is quoted as saying, "There was a positive effect to being around him, and his actions tied into what the superhero comics were teaching me. Superheroes aren't heroes because they're strong; they're heroes because they perform acts that look beyond themselves."

Ross was drawing by age three. He fell for comics after seeing Spider Man on a television program, and his love for superheroes—colorful characters who use their might for right—never abated. He was inspired by the work of comics artists Berni Wrightson and George Perez, as well as illustrators Andrew Loomis, Norman Rockwell, Salvador Dali, and J.C. Leyendecker. Ross credited his art-school training for his penchant for working from models. There, he developed his style of painting comics, giving them a greater sense of realism and life.

Ross collaborated with Kurt Busiek on the graphic novel Marvels, which looks at Marvel Comics superheroes from the point of view of an ordinary man. His next project was the comic-book series Kingdom Come, for DC Comics, a story about a minister who intercedes in a futuristic superhero civil war. Following that project was U.S.: Uncle Sam, a series about a dark side of American history.

Ross and writer Paul Dini then began work on a series of graphic novels celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of DC Comics' iconic superheroes, Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League of America (JLA). This series begins with Superman: Peace on Earth, in which the superhero, touched by the plight of a runaway child plagued by hunger at Christmastime, decides to embark on a twenty-four-hour mission to feed the world's hungry. However, as he faces seemingly insurmountable obstacles—dictatorships, theft, distribution difficulties, and food riots—he feels what ordinary humans feel when trying to change the world. His mission ends in failure, and he learns that even he must start small to make lasting changes. Ken Tucker, in Entertainment Weekly, called the book "a lovely fable of idealism." Richard von Busack, in Metro, described it as "the mainstream comic at its best," adding that the book "stirs feelings that lie buried underneath a crust of despair, reminding readers of the hopefulness that images of Superman once inspired." Asked by von Busack about Christian imagery in the story, Ross said it is deliberate. "There's a great aspect of Christian myth in Superman," he commented, yet "by no means should Superman have the authority to save us from ourselves…. We could only benefit from the example of his never-ending battle." Tom Knapp, in a review for Rambles online, objected to the portrayal of Superman as an older man but conceded that Ross "fills this book with lifelike images which bring an all-too-human dimension to the problems Superman faces." In a review for Weekly Wire, Robert Faires noted that Ross's photorealistic style is captivating, but "it is the spirit that comes through his portraits, a spirit as much a part of this character's enduring power as his ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is a man of uncommon goodness." Faires called the book "as elegant and lush as a museum exhibition book."

Batman: War on Crime brings back another superhero, the Caped Crusader of Gotham City. In this book, he is reminded of the violent death of his own parents when he sees a ghetto boy named Marcus orphaned after his parents are killed in a robbery. As a result, Batman goes on a mission to break up the ghetto gangs and drug labs. Von Busack, in a review for Metro, said he would have preferred that Batman take on his traditional villains rather than the predominantly black men he faces in the drug raids. However, von Busack admired the fact that the original artwork for the book was auctioned to benefit the John A. Reisenbach school in Harlem. Auctioning his original art for benefits is a regular practice for Ross. Knapp found the book "moving and powerful and laden with messages" and he said that Ross "brings characters to life with extremely vivid and realistic paintings." James R. Henry, in a review for Comic Book, said he was surprised by Batman's older look and thought the multiple scars revealed when he removed his shirt are problematic in maintaining Batman's secret identity as billionaire Bruce Wayne. Yet, Henry praised Ross's art, saying: "The detail is amazing: everything from light and shadow to the body language of society debutantes is dead-on accurate."

Shazam! Power of Hope is a Captain Marvel story in which the superhero visits a children's hospital and, in a series of vignettes, rights wrongs, provides hope, and takes several young patients on flying adventures. Ross's original artwork was auctioned to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Knapp found the story less interesting than the Superman and Batman episodes but still "touching" and Ross's art "startling in its ability to give life to his … characters." Ray Tate, in Line of Fire Reviews, called Ross "the N.C. Wyeth or Howard Pyle of comic books" and said his Captain Marvel drawings recall the photos taken from the 1930s films starring Tom Tyler.

Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth reprises the female superhero, who takes on secret identities as a protestor, a Muslim woman, and a soldier as she goes about her work fighting terrorists, with her ice-blue eyes, golden lasso and bracelets, skimpy costume, and invisible plane. Randy Lander, in a review for the Fourth Rail online, said the creators give readers insight into her mind: "We can see that she has problems with confidence, that every battle isn't easy for her, and while she can deflect bullets …, she still has to contend with doubt and fear like everyone else." Knapp said Ross "has provided stunning visuals that seem unbelievably realistic. His characters seem to move, to breathe, and it's a wonder they don't leap from the page." Tate also praised Ross's art, concluding: "One simply cannot ask for a better Wonder Woman story than Spirit of Truth."

Ross and Dini followed the Wonder Woman novel with JLA: Secret Origins which reveals the origins of DC Comics' superhero team the Justice League of America, featuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman, and others. In Library Journal, Steve Raiteri described Ross's artwork as "strikingly realistic and gorgeous." The second graphic novel based on the JLA, Liberty and Justice, finds the team battling a deadly alien bacteria unlike anything they have ever encountered. As fear and panic grip the world, even the team of superheroes comes under suspicion for causing the invasion.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago, February, 1998, Todd Pruzan, "Notes from the Underground," p. 68.

Entertainment Weekly, November 20, 1998, Ken Tucker, review of Superman: Peace on Earth, p. 121; January 25, 2002, William Keck, "Glimmer Man," p. 12.

Library Journal, March 1, 2003, Steve Raiteri, review of JLA: Secret Origins, p. 74.

M2 Best Books, January 8, 2002, "Comic Books Pay Tribute to New York Emergency Services."

MPLS-St. Paul Magazine, September, 2001, Emily Burt and Patrick Jones, "Alternative Teen Reads," p. 168.

Publishers Weekly, October 28, 2002, review of Supreme: The Story of the Year, p. 53.

School Library Journal, May, 1999, Francisca Goldsmith, review of Superman: Peace on Earth, p. 162.

Sojourners, November-December, 1998, Nate Solloway, review of U.S.: Uncle Sam, p. 60.

ONLINE

Alex Ross Home Page, http://www.alexrossart.com (August 12, 2003).

Comic Book Web site, http://comicbook.100freemb.com/ (August 19, 2003), James R. Henry, review of Batman: War on Crime.

DC Comics Web site, http://www.dccomics.com/ (December 18, 2003).

Fourth Rail, http://www.thefourthrail.com/ (November 12, 2001), Randy Lander, review of Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth.

Lambiek, http://www.lambiek.net/ (August 12, 2003), "Alex Ross."

MetroActive.com, http://www.metroactive.com/ (December 3, 1998), Richard von Busack, "Square Is Beautiful: Cartoonist Alex Ross Revives the Moral Authority of the Man of Steel" (review of Superman: Peace on Earth); (December 2, 1999) Richard von Busack, "Batman in the 'Hood: Batman's War on Crime Looks a Little Too Much like the Real War on Drugs."

Rambles, http://www.rambles.net/ (March 9, 2002), Tom Knapp, review of Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth; (August 19, 2003) Tom Knapp, reviews of Superman: Peace on Earth, Batman: War on Crime, and Shazam! Power of Hope.

Silver Bullet Comic Books Web site, http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/ (December 2, 2000), Ray Tate, review of Shazam! Power of Hope; (November 17, 2001) Ray Tate, review of Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth.

Weekly Wire, http://weeklywire.com/ (December 20, 1998), Robert Faires, review of Superman: Peace on Earth.