Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970)[1] is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work.

He has done covers for TV Guide, promotional artwork for the Academy Awards, posters and packaging design for video games, and his renditions of superheroes have been merchandised as action figures.

Ross's style, which usually employs a combination of gouache and wash,[2] has been said to exhibit "a Norman-Rockwell-meets-George-Pérez vibe",[3] and has been praised for its realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters.

[4] His rendering style, his attention to detail, and the perceived tendency of his characters to be depicted staring off into the distance in cover images has been satirized in Mad magazine.

By age 16, Ross discovered the realistic work of illustrators such as Andrew Loomis and Norman Rockwell, and envisioned one day seeing such styles applied to comic book art.

During this time, Ross met writer Kurt Busiek, and the two began submitting proposals for series that would feature paintings as their internal art.

[16][17] DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz observed that "Waid's deep knowledge of the heroes' pasts served them well, and Ross' unique painted art style made a powerful statement about the reality of the world they built.

"[18] Ross followed Kingdom Come with Uncle Sam,[12] an experimental non-superhero work for DC's Vertigo line that examines the dark side of American history.

[25] In 2001, Ross won acclaim for his work on special comic books benefiting the families of those killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks, including his portraits of paramedics, police and firefighters.

In August 2005, Ross worked again with writer Jim Krueger and penciler Doug Braithwaite on 12-issue, bi-monthly limited series Justice for DC Comics.

The series was their first full collaboration since Marvels 17 years previous, and features a large group of Jack Kirby's creator-owned characters, the rights to which were acquired by Dynamite, such as Silver Star, Captain Victory, Galaxy Green, Tiger 21, and the Ninth Men.

[42][43] Since 2011, Ross has been painting covers for several Dynamite titles such as The Green Hornet, Silver Star, Captain Victory, The Bionic Man, Lord of the Jungle, The Spider, among others.

[25][44][45] that same year, Ross returned to interior painted art with Masks, a story in which the Shadow, the Spider, the Green Hornet, Zorro, and others join forces to combat a mutual threat.

[46] In 2013 Ross created an exclusive GameStop pre-order poster for the video game Watch Dogs, which was scheduled for debut November 19 of that year, but was delayed to 2014.

In 2015, following the conclusion of that year's "Secret Wars" storyline, Ross designed the high-tech variation of Spider-Man's costume that the character wore during Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli's run on The Amazing-Spider-Man.

[48] In the ensuing early part of that decade, he had stints as the regular cover artist on Marvel titles including Iron Man,[49] Black Panther, Captain America, and Immortal Hulk.

[56] The American Library Association listed it among their 2022 Best Graphic Novels for Adults, noting "The layouts and storytelling are unmistakably those of Alex Ross, but he has also exchanged his usual realistic palette for a bolder more expressive color scheme.

"[57] Chris Neill, writing for Kotaku, praised the book, noting the "fairly meat and potatoes plot", but applauding the art, calling it "the best looking comic you'll see this year".

Neill opined that whereas Ross' usual style can exhibit a stiffness by making the reader too aware that they are looking at a painting, thus hampering the storytelling flow, his decision to ink his lines and use a limited palette of flat colors with no modern computer shading techniques gave the art a greater quality of grit and texture.

Ross designed the costume the current incarnation of Batwoman wears; this character has been released in action-figure form by DC Direct as part of its "52" line of toys.

[59] Ross won the Comics Buyer's Guide's CBG Fan Award for Favorite Painter seven years in a row,[61] resulting in that publication's retirement of that category.

Comics Buyer's Guide Senior Editor Maggie Thompson commented in regard to this in 2010, "Ross may simply be the field's Favorite Painter, period.