Nelson Alexander “Alex” Ross was born on January 22, 1970 in Portland, Oregon. Born to a commercial artist mother, and having a grandfather, who designed wooden toys and loved drawing; it is logically genetics, that has made Alex Ross one the most popular and respected comic book artists. Ross simply loved giving a vintage touch to classic characters while making the superheroes look mythical.
Ross once spotted Spider-Man in an episode of The Electric Company. This was his first inspiration that provoked him to sketch colorful characters and bring them to life. Ross, however, made his debut when he was barely three years old, when he sketched on a piece of paper, the contents of a television commercial. As he grew up, Ross started reading more comics and critically analyzing the work. Ross exudes a sense of ‘photo-reality’ in his work. He attributes his inspiration for photo-realism to illustrators like Andrew Loomis and Norman Rockwell. Ross accepts that he has always tried to imitate his idols. Ross joined the American Academy of Art in 1987. Here, he was able to uncover many a hidden skill, and tap his talent in the right way. The Terminator series of comics were the first ones he worked on, after graduating from the Academy.
Ross’ father, Clark, was a minister and had worked towards several social causes and charities. The good deeds performed by Superman and Spiderman are directly inspired by Clark. Ross’ work includes Uncle Sam, Marvels, Kingdom Come, Fantastic Four, The X-Men, Silver Surfer, The Human Torch etc. He has also been involved with re-structuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Hawkman and Captain Marvel. |
