COVER GALLERY: 1996

This was a busy year for Alex, 'cause Kingdom Come came out but he was able to squeeze in a few covers.

INDIANA JONES AND THE SARGASSO PIRATES #2 of 4: Continuing with the adventure, this issue also by Kesel and Barreto, sports a cover by Ross, though it's strange why he only painted the first 2 out of a set of 4. This cover is more action packed than the previous one with Indy wrapped in an angry octopus being watched from the plank by a female pirate. The resemblance with Harrison Ford is a bit lost on this cover but notice how the perspective going upwards is amazing, you see the sky all dark and the face on the pirate is very angry while Indy is just scared, which doesn't fit the character very well.



FOOT SOLDIERS #1: This series marks the first time Alex Ross collaborated with Jim Krueger, this duo would later give us some fantastic comic book series such as Earth X, Justice and more recently Superpowers and Avengers/Invaders: The Return. This series, pencilled by Mike Avon Oeming, tells the tale of a dystopian future ruled by robots, who have killed all the super-heroes, now a few teenage delinquents have gotten hold of superpowered boots and are trying to restore order to the world with less than perfect results. This cover is awesome, you just gotta stop to take a really good look at it, it's so in-your-face, you see explosions and these kids running away from them, you feel you have to get out of their way or they'll run over you.

LETHARGIC LAD #3: This very strange character is the creation of Canadian artist Greg Hyland, who started this comic strip while he was in high school and still does it in his website, the comic compiles and reprints those strips. The "hero" has the power of lethargy, which makes me wonder how he actually fights crime if he's always tired, but he does it in Infantino City with the help of the most bizarre cast you'd expect. Now this cover rocks, it's really cool how the covers of this series makes fun of actual comic covers and for this issue, well, you can see it for yourselves, all the characters from this book formed like the Kingdom Come covers while Rev. McCay, the main character of that series looks puzzled to see those weirdos, behind him, all done with the same striking, overhead lighting Alex Ross used in KC. It looks great, and shows how Alex can make fun of his own art.

MADMAN #10:Since we're talking about weird characters, let me tell you about Madman. His name is Frank Einstein, named after Frank Sinatra and Albert Einstein, he used to be a hitman who died and was put back together by a couple of mad scientists (is there any other kind of scientists?), hence the name sounds like Frankenstein. When he woke up, he had no memory of his previous life, but he also had enhanced reflexes and mental powers which he used to fight crime in Snap City a fantastic place where mutants, monsters and evil robots roam free. It was created by Mike Allred in a cartoony style and with a tongue-in-cheek attitude that made it hugely popular in the 1990's. The cover was pencilled by Allred and painted by Ross, with most of the series' weird characters. The back cover was painted solely by Ross and shows Madman reading a comic book with a cover that spoofs Action Comics #1, Superman's first appearance, which captures the essence of how odd this hero really is and how this series never takes itself too seriously.


IN MY COLLECTION: Madman #10