Mere Alex Toth, mere Pantheon, mere kult, mere kunst, mere Golden Age, i seks nye hc antologier fra USA’s all-round bedste indy-oldies-forlag, og endelig har de fået øje på pantheon tegneren Alex Toth, som er verdens næst-bedste tegner, men som aldrig blev særlig længe på nogen serie. Det var spredt fægtning, med “Zorro” og hvad ved jeg, “Bravo for Adventure”. At samle Toth er lidt svært, da han mestendels bliver genoptrykt sporadisk på små forlag, og som sagt fordi han ikke bliver forbundet med nogen længere serie end “Zorro”. “Zorro” fik vi jo på dansk, i farver fra Egmont/Gutenberghus, men Alex Toth blev aldrig rigtigt noget kult navn i Danmark. Kan huske, at Henrik Rehr sagde tilbage i starten af 80’erne, “Ham Alex Tooth er meget god”. De seks antologier bliver produceret i samarbejde med den kendte tegneserie historiker og redaktør Greg Sadowski, en Harvey og Eisner pris-nomineret redaktør, som tidligere har tilrettelagt de to flotte Bernie Krigstein bøger fra Fanta, samt den overfede golden age antologi “Supermen: The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941”, som jeg tidligere har hypet her i bloggen. Bøgerne udgives i et forsigtigt tempo, så de får tid til at sælge, een bog per sæson, og den første bog bliver “Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s”, som udkommer i juni 2010, i samarbejde med tegneserie historikeren John Benson, kendt for sit arbejde på prozinet om EC Comics, “Squa Tront”. Bog nummer to udkommer så i efteråret 2010, og det bliver en opsamling af den legendariske tegner Alex Toth’s arbejde for Standard Comics i 1950’erne. Her er de nærmere detaljer om de seks uundværlige bøger (crucial):
FOUR COLOR FEAR: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s
RELEASE DATE: June 2010
This full-color 304-page edition collects the finest horror comics of the pre-code era (1950-54). EC is the company that most fans associate with horror, but to the average reader there remain unseen a tremendous volume of genuinely disturbing, compulsive, and imaginative stories from publishers such as Ajax-Farrell, Atlas, Charlton, Fawcett, Quality, Standard and many more. Four Color Fear collects the best, and includes 40 full-sized covers. Featured are comic book legends such as Jack Cole, Steve Ditko, George Evans, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, Basil Wolverton, Wally Wood, L.B. Cole, Matt Fox and many others.
SETTING THE STANDARD: Alex Toth at Standard Comics 1952-54
RELEASE DATE: Fall 2010
“It’s hard to overstate the influence of Alex Toth on the art of comic books,” says Sadowski. “Toth was from that first generation who grew up reading comic books, and he came to the medium armed with enough discipline, talent, and sheer love and respect for the medium to create a technique free of condescension, artifice, or shortcuts. His work at Standard first established him as the ‘comic book artist’s artist.’”
THE ROAD TO PLASTIC MAN: The Golden Age Comics of Jack Cole 1937-41
RELEASE DATE: t.b.a.
“From his earliest days in comics, Jack Cole was one intense artist / writer. It just took him a few years to fully incorporate humor into his work, so this book tracks his artistic evolution leading up to Plastic Man,” says Sadowski. Jack Cole’s irreverent yet artistically first-rate approach to comic book art was a refreshing departure for a young industry that tended to take itself a bit too seriously. His work influenced many of his contemporaries, most notably Will Eisner, whose Spirit gradually assumed Cole’s intoxicating mixture of fun and high drama.
AWAY FROM HOME: EC Artists at Other Companies
RELEASE DATE: t.b.a.
The key ingredient in what made EC the most celebrated comic book company of all time was its remarkable stable of artists: Reed Crandall, Jack Davis, George Evans, Will Elder, Al Feldstein, Jack Kamen, Bernard Krigstein, Harvey Kurtzman, Graham Ingels, Joe Orlando, John Severin, Basil Wolverton, Wallace Wood, and Al Williamson, as well as that of part-timers Frank Frazetta, Roy G. Krenkel, Alex Toth, and Angelo Torres. “This book collects the best non-EC art by the EC stable of artists, in other words, the cream of the 1950s crop. A lot of these guys were pals and they often collaborated, so there will be a healthy sampling of these fraternal efforts,” says Sadowski.
CREEPING DEATH FROM NEPTUNE: Basil Wolverton’s Sci-Fi and Horror Comics 1938-55
RELEASE DATE: t.b.a.
“Many of Wolverton’s comics have been reprinted in a number of formats, but for years I’ve been waiting for a full-color compilation of his serious golden age work. Finally I decided to do it myself. Like the Cole book, this one is a no-brainer,” says Sadowski.
THE COMIC BOOK FRANKENSTEIN: The Monster According to Dick Briefer
RELEASE DATE: t.b.a.
“Dick Briefer had been involved in comic books since its earliest days. He was one of the first to work at Will Eisner and Jerry Iger’s comic book studio in the mid-1930s. Like Eisner, Cole, and Wolverton, Briefer was responsible for the complete package: writing, layouts, pencils and inks, and often the lettering. He did his best work on FRANKENSTEIN, and this compilation should restore his status as one of the form’s major pioneers,” says Sadowski.