Alex Ross

At the age of 17, Alex Ross went to Chicago and began studying painting at the American Academy of Art. It was at there that he hit on the idea of painting his own comic books. In 1993 with Marvels, a graphic novel that took a realistic look at Marvel superheroes by presenting them from the point of view of an ordinary man Ross his first serious media exposure, both within the industry and outside it. He followed it up with Kingdom Come.

Having established himself creatively and financially with superhero projects, Ross turned to the real world with Uncle Sam, a 96-page story that took a hard look at the dark side of American history. Like Marvels and Kingdom Come, the individual issues of Uncle Sam were collected into a single volume--first in hardcover, then in paperback--and remain in print today.

Ross' recent works have celebrated the 60th anniversaries of Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman with fully painted, tabloid-sized books, depicting each of these characters using their powers to inspire humanity as well as help them. In recent years, Ross has applied his artistic skills to outside projects with comic book roots, including a limited-edition promotional poster for the 2002 Academy Awards. A number of items created especially for the Warner Bros. Studio Stores--including lithographs, collector's plates and even a canvas painting of Superman--made him the best-selling artist in the chain's history.

In the fall of 2001, Ross painted a series of four interlocking covers for TV Guide (featuring characters from the WB series Smallville) and designed and sculpted a series of busts based on characters he created for the Marvel series Earth X.

This bio was excerpted from a longer bio on Alex Ross' personal website.


THE BOOK

Mythology

Text by Chip Kidd, photos by Geoff Spear, Introduction by M. Night Shyamalan

On sale: October 2003

Here are the most beloved comics characters in the world, as you've never seen them before: brought to life at the hands of one of the most astonishing young artists working in the medium today, Alex Ross.

Ross has often been dubbed the Norman Rockwell of comics, but he is much more than that--he is the great American success story, the product of years of hard work and a lifelong love of these classic super heroes.

From the award-winning team of designer/writer Chip Kidd and photographer Geoff Spear, Mythology also features an introduction by M. Night Shyamalan, the acclaimed director of Signs and The Sixth Sense.

Ross' images are like film stills from the best super hero movies that never got made--and probably never will. The huge cast of the DC Comics universe is all here: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, the Atom, and plenty more. Highlighting the best of Ross' considerable career at DC, Mythology also features hundreds of never-before-seen sketches, limited edition prints, and rarities.

And, a DC Comics first: an exclusive, original Superman-Batman story written by Kidd and painted by Ross.

It's Mythology. Believe it.