Alex Ross Takes Marvel to New Dimensions in New Graphic Novel
For decades, Marvel and DC Comics readers have been regularly treated to the lovely photorealistic artwork of Alex Ross. For his next Marvel project, Ross is putting his talents as an artist and writer to use in a graphic novel that promises to offer up new spins and the publisher’s roster of characters. Known as Marvel Dimensions, it’s his latest turn as a writer following 2022’s Fantastic Four: Full Circle. Where that book was 64 pages long, Dimensions will run 112 pages and will feature heavy hitters like Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Avengers. Plot-wise, Marvel’s currently being cryptic, only saying the book starts with the universe’s “iconic origins and slowly twists into something darker and more unpredictable.”
Ross himself described Marvel Dimensions as “as bonkers a ride for the reader as it could possibly be” to the Hollywood Reporter. “You’re getting one kind of entertainment, and then it changes on you midstream and then you’re getting a different art style suddenly…and then the format changes within the book itself. All these things hopefully seem to unify and combine and come back together, but it’s meant to be a wild ride that is throwing everything plus the kitchen sink at you.” That format change arrives mid-book in the form of a 32-page story baked in and said to be key to the entire storyline. In full, Dimensions is built off of ideas Ross has had over the years, partly inspired by a similar origin retelling that he did for DC heroes like Batman and Wonder Woman back in 2005. Here, he’s looking to get a little “twisted,” hence the debut of around 200 characters—or at least their variants, a la Kingdom Come.
If that sounds exciting to you, Marvel Dimensions from Alex Ross hits shelves in September for $30. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
