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Alex Toth




Title Creator Publisher Series Price
Setting the Standard Alex Toth, Greg Sadowski Fantagraphics $35.00
($39.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		WOW!  It's a dream come true for long suffering fans of the work of Alex Toth:  over 370 pages of full color comics all scanned directly  from the original 1950s comics published under the banner of Standard Comics in Toth's glory days of 1952 through 1954; and not only that, this 432 page softcover includes a heavily illustrated 30-page vintage interview with Toth from 1968; and, that's not all – there are also fourteen pages of notes by editor Sadowski (who, we must add, is also responsible for this volume's knock-out design and production) plus full color scans of the original black and white artwork for two complete stories (as well as a stray page or two)!  While this book is a total no-brainer for all Toth initiates, we feel confident, despite it's relatively hefty price tag, in unreservedly recommending this volume to any student, practitioner and/or aficionado of comics:  Toth is one of the few great masters of the comic book story, and Setting the Standard is – by far – the single best collection of his comic book work ever published.
Genius, Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth Dean Mullaney, Bruce Canwell, Alex Toth IDW Library of American Comics $49.95
($49.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Genius, Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth is the first of a three-book set (!!!) that is quite likely to be the definitive statement on one of the most talented and influential artists in the history of comics.  Produced by the Eisner Award-winning team of Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell — who produced the amazing Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles — Genius, Isolated is a massive tome packed with both classics and rarities that will have true believers poring over every page.  The scrupulously well-reproduced work is interwoven with what promises to be the first in-depth biography of this unparalleled comics master. Of critical importance is the fact that this book has been written as well as compiled with complete access to the family archives, and with the full cooperation of Toth's children.  Prepare to be wowed! (temporarily out of print - we're almost out!)
Blazing Combat (softcover) Archie Goodwin, Wally Wood, John Severin, Alex Toth and more ... Fantagraphics $17.77
($19.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		edited, and largely written, by Archie Goodwin Yes, you are correct:  this is yet another softcover edition of a previously released hardcover from Fantagraphics.  Featuring the art of EC (and Two-Fisted Tales) alumni like Wally Wood and John Severin, along with heavy hitters like Alex Toth and Gene Colan, this hefty softcover collects the entirety of Warren's Blazing Combat series that was originally published in 1965 and 1966.  This hard hitting series took an unvarnished look at the hard realities of war just as the protests against the Vietnam were gaining traction and so is an important historical document at the same time that it offers up some spectacular comics work.  See what mean by reading this 19-page PDF preview.
Alex Toth in Hollywood, Volume Two Alex Toth Pure Imagination $22.22
($25.00 list)
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Read more and comment... 		More classic Toth from his work on the legendary late-'50s and early-'60s Dells.  On hand we have four western tales from Roy Rogers, Sugarfoot, and Wagon Train, "Gale Storm," an excellent full-length, women-centered, hi-jinx adventure from Oh! Susanna (FC 1105), an underwater adventure from Sea Hunt, and a comedy sketch from The Danny Thomas Show one-shot (FC 1180).  The highlight of this collection is, however, a set of five tales taken from Toth's early-'60s run on 77 Sunset Strip.  Here we have the treat of an extended run of Toth art in a contemporary urban setting, replete with cars, girls, teen hoodlums and tough guys in suits.  What more can you ask for! ONE COPY LEFT.
Blazing Combat Frank Frazetta, Wally Wood, John Severin, Alex Toth and more ... Fantagraphics $25.00
($28.99 list)
OUT OF STOCK!
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Read more and comment... 		Here's the official Fanta hype: THE LEGENDARY ANTI-WAR COMIC COLLECTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS ENTIRETY. Written by Archie Goodwin and drawn by such luminaries as Frank Frazetta, Wally Wood, John Severin, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, Russ Heath, Reed Crandall, and Gene Colan, Blazing Combat was originally published by independent comics publisher James Warren in 1965 and ’66. Following in the tradition of Harvey Kurtzman’s Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, Goodwin’s stories reflected the human realities and personal costs of war rather than exploiting the clichés of the traditional men’s adventure genre. They were among the best comics stories about war ever published. Blazing Combat ended after its fourth issue when military post exchanges refused to sell the title due to their perception that it was an anti-war comic. Their hostility was fueled by the depiction of the then-current Vietnam War, especially a story entitled “Landscape,” which follows the thoughts of a simple Vietnamese peasant rice-farmer who pays the ultimate price simply for living where he does — and which was considered anti-war agitprop by the more hawkish members of the business community. Get a better idea of what's going on here with this generous 19-page PDF preview that contains three complete stories!  Writer Archie Goodwin and the original publisher James Warren discuss the death of Blazing Combat and market censorship as well as the creative gestation of the series in exclusive interviews.   208 page hardcover  THIS HARDCOVER IS NOW OUT OF PRINT.  SOFTECOVER EDITION IS STILL AVAILABLE
Alex Toth in Hollywood Alex Toth Pure Imagination $19.99
($25.00 list)
OUT OF STOCK!
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Read more and comment... 		This 160 page 8 1/2" x 11" collection contains some of Toth's finest.  In it we find four full-issue-length stories, all dating to the late 1950s, from the Dell Four Color series of one-shots:  The Wings of Eagles (#790), The Lennon Sisters (#951), The Law Trap (#992), and The FBI Story (#1069).  In addition there are three short stories of 6, 8 & 10 pages in length from roughly the same period -- two westerns and a comedy featuring Danny Thomas.  Classic stuff!
Alex Toth: Edge of Genius - Volume 2 Alex Toth Pure Imagination $19.99
($25.00 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Tales of war, adventure, horror and especially romance fill the second Toth volume in the Edge of Genius series.  What can we say about Toth that hasn't been said a thousand times before?  The comics here are the gold standard for layout and storytelling.   Anyone who enjoys fine comics should be sure to read some Alex Toth, and anyone with ambitions to doing comics themselves -- at least those comics that involve storytelling -- pretty much has to get around to studying Toth sooner or later.  The sooner the better, we say.  Edge of Genius - Volume 2 is a great place to start.
Dear John: The Alex Toth Doodle Book Alex Toth $17.95
($19.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		 A fitting epitaph for one of the all-time greats of classic American comics, Alex Toth -- who died earlier this year -- Dear John contains 256 pages of, yes, doodles; but a doodle by Toth is not anything like a doodle by mere mortals such as you or I.  But wait, there's much more.  Included in this volume are many pieces of the voluminous twenty year correspondence carried out between Toth and co-author Hitchcock.  And there are several auto-critiques by Toth of his own earlier work that make for interesting reading for anyone who works in the field.  Needless to say, hardcore Toth fans will find this to be an essential offering, but anyone interested in getting a close up and personal look at one of comics' finest should definitely give this item the once over.  Interested in learning more about Alex Toth?  Here is where to start.
Alex Toth: Edge of Genius #Volume One Alex Toth Pure Imagination $19.99
($25.00 list)
OUT OF STOCK!
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Read more and comment... 		This new release contains 160 pages of Toth stories in an 8 1/2" x 11" squarebound format, as with all previous Pure Imagination volumes.  There are 24 stories total, with 21 from 1952.  This is the period where Toth forms his trademarked style and will be of interest to all students of this seminal artist.