WIZARD MAGAZINE part 5

THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM ISSUES

WIZARD #99: With a cover date of November 1999, this issue (left) sports a fantastic cover of Batman with his most vicious villains fighting to the finish. This cover, although obscured by the logo, captures the essence of who batman is; a guy who never gives up. I like the way Alex painted this image as though it's being watched from above. Also note the retro costume on The Riddler and the creepy, never-ending smile on The Joker's face, even when he's being choked. This issue includes Alex's sketchbook for Batman - War on Crime.

WIZARD #2000: Skipping the count the following month to celebrate the new millennium, Wizard came up with issue 2000 (center) which has the biggest mistake this publication has ever printed (and they even accepted it on a later issue) Obscuring this amazing splash of the Kingdom Come characters versus the Earth X ones. They haven't even made a poster out of this; what a shame! Anyway I enjoy Alex's art any way I can and on this incredible piece, at least they didn't cover that hilarious thing happening to the right of Superman's head. It's the Red Skull messing around with Lex Luthor, literally getting on his hair, if he had any. Click on the image and check it out for yourself.

WIZARD #100: To begin the next hundred issues, Wizard celebrated this milestone, by going back to its own roots, the cover of issue one, which featured a Todd McFarlane drawn Spider-Man dressed as a wizard. Alex Ross pays homage to this cover with his very own rendition of this classic. It doesn't differ too much from the original concept, but Alex combines the image with a nice yellow sky and a more flowing pose which makes the image more harmonious and subtle.