The recent Previews listings brings glad tidings for fans of one of the medium’s true Masters, and for those who may have missed a pair of nifty books the first time around. The Library of American Comics, in partnership with IDW, is again making available a pair of milestone releases by and about that artist’s artist, Alex Toth.
Be on the lookout for Alex Toth Bravo for Adventure Artist Edition HC (2nd printing). Toth’s magnum opus, about aviator (and Erroll Flynn look-a-like) Jessie Bravo and his friends — and enemies! — once again appears in the popular Artist Edition format, with each page and panel displayed in oversized glory. (Click below to enlarge each of the first three images.)
Toth is one of those comics artists who generates fascination regarding his process as much as his end results, and the Bravo for Adventure Artist Edition HC (2nd printing) offers delights for those looking for insights into the development of this exciting, exquisitely-told story, since the book contains a large number of pencil roughs and preliminary sketches and drawings.
Toth was greatly influenced by radio melodramas, cliffhanger movie serials, and pulp-style plotting, so it perhaps comes as no surprise that Bravo‘s villain gets a comeuppance in the tale’s climax. If it surprises you to learn that the method of that comeuppance was based on a real-life incident Toth once witnessed first-hand, then you may also be interested in our second Toth offering, the first-ever softcover printing of Genius, isolated: The Life & Art of Alex Toth, in which that influential real-life incident is discussed.
This Harvey-Award-winning book, the first in the Genius trilogy, examines Alex Toth’s boyhood, early career at what is now DC Comics, and then onward to other, lower-profile companies such as Standard and Western. Aside from the 30,000-word biography, Genius, Isolated features reprints of many full-length stories, several reproduced from original artwork, as well as unused imagery in stages ranging from crude roughs to finished pieces. (Again, click each image to enlarge.)
Also of interest to Toth fans everywhere: this softcover edition of Genius, Isolated at last completes the story of Jon Fury, the original comic strip Toth created for his camp newspaper while serving in the military and stationed in Japan. The long-sought-after final page was only recently discovered, in time to be included in this volume.
So be on the lookout for both the Alex Toth Bravo for Adventure Artist Edition HC (2nd printing) and the new softcover edition of Genius, Isolated. They’re coming later this summer to brick-and-mortar comics shops and book stores everywhere, and are available for pre-order at all the high-profile on-line booksellers.
Has Little Orphan Annie Vol. 17 been cancelled? 😢
Hey, Eric+J. — Thanks for your note, and your question about one of our all-time favorite series. Last I heard from the business side of things (and as Kurtis mentioned in a “Comment” to our posting of December 7th of last year), Little Orphan Annie will be wrapping up with one more volume, but the release date is still to be determined. Since our books are printed overseas, and since the much-discussed supply chain disruptions still aren’t in our collective rear-view mirrors, it’s difficult right now to say exactly _when_, but to the best of my knowledge L.O.A. Vol 17 is still a’comin’. Arf!
I’m glad for the Alex Toth books getting another run, but my heart belongs to Annie, and I, too, am relieved to hear that Vol 17 is still on the books. Since I remember the dark years when finding any of Annie past the 1930s was kind of rare, having a bounteous 30 year run of the strip printed has been nothing but a joy for me–although knowing it was coming to an end DID help spur me into committing to the new Terry and the Pirates reprints, which I missed the first time around.
Hey, Greg — I hear you on “Little Orphan Annie!” I’ve been re-reading both “Annie” and “Dick Tracy” (one volume a quarter, with a non-series book completing the third month of the quarterly cycle); just got done the 1942-43 “Junior Commandos” stories. Grand fun! I’m hoping you’ll be glad you invested in “Terry” — we all think it’s tops here in LOAC Central! Thanks for your note, it’s definitely appreciated!
Now, if we could just get a reprint of Genius, Animated, I’d be a happy man ….