Spike Trotman and Iron Circus Comics Return to Kickstarter With OTHER WORLDS: THE ART OF ALEX RIES, Featuring Never Before Published Artwork
From the alien oceans of Subnautica: Below Zero, to the denizens of the hollow-earth in Godzilla X Kong: The New Kingdom, and the grandeur of alien beings and civilizations in films like Warriors of the Future and the worldbuilding of The Birrin Saga, the artwork of acclaimed concept artist Alex Ries inspires and astonishes with designs of aliens and worlds that look like they could actually exist, because they come from a place of informed speculative biology. And now Spike Trotman’s Iron Circus Comics — the premiere publisher of award-winning, critically-acclaimed graphic novels in the American Midwest, which has raised nearly 5 million dollars via crowdfunding — is returning to Kickstarter to publish OTHER WORLDS: THE ART OF ALEX RIES, the first ever collection of personal and professional artworks by the prolific Alex Ries, featuring iconic art from Subnautica: Below Zero as well as many never-before published pieces. OTHER WORLDS: THE ART OF ALEX RIES is a 300+ page hardcover that will include forewords by Jamie Beswarick and Greg Broadmore and extensive commentary from the artist himself. OTHER WORLDS: THE ART OF ALEX RIES will be available via Kickstarter.
Ever since his youth spent in the vast, rural expanse of South Eastern Australia, Ries has explored his sense of connection to the natural world and fascination with science. Explorations of the diversity of life on Earth, the possibilities of life beyond it, and the pressing themes of conflict and reconciliation between civilization and the natural world have come to define his work as an artist. Ries’ sublime work on Subnautica: Below Zero allowed him to use his knowledge of real-world marine life to create biologically plausible extraterrestrial creatures, while The Birrin Saga, his major personal work, explores the alien planet of Chriirah and tells the story of this world and its inhabitants.
“This book is the culmination of decades of work, passing through traditional illustration, concept art and even sculpture,” said Alex Ries. “I have filled it with works that have marked important creative moments not just in my professional but personal life. This is a culmination of my life as a creative person thus far that I will be able to actually hold, and the kind of book I always loved as a child: creatures, machines, and life from other worlds.”
“With a unique imagination, a timeless sense of wonder, and a detailed grounding in reality that gives it all life, Ries’s creatures and worlds light a lasting spark within the viewer,” said Iron Circus Founder C. Spike Trotman.
Here’s what folks are saying about Alex Ries’ artwork:
“I want to live in these cool visions of the far future by Alex Ries.”—GIZMODO
“An artist who strives to imagine aliens with genuinely unique appearances.”—Curious Archive
“Alex Ries is a master of bringing the fantastical to life. After following his work for years, seeing so much of it in one glorious tome is a revelation.” — Simon Roy (Griz Grobus, Prophet)
“We love plunging into the depths of Alex Ries’ artistic mind.”—INVERSE
“The depth Alex Ries goes into with his art is on the level of a scientific chart. The creatures and ship designs are that much more believable because of the amazing level of detail.”—Mike Corriero, outsourcing art director on Warriors of Future
“Alex has an incredible ability to weave his understanding of design, world building, biology and story-telling into every piece of his work. I always find myself engaged and excited by his artwork and in particular, find the Birrin world extremely fascinating. Very excited to follow along with where Alex will take us next.”—Andrew Baker, concept artist for Avatar: The Way of Water and Pacific Rim: Uprising
“Alex Ries is one of the very few artists that can transport my imagination to another world without hesitation.”— Mathias Verhasselt Art Director/Industrial Designer Blizzard/SpaceX
“Alex Ries belongs in the pantheon of exobiology visionary artists like Barlowe. I am sure everyone worth their salt already has his work in their reference folders.” — Stanley Von Medvey: Director / Animator, Pantheon, Sonic 2 and 3
About the publisher
C. Spike Trotman (she/her) – C. Spike Trotman was born in DC, raised in MD, and lives in IL. An artist and writer, she founded Iron Circus Comics in 2007, which has since grown to become the region’s largest comics publisher. Her notable work includes the webcomic “Templar, Arizona,” the Smut Peddler series of erotic comic anthologies, and Poorcraft, a graphic novel guide to frugal living. A Kickstarter early adopter, she pioneered the widely-adopted bonus model that’s since completely reshaped the pay system of the small press, jump-starting the current renaissance of alt-comics anthologies. Iron Circus is also the first comics publisher of note to fully incorporate crowdfunding into its business model, inventing one of the single most effective uses of new media in comics publishing today.
About the creator
Alex Ries was born in a small regional town in South-Eastern Australia in an expanse of farmland and forests at the base of the Great Dividing Range. As an artist, Alex explores the diverse possibilities of life, evolution and civilization on other worlds, and through this the pressing themes of conflict and reconciliation between civilization and nature.
Alex moved to Melbourne to study art, graduating with a Bachelor of Creative Arts in 2006, and soon after began his career working as a concept artist with video game studio THQ and as a freelance illustrator. He began work as a creature designer on Subnautica: Below Zero in 2018, bringing together his knowledge of real-world marine life and experience illustrating extraterrestrial creatures. Balancing the humorous and cute against the ferocious and terrifying resulted in a diverse menagerie of alien life, from the appealing and mischievous ‘sea monkeys’ in the sunlit shallows to the titanic and nightmarish shadow leviathan terrorizing explorers in the deep oceans of Planet 4546B.
As an illustrator he has been featured in Australian Geographic where he was tasked with portraying the future of human space exploration, from commercial asteroid mining to the search for life in the seas of alien worlds. In 2024 he collaborated with Wizards of the Coast To develop a new deck for Magic: The Gathering, while his natural history illustrations have featured in museum exhibitions including at MONA in Tasmania and Japan’s Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.
In film he has worked as a creature designer on the Hong Kong science fiction film Warriors of Future 明日戰記 in 2016, and has guest lectured at the legendary Weta Workshop about his creative method, continuing to work with them on later projects including Godzilla X Kong: The New Kingdom.
Throughout this time he has been developing his major personal work, the Birrin Saga, set on the alien world of Chriirah. The story of this world; its history, ecology and people, is currently being developed into a lavishly illustrated book series with Iron Circus Comics.
Through his career, he has maintained a sense of connection to the natural world and a fascination with science. He explores this love for life on Earth through the lens of speculative fiction, the stories told in his illustrations, and the personal themes of connection, loss and hope.
Alex lives and works in Melbourne Australia out of his home studio with his bearded dragon Vex.
Brian Isaacs - Executive Editor / Publisher