Alex Ross returns to Marvel!

Well, if you've read the article I posted up two days ago, you'd already know that Alex Ross is coming back to Marvel Comics. What we DIDN'T know though was what title he was going to be on, specifically.

We now know:



ALEX ROSS RETURNS TO MARVEL!
The superstar painter talks about his upcoming 12-issue ‘Avengers-Invaders’ and other dream collaborations within the House of Ideas

By Andy Serwin

Posted August 14, 2007 12:15 PM

The House of Ideas gets a new coat of paint with its latest blockbuster announcement, and none other than superstar painter Alex Ross will be holding the brush.

Marvel announced today at Marvel.com that Ross, along with Marvels and Justice collaborator Jim Krueger and penciler Steven Sadowski (JSA), will be the creative team on Avengers-Invaders, a 12-issue miniseries kicking off sometime in 2008 that features Earth’s Mightiest Heroes meeting up with their World War II predecessors, led by the original Captain America, Steve Rogers. Ross will paint covers and co-plot with Krueger, while Sadowski provides penciled art for the interiors.

Marvel Comics teased fans mercilessly at Wizard World Chicago last weekend with a painted promo image of Captain America with the enigmatic catchphrase “The Return” across the Sentinel of Liberty’s chest, prompting the fanboy nation to speculate that the Star-Spangled Avenger—killed by an assassin in Captain America #25—was returning from the grave. However, it was in fact a tease of Ross’ return to Marvel, as his last work for the publisher was nearly four years ago with the completion of Paradise X. Wizarduniverse.com talked to Ross to get his take on this titanic team-up, his return to Marvel and making the Sub-Mariner a redhead!

I know you’re a big comics history buff; do you have a favorite issue or memory of the Invaders?

ROSS: What I’d say the best adventure involving crossing over a team with the Invaders before was Fantastic Four Annual #11. It was drawn by John Buscema back in the 1970s, where the Fantastic Four found themselves teamed up with the Invaders when they all invaded a castle where Baron Zemo was working. That’s actually the event that led to Baron Zemo’s mask being covered with the adhesive that secured it to his face forever. I had that as a kid, and I always remembered that as an awesome use of those characters. There was something very dated to the 1940s that was captured by Buscema. The way they were shown, the way they behaved, is very different from what our modern perceptions of Namor and Captain America were. Keep in mind that the Invaders only have one survivor now in modern day, in current continuity, and that’s Namor.

You’ve painted and drawn most of the characters before, but this will be a whole new setting; anyone in particular you’re looking forward to tackling?

ROSS: The fact that I’ve started my history with comics and Marvel with the Human Torch, it makes me want to get back to not just that, but particularly Toro is somebody I barely ever touched on. The idea of a flaming little kid is something I think is hysterical and awesome. How can that not be cool? The kid is on fire, that’s awesome—as all children should be. [Laughs] Graphically, I look forward to that. I look forward to trying to approximate the old Bill Everett version of Sub-Mariner. Every illustration I did in Marvels of Sub-Mariner, you could look at and see I actually made him have red hair. That’s one of the early things of the character that has been wiped out, and I’d like to try and bring in as much of that as I can. [Laughs]

This clearly opens up some doors for you to do future stuff at Marvel; any thought to what you might do beyond this? Anything you’d like to do?

ROSS: As it is with this stuff related to Captain America and the Invaders, I may be getting the chance to talk with Ed Brubaker soon. Whether or not I’d ever work with him in the future, I don’t know, but I’m just a big fan. I’m a big fan of the lot of the stuff I’ve read at Marvel over the last few years, particularly what guys like Brian Michael Bendis and Brubaker have done. I just have admiration for the solid writing that I’ve read from these guys.


Ah. So Steve Rogers really IS returning...just now to the regular real-time Marvel Universe, as originally suspected. :( I'm sure they'll find some way to bring him back sometime soon though.

And although Ross only does the cover art, it'd still be worth getting this series for me, as Steve Sadowski has proven his artistic chops on JSA. Looking forward to this one!