Beginning at the age of 19, Alex Ross began planning the project that would be his biggest splash into the world of comic books. Released in 1994, the comic book series Marvels showcases various points in the history of the Marvel Universe from 1939 to 1973 through the eyes of fictional photographer Phil Sheldon. In Marvels, Sheldon witnesses the birth of the Human Torch in 1939, battles between Captain America and Nazis during World War II, and the creation of superhero teams the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men in the 1960s.