Chicago-area artist raises money for Twin Towers Fund with some help from Wonder Woman

Special online auction to benefit the Twin Towers Fund

Wonder Woman turned 60 last fall, and Chicago-area artist Alex Ross celebrated the legendary hero's birthday in November with a stunning, fully-painted graphic novel, Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth. Now, Ross is using that Wonder Woman artwork to raise money for the real-life heroes of New York through a special online auction, beginning Monday, March 4 at www.alexrossauction.com. All proceeds from the online auction will go the Twin Towers Fund. The Fund was created in the fall of 2001 by former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to provide assistance to the families of policemen, fire fighters and government workers who were injured or killed as a result of the September 11 tragedy.

"One of the messages of Spirit of Truth is that heroism has less to do with physical strength or power than with the quality of the deeds you perform," Ross says. "Over the last few months, the people of New York have proved that many times over."

Beginning in 1999, Ross has auctioned off painted artwork from graphic novels which celebrated the 60th anniversaries of Superman, Batman and Captain Marvel; in the process, he's raised over $300,000 for charities including UNICEF and the Make-a-Wish Foundation. In the fall of 2001, Ross painted covers for two New York benefit collections, Marvel Comics Heroes and DC Comics 9-11. "When I began donating the art to charity, it was because I felt a public gesture like that would allow people to see how these heroes can be inspirational," Ross explains. "I've always wanted people to understand that these heroes offer lessons that can benefit all of us."

Since making a name for himself with the 1993 graphic novel Marvels (the story of a photographer who witnessed the dawn of a generation of superheroes) Alex Ross has won both critical acclaim and an international following for his fully-painted, photorealistic graphic novels, including Kingdom Come and Uncle Sam. Recent projects include the promotional poster for the 2002 Academy Awards ("Oscar: The Gold Knight Returns") and a series of covers for TV Guide, featuring characters from the WB series Smallville.

"I've always wanted to make these heroic figures look real," Ross explains. "I think if people can believe such heroes are possible, they might think that the good qualities they stand for are also possible."