Alex Ross Courtesy of Subject Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text Comic book painter Alex Ross burst out onto the comics scene in the mid-1990s when he produced a one-two punch of electrifying and celebrated works, Marvels for Marvel Comics and Kingdom Come for DC Comics. For a good chunk of this century, however, he has become known mostly for his lush and colorfully vivid covers for Marvel. Readers were treated to the full Ross experience when he returned to writing and drawing interiors for his widely-praised 2022 graphic novel Fantastic Four: Full Circle. And while that was the first Ross book in years, fans don't have to wait as long for his next opus, one that could be as ambitious and impactful as his classic works. Related Stories Business 'Batman,' Absolute Universe Comics Power DC to Super Year News 'Batman No. 1' Comic Sells Over Half a Million Copies Ross has written and illustrated Marvel Dimensions, an all-new 112-page graphic novel that Abrams ComicArts, in partnership with Marvel Comics, will release in September. Much of the story is being kept under wraps, but it's meant to be both a tour of the classic Marvel Universe and something much more expansive. It's said to be a work that experiments in both art and form, and could introduce upwards of 200 new characters, or at least that many variations of characters. "It's meant to be as bonkers a ride for the reader as it could possibly be," says Ross teasingly to The Hollywood Reporter. "You're getting one kind of entertainment, and then it changes on you midstream and then you're getting a different art style suddenly, and then you're wondering, 'Where's this going?' And then the format changes within the book itself, a mid-book format change. All these things hopefully seem to unify and combine and come back together, but it's meant to be a wild ride that is throwing everything plus the kitchen sink at you." It opens with a sweeping journey of the origins of Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, Wolverine, and many others in dramatic, fully painted spreads that echo their earliest stories, before a tonal shift occurs as the narrator and motives are revealed. As Abrams ComicArts describes, "Storylines twist in on themselves, characters behave in unexpected ways, and events ripple across the Marvel Universe with growing tensions" amid an ever-widening mystery. And somewhere in the middle of this is a full-on 32-page traditional comic book that is key to the storyline. Ross has been working on the book for the last 18 months or so. The story, he says, is a culmination of different ideas he's had over the years, including telling the origins of some Marvel characters in the way he did with a quartet of DC heroes at the turn of the century in large, tabloid editions. "I knew I wanted to touch upon Marvel origins in some regard and had thought about that for years, and it never really sparked joy for me the same way as 25 years ago when I did it for DC," Ross says. "I would think like, 'Oh, that's just gonna be repetitive. You've done that kind of thing before. Why would it be new?' And this is my way of coming up with a very twisted new way of approaching this." The word "Dimensions" in the title has multiple meanings, from inner and interpersonal dimensions to alternate universe dimensions. And he says he will be introducing about 200 new characters, or at least 200 new variations of characters, akin to the way he introduced new versions of superhero personae in DC's Kingdom Come, the seminal mini-series he illustrated in the mid-1990s. Kingdom Come, along with Marvels, captured the dynamic forces and fluidity of the comics medium but in a Norman Rockwell art style, allowing Ross to pave the way for a larger acceptance of painted comic art. And he collected numerous Eisners along the way. Imitators followed, but none achieved the artistic or commercial heights of his success. Ross' usual art process sees him producing about 10 painted pages a month. For Marvel Dimensions, he was averaging around eight. Half the book, he says, is painted, and half is pen and ink. The latter, he found, was harder on his schedule. "The amount of stuff I was cramming in there, it was too much. There's too much little finicky detail. The way that I ink something, turns out is harder than when I paint something," he says, chuckling. Ross is also creating intricate color guides detailing every choice he wants his colorist to follow, which is something that he did with his Full Circle graphic novel. "I didn't want somebody who had their own idea of coloring choices that they would bring into my work. I wanted to get it to match exactly what my vision for this book would be," he says. No matter how accomplished he becomes, or how ambitious Dimensions might be, Ross is aware th