Some people are just born to be artists, Alex Ross is one of those people. Alex was born in Portland, Oregon and raised in Lubbock, Texas. He started drawing at age three (that’s right THREE), which according to his mother Lynette, he grabbed a piece of paper and began drawing the contents of the commercial he was watching.
If that’s not impressive enough, by age 13 Alex was scripting and drawing his own original comic books (What was I doing at 13? I was still playing with my favorite action figures, and maybe I still am).
Alex Ross's Comic Career
Alex was inspired by artists such as John Romita Sr, Neal Adams, George Perez, and Bernie Wrightson. He specifically liked the realistic style from illustrators such as Andrew Loomis and Norman Rockwell. It wasn’t until age 17, when he was studying painting at the American Academy of Art in Chicago where he discovered artists like J. C. Leyendecker and Salvador Dali where he got the idea to paint his own comic books. Alex is now well-known for his unique style using a combination of gouache and wash.
Alex has worked with many publishers throughout his career including NOW Comics, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Eclipse Comics, and Image Comics. He’s won too many awards to list here, nor would you probably read them all.
His first published work for DC Comics was in 1994. He worked as a cover artist in Spectre. Although, Alex is most known for his work on the Elseworlds story Kingdom Come, where he wrote and illustrated it himself.
Alex Ross Inspired Collectibles
Alex Ross also inspired a lot of the collectibles you have in your collection today. DC Direct produced three sets of action figures inspired by Alex Ross’s artwork from Kingdom Come, Elseworlds and Justice. In 2019, Hasbro released several action figures within the Marvel Legends line that were based on Alex Ross’s art.
Why do we love Alex Ross?
Not only do we love the fact that Alex Ross also resides in the burbs of Chicago like us, but we also love his realistic style. The way he can capture a scene and illustrate the emotion and gravity of the situation the characters portray is impressive and not easily replicated. His artwork enhances the reading experience. Some of our favorite books from Alex Ross include Kingdom Come and Justice.
Alex Ross’s Batman is one of our favorite depictions of Batman due to its simple and realistic design. That’s why when we decided to design a Batman-Inspired soft-good suit; Alex Ross was the first artist that came to mind. Our designer, Christian Milano, has a keen eye for attention to detail and tries to be as accurate to the comics. This suit was not only enjoyable to design, but it’s also now one of our favorite figures in our collection.
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