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dantastic's review
4.0
Standard Comics. Setting the Standard. Get it? Eh? Eh? Get it?
This collects Alex Toth's output from Standard Comics. 400 pages plus an interview plus bonus materials. The art is all Toth.
The bulk of the book is romance comics but there's some war, horror, and sf thrown in. There are some panels suitable for hanging in a gallery, powerful in their simplicity. The story telling is so clear that you can tell what's happening without reading the dialog balloons or captions, which came in handy since I wasn't about to push through 300 pages of romance comics.
This is one gorgeous book. The art quality is as high as a lot of Fantagraphics' EC Library. The stories I did read were better than say the Harvey Horror books I read last year or the year before. Standard had its act together. Four out of five stars.
This collects Alex Toth's output from Standard Comics. 400 pages plus an interview plus bonus materials. The art is all Toth.
The bulk of the book is romance comics but there's some war, horror, and sf thrown in. There are some panels suitable for hanging in a gallery, powerful in their simplicity. The story telling is so clear that you can tell what's happening without reading the dialog balloons or captions, which came in handy since I wasn't about to push through 300 pages of romance comics.
This is one gorgeous book. The art quality is as high as a lot of Fantagraphics' EC Library. The stories I did read were better than say the Harvey Horror books I read last year or the year before. Standard had its act together. Four out of five stars.
uosdwisrdewoh's review
4.0
Alex Toth's reputation lies on mostly forgotten works: superhero books of the late 40s and genre books of the 50s. His name deserves a place alongside Eisner and Kirby, but because he didn't do a huge body of work for one character, he remains the artist's artist. He's frequently cited as an influence in hushed tones, but up to this point his work has belonged only to collectors and enthusiasts. This book, as far as I know the most comprehensive compilation of his work, is a great step in correcting that. It collects the stories he did for small publisher Standard Comics between 1952 and 1954, when the company went defunct. Filled out by a long interview with Toth and copious endnotes, this volume is a delight for anyone interested in the history or craft of comics.
Toth took his cues from the more polished strip cartoonists of the era rather than the crude journeymen of comic books. Toth drew with painstaking care and economy--witness the bold lines of Space Ghost, his most famous design--but what jumps out of these pages is his gorgeous angular style and rich detail. No matter how flimsy the story, he makes sure to establish a world. While he's known for his minimalism, which comes through when he inks himself, when paired with a painterly inker like Mike Peppe, Toth's work becomes lush and gorgeous to behold.
In a long interview that serves as introduction, you get a glimpse at Toth's massive ego. He thought very highly of himself and his work, but his skill backed it up in spades. His adherence to the principles of storytelling had him crafting comics on a much more sophisticated level than his contemporaries.
Beyond the horribly dated plots (i.e. one where a housewife is shirking on her housework, causing her husband embarrassment. All is well when she does her chores again.) what remains in the mind are Toth's perfectly composed images and stories. He was a master of the form before most realized there was a form to master.
Toth took his cues from the more polished strip cartoonists of the era rather than the crude journeymen of comic books. Toth drew with painstaking care and economy--witness the bold lines of Space Ghost, his most famous design--but what jumps out of these pages is his gorgeous angular style and rich detail. No matter how flimsy the story, he makes sure to establish a world. While he's known for his minimalism, which comes through when he inks himself, when paired with a painterly inker like Mike Peppe, Toth's work becomes lush and gorgeous to behold.
In a long interview that serves as introduction, you get a glimpse at Toth's massive ego. He thought very highly of himself and his work, but his skill backed it up in spades. His adherence to the principles of storytelling had him crafting comics on a much more sophisticated level than his contemporaries.
Beyond the horribly dated plots (i.e. one where a housewife is shirking on her housework, causing her husband embarrassment. All is well when she does her chores again.) what remains in the mind are Toth's perfectly composed images and stories. He was a master of the form before most realized there was a form to master.
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