Wally Wood 1927-1981 - An Extraordinary Comic Book Artist

[@bobtremblay9172]

The house fire you mention towards the end was actually at Bill Pearson's place when he lived in Mayer, Arizona. Bill worked with Wally for many years and Wally left him all of his old work. When Bill was teaching me to ink and letter, he would show me countless Wood originals. Bill had them in filing cabinets, books, trunks, boxes, you name it. He had a lot of stuff in a storage pod in his back yard which caught fire in the very late 90's and destroyed tons of the original art. Some survived the fire and the piece you see in the book is one of those. Bill continued to put out a few issues of Witzend after Wally passed, including the Good Girls issue.

[@paulhardman2515]

I just wanted to thank you guys for working so hard on your channel. I know all of you are super busy. I've been struggling lately and it's so nice to have something to look forward to everyday that is interesting, funny and informative. I really enjoy when Tom is on too.

[@icingit]

Adjusted for inflation, a dollar in 1959 was worth about 10X more than it is today. So $45 then was the equivalent of about $430 today. And $200 in 1959 was the equivalent of about $1,911 today.

[@NitroModelsAndComics]

Wally will always be my favorite artist ever. My Wally collection is near complete.

[@stevena488]

I remember Alan Moore said that Wally Wood and Kurtzman were some of his BIGGEST inspirations for his own takes on comics, specifically Superduper man which Moore claimed was just him taking the elements Kurtzman was laying out and playing them straight. AND Frank Frazetta considered Wood to be an influence for him.... This is how good an artist Wood was at the height of his power, he was influencing Frank freaking Frazetta. AND I'm certain he was an influence for Corben as well.

[@MarkToth-r5w]

I love this show and especially this episode. Man, to range through that much mindblowing brilliance and trail-blazing technique and thematics, with this much insight and clarity.

[@CallMeBees]

Had a dream I was sitting at a table with Ed, Jim, and a bunch of old comic greats and got to watch as they talked shop. Woke up and got my ass to the drawing board, hope to be at that table when my book goes live boys 🤘

[@odysseusjones8531]

Would LOVE to see you guys do a video on Wally Wood's "22 Panels That Always Work".

[@kujdog]

Wally Wood was my great uncle

[@56postoffice]

I was 13 when I read about Wally's (or Wallace) passing in a sci fi magazine. His work on Topps' iconic *"Mars Attacks"* trading cards are legendary. This is a great synopsis on one of America's truly great comic book writer and artist.

[@richdannys2906]

I bought this treasured book when it first came out, too. It was part of an Italian art show on Wood. But we really have Roger Hill and Jerry Weist (2 Wichita KS collectors) to thank, for corralling all of the OA featured in the book. Roger Hill is the founder of the CFA-APA (Comic and Fantasy Art Amateur Press Association), so he had a very wide network of OA collectors to access, for the show/book. He is also a huge EC fan, and the publisher of the famous SQUA TRONT fanzine. He actually owns one of Wood's drawing tables. And has published books on: Wood's GALAXY covers, the Art of Reed Crandall.. And is halfway thru writing a book on artist Johnny Craig!

[@lucasrocha5780]

Y'all need to start including Tom Scioli stuff in the description.

[@alexauclair1]

A extra bump in the intro with a “with Tom “ drawing would be awesome 🤣

[@forbidden.404]

I love Ed and Jim as a duo, but when Tom is around, the trio is out of this world

[@squinkque]

Last year I drove out to Menagha, Minnesota, Wally Wood's hometown and they have a statue for St. Urho but none for Wally Wood. Oh well, the town is surrounded by dense woods though so I guess that will have to be homage enough.

[@reprintranch]

Check it out -- Menahga's local history museum is located a coupla hundred feet behind the St. Urho statue, on a little access road that connects to U.S. 71. They have a decent-size permanent exhibit devoted to Woody, which includes free fact sheets and free Wood-containing reprint comics. I know this because I'm a patron of the museum and provide the publications. Only hitch is, due to COVID-19, the museum was closed summer 2020 and last I heard they were expecting to remain closed all summer this year, too. (They're only open to visitors during the summer months). I've got a bunch of promotional ideas I hope to carry out in 2027, for Woody's birth centennial (June 17). It happens only about a month after the centennial of Charles Lindbergh's historic transatlantic flight (May 20-21). Lucky Lindy hailed from Little Falls, Minnesota, which is a little over an hour from Menahga.

[@kevinlkoehler]

Thank You Sir, That's some fine honor and recompensation - maybe it will be video documented on the webs someday, Again Thanks Very Cool --

[@bckomix]

Great overview, fellas. Jim made a good point about being blown away by original EC art . This is especially evident with Wood-his artist’s edition reveals rich detail that was totally lost in the printed comics.

[@frankstrysik1558]

Captain Action might be interesting to cover because young Jim Shooter was the writer on the first two issues.

[@adriananthony602]

53 mins in to this episode, the discussion turns to the stiffness of figures in some of Woods work, I think it is part of the charm to that era which can be seen in a lot of the 80's black and white boom. This discussion of woods work is just fantastic to where a conversation is mounted, not to demean or put Woods work down in any way but to just discuss it! Love this episode.

[@alexauclair1]

I have 2 issues of thunder agents #1. I’ll gladly send one to jim

[@alexauclair1]

I see a hour long kayfabe video , I watch.

[@russworks2882]

Wood's interest in Freudian psychology shows up in the Witzend work, especially the Pipsqueak Papers. His third wife, late in life, was his psychotherapist; he must've been seducing her during all of the sessions. Kind of like the Joker and Harley. The sign on the wall in that dismal photo says "There's only one Wally Wood and I'm him."

[@florentinoflorez]

Thanks for your comments. As one of the guys involved in this pproject it's a pleasure to see how other people enjoy our work. I love your comments over Ditko's book, too. We produce the book as a catalogue for a Wood exhibit in Palau Solleric, Mallorca. It's not Italy. Mallorca is an island in the Mediterranean sea, it's a part of SPAIN. We've enjoyed all of our books and we hope you like the next one, that we are producing now. It's about another american artist, we made an exhibit about him two years ago in Palau Solleric, the same Museum where we made the Buscema show, Mark Schultz, Gilbert Shelton, Russ Heath, Ditko and Wood. We are an american, french and spanish team and we enjoy a lot producing these books. It's great to see that other people can apreciate our work. Thanks, guys!

[@djgforce11]

Thx for posting; as a kid who grew up in the 60s/70s I was huge fan of his work & had some of these original comics shown in this book...outta all the great artists to come out of EC next to Frazetta Id havta say he was my favorite.

[@adriananthony602]

Hot damn, I just picked this book up! Thank you Gentlemen!

[@SnakeNel]

Would love to see you cover the John Buscema and Russ Heath volumes, as I would like to hear what you would say on both. Also, would love to see you cover the Fantagraphics Witzend book, as there is prime Wood and other artists such as Ditko, Frazetta, Williamson, etc. 1) "My World" is written by Al Feldstein. He later, ungallantly said it was actually his world and he should have appeared in the last panel, as he was the writer for all of the EC science fiction. 2) EC published two 3D comics which contained popular stories that were redrawn by different artists for 3D. "Spawn of Venus" was intended for the third issue which was never published. Love Tom Sciolli's contributions!

[@reprintranch]

Thanks for pointing out that Feldstein wrote the "My World" script. I was just reading the Wood bio "Wally's World," and according to Woody, he had provided Gaines and Feldstein with lists of things he liked to draw, and Feldstein stitched them all together into one narrative to create the "My World" script. So far as I know, EC almost never extended this sort of honor to its artists, although two years later, MAD would have an all-Elder issue.

[@alanblott4559]

Great that you noted Frank Bellamy. When I started reading comics in the very early 60, the work of Frank B and Frank Hampton was stunning. To be honest, their work is still outstanding.

[@raleighsmalls4653]

Did they do Robert Williams already ?

[@gentelmanjunkie542]

@3:10 That's some Fight Club Paper Street comics making shit right there.

[@Bugcatcherm0g]

Great video. Paused in the middle to watch that Moebius doc you brought up for a half a second. Made it to the end of both by the end of my work day though!

[@Gootie29]

Infrickincredible. I was mesmerized the entire video. Thank you for posting this

[@TheNomad2727]

I love watching you all flick through artists folios discussing their work and having so much knowledge to share... Thanks

[@joshualong8056]

I always thought Wood's work was a little stiff and referenced but I absolutely love it

[@erikwirfs-brock2432]

All time great artist as well as all time great cautionary tale, real shame he never found the right venue or collaborators after his EC years to make lasting work.

[@Flux_One]

Using an inflation calculator, $20 per page in the 50s would be roughly $200 today

[@hcanderson3787]

Fantastic video, thanks so much.

[@scottcrosby-art5490]

One of the greatest artist/inkers ever

[@michaelgarza6735]

If you're going to put a Wood Daredevil under the microscope, I beg you to do the Submariner issue. There is some fantastic dynamic figure work there...

[@jeffreese1828]

Wood was maybe the best artist of the female figure , imo . Hubba-hubba ! Also , THE DETAIL ! Check out any picture with equipment.... A space man , a soldier , a knight.... the straps , buckles , pouches....just unbelievable what the guy could pack on a figure ! Great how much art they packed on each page !

[@Stavv_]

A man like Wally Wood is an awesome artist and a legend!

[@ihavenoquarrelwithyou3249]

Puppets, Ed? Puppets? It was filmed in Supermarionation!

[@KeithHarper]

What an amazing body of work. I'm just now digging into his MAD stuff (as well as Will Elder and Jack Davis)

[@nitinveturkar2801]

Red Room looks Fantabulous!!!!

[@th3n04h]

Iron Maiden at 50:29 is really reminding me of Liefeld's Stryfe

[@scottschaffer2327]

I seem to remember from a different book, that Woody was in the Merchant Marines, not the Army.

[@reprintranch]

Woody did a hitch with the Merchant Marine in 1945, working on tanker ships during the tail end of WW2 and for some months afterward. Then in '46 he joined the U.S Army as a paratrooper with Army Airborne, serving in Japan. I have a friend who was a paratrooper in the '80s, I sent him an image of a Wood spaceship interior and asked, "does this look like anything you saw?" He said it looked like the interior of a C-47 airplane. I figure Woody saw plenty of those.

[@reprintranch]

In case y'all hadn't heard, this past June 17 -- Woody's birthday -- Heritage Auctions offered the cover art to Shock SuspenStories issue #6, with Woody's iconic illustration of the woman about to be whipped by the Klan-type figure. It sold for $840,000 -- a new record for the most expensive piece of original artwork from the cover of a U.S. comic book.

[@charliebrownie4158]

Extraordinary more like the greatest who ever lived.

[@curtisthomson4209]

According to an online inflation calculator, in 1955 Wood was making nearly $500 per page in today’s money at Marvel.

[@marcuskelligrew6195]

I have the John Buscema one. These are awesome books!

[@AndrewBuckleBookReviews]

Brilliant book, one of my favourites. The Marvel Art of Wally Wood, sadly, long out of print and now expensive

[@dougg1075]

Wood was on another level like Frazetta or Buscema . To name a few

[@ta5777]

Can you review the Wally Wood Artist Edition?

[@the_flushjackson]

What’s Tom working on? Much love boys.

[@reepacheirpfirewalker8629]

Sure was a shame how he ended his days.

[@ultrainferno.]

No. No one is born evil i believe its all about nature vs nurture and influence that shape people into what they are.

[@Homeschoolsw6]

rad.

[@Bizarro69]

There's a cartoonist who made illustrations in style of Crumb, of homosexuals in all walks of life. They were erotic in nature. Forgot his name.

[@AndrewSFTSN]

Tom of Finland?

[@themoviejournal3080]

🙏🙏🙏

[@jpboursaw4469]

Now I KNOW I need this book!!! If you get the chance, check out KZbin channel FizzFop1, as he does a 4 part analysis of Wood’s 22 panels that work. Worth the time as it goes into WHY they work!

[@Greycaspa]

Quick Google search $20 in 1958, $468.44 now $200 in 1958 ,$2081.94 now Didn't know the exact year, still wood was making a bit of dough