Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jan 22, 2024 | 2 comments

A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: Comics’ Norman Rockwell turns 54…

By CHRIS FRANKLIN

Having risen to the rank of comics’ preeminent painter, it’s not unusual to think of Alex Ross’ work as gallery worthy. In fact, Ross (born January 22, 1970) has had his work displayed in galleries worldwide, as well as on comics fans’ walls for the past 20 years. Whether as inexpensive posters or limited edition, high-end prints, Ross’ comic art elevates the medium, and any comics art collection, through his use of photo realism. For comics fandom, Ross’ art even managed to bring legitimacy to a medium once reserved for the paintings of famous clown Emmett Kelly Jr. and scenes from Gone With the Wind: the collector plate.

Collector plates are an odd duck, really. Designed as if they were a vessel to eat from, no one ever seriously considered dumping mashed potatoes onto Clark Gable’s handsome visage. These plates were not only non-dishwasher save, they were meant to hang on the wall, perhaps in the dining room or kitchen, but more often in a sitting area in your household. They were the types of things our moms ordered on a whim from inserts in TV Guide, or later, QVC or HSN. But couldn’t comics fans, collectors by nature, have their own art plates too?

Sure, like many forms of media, Star Trek had pioneered this first for fandom at large. But comics proper hadn’t gotten in on the trend until the late, lamented Warner Bros. Studio Store chain began offering a series of plates featuring DC Comics superheroes. Other artists such as Brian Stelfreeze and Glen Orbik contributed lovely, original art for the store, but none could match the consistency, scope and popularity of Alex Ross. He even had his own series, “The Alex Ross Collection.”

Ross created quite a bit of original material for the chain, including limited-edition prints, but the plates have a unique appeal to them, both austere and slightly kitsch, due to the honestly strange format. As you’ll see, the character choices are often somewhat startling, but Ross’ unique take on the properties, and his love for their rich history shines through. After the WB store chain folded, he continued to create new plates for DC Direct, and Dynamic Forces solicited plates featuring previous Marvel work by the artist.

So to celebrate the birth of the esteemed Mr. Ross, let’s throw caution to the wind, and have a slice of birthday cake on one of the 13 DELECTABLE COLLECTOR PLATES below:

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13. Marvel Premiere Collector Plates: The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Green Goblin and Gwen Stacy (Dynamic Forces) — TIE. Since these two plates don’t feature original art, I put them at the bottom and consider them a tie. Also, my internet searches only found the original solicitations from Dynamic Forces, which lists them as “SOLD OUT”, but I’m not sure these were ever released. But let’s talk about what could have been, anyway. From his work on the breakout series Marvels, written by Kurt Busiek, comes this closeup portrait of Ross’ Spider-Man. More than any artist before, Ross really examined how Spider-Man’s costume would work in real life, including the mirrored lenses. In doing so, he undoubtedly influenced the live-action Spider-Man movie costumes that followed. His take is of course heavily influenced by Spidey’s most beloved artist, John Romita, Sr.

This second plate re-presents the cover of Marvels #4, and the pivotal turning point that ended the initial “Marvel Age of Comics,” at least for Busiek, Ross and the series protagonist Phil Sheldon. The death of Gwen Stacy was the death of Silver Age innocence, and Ross perfectly captures that moment, reflected in those aforementioned Spidey lenses.

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12. Superman and Lois Lane Holiday 2004 (DC Direct, 2004). This undoubtedly charming image of comics’ First Couple originally appeared as DC’s official holiday card of 1997. But aside from the blue sleeves and the red cape and boots, there’s not much to identify this as Superman, and Lois isn’t readily identifiable either. That takes away from the iconic nature of the image, but not the execution, as the dizzying perspective will make you believe a man can fly, even if he can’t read your mind.

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11. The Metal Men (Warner Bros. Studio Store, 1999). This is a beautiful piece, but head-scratchingly bizarre for Warner Bros. Studio Store to go this deep into the DC bench. I’ve often felt that the Metal Men had breakout potential as an animated series and toy line, and maybe Ross felt the same. Despite the small canvas, he expertly conveys the powers and personalities of the responsometer-powered sextet, and also manages to sneak in their suave creator Professor Will Magnus, the epitome of the heroic, pipe-smoking scientist of the post-atomic age, this side of Reed Richards.

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10. Batman Christmas Holiday 2005 (DC Direct, 2005). This is a fun image, and I like how the Joker’s Christmas duds evoke Cesar Romero’s magenta tuxedo. Harley in her Santa outfit, playing with Batman’s cowl ear is a nice touch as well. It’s only this low on the list because there is a superior holiday plate to compare it to.

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9. The Batman Family (DC Direct, 2005). Anyone who knows me will wonder why this plate is ranked so low. It’s based on a previous piece Ross created that originally featured Tim Drake as Robin, based on The New Batman Adventures animated series, hence Batgirl’s yellow inner cape here. It’s just not as dynamic as most of Ross’ other pieces but is of course well composed. I love the little touch of Robin putting his fist in his other hand, a la Burt Ward. Even though this is ostensibly the Bronze Age versions of the heroes, Batman’s smirk does seem slightly out of character for me.

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8. Green Lantern and Green Arrow (DC Direct, 2005). Ross’ take on the Hard-Traveling Heroes is inspired by, but not directly based on, a piece originally created by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano for the 1976 Super DC Calendar. Despite the oft-times serious nature of the socially relevant stories penned by Denny O’Neil, Hal and Ollie look happy in their work, and are smiling while coming directly at the viewer. Ross takes a very limited color palette (mostly various shades of green) and makes it work, creating an exciting image.

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7. Plastic Man (Warner Bros. Studio Store, 2000). Ross has long been a booster of Jack Cole’s Plastic Man, considering him the archetype of the humorous superhero. Here Ross captures the zany powers of Plas like few can rival, with him stretching and bouncing around the plate’s borders. My favorite touch is Plas seemingly almost entering our reality, with his fingers pressed up against the plate’s surface.

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6. Superman vs. The Flash (DC Direct, 2004). Inspired by the cover of Superman #199 (Aug. 1967) by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson, and all the homages that followed, Ross captures the kinetic energy generated by comics’ greatest race. The Flash pitching slightly forward may indicate that ultimately, the Fastest Man Alive will triumph, as he should. This image was later utilized for the 2005 trade paperback collecting the various races between the Man of Steel and the Scarlet Speedster. Its worth noting that Ross’ Flash is based heavily on the costume seen in the character’s first live-action appearance, in 1979’s Legends of the Super-Heroes TV specials.

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5. JLA: Liberty and Justice (DC Direct, 2004). A tie-in to the last of his and Paul Dini’s treasury-sized specials, this plate depicts Ross’ version of the classic Justice League of America, meeting in their orbiting satellite headquarters. There are some great character touches here, such as Green Arrow flirting with Black Canary, Aquaman conversing with the Flash, and the Atom’s tiny chair. Some fans gaff at Ross including non-Bronze Age JLAer Plastic Man, and I will admit, he does make me pause. But it’s a striking composition, making it seem as if we’re sitting in on an important strategy session, 22,300 miles above the Earth.

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4. The Power of Shazam! (Warner Bros. Studio Store, 2000). Ross is one of the original Captain Marvel’s greatest champions, constantly trying to remind comics fans just how important and popular the character was during his Golden Age heyday.  He brings the thunder, and plenty of lightning, as Billy changes from boy to Big Red Cheese with one magic word. You can practically hear him calling it out, as if the plate came with a sound chip. Like the GL/GA plate, the color palette is limited, but that doesn’t stop it from being extremely evocative. The lightning even makes an “S” for Shazam!

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3. Christmas with the Justice League of America (Warner Bros. Studio Store, 2000). Harking back to some of the classic covers of DC’s Christmas With the Super-Heroes specials, Ross creates a jubilant yuletide scene, literally framed with a bit of melancholy. The classic satellite era League (along with Ross favorites Captain Marvel and Plastic Man) celebrate in their own unique ways: The toast between Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado; Black Canary hanging on Green Arrow’s shoulder; Hawkman and Hawkgirl observing the strange Earth custom of decorating the tree; and my favorite, Green Lantern making the tree lights with his power ring. But all of this is superseded by the Man of Steel beckoning the Dark Knight to let his often-lonely crusade rest for the night, and come inside and join the celebration.

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2. Teen Titans (Warner Bros. Studio Store, 1999). Ross channels both Neal Adams and Nick Cardy, and their collaboration on Teen Titans #20-22. The pink energy the Titans burst forth from is a direct nod to their adventures in Dimension X, a deep cut if there ever was one! There’s a bit of Adams’ dynamic foreshortening in the figures as well, especially Kid Flash’s hand and upper body, and Robin’s feet, as the Teen Wonder swings onto the scene. Speedy, Aqualad and Wonder Girl rarely looked better, either. It’s one of the most exciting pieces on this list. Ginchy!

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1. Justice League of America (Warner Bros. Studio Store, 1997). If Ross somehow time-traveled back to the 1960s, and painted a piece of merchandise, for say a Hasbro Justice League game, I imagine it would look something like this. Overall forgoing his usual designs for the characters, Ross evokes original Justice League of America artist Mike Sekowsky here, giving us his interpretation of the Silver Age versions of the characters. The design of the plate is perhaps the best of the lot, with the heroes flying up and out in a circular fashion from the eagle and shield symbol that was often shown when new Leaguers were sworn in. Even though the poses are all very similar, Ross manages to infuse character into each figure: Batman has his cape pulled before his face; Aquaman seems to be swimming; Flash is running, and Green Lantern has his power ring fist lifted. The original Leaguers never looked better.

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MORE

— TITANS TOGETHER: Dig ALEX ROSS’ NEW TEEN TITANS Homage Covers. Click here.

— Dig This Groovy ALEX ROSS Homage to BATMAN’s VILLAINS OF THE ’70s. Click here.

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Regular 13th Dimension contributor Chris Franklin is a graphic designer, illustrator, writer, and podcaster, who co-hosts and produces several shows on the Fire and Water Podcast Network, including JLUCast. He personally owns the top three plates, and really misses going on mad shopping sprees in the Warner Bros. Studio Store.