Dynamite Entertainment has announced that Alex Ross will paint the entire first issue of Masks, the first crossover comic book series ever featuring most of the top pulp fiction heroes including The Shadow, The Green Hornet, Zorro, Kato, Miss Fury, The Spider, and The Black Bat.  The first issue of Masks, which is due to be released in November, will mark the first time that Ross has painted the complete interior of a comic book since his work on DC’s Justice that ended in 2007. 

 

Chris Roberson, who recently made a bit of a name for himself when he quit DC Comics because of the publisher’s treatment of the Siegel and Schuster heirs as well as its decision to go ahead against the wishes of Watchmen creator Alan Moore and publish a line of Before Watchmen comics using characters created by Moore (and Dave Gibbons) in new stories (see "Roberson Speaks Out"), is writing the Masks crossover.  Somewhat ironically, as it turns out, in Masks Roberson is himself fashioning new stories featuring characters created by others, though thanks to the passage of time these characters have largely slipped into the public domain, making them fair game for everyone.

 

In addition to painting the interior pages, Ross will also provide a painted cover for the first issue of Masks.  In addition Sean Phillips, Howard Chaykin, and Jae Lee will also create covers for the first issue of the crossover series, which is set in New York in 1938 during the heyday of the pulp magazine.

 

Here’s Dynamite’s plot summary for the crossover series: "In Masks #1, it's 1938, and the Justice Party has swept into office in New York State. But the newly-elected officials are in the control of powerful criminals, who quickly corrupt the law to their own advantage.  When a fascist police state is instituted, the only ones who stand in defense of the innocent are masked vigilantes like the Shadow, the Green Hornet, Kato, and the Spider. When the law is unjust, justice must be an outlaw..."