Watch Alex Ross Paint the Cover to MARVELOCITY in This Exclusive Time-Lapse!
This article originally ran on SYFY.com on June 21, 2018
From Marvels to Avengers to Earth X to the title sequence for Spider-Man 2, Alex Ross' vast portfolio of photorealistic paintings of Marvel superheroes are magnificently iconic and timeless. Now, Pantheon Books is releasing a new hardcover book called Marvelocity, which chronicles some of the work that he's done for Marvel, and spotlight some new work that has never been seen before.
Similar to Alex Ross' DC Comics-centric art book, Mythology, Marvelocity is edited by Chip Kidd. In fact, they're touting it as the Marvel equivalent of Mythology. But unlike Mythology, Kidd didn't have the same connection to Marvel's library of work as he did with DC Comics, hence why so much time has passed between Mythology and Marvelocity. Ross though, states that he's been intellectually divided between the Big Two as far as what draws him in.
The accomplished, fan-favorite painter recently finished an epic three-year run doing Amazing Spider-Man covers. He also does the covers for Avengers. He will be moving onto to painting covers for Captain America, and it is Cap, who Ross painted for the cover of Marvelocity.
Here's what Ross had to say about his design concept for Captain America:
"Captain America is one of those classic characters who can never really escape his original design. What's important to me is a gut feeling that I've wanted to give Captain America ' I've illustrated him with a darker blue, a costume that's a little bit worn, and a leather mask. It gives a sense of earthiness to his character."
SYFY WIRE has an exclusive time-lapse video (below) of Ross at his art table, painting the cover to the book:
In addition to celebrating Ross' past Marvel work, Marvelocity will also include a new 10-page Spider-Man story that will be written by Ross that finds the Webbed Wall-Crawler at odds with the Sinister Six. At least 30 previously unpublished pieces will also be seen for the first time as well as a 14-panel portfolio gallery of Marvel's biggest characters and an introduction by J.J. Abrams. Marvelocity will be released at comic shops and bookstores on October 2.
In an ongoing exclusive team-up with Ross, SYFY WIRE will have new weekly reveals leading up to San Diego Comic-Con 2018, like this Black Panther Lithograph. So if you're a fan of Alex Ross' art, be sure to keep coming back for more first looks at his upcoming work.
