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Wizard's Alex Ross Millennium EditionI was a bit apprehensive about this special; while I have enjoyed Alex Ross's work in Marvels, Kingdom Come and Superman: Peace on Earth, the previous Wizard specials have been uneven at best. They frequently feature articles peripheral to the subject matter that stink of filler material (most of the JLA special, for example). This Alex Ross special, though, is 100 percent Ross. If you like his work, you'll love this book. It features hundreds of illustrations, many never before seen, and some that are truly exceptional. Don't be fooled by the somewhat mediocre, washed out cover; for fans of Alex Ross's artwork, this book is a treasure. There is a profile of the subject that gets surprisingly honest (his thoughts on Ron Marz's Green Lantern and Mark Waid's Kingdom Event are especially telling), and offers insight into the thought processes behind the art. Other features include a listing with illustrations of all the surprise cameos that have appeared in Ross's various works, a step by step feature on the creation of an Alex Ross cover illustration (featuring Harley Quinn and the Joker) and an extensive checklist of his published works to date. The package itself deserves mention as well; this is the nicest magazine ever put out by Wizard Press (damning with faint praise, I know...). It is a sturdy squarebound volume with heavy cover stock, and it serves its subject well. I was initially put off by the 5.99 cover price, but this package is well worth the expense. Because it's published by Wizard, of course, there is one huge embarrassment: Artist John Totleben is referred to in a caption on page 35 as "Steve Totleben," likely because of his long association with Steve Bissette. It's a minor quibble, but considering the obvious impression the publishers wanted to make with this edition, a mistake like that should have been caught. The special comes with a separate comic book featuring Ross's first story for Marvel; it's not outstanding, but as an historical oddity I suppose it is worth having if you are a fan of Ross's artwork. If you like Ross in general, or Kingdom Come, Marvels or Earth X in particular, this special edition is highly recommended.
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