Wally Wood
Self-portrait by Wally Wood
Birth name	Wallace Allan Wood
Born	June 17, 1927(1927-06-17) Menahga, Minnesota
Died	November 2, 1981 (aged 54) Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Area(s)	writer, penciller, inker, publisher
Pseudonym(s)	Woody
Awards	full list

Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927, Menahga, Minnesota – November 2, 1981, Los Angeles, California) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Menahga is a city in Wadena County, Minnesota, United States. Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Menahga is a city in Wadena County, Minnesota, United States. Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of Activities to do with creating Art, practicing the Arts and/or demonstrating Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American Publisher of Comic books specializing in Crime fiction, Mad is a monthly American Humor Magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952 Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he claimed to dislike. ^[1] Within the comics community, he was also known as Woody, a name he sometimes used as a signature.

He was the first inductee into the comic book's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, in 1989, and was inducted into the subequent Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame three years later. The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993 and coordinated by the publisher Fantagraphics are given for achievement in Comic books The Will Eisner Comic Industry Award is a prize given for creative achievement in American Comic books It is named in honor of the pioneering writer and artist Will Eisner

In addition to Wood's hundreds of comic book pages, he illustrated for books and magazines while also working in a variety of other areas — advertising; packaging and product illustrations; gag cartoons; record album covers; posters; syndicated comic strips; and trading cards, including work on Topps' landmark Mars Attacks set. Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand Packaging is the science art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution storage sale and use See also Mathematics of humor A joke is a short story or ironic depiction of a situation communicated with the intent of being humorous. The word cartoon has various meanings based on several very different forms of Visual art and Illustration. A gramophone A poster is any piece of printed Paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface Print syndication is a form of syndication in which News articles columns, or Comic strips are made available to Newspapers, Magazines A comic strip is a sequence of drawings that tells a story Currently in the Western world, most comic strips are written and drawn by a Comics artist A trading card (or collectible card) is a small Card, usually made out of Cardboard or thick Paper, which usually contains an image of a For the meat company see Topps Meat Company. The Topps Company Inc Mars Attacks was a highly popular Science fiction Trading card series released in 1962.

EC publisher William Gaines once stated, "Wally may have been our most troubled artist. William Maxwell Gaines ( March 1, 1922 &ndash June 3, 1992) (more frequently referred to as Bill Gaines) was the publisher and co-editor . . I'm not suggesting any connection, but he may have been our most brilliant". ^[2]

Biography

Early life and career

Wally Wood was born on June 17, 1927, and began reading and drawing comics at an early age. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was strongly influenced by the art styles of Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates, Hal Foster's Prince Valiant, Will Eisner's The Spirit and especially Roy Crane's Wash Tubbs. Alexander Gillespie Raymond ( October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American Comic strip artist best known for creating the Flash Gordon is the hero of a Science fiction adventure Comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, which was first published on January 7, Milton Arthur Paul Caniff ( February 28, 1907 - April 3, 1988) was an American Cartoonist famous for the Terry Harold ("Hal" Rudolf Foster ( August 18, 1892 in Halifax, Nova Scotia &ndash July 25, 1982) was a Canadian Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, or simply Prince Valiant, is a Comic strip created by Hal Foster. William Erwin Eisner ( March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an acclaimed American Comics Writer, Artist and Royston Campbell Crane ( November 22, 1901 - July 7, 1977) who signed his work Roy Crane, was an American cartoonist and Wash Tubbs was a Comic strip created by Roy Crane that ran from April 14, 1924 to 1988. Recalling his childhood, Wood said that his dream at age six, about finding a magic pencil that could draw anything, foretold his future as an artist. ^[1]

Former Wood Studio writer-artist Bhob Stewart's 2003 biographical anthology. Bhob Stewart is an American writer editor artist and film maker who has written for a variety of publications over a span of five decades Cover art by Wood, from 1978.

Wood's mother was his first publisher, in a sense, collecting his early drawings and binding them on her sewing machine into books. These early and mostly undated works still exist today because of her actions and offer a glimpse into his progression as a young artist.

Wood graduated from high school in 1944, signed on with the United States Merchant Marine near the end of World War II and enlisted in the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Paratroopers in 1946. Overview The merchant marine is a civilian auxiliary of the U World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Paratroopers are Soldiers trained in Parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force. He went from training at Fort Benning, Georgia, to occupied Japan, where he was assigned to the island of Hokkaidō. Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southwest The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's Arriving in New York City with his brother Glenn and mother, after his discharge in July 1948, Wood found employment at Bickford's as a busboy. The City of New York Bickford's Restaurants and Cafeterias were mainstays in the New York City area from the 1920s through the 1960s During his time off he carried his thick portfolio of drawings all over midtown Manhattan, visiting every publisher he could find. He briefly attended the Hogarth School of Art (later changed to the Cartoonists and Illustrators School) but dropped out after one semester. The School of Visual Arts ( SVA) is an Art school in Manhattan New York City and is one of the nation's leading independent Colleges of art and

By October, after being rejected by every company he visited, Wood met fellow artist John Severin in the waiting room of a small publisher. After the two shared their experiences attempting to find work, Severin invited Wood to visit his studio, the Charles William Harvey Studio, where Wood met Charlie Stern, Harvey Kurtzman (who was working for Timely/Marvel) and Will Elder. Harvey Kurtzman ( October 3, 1924, Brooklyn New York – February 21, 1993) was a U William "Will" Elder ( September 22, 1921 – May 15, 2008) was an American Illustrator and Comic book artist At this studio Wood learned that Will Eisner was looking for a Spirit background artist. He immediately visited Eisner and was hired on the spot.

Over the next year, Wood also became an assistant to George Wunder, who had taken over the Milton Caniff strip Terry and the Pirates. George Wunder, (1912&ndash1987 was a cartoonist who continued Terry and the Pirates after Milton Caniff left it in 1946 Wood cited his "first job on my own" as Chief Ob-stacle, a continuing series of strips for a 1949 political newsletter. He entered the comic book field by lettering, as he recalled in 1981: "The first professional job was lettering for Fox romance comics in 1948. A letterer is a member of a team of Comic book creators responsible for drawing the Comic book 's text Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics and Fox Publications) was a Comic book Publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians This lasted about a year. I also started doing backgrounds, then inking. The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional Comic book, or Graphic novel. Most of it was the romance stuff. For complete pages, it was $5 a page. . . Twice a week, I would ink ten pages in one day". ^[3]

Artists' representative Renaldo Epworth helped Wood land his early comic-book assignments, making it unclear if that connection led to Wood's lettering or to his comics-art debut, the ten-page story "The Tip Off Woman" [sic] in the Fox Comics Western Women Outlaws #4 (cover-dated Jan. Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West between the years of 1860 and 1900 1949, on sale late 1948). Wood's next known comic-book art did not appear until Fox's My Confession #7 (Aug. 1949), at which time he began working almost continuously on the company's similar My Experience, My Secret Life, My Love Story and My True Love: Thrilling Confession Stories. His first signed work is believed to be in My Confession #8 (Oct. 1949), with the name "Woody" half-hidden on a theater marquee. He penciled and inked two stories in that issue: "I Was Unwanted" (nine pages) and "My Tarnished Reputation" (ten pages).

Wood began at EC co-penciling and co-inking with Harry Harrison the story "Too Busy For Love" (Modern Love #5), and fully penciling the lead story, "I Was Just a Playtime Cowgirl", in Saddle Romances #11 (April 1950), inked by Harrison. For the radio personality see Harry Harrison (radio. Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey, March 12 1925

1950s

Sky Masters comic strip by Jack Kirby (pencils) and Wood (inks)

Working from a Manhattan studio at West 64th Street and Columbus Avenue, Wood began to attract attention in 1950 with his highly detailed and imaginative science-fiction artwork for EC and Avon Comics, some in collaboration with Joe Orlando. Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 &ndash February 6, 1994) was an American Comic book Avon Publications was an American paperback book and Comic book publisher Joe Orlando ( April 4, 1927, Bari, Italy — December 23, 1998) was an illustrator writer editor and cartoonist During this period, he drew in a wide variety of subjects and genres, including adventure, romance (which he really didn't care for) war and horror; message stories (for EC's Shock SuspenStories); and eventually satirical humor for now editor Harvey Kurtzman in Mad. Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience Shock SuspenStories was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human Humour or humor (see spelling differences) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke Laughter and provide Amusement Harvey Kurtzman ( October 3, 1924, Brooklyn New York – February 21, 1993) was a U Mad is a monthly American Humor Magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952

Wood was instrumental in convincing EC publisher William Gaines to start a line of science fiction comics, Weird Science and Weird Fantasy (later combined under the single title Weird Science Fantasy). Weird Science was a science fiction anthology comic that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s Weird Fantasy was a science fiction anthology comic that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s Wood penciled and inked several dozen EC science fiction stories, many considered classics. Wood also had frequent entries in Two-Fisted Tales and Tales from the Crypt, as well as the later EC titles Valor, Piracy and Aces High. Two-Fisted Tales was a bi-monthly anthology war comic published by EC Comics in the early 1950s

Working over scripts and pencil breakdowns by Jules Feiffer, the 25-year-old Wood drew two months of Will Eisner's classic, Sunday-supplement newspaper comic book The Spirit, on the 1952 story arc "The Spirit in Outer Space". Jules Ralph Feiffer (born) is an American syndicated comic-strip Cartoonist and Author. William Erwin Eisner ( March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an acclaimed American Comics Writer, Artist and Eisner, Wood recalled, paid him "about $30 a week for lettering and backgrounds on The Spirit. Sometimes he paid $40 when I did the drawings, too". ^[4]

Books illustrated by Wood

Between 1957 and 1967, he produced both covers and interiors for more than 60 issues of the science-fiction digest Galaxy Science Fiction, illustrating such authors as Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Jack Finney, C.M. Kornbluth, Frederik Pohl, Robert Silverberg, Robert Sheckley, Clifford D. Simak and Jack Vance. Galaxy Science Fiction was a digest-size Science fiction magazine, the creation of noted editor H Isaac Asimov (c January 2 1920 &ndash April 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as, was a Russian Philip Kindred Dick (December 16 – March 2) was an American Science fiction Novelist and Short story Writer. Jack Finney ( October 2, 1911 – November 14, 1995) was an American author Frederik George Pohl Jr (born November 26, 1919) is a American Science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is a prolific American author best known for writing Science fiction. Robert Sheckley ( July 16, 1928 &ndash December 9, 2005) was a Hugo and Nebula nominated American author Clifford Donald Simak ( August 3, 1904 - April 25, 1988) was a major American Science fiction writer John Holbrook Vance (born August 28, 1916 in San Francisco, He painted six covers for Galaxy Science Fiction Novels between 1952 and 1958. His gag cartoons appeared in the men's magazines Dude, Gent and Nugget. Men's adventure is a genre of Magazines that had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s He inked the first eight months of the 1958-1961 syndicated comic strip Sky Masters of the Space Force, penciled by Jack Kirby. The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional Comic book, or Graphic novel. Sky Masters of the Space Force is an American Comic strip created by Jack Kirby, featuring the adventures of an American Astronaut. Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 &ndash February 6, 1994) was an American Comic book Wood expanded into book illustrations, including for the picture-cover editions (though not the dust-jacket editions) of titles in the 1959 Aladdin Books reissues of Bobbs Merrill's 1947 "Childhood of Famous Americans" series. ^[5][6]

The Silver Age

Wood additionally did art and stories for comic-book companies large and small — from Marvel (and its 1950s iteration Atlas Comics), DC (including House of Mystery and Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown), and Warren (Creepy and Eerie), to such smaller firms as Avon (Strange Worlds), Charlton (War and Attack, Jungle Jim), Fox (Martin Kane, Private Eye), Gold Key (M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War, Fantastic Voyage), Harvey (Unearthly Spectaculars), King Comics (Jungle Jim), Atlas/Seaboard (The Destructor), Youthful Comics (Capt. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc Atlas Comics is the 1950s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series The Challengers of the Unknown is a group of Fictional characters in Comic books published by DC Comics. Warren Publishing was an American Magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for creep Creepy was an American horror - Comics Magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Eerie was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Charlton Comics was an American Comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1986 having begun under a different name in 1944 Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics and Fox Publications) was a Comic book Publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians Martin Kane Private Eye was a 1949-52 radio series, sponsored by U Gold Key Comics was an Imprint of Western Publishing created for Comic books distributed to Newsstands History Gold Key MARS Patrol Total War was a short-lived science fiction/war Comic book series published by Gold Key Comics for 10 issues from July 1965 to August 1969 Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey Publications) was an American Comic book Publisher, founded by Alfred Harvey in 1941 after buying King Comics was a short-lived Comic book imprint of King Features Syndicate, and an attempt by King to publish comics of its own characters rather than through Jungle Jim is an American Newspaper Comic strip first published January 7, 1934, by writer Atlas/Seaboard is the term Comic-book historians and collectors use to refer to the 1970s line of comics published as Atlas Comics by the American company Science) and the toy company Wham-O (Wham-O Giant Comics). This article is about playthings For other uses of the term see Toy (disambiguation. Wham-O Inc is a Toy company currently located in California, USA. In 1965, Wood, Len Brown, and possibly Larry Ivie^[7] created T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents for Tower Comics. THUNDER Agents is a team of Comic book Superheroes originally published by Tower Comics in the 1960s Tower Comics was an American Comic book publishing company best known for The T

Daredevil #7 (April 1964): Wood's best-known work for Marvel, debuting Daredevil's modern red costume

For Marvel during the Silver Age of comic books, Wood's work as penciler-inker of Daredevil #5-8 and inker (over Bob Powell) of issues #9-11 established the title character's distinctive red costume (in issue #7; see cover at left). Daredevil is a Fictional character that appears in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books predominantly those featuring the Superhero Daredevil is a Fictional character that appears in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. Bob Powell né Stanislav (Stanley Robert Pawlowski ( October 6, 1916, Buffalo New York, United States – October 1, When Daredevil guest-starred in Fantastic Four #39-40, Wood inked that character, over Jack Kirby pencils, on the covers and throughout the interior. Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 &ndash February 6, 1994) was an American Comic book ^[8] Wood also penciled and inked the first four 10-page installments of the company's "Dr. Doom" feature in Astonishing Tales #1-4 (Aug. Dr Doom redirects here For other uses see Dr Doom (disambiguation. 1970 - Feb. 1971), and both wrote and drew anthological horror/suspense tales in Tower of Shadows #5-8 (May-Nov. 1970), as well as sporadic other work. ^[9]

In one of his final assignments, Wood returned to a character he helped define, inking Frank Miller's cover of Daredevil #164 (May 1980). Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American Writer, Artist and Film director best known for his dark

In circles concerned with copyright and intellectual property issues, Wood is known as the artist of the unsigned satirical Disneyland Memorial Orgy poster, which first appeared in Paul Krassner's magazine The Realist. Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human The Disneyland Memorial Orgy is a cartoon illustration created by Wally Wood for satirist Paul Krassner 's radical humor publication The Realist Paul Krassner (born April 9, 1932) was the founder editor and a frequent contributor to the Freethought magazine The Realist, first For the British intellectual monthly founded in 1929 see The Realist (magazine The Realist, edited and published by ^[10] The poster depicts a number of copyrighted Disney characters in various unsavory activities (including sex acts and drug use), with huge dollar signs radiating from Cinderella's Castle. Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for This is an article about the structure at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. Wood himself, as late as 1981, when asked who did that drawing, said only,"I'd rather not say anything about that! It was the most pirated drawing in history! Everyone was printing copies of that. I understand some people got busted for selling it. I always thought Disney stuff was pretty sexy. . . Snow White, etc. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American film based on the eponymous German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. "^[11] Disney took no legal action against either Krassner or The Realist but did sue a publisher of a "blacklight" version of the poster, who used the image without Krassner's permission. A Black light or UV Light is a lamp emitting Electromagnetic radiation that is almost exclusively in the soft near ultraviolet range and emits The case was settled out of court.

During the 1960s, Wood did many trading cards and humor products for Topps Chewing Gum, including concept roughs for Topps' famed 1962 Mars Attacks cards prior to the final art by Bob Powell and Norman Saunders. A trading card (or collectible card) is a small Card, usually made out of Cardboard or thick Paper, which usually contains an image of a For the meat company see Topps Meat Company. The Topps Company Inc Mars Attacks was a highly popular Science fiction Trading card series released in 1962. Norman Blaine Saunders ( January 1 1907 &ndash March 7 1989) was a prolific commercial artist who produced paintings for Pulp magazines Discovering (from Roy Thomas) that Jack Kirby had returned to DC in 1970, Wood called editor Joe Orlando in an attempt to get the assignment to ink Kirby's new work, but that role was already filled by Vince Colletta. Roy Thomas (born November 22 1940, Missouri, United States) is a Comic book Writer and editor, and Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 &ndash February 6, 1994) was an American Comic book Joe Orlando ( April 4, 1927, Bari, Italy — December 23, 1998) was an illustrator writer editor and cartoonist Vincent Joseph Colletta ( October 15, 1923 - 1991 was an American comic book artist and Art director best known as one of industry ^[12] Wood continued to produce periodic work for Marvel during the early 1970s, primarily as inker, and then worked on a handful of comics for DC between 1975 and 1977, producing in particular several covers for Plop! and inks for issues of All Star Comics and (over Steve Ditko) on Paul Levitz' four-issue miniseries Stalker. Plop! - "The New Magazine of Weird Humor!" was a Comic book published by DC Comics in the mid 1970s All Star Comics is a 1940s Comic book series from All-American Publications, one of the early companies that merged with National Periodical Publications Steve Ditko (born 2 November 1927) is an American Comic book Artist and Writer best known as the co-creator of the Paul Levitz (born 21 October 1956) is an American Comic book Writer, Editor and executive Stalker is a Fictional Antihero and Swords and sorcery character published by DC Comics. Active with the 1970s Academy of Comic Book Arts, Wood also contributed to several editions of the annual ACBA Sketchbook. The Academy of Comic Book Arts is an American professional organization of the 1970s that was designed to be the Comic book industry analog of such groups as the The Academy of Comic Book Arts is an American professional organization of the 1970s that was designed to be the Comic book industry analog of such groups as the His last known proper credit was inking Wonder Woman #269, cover-dated July, 1980. ^[13]

Over several decades, numerous artists worked at the Wood Studio. Associates and assistants included Dan Adkins, Richard Bassford, Tony Coleman, Nick Cuti, Leo and Diane Dillon, Larry Hama, Russ Jones, Wayne Howard, Paul Kirchner, Joe Orlando, Bill Pearson, Al Sirois, Ralph Reese, Bhob Stewart, Tatjana Wood and Mike Zeck. Dan Adkins (born March 15, 1937) is an American illustrator who worked mainly for Comic books and Science-fiction Magazines Richard Bassford (b 1936 Manhattan, New York City) is an American Illustrator who has worked in both Advertising and Comic Nick Cuti (born as Nicola Cuti on October 29[[ 944]] is a comic writer known for his creation of E-Man as well as other contributions to the comics industry Leo and Diane Dillon are a prolific American husband and wife team of Illustrators Among their many awards are two back to back Caldecott Medals for the children's Larry Hama (born 7 June 1949 is a Japanese American writer artist actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s Russ Jones (b July 16, 1942 - Ontario, Canada) is a novelist illustrator and magazine editor active in the publishing and entertainment industries Wayne Wright Howard ( March 29, 1949 &ndash December 9, 2007) was an African-American Comic book Artist Paul Kirchner (born January 29 1952 in New Haven CT is an American writer and illustrator Joe Orlando ( April 4, 1927, Bari, Italy — December 23, 1998) was an illustrator writer editor and cartoonist Bill Pearson (born July 27, 1938, in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, United States) is a United States Novelist editor publisher Ralph Reese is an American artist who illustrated for books magazines and comic books from the 1960s to the 1990s Bhob Stewart is an American writer editor artist and film maker who has written for a variety of publications over a span of five decades Tatjana Wood is an Artist who was born Tatjana Weintraub in Darmstadt, Germany. Mike Zeck is an American Comic book illustrator He was born in Greenville Pennsylvania on September 6, 1949 to Michael and Kathryn Jean

Wood as publisher

In 1966, Wood launched the independent magazine witzend, one of the first alternative comics, a decade before Mike Friedrich's Star Reach or Flo Steinberg's Big Apple Comix (for which Wood drew the cover and contributed a story). witzend, edited and published by Bill Pearson on an irregular schedule spanning The term "alternative comics" is one of several labels applied to a range of Comics that have appeared since about 1980 in the wake of the Underground comix Mike Friedrich (born March 27, 1949) is an American Comic book Writer and Publisher best known for his work at Marvel Star Reach (also spelled Star*Reach) was an influential Science fiction and fantasy Comics anthology published by Mike Friedrich Florence "Flo" Steinberg Month date, Year, City, State, United States)--> is an American Publisher Big Apple Comix is an early independent comic book published by Flo Steinberg in 1975 Wood offered his fellow professionals the opportunity to contribute illustrations and graphic stories that detoured from the usual conventions of the comics industry. After the fourth issue, Wood turned witzend over to Bill Pearson, who continued as editor and publisher through the 1970s and into the 1980s. Bill Pearson (born July 27, 1938, in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, United States) is a United States Novelist editor publisher

The Marvel Comics Art of Wally Wood (1982) collects his 1970s Dr. Doom and fantasy stories. Dr Doom redirects here For other uses see Dr Doom (disambiguation. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting

Wood additionally collected his feature Sally Forth, published in the U. Sally Forth is also the name of a later comic strip by Greg Howard. S. servicemen's periodicals Military News and Overseas Weekly from 1968-1974, in a series of four oversize (10"x12") magazines. Pearson, from 1993-95, reformatted the strips into a series of comics published by Eros Comix, an imprint of Fantagraphics Books, which in 1998 collected the entire run into a single 160-page volume. Eros Comix is an adult-oriented imprint of Fantagraphics Books, established in 1990 to publish Pornographic Comic books. Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of Alternative comics, classic Comic strip anthologies Magazines Graphic novels

In 1969, Wood created another seminal independent comic, Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon, intended for his "Sally Forth" military readership. Heroes Inc Presents Cannon is a two-issue Comic book series that represents one of the earliest independent comics. Artists Steve Ditko and Ralph Reese and writer Ron Whyte are credited with primary writer-aritst Wood on three features: "Cannon", "The Misfits" and "Dragonella". Steve Ditko (born 2 November 1927) is an American Comic book Artist and Writer best known as the co-creator of the Ralph Reese is an American artist who illustrated for books magazines and comic books from the 1960s to the 1990s Ronald Melville Whyte (1941–1989 was an American playwright critic and disability rights activist A second magazine-format issue was published in 1976 by Wood and CPL Gang Publications. Larry Hama, one of Wood's assistants, said, "I did script about three Sally Forth stories and a few of the Cannon's. Larry Hama (born 7 June 1949 is a Japanese American writer artist actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s I wrote the main Sally Forth story in the first reprint book, which is actually dedicated to me, mostly because I lent Woody the money to publish it". ^[14]

Final years

For much of his adult life, Wood suffered from chronic, unexplainable headaches. In the 1970s, following bouts with alcoholism, Wood suffered from kidney failure. Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions Renal failure or kidney A stroke in 1978 caused a loss of vision in one eye. A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain In Psychology, visual perception is the ability to interpret information from Visible light reaching the Eyes The resulting Perception is also Faced with declining health and career prospects, he committed suicide by gunshot three years later.

Wood was married three times. His first marriage was to artist Tatjana Wood, who later did extensive work as a comic-book colorist. Tatjana Wood is an Artist who was born Tatjana Weintraub in Darmstadt, Germany. In Comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black and white line art

EC editor Harvey Kurtzman, who had worked closely with Wood during the 1950s, once commented, "Wally had a tension in him, an intensity that he locked away in an internal steam boiler. Harvey Kurtzman ( October 3, 1924, Brooklyn New York – February 21, 1993) was a U I think it ate away his insides, and the work really used him up. I think he delivered some of the finest work that was ever drawn, and I think it's to his credit that he put so much intensity into his work at great sacrifice to himself". ^[15]

Awards

• National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Division awards, 1957, 1959, and 1965. The National Cartoonists Society is the world's largest organization of professional Cartoonists It presents the Reuben Awards.
• Alley Award, Best Pencil Artist,1965
• Alley Award, Best Inking Work, 1966
• Best Foreign Cartoonist Award, Angoulême International Comics Festival, 1978
• The Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, 1989
• The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame, 1992

See also

List of Mad Magazine issues

Audio

• Merry Marvel Marching Society recording includes voice of Wally Wood

Footnotes

References

• Illustrated Profile by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr.
• "Wallace Wood: The Tragedy of a Master S.F. Cartoonist"
• John Hitchcock's Wally Wood Letters and Photo Album
• Michael T. Gilbert profile of Wood
• Neil Riehle's Splash Pages: Wally Wood Gallery and Online Checklist
• The Grand Comics Database: Wallace Wood and Wally Wood separate chronological search results
• Starger, Steve, and J. David Spurlock, Wally's World (Vanguard Productions, 2006) ISBN 1887591818
• Wood, Wally. The Marvel Comics Art of Wally Wood. New York: Thumbtack Books, 1982, hardcover. ISBN 0-942480-02-3

External links

• Comic Art & Graffix Gallery: Biographies" Wallace Wood
• Is This Tomorrow? Wood trading card
• National Cartoonist Society Awards
• Wally Wood's "22 Panels That Always Work"
• Wally Wood's "The Misfits"
• Ben Varkentine review of Bhob Stewart's Against the Grain: Mad Artist Wallace Wood