Ross Andru, born Rostislav Androuchkevitch on June 15, 1927, was an American comics artist and editor whose contributions to the medium stretched across six decades. He died on November 9, 1993.
Andru broke into comics in the early 1950s and quickly established himself as a versatile and prolific talent. His name became closely associated with some of Marvel and DC's most enduring titles, most notably *The Amazing Spider-Man*, *Wonder Woman*, *The Flash*, and *The Metal Men*. Among his most significant contributions to comics history was his co-creation of the Punisher, one of Marvel's most durable and widely adapted characters.
His longest and most fruitful creative partnership was with inker Mike Esposito, a collaboration that spanned roughly four decades. The two were not merely artistic collaborators — they were also business partners, co-founding three small publishing ventures together: Mr. Publications in 1951, MikeRoss in 1953, and Klevart Enterprises in 1970, none of which achieved lasting commercial success.
Over his career, Andru accumulated credits as artist, inker, letterer, and writer across more than a thousand issues, with his Spider-Man work reaching international audiences through numerous foreign-language editions. His clean, dynamic draftsmanship gave some of Marvel and DC's flagship characters a visual consistency that readers across generations continue to recognize.
