Faith Follows Genius

When our Genius trilogy was being published — spearheading the series of projects devoted to the life and career of Alex Toth that we released between 2011 and 2019 — the books were met with high praise, but not universal praise. One of the common critical threads was not about what the books contained, but what they did not contain. My reaction to this concern was always, “If the point is that the last book about Alex Toth remains to be written, I think that’s 100% true.”

That last book is still likely waiting to be written, but I now have an advance copy of a new and important Toth-focused volume, and it will be on sale at the well-known online mega-seller effective the last week of September. Its title is My Father, My Faith; its author is Dana Toth Palmer, Alex’s first-born child.

I can guarantee you, this is a Toth book like no other. While those yearning for a detailed treatise on the evolution of Alex’s technique and tools will have to wait a while longer before someone publishes such a work, those interested in Alex as a person — and in the compelling chain of events that shaped his life — are sure to gain new insights into the man as only one of his closest relatives can offer them. The Genius books presented a look at this aspect of Alex’s complex story from the outside-looking-in, relying on help from Toth’s four children, dozens of his friends, peers, and admirers, and his then-surviving ex-wife; My Father, My Faith tells the tale from deep inside, projecting it outward to interested readers from one of the bravest, most intimate viewpoints possible.

A fuller review will follow in the days ahead, as the official on-sale date grows nearer, but My Father, My Faith is available for pre-order now here. Those of you who wish to learn and understand more about the life of the man honored as a genius by both the animation and comic book industries will want to read this fine work, then place it with pride in the “Alex Toth” section of your bookshelves.