The upcoming Apple Records re-release of The Beatles legendary film Yellow Submarine just got a little more powerful…super powerful actually. The Label tapped fan favorite comic book painter Alex Ross to provide a series of profile paintings, entitled John, Paul, George and Ringo. Ross’s photo-realistic style and his uncanny ability to make the fantastic plausible was a perfect match for bringing the unique designs of artist Heinz Edelmann to life. Yellow Submarine‘s release is seen as something of a landmark in animation history, heralding a new age of art house acceptance.
Alex Ross burst onto the comics scene with Marvels, a mini series showing the world of super heroes through the eyes of the people on the street. It was an instant sell out and has been reprinted dozens of times. His paintings made the colorful heroes and villains look incredibly lifelike. From an early age, Ross had been a big fan of the rich visual spectacles of the comic book world, and found himself studying the vastly different styles of the different artists. At the American Academy of Art in Chicago, he perfected his blending of neo-classical painting with the kinetic styles of comics legends like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Bernie Wrightson. He quickly developed a reputation as the go to artist when it came to portraying the most iconic versions of any character he painted.
Superman by Alex Ross
Ross’s first attempt at a Beatles image, a beautiful 6 foot wide example of his famous panoramas highlighting the characters from the movie made even him nervous. “I was warned at the outset that they might not get approval from the [John Lennon and George Harrison] estates to release it formally — that it was a kind of test. I thought I might not get another chance at this, so I wanted to put everything plus the kitchen sink in one piece of art.” Luckily for Ross, his renditions of Edelmann’s visionary work wowed everyone.
A section from the Yellow Submarine painting by Alex Rossfeaturing the Blue Meanies
With everyone happy with the outcome of the first collaboration, Apple Records heads decided last year to commission the follow up series. Each of the four prints captures on of the Beatles in a portrait style, as well as imagery from the film surrounding their characters. He quickly finished the first two, the John Lennon and Ringo Starr pieces and has been hard at work finishing the Paul McCartney and George Harrison versions to accompany them.
John by Alex Ross
Ringo by Alex Ross
Ross gushed “Yellow Submarine has also been one of my favorite films since I was six years old. The opportunity to work with the Beatles’ likenesses in the very inspired context of the ‘Yellow Submarine’ film is an absolute dream come true. There is so much I love about these men, their legacy and this film.” The artist is excited to unveil the finished series when the box set goes on sale April 30th at the Beatles store in the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Until they’re available for purchase, let’s have a small look at the last two prints in the series and another of Ross’s detailed production drawings.
Information for this article was gathered from Rolling Stone, Comic Book Resources and AlexRoss.com