Deconstructing the artwork of one of the greatest artists in the medium.

Alex Ross’ reputation for bringing fictional characters to life with his art is what made him famous in the industry. Known for painted figures that looks almost photo-realistic, Alex’ use of colors, shadow, and light can make you believe these superheroes exist in our world. His most famous work and the one which launched his career was the series Marvels with writer Kurt Busiek. This “man-on-the-street” perspective book was groundbreaking at the time and dazzled fans everywhere. Since then, Alex has gone on to work for all the major comic publishing companies, working on some of the most iconic characters in the business.

So it should be no surprise when Marvel Comics asked Alex to spruce up their offices with a mural of some of their greatest superheroes. They gave him carte blanche to create whatever kind of mural he would like and he chose to create an assembly of life-size figures. But instead of creating one mural with overlapping characters, he created a series of fully realized images which were collected into this book – The Alex Ross Marvel Comics Poster Book.

The book is more than just a collection of his images, but instead a series of removable prints, each one with an explanation on the back about his choices for the character. He talks about why he chose the character, what pose he decided to use, and other interesting tidbits that give you deep insight into the process behind the amazing mural. Every page is basically a poster for your wall. And at the end, there is a giant four-fold poster of all the characters as they appear on the wall of Marvel Comics headquarters. If you’re a Ross fan or simply a fan of Marvel Comics, this is a “must-have” book. Whether you pull it apart and frame the images, or keep it together and just peruse it as a book, this one will be a great addition to your collection.

• Thanks to Abrams for the review copy of this book!
• You can purchase your own copy of The Alex Ross Marvel Comics Poster Book on sale now at your local retailer orr Amazon.com (list price $24.99 / Amazon $17.99)