George Perez was a favorite of young Alex Ross growing up, a primary influence alongside Neal Adams and Berni Wrightson on his art development in teenage years. “Crisis On Infinite Earths” was cited as a major inspiration for his much-heralded “Kingdom Come.” When the long-awaited collection of the former in a single hardbound volume of a type made popular by the latter came due, in only made sense to formally associate Perez and Ross on a new cover. A very large, very intricate cover drawn by Perez and painted over by Ross. According to Chip Kidd’s book “Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross,” the result made “the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel look minimalist.” Ross himself continued, “It was a total dream project for me—over five-hundred characters, it took over a month to do, working every day—by far the one piece I’ve ever spent the most time on. Every single character required a frisket mask in order to airbrush the background, a hugely laborious undertaking... I was fifteen when the original was published, and it was the culmination of everything I enjoyed about DC Comics... the most dramatic send-off ever.”
I really dig that cover, although it does look a little weird on the actual book (because of the wrap-around.)
ReplyDeleteI don't recall ever cracking open a copy. I think I pulled my synopsis from the paperback version in 2000.
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