Alex Ross is best known for his masterful photorealistic portraits of DC and Marvel characters – but before that, his first job as a comic book artist was an earlyTerminatorcomic series,The Burning Earth.Ross' talent and vision as an illustrator are evident in the series, though so are the many ways he has grown as a creatorin his nearly thirty-five year career since.
In his “Afterward” to the reprint of the series, Alex Ross described how the book changed his life, launching his career in comics; he also detailed some of the setbacks and pitfalls of his first foray into the medium. For fans of the artist’s work, the series is now essential reading, to give them a better sense of Ross' career trajectory.
The book offers a tantalizing glimpse of the style Ross would pioneer over the next several decades, while also bearing the marks of an imperfect first attempt at his singular photorealistic aesthetic.
Alex Ross Is One Of DC & Marvel’s Greatest Contemporary Artists – He Got His Start On Terminator
Terminator: The Burning Earth– Written By Ron Fornier, Art By The Debuting Alex Ross; Released In 1990
Released a full yearbeforeTerminator 2: Judgment Day, NOW Comics’Burning Earthminiseries is an early depiction of John Connor’s human forces triumph over Skynet in the future – which, of course, precipitated the machines' desperate attempt to assassinate Connor in the past.ForTerminatorfans, the series was a continuation of author Ron Fortier’s late 1980sTerminatorcomic book run, and a further elaboration on the lore established in James Cameron’s 1984 sci-fi horror film.For Alex Ross, it was an incredible opportunity to get his first shot at illustrating a comic book.
Alex Ross acknowledged…that the process of drawingThe Burning Earthwas somewhat painful; ultimately, it was a learning experience that served him in the long-run, but it wasn’t an easy entry into the medium.
Not yet twenty years old, a fresh-out-of-college Ross was working for an advertising agency at the time, when a coworker who moonlighted for NOW suggested him for the role ofThe Burning Earth’sartist. In the “Afterward” to the trade paperback edition of the series, Ross wrote of this pivotal moment in his life:
I had comic page samples ready to go, and I was hungry to get my start in the career I dreamed of…My coworker set up introductions, and I did some additional samples to try and impress the publisher. I was mostly driven to get into comics wherever I could.
While Ross admitted that he wasn’t a huge fan ofTerminatorat the time, he had “a particular burning ambition” to work in comics – and his portfolio was clearly enough to earn him the gig.
Further, Alex Ross acknowledged in the “Afterward” that the process of drawingThe Burning Earthwas somewhat painful; ultimately, it was a learning experience that served him in the long-run, but it wasn’t an easy entry into the medium, especially for a nineteen-year-old novice.His work in the series offers hints of the style he would develop over the years, though it has an especially raw quality to it, not unlike a punk band’s first demo tape, or a filmmaker’s early home movies.
“The Burning Earth” Was Alex Ross' Big Break – And He Never Looked Back
Despite A Rough Start, Ross Perservered
Longtime DC and Marvel fansknow Alex Ross' work for its unmistakable, immediately recognizable style. Ross is distinguished in part by the fact that he paints, rather than drawing, which is part of what makesTerminator: The Burning Earthparticularly worth taking a closer look at. The book is more than just Ross' first comic, but itrepresents his initial attempt to bring his unique style and process to the comic medium. As he explained inThe Burning Earth’s “Afterward”, written decades into his career in 2013, his ambitions initially ran into the wall of practical considerations.
The final art forTerminator: The Burning Earthat times succeeds at giving off what Alex Ross calls “the illusion of ‘painting.'”
According to Ross:
Each day I would come home from downtown Chicago to sit down at the kitchen table, which was the only broad, clear surface available to do my work, and attempt to make fullly rendered color pages forThe Burning Earth. Well, I burnt myself out within about two pages.
As the artist went on to explain, the painted photorealistic style he was attempting to cultivate would require – at this stage in his career – photographic reference material to achieve, something that wasn’t feasible on the timeframe he had to completeThe Burning Earth#1, while also working a full-time job. Instead, he noted:
If you look at page 2 from issue #1, you’ll see the transition midpage between the kind of more photo-based realistic comic I originally wanted to do and the drawn-out-of-my-head series that followed.
Though Ross had some critical words for the finished product in his “Afterward”, it is still a remarkable artifact in the context of his eventual legendary career.
That is to say, the final art forTerminator: The Burning Earthat times succeeds at giving off what Alex Ross calls “the illusion of ‘painting.'” While it may not be as “horrible” as the artist described it in retrospect, it is certainly an unrefined prototype for the aesthetic that the artist would subsequently master.
Terminator: The Burning Earth– Five Issue Miniseries From NOW Comics
The Burning Earthhelped Alex Ross define his artistic vision, through the miniseries’ failures as much as through its successes.
It is worth taking a more detailed work at Alex Ross’ early work onTerminator: The Burning Earthbecause in order to understand any artist, it is vital to have a sense of their creative evolution. It is especially notable that Ross went intoThe Burning Earthwith an idea of the style he wanted to produce on the page. Though he did not fully realize this goal with the project,rather than being stymied, he resolved to continue working to actualize the potential that it displayed.
Of course, his commitment to developing a non-traditional, unique artistic style would, in time, go on to make him legendary in contemporary comics. That his first experience working in comics did not live up to his high standards for himself attests to the relentless drive toward perfection that has undergirded Alex Ross' whole career. His initial frustrations, rather than discouraging him, were converted into motivation; within a few years ofThe Burning Earth, Ross had landed his first work forboth DC and Marvel Comics.
Terminator is Back For A Brand-New War Waged Across Human History
A new Terminator series from Dynamite sees Skynet dispatching Terminators around the globe and throughout time in its efforts to eradicate humanity.
In this sense,The Burning Earthhelped Alex Ross define his artistic vision, through the miniseries' failures as much as through its successes. In all fairness to the series, Few creators who operate at Ross' level are ever satisfied with their formative efforts; as a primitive entry inTerminatorlore, the comic remains of interest to fans, and it certainly has its dynamic, exciting moments. As Ross noted:
I will look at this collection as a monument to my boundless ambition. I hope you will look at this as an interesting piece of the history of the Terminator franchise.
Of course, for comic fans who appreciate the artist’s work, it can most certainly be both.
Alex Ross' Mindbending Talent Was On Display From The Very Beginning Of His Career
Even If It Needed To Be Nurtured
Alex Ross' “Afterward” toThe Burning Earthalso contains some of his earliest sketches for the series, showing how his art for the cover to the first issue – and for theseries' central female Terminator Aurora– initially took shape. These, along with his finished work in the series, make it clear Ross' abilities as an illustrator were prodigious even at the time, even in his work’s tender, far-from-polished early incarnation.Whatever fans feel about it as a Terminator comic, they will appreciate it for the way it captures an iconic artist at the very precipice of greatness.
As a creator,Alex Ross has had an incredible impacton the comic book industry, as well as the comic book medium, the potential of which he has pushed to – and perhaps even beyond – its natural limits. The great wonder of comics is the way it brings together story and image, yet the place of the artist often takes a back seat to that of the writer. That always changes when Alex Ross is part of the conversation, and his indelible thirty-plus year career may have been very different if not for his firstTerminatorcomic.
Source:Terminator: The Burning EarthTrade Paperback, Alex Ross “Afterward”
Terminator
The Terminator franchise, launched by James Cameron in 1984, explores a dystopian future where intelligent machines wage war against humanity. The relentless pursuit of key human figures by time-traveling cyborg assassins known as Terminators is central to the narrative. John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance, is the core target of the malicious machines.
