Ross Andru

Infobox Comics creator

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imagesize = 150
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birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1927|6|15|mf=y
location =
deathdate = death date and age|1993|11|9|1927|06|15
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nationality = American
area = Penciller, Inker
alias =
notable works = Spider-Man
awards =

Ross Andru (June 15, 1927 - November 9, 1993) was an American comic book artist and editor. He is best known for his work on "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Wonder Woman" and for co-creating the Metal Men (with writer Robert Kanigher in "Showcase" # 37 in 1962) and the Punisher (with writer Gerry Conway in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #129 in 1974).

His most frequent collaborator was inker Mike Esposito, as the two worked together on various projects over a span of four decades. Working with Esposito, Andru was the co-founder of his own comic book company, MR Publications in 1951 and dipped his hand into self-publishing two times after that with the companies MikeRoss in 1953 and Klevart Enterprizes in 1970. Another venture into self-publishing, in 1990, failed before funding could be found.

Biography

Early career

Andru's first professional comic book work was for the "Tarzan" newspaper strip in 1948.

DC Comics

In the 1950s and early 1960s Andru worked primarily on DC's war comics, contributing material regularly to titles such as "All American Men of War" (1953–1964), "GI Combat" (1957), "Our Army At War" (1953) (later known as "Sgt. Rock"), "Our Fighting Forces" (1955) and "Star Spangled War Stories" (1954–1966).

In the late 1950s he began to be assigned to more super-hero work, as he started runs on "The Flash" (1959), "Rip Hunter, Time Master" (1961), and "Showcase", where he drew the "Sea Devils" feature as well as co-created the Metal Men.

During this period Andru also did his nine-year stint on "Wonder Woman", (starting at #98 in 1958 and running until 1967) where he and writer Kanigher reinvented the character, introducing the Silver Age version and her supporting cast.

Marvel Comics

In the early 1970s, Andru left DC for Marvel Comics. Initially he did short runs on such titles as "Marvel Feature" in 1971–1972, where he launched the Defenders; and "Marvel Team-Up" in 1972, where he first drew Spider-Man. In 1973, he began his five-year stint as regular penciler on "Amazing Spider-Man", which at that point was Marvel's highest-selling monthly comic.

It was during that run that Andru and writer Conway introduced the Punisher, who was conceived as an antagonist for Spider-Man. Although Andru is credited with designing the Punisher's distinctive costume, Conway has claimed that Andru worked from design sketches Conway provided.Fact|date=September 2008 The character has gone on to become a popular star of numerous comic books as well as three movies.

In 1976, Andru penciled the first large-scale comic book intercompany character crossover, "Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man", in a story written by Conway and co-published by Marvel and DC.

Return to DC

In 1978, Andru returned to DC to work as an editor. During this period his art appeared mostly on the covers of such titles as "Action Comics" and "Superman". Working with writer Marv Wolfman and collaborator Mike Esposito, he also co-created the syndicated comic strip "The Unexplained" in 1979. In the 1980s he returned to interior work, on titles including "Jonah Hex" (1982–1984), "Vigilante" (1984), and "Blue Beetle" (1987-1988).

Later life and career

His last work was for Archie Comics' "Zen, Intergalactic Ninja" in 1993, on which he was teamed once again with Mike Esposito. Andru died later that year.

In 2006 both Andru and Esposito were the subjects of a biography titled "Andru and Esposito: Partners For Life", published by Hermes Press (ISBN 978-1932563849).

=Ultimate Spider-Man ho

In "Ultimate Spider-Man" issue #87 (Feb. 2006), a "Ross Andru" has a cameo as the principal of Peter Parker's high school. This is obviously an homage to the late Andru.Fact|date=September 2008

Notes

References

*Strickler, Dave. "Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index." Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1.
*

Bibliography

*Esposito, Mike & Best, Dan. "Partners For Life" (Hermes Press, 2007) For additional online material about this book (interviews, scans), see [http://ohdannyboy.blogspot.com/search?q=partners+for+life Dan Best's website]