Product Description: Wally's World opens Halloween night, 1981, in a seedy world of pornographers and addicts, with a death by .44 magnum gunshot... This is no mystery club thriller but the true, dramatic illustrated biography of legendary cartoonist Wallace Wood. But his death, in semi-squalid surroundings and the wretched state of his body belie the glory that came before. Within the world of pop-art, Wood was revered as a rebel genius who inspired a generation, including "underground" artists Robert Crumb, Robert Williams and Pulitzer Prize winner Art Spiegelman. Wood rose to the pinnacle of pop-culture stardom as one of America's top humorists at MAD magazine. Surviving McCarthy-era politics, Wood excelled as a cutting-edge science-fiction illustrator and mainstream regaler of daring superhero deeds. The award-winning artist was sought out to collaborate with pop-art maestro Peter Max; noted filmmaker Ralph Bakshi; Harry Harrison, the Nebula Award winning author of the Charlton Heston sci-fi thriller, Soylent Green; Marvel comics creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; and Pulitzer Prize winner Jules Feiffer. But the star of the illustrated page was haunted by demons that tore him from his creative peaks to die an early death on the outskirts of Hollywood.
Journalist Steve Starger and historian J. David Spurlock tell a concise but sweeping tale of Wood's life and times and offer a brisk, colorful history of the comic book industry and the American century from the Depression through the early 1980s.
Highlights:
-Introduction by Pop-Art icon, Peter Max. -Cover by NY Times Bestseller designer Chip Kidd & Academy Award nominee, Dan Clowes. -200 illustrations and photos spanning Wally Wood's career. -Packed with insightful quotes from a stellar list of creators. -The 1st & only full-length biography on this legendary talent.
Wood's Story Fascinates, But The Book Is Poorly Produced Who doesn't love Wally Wood? His MAD parodies are among the best things Western Civilization can point to as a justification for itself (along with Milk Duds and comfortable footwear). So this is a welcome look at "Wally's World," but it's sadly conceived and seemingly unedited. At one point the authors go into a disquisition on Scandinavian mythology for a few pages-- I thought I was in the wrong book. Any editor worth his or her salt would have ripped out at least a quarter of this thing and included more content from those who worked with and knew Wood-- instead we get little snippets from interviews taken out of context. Ah well, it's good to know more about Wood's (mostly sad) life and brilliant work, but this half-hearted effort doesn't do him justice.
Mixed bag with duds, worth the money As with all Vanguard books, this production is an uncertain mix of intriguing material and immature editorial judgment. You will find more information on Wallace Wood's life here than in any other text, and on that account the book is worth the money. But while much interesting original art is reproduced - mostly with excellent reproduction, though a few low-resolution files made it into print - there's very little technical information about Wood's working methods. And then there are those routine Vanguard lapses in taste: pedestrian and occasionally awful journalese prose, colourless and interminable asides or capsule biographies on popular culture icons remotely associated with Wood (to legitimize him), and those dumb labels: everyone and everything is "noted", "award-winning", "prize-winning", "a major film" (meaning "Daredevil"), and so on. The layout is awkward: a two-column format reinforces the impression that the creators got lost half-way between making a real book and a long popular-culture magazine feature (which goes for the text, too, of course). Read along with Bhob Stewarts "Against the Grain" interview anthology this is still a fairly interesting and not too bad book.
An essential pick no collection strong in graphic novel history should be without. Wally's World: The Brilliant Life and Death of Wally Wood, the World's 2nd-Best Comic Book Artist is a pick for any interested in cartooning history. His life reads like drama - and he was shot in 1981 on Halloween night in a rough neighborhood, ending his life and career - but in his time he was a rebel genius whose works and approach inspired a generation of underground comic artists such as Robert Crumb and Art Spiegelman. Pack color cartoon examples throughout a biography which covers his politics, cartooning skills and influences and you have an essential pick no collection strong in graphic novel history should be without.
Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch
Interesting subject - Not so good layout While I find the life of Wally Wood an interesting and worthy subject, this particular book is not the easiest thing to read. I'm speaking of the paperback version. Perhaps the hardcover book is better. But the text in this book runs right into the gutter and it wraps around endless photos and pull-quotes. Although the photos are noteworthy, they shouldn't be smack in the middle of the page, shoving the text into different shapes. It looks like someone designed this on a very tight deadline. Also, someone forgot to proof this book carefully. There are numerous type errors and paragraphs that begin in the middle of sentences. Oh well. It's still a good read, you just have to work the book a little.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Not Available Comics
Trevor
