Arlen Schumer on the IDW Wally Wood Artist’s Edition

WALLY WOOD WEEK: The comics historian wrote a short tribute to one of the best Wood books you will find.

WOOD artist ed

If aliens came to earth and could only take ONE book about comic book art back to their planet, I would give them THIS tome, the IDW Artist’s Edition of Wally Wood’s EC Stories.

It arrives like a gift from the Art Gods; it’s beyond breathtaking, if there is such a thing, and though “only” in black and white, the literal depth of Wally Wood’s artistic masterpieces herein — his shading, his use of zipatones and craftint, remains the highwater mark in comic book history — give these giant-size pages (the classic size of the twice-up original art) an almost three-dimensional feel and look (the cover particularly, with its spot-varnished astronaut figure, had a striking dimensionality that made my jaw drop like a cartoon itself)!

The printing, book design, layout and typography by IDW is as gorgeous and thoughtful as this magnificent artwork deserved, and they should take a well-deserved bow for creating One For The Ages.

The book first came out in 2012 and is already out of print. (There was even more than one printing.) But you can find it on the secondary market or, if you’re lucky, at your comics shop.

 

Author: Dan Greenfield

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