Legendary artist Alex Ross has made a name for himself with his photorealistic paintings of characters for both major comic book publishers, with his stunning takes onMarvel’sgreatest heroes and villains ranking among the most unforgettable illustrations in the company’s history. Throughout his decades-long career, Ross has cultivated one of the greatest reputations in the industry, as a result of his vivid, high-quality, eye-catching work.
Whether he is painting heroes or villains,Ross has found ways to reflect what makes them so appealing to fans through his gorgeous use of color and his hyper-real attention to detail.Several of his portraits are widely considered the defining takes on top Marvel characters, and in general, for any fan of the superhero genre, his work is a pleasure to behold.
Alex Ross' work has been lauded outside the comic book industry as well; in 2021, his superhero portraits werefeatured at the Ohio Art Museum in 2021, and overall, his artistic style is widely praised.
10Fantastic Four’s The Thing Has Never Looked More Real – Not Even On Screen
Highlighting Alex Ross' Impeccable Line Work
The defining feature of Alex Ross' artistic style is its photorealistic quality – to the extent thatsome of his paintings have a more visceral, life-like quality to them than the live-action equivalents of the characters, something aptly highlighted by his portrait of Fantastic Four’s Thing.
This design places a ton of emphasis on shadows, and the line-work here exhibits an incredible attention to detail, all in order to to highlight the crevice betweeneach rock on Thing’s skin. It emphasizes the comparison between the character’s skin and a desert-like rocky terrain. By incorporating his iconic comic features such as his gigantic brow and four-fingered hands, Ross manages to make a character as outrageous as The Thing seem wholly realistic because of his singular talent.
9Doctor Strange’s Portrait Makes Him Into The Ascended Master He Always Deserves To Be
Ross Captures The Light & Dark Side Of Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme
This epic take onthe Sorcerer Supreme himself, Doctor Strange, depicts him bearing the Eye of Agomoto on his neck, while flexing his fingers in preparation for casting a spell. Here, Ross places a heavy emphasis on shadow, as half his face in hidden in the darkness, while the other half emerges into the light, showcasing his dramatic features, including his his trademark goatee and serious expression. In all, this is a beautiful rendition of the Master of the Mystic Arts, with the weight behind Ross' design brilliantly highlighting the best aspects of the character’s look.
Ross has contributed several exciting Doctor Strange pieces for Marvel,his dark redesign as “General Strange.”
Alex Ross clearly knows what makes the character interesting, ashis portrait shows him torn between the dark and light side of magic through his use of shadows.Strange often found himself dipping into the darker side of magic, so embodying this trait by enshrouding half of his face in darkness is a genius design choice.
8Alex Ross Uses A Familiar Trick To Emphasize The Complexity In Marvel’s Greatest Villain
Doom Embraces The Shadow, Highlight His Villainy
Similar to his Doctor Strange portrait, in this painting of Doctor Doom,Alex Ross obscures half of his subject’s face in shadow– yet the meaning of this decision is totally different. Emerging from the darkness,Doom’s mask feels nefarious and cunning. Rather than suggesting the tug of darkness, as in Strange’s portrait, this suggests that Doom has fully embraced the shadows.
There is an evocative quality to Ross' Doom, which is emphasized further by the way Doom reaches toward the viewer with his hand – a gesture the artist frames as somewhat beckoning, somewhat commanding. While Alex Ross' illustrations don’t always connote action, this one has an unsettling feeling of movement to it; not as though Doom is moving toward the viewer, but more that the viewer is backing away nervously.
Alex Ross Brings The Heat
At the conceptual level,Ghost Rider is absolutely among coolest Marvel characters, and Alex Ross' rendition of the flaming-skulled Spirit of Vengeance was inevitably going to be amazing. The detail in the flames on Ghost Rider’s skull make it a perfect manifestation of the anti-hero.Each fiery flare looks meticulously crafted to give the impression of heat, making this one of the best visual representations of the character in years.
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Plus, one subtle detail even brings the Penance Stare to this portrait in a pretty cool way. When looking at Ghost Rider’s eyes, the skull sockets are the absolute brightest part of his head. This indicates that the hottest part on his head is in the eyes, which is accurate tothe character’s Penance Stare ability, since that’s his ultimate ability to finish off foes by sentencing them to judgment. It’s a great little detail that brings the overall redesign of Ross’s Rider full circle.
6Green Goblin’s Jekyll-and-Hyde Character Trait Is Adeptly Embodied
Alex Ross Brilliantly Merges Man & Monster
The Green Goblin is arguablySpider-Man’s greatest villain; without a doubt, he has had as great an impact on the Webslinger’s lore as any antagonist. Over time, the Jekyll-and-Hyde dynamic between Norman Osborn and his Green Goblin persona have made him an endlessly fascinating – and at times sympathetic – figure,something Alex Ross manages to instill in his portrait of the character, even as he is seemingly overcome by madness.
This photorealistic look for the Goblin is pretty faithful to his original design. He has the same green skin and purple suit, perfectly brought together by his sinister smile. However, when looking at the eyes, there’s a crucial detail that makes this piece feel complete. Norman Osborn’s eyes can clearly be seen behind the Goblin’s giant yellow lenses; this is phenomenal imagery, which shows that the monster has overtaken Norman, but he’s still in there.
5This Portrait Of The Invisible Woman Won’t Go Unnoticed
Alex Ross Playfully Exhibits The Character’s Power
This portrayal of Susan Storm is pretty faithful to her mainline comic design. She maintains the determined expression that has made her a beloved member of Marvel’s First Family, framed perfectly with her beautiful blonde hair. However, the additional detail Ross incorporates to highlight her powers makes her a step above other heroes he’s depicted in his work.
The Invisible Woman is shown phasing either into or out of invisibility as half her body becomes translucent;notably, this is one of the few portraits Ross has created where a hero is actually using their powers, and it works perfectly here, especially with her beingconsidered the most powerful Fantastic Four member. It also stylistically inverts one of Alex Ross' common moves in a deliberate way; rather than playing with darkness, this portrait emphasizes light, as light shines through the Invisible Woman, resulting in a brilliant take on the character.
4Thanos Shows Off His Ambitious Quest For Dominance
A Pose That Speaks Volumes
Thanos' desire for power and dominancehas been a key trait of his since his creation. After all, he has been deemed the Mad Titan for his extremist ideas. So, when redesigning this character for a portrait, it is clear Ross needed to go big or go home. It’s pretty safe to say that, in the end, he went big with this incredible design.
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For the most part, it seems like a pretty standard recreation of Thanos. It’s incredibly faithful to his comic attire and his facial features mirror who he is perfectly. However, the choice in pose is what makes this portrait stand out.Unlike other characters in Ross' lineup, Thanos is far more dynamic; his arms are outstretched in a commanding pose that hints at his domineering character. In a way, he takes up way more space because he wants to be seen by everyone, including Lady Death; perfectly reflecting onwho Thanos is in the comics.
3Alex Ross' Thor Ranks Among His Most Iconic Marvel Masterpieces
The God of Thunder Feels Mythological
On the surface,Thor’s portrait seems fairly standardcompared to Ross' other designs. It maintains the key motifs of Ross' artwork such as the emphasis on shadows and photorealistic focus.However, the artwork overall feels much bigger than the other heroes; Thor feels grander with broader features such as his chin and shoulders. Plus, by essentially looking at him from the top down, he looks far higher in status than the other Avengers. In a sense, he feels far more godlike in this artwork, and that makes for a perfect homage to the Norse mythology that inspired him.
More than perhaps any other Marvel character, Alex Ross has become synonymous with Thor – a pairing that continues to be fruitful, as Ross has delivered some of the most memorable comic covers of the past several years for Al Ewing’s ongoingImmortal Thorrun.
2Alex Ross' Galactus Overtakes The Portrait Frame
The World Eater Is Too Big To Contain
While Thor’s grandiose portrait is purely metaphorical due to how Ross plays with shadow and angles, Galactus' portrayal takes things in the more literal sense. This massive character known for eating worlds was always going to be a challenge to contain in a single portrait due to his enormous size. However, Ross found a way that is a bit tongue-in-cheek but still retainsthe threatening presence of Galactus as a character.
Rather than zoom out to show his full body,Ross has him take up the entire portrait with only his head in frame.While it can be pretty funny to see that he’s so big that the artwork can’t accurately portray him, the way he stares at the viewer with his cold eyes makes him feel incredibly imposing.
The Most Beautiful, Haunting Version Of The Villain Ever
Perhaps Alex Ross' best redesign of a Marvel hero,Ultron’s portrait is incredibly sleek in design with a beautifully reflective surface.However, the added detail of his face harboring a red energy juxtaposes this beauty with the darkness of his AI. It’s a perfect reflection of his motto for what he has in store for the world: in order to find peace and beauty – embodied by the reflective metal in the portrait – one must destroy humanity – a resolve evident in his grim facial features.
Alex Ross' Fantastic Four: Full Circle Gets 288 PAGES Of Bonus Material in New Extended Version
Marvel has announced Alex Ross is re-releasing 2022’s Fantastic Four: Full Circle and bringing even more content to an already incredible work of art.
In just a single image, Alex Ross crystalizes a perfect symbolicrepresentation of who Ultron is as a character; this makes it representative of the most exciting aspect of Ross' artistic ouvre as a whole, his ability to embody not just the most realistic-looking version of a character, but also their defining traits. This is what makes Alex Ross such an incredible artistic talent, and hisMarvelhero and villain portraits such astounding works of art.
Kingdom Come
In the near future, the DC Universe is spinning out of control. The new generation of heroes have lost their moral compass, becoming as reckless and violent as the villains they fight. The previous regime of heroes—the Justice League—returns under dire circumstances, which sets up a battle of the old guard against these uncompromising protectors in a conflict that will define what heroism truly is.
