SPIDER-MAN AMAZING FANTASY #15 COVER RECREATION ORIGINAL ART BY ALEX ROSS FOR HERO ILLUSTRATED #6 COVER.
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Item Description
Featuring one of the most eye-catching comic book covers from the Silver Age of Marvel Comics, Amazing Fantasy #15 introduced everyone's favorite Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man to the masses. Needless to say, the debut issue was a massive success. And while Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's "Spider-Man!" debut tale printed within certainly played a large part in that, the striking cover also played its part, selling a then unknown character on visual appeal alone. Originally created by Jack Kirby, the cover art has since been reinterpreted countless times by a who's who of artistic talents, cementing its place in comic book history through recreations and countless cover homages.
Offered here is the original art recreation of Amazing Fantasy #15's cover by one of Marvel's most popular artists - Alex Ross. While the color palette and printing techniques of the 1960s offered limited options, this beautifully rendered gouache paint masterpiece gives a more grounded, realistic feel to Spider-Man's entrance, with Ross using warm colors and utilizing his distinctive style to convey the Silver Age action of the original. Regarding painting Spider-Man, Ross had this to say, "I've always associated the costume with being a real thing - and wanting to sort of connect my visuals with the idea that this is something a person's underneath. There's a real material over skin here." Continuing to explain his approach to bringing these comic characters to life, Ross states "I try and really bring through the sense of human features poking through, but all that energy, that thought, is coming from what is your favorite inspiration? What is the first thoughts you had as far as encountering these characters? And can you make a challenge out of it by trying to interpret in a way that maybe you're not seeing others do."
Painted on 15x20" sheet of artpaper (which has been mounted to glossy back stock), this original art was first published as the cover to Hero Illustrated #6 (Dec. 1993), a comics-focused publication. Predated by his cover art for DC Comics' Superman: Doomsday & Beyond novel (Batman Books, 1993), this art represents one of Ross's earliest Marvel pieces, having been painted around the same time he was preparing his career-defining work on 1994's Marvels limited series. It was later printed by Marvel as a variant cover for Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 4 #1 in 2016 and as a variant cover for a Mexican exclusive reprint of Amazing Fantasy #15 by Editorial Televisa in 2022. It was published again in 2019 and 2022 as the cover to two different editions (one featuring "Amazing Spider-Man" title treatment, the other featuring "Amazing Fantasy" title treatment) of the Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Volume 1 hardcovers by Marvel. For lithograph and print collectors, this piece made its debut as an NYCC 2023 Exclusive Premiere giclée print on canvas (which is now available on the Alex Ross website).
Artpaper has some rippling across top and bottom margins as painted and blue field at top of image area has some scattered spots of aging. Main image area remains unaffected. Margin corners have some light aging as previously displayed in mounting corners, but art is VF overall.
Alex Ross original Marvel art is highly sought after and much coveted by collectors. This is a top tier Ross original, and is easily one of the best examples of his artwork to ever grace the auction block. A stunning multi-published piece. Gary and Dawn Guzzo Collection.
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