This year, Marvel Comics is proud to honor 60 awe-inspiring years of the Avengers and the X-Men! New comic titles, collections, and much more are in store for fans all year long, and starting in August, Alex Ross will grace the celebration with his acclaimed artwork!
For this milestone of two of the comic book industry’s most groundbreaking super hero teams, the incomparable artist has turned out two stunning art pieces that will serve as connecting variant covers on various Avengers and X-Men titles throughout 2023. Retailers got a sneak peek at the artwork last month at ComicsPro, and now it’s time to see them in all their painted glory!
There’s no better artist to capture the magnificent spirit of both teams, and Ross’ new covers are destined to become classic images in the years ahead. The first part of both covers can be collected this August with UNCANNY AVENGERS #1, the upcoming title that sees Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and mutantkind protecting the Marvel Universe side by side!
“In the case of the Avengers, I wanted to capture something of the era I grew up with, but also something extensive,” Ross said. “So I captured the first 30 years of that team, from the ’60s through the ’80s. I end where 1989 closes. I’m trying to make sure my work is aligning with how the character looked and also the attitudes the characters had.”
“With the X-Men piece, I didn’t originally make the design. I copied an existing classic cover design that everybody would know and connect to,” Ross explained. “The X-Men piece is showing an accentuation of the action, where it’s a split second difference later. Wolverine is completing a full attack swipe and everybody is attacking harder. I added in the bit with lightning coming from Storm, which would be a split second of movement.”
