Reviews

Setting the Standard by Greg Sadowski, Alex Toth

rickklaw's review

5.0

Arguably one of the most influential comic book artists, Alex Toth deserves mention alongside luminaries [a:Jack Kirby|10299|Jack Kirby|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1206594751p2/10299.jpg], [a:Will Eisner|1642|Will Eisner|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1202618782p2/1642.jpg], and [a:Harvey Kurtzman|80542|Harvey Kurtzman|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]. His works informed the DC house style for better than a quarter of a century. Though the Simon/Kirby tandem invented the romance comic, Toth's vision stands at the iconic view of the genre. Setting the Standard collects Toth's entire 62 story output for obscure publisher Standard Comics. These over 400 pages of crime, horror, romance, science fiction, and war tales showcase some of his finest works, typifying his mastery of design, graphics, and visual narrative. As he did with the excellent [b:Four Color Fear|7093594|Four Color Fear Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s|John Benson|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61pbGZOEezL._SL75_.jpg|7350182] and [b:Supermen!|3580652|Supermen! The First Wave Of Comic Book Heroes 1939-41|Greg Sadowski|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266726192s/3580652.jpg|3622903] tomes, editor Sadowski supplies copious end notes and annotations. Toss in the reproductions of original Toth pages and Setting the Standard becomes mandatory reading for any fan of the medium.