One hundred portraits of good guys and bad guys created by celebrated comic book artist Alex Ross will be on display in “Alex Ross: Heroes & Villains,” June 29 – Feb. 16 at the Dunn Museum in Libertyville.
“We wanted to bring Alex Ross to the Dunn Museum because he is one of the world’s most renowned comic book artists, known for his distinctive and powerful visual style,” said Director of Education Alyssa Firkus. “His work allows us to reach a broader audience — people who might not normally come through our doors.”
Firkus noted that Alex’s distinctive style is “influenced by classic American Illustration,” which he studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago.
“The exhibition will feature all of the top DC and Marvel heroes and villains,” Firkus reported.
Ross, whose work was previously exhibited at the Dunn Museum in 2019 with “Marvelocity: The Art of Alex Ross,” is such a fan of the museum that he said, “I was very happy to be back there. They could have me every year if they wanted.”
The artist said that he was surprised to learn that this is the largest show of his work that has ever been exhibited. “I didn’t know it was that wide of a show because it’s all focused on one subject of work that I’ve done,” Ross admitted.
The subjects included in the exhibit are the prime characters in both Marvel and DC Comics. It’s a relief to know that good outweighs the bad in the exhibit and Ross’ comic book world.
“The headcount of heroes will always outweigh the villains,” he promised.
Ross’ personal favorite hero has often been Superman “because of the way I felt invested in the character when I worked on the comics,” he said.
In terms of villains, Ross accorded that honor to Doctor Doom.
For the exhibit, Ross is creating three new portraits of Joker and Harley Quinn, “which are special insofar as I had not done any portraits of DC’s villains.” The museum will be selling prints of these portraits as well as several others.
Ross’ career creating comic book heroes and villains began as an outgrowth of an assignment 25 years ago to create a life-size portrait of Superman that was designed to be a cardboard standup. “That led to a whole line of life-size figures for DC, which were only released as posters,” Ross said. Twenty years later, Marvel asked the artist to create a mural for their offices.
“I borrowed from the earlier DC idea to do a series of figure shots that when composed together made a mural of life-size paintings,” although the actual mural figures were three feet high.
These figures will be displayed at the Dunn Museum exhibit.
It seems like a daunting task to create all these detailed portraits but Ross revealed that he can paint one in a day. “Because there’s no background, it makes it considerably easier to focus on executing a single figure a day,” he explained.
Ross has worked on many comic book series—some running as long as 200 pages.
The artist is currently working on a long graphic novel for Marvel Comics that he said will be his longest work to date “that will be an original work by me that’s written by me as well.”
It is obvious that Ross loves what he does for a living. He declared, “If you make your hobby your career, you’re probably always doing it.”
The artist will have a chance to mingle with his fans during “A Night with Alex Ross,” a preview of the exhibit, 5-8 p.m. on June 28. Tickets for $125 are available at LCFPD.org/AlexRoss. The ticket includes early access to the exhibit; a limited edition print by Alex Ross; tickets to three food trucks; complimentary beer, wine, and soda; and entry to the other galleries.
Ross relishes the opportunity to meet fans, he indicated, noting that professional artists “don’t get a lot of feedback to our work. So, to engage with somebody and that they care is special.”
For further information about the exhibit and the museum at 1899 W. Winchester Road in Libertyville, call 847-968-3400 or visit lcfpd.org/museum/exhibitions.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
