Drawn

Toth’s work was on my mind as recently as earlier this week, when I was looking at Gabriele Pennacchioli’s work. I don’t know that I have anything any more illuminating to say about Toth than has already been said. Though He’ll be missed, he’s left a tremendous body of work behind, and I reccomend that people check his stuff out. I know there’s at least one black and white collection of comics from the 40s and 50s that’s probably still in prin, or at least, fairly easy o get ahold of, though I hope someday someone puts out something more comprehensive. There’s a lot of Toth short stories that DC is sitting on–a few of them were made available in the recent Showcase House of Mystery collection, but it’s not really his best work. Earlier last year there was a terrific Comics Journal issue dedicated to Toth, which reprinted some beautiful crime comics in full color.

So, you know, DC Comics in particular needs to get on the stick and put out a Toth Collection.

Also: the Toth website has a wealth of information on it, so I reccomend people take a peek beyond the condolences and pay their respects by checking out what the man has contributed.

Toth’s work was on my mind as recently as earlier this week, when I was looking at Gabriele Pennacchioli’s work. I don’t know that I have anything any more illuminating to say about Toth than has already been said. Though He’ll be missed, he’s left a tremendous body of work behind, and I reccomend that people check his stuff out. I know there’s at least one black and white collection of comics from the 40s and 50s that’s probably still in prin, or at least, fairly easy o get ahold of, though I hope someday someone puts out something more comprehensive. There’s a lot of Toth short stories that DC is sitting on–a few of them were made available in the recent Showcase House of Mystery collection, but it’s not really his best work. Earlier last year there was a terrific Comics Journal issue dedicated to Toth, which reprinted some beautiful crime comics in full color.

So, you know, DC Comics in particular needs to get on the stick and put out a Toth Collection.

Also: the Toth website has a wealth of information on it, so I reccomend people take a peek beyond the condolences and pay their respects by checking out what the man has contributed.

Whoa. What sad news.

Whoa. What sad news.

Alex Toth was one of the giants. I will truly miss the precision of his drawings and his expert graphic sense. Tonight we mourn, tomorrow we remember.

Alex Toth was one of the giants. I will truly miss the precision of his drawings and his expert graphic sense. Tonight we mourn, tomorrow we remember.

The man passed away,
the myth will live for ever.

thank you for all the great moments you gave us in comic Art Mister Toth.

The man passed away,
the myth will live for ever.

thank you for all the great moments you gave us in comic Art Mister Toth.

Aw, crap. RIP, Alex.

Aw, crap. RIP, Alex.

How sad. He was a great influnece and inspiration to me and a lot of my fellow illustrators.

How sad. He was a great influnece and inspiration to me and a lot of my fellow illustrators.

Because of Alex Toth I am a Noel sickles fanatic…

Because of Alex Toth I am a devotee of Roy Crane…

Because of Alex Toth I am getting off my ass and getting into animation as a career…

Because of Alex Toth I am a better cartoonist.

Thank you Mr. Toth,
M.S.

Because of Alex Toth I am a Noel sickles fanatic…

Because of Alex Toth I am a devotee of Roy Crane…

Because of Alex Toth I am getting off my ass and getting into animation as a career…

Because of Alex Toth I am a better cartoonist.

Thank you Mr. Toth,
M.S.

Alex Toth, whether I knew it or not, was a big influence on my drawing, back in the day–a good 9 years ago or so. I copied a bunch of stuff out of a friend’s ‘Alex Toth: By Design’ book, and never returned to it. But the clever effortless way he seemed to make decisions and put down lines stuck with me, and later, older, a little more experienced, production designing on a Toth inspired show, it was funny to return to this person I never really know, with an entirely new respect–he wasn’t just a guy who drew really cool, really unsusual looking characters anymore, but a superb and innovative draughtsman–a big burly force of nature set on making things great and right and unique.

A big inspiration.
as he writes:
“AH, WELL–THERE IT IS–FINIS/ENDE/FIN —

LET THEM REBUT/CORRECT ME as NEED be–
THERE ARE MANY SIDES TO EVERY ISSUE and–the TRUTH!
MY TRUTH’S BEEN TOLD–AS DIRECTLY, SIMPLY, as I
COULD MUSTER and DO–” Alex Toth

Alex Toth, whether I knew it or not, was a big influence on my drawing, back in the day–a good 9 years ago or so. I copied a bunch of stuff out of a friend’s ‘Alex Toth: By Design’ book, and never returned to it. But the clever effortless way he seemed to make decisions and put down lines stuck with me, and later, older, a little more experienced, production designing on a Toth inspired show, it was funny to return to this person I never really know, with an entirely new respect–he wasn’t just a guy who drew really cool, really unsusual looking characters anymore, but a superb and innovative draughtsman–a big burly force of nature set on making things great and right and unique.

A big inspiration.
as he writes:
“AH, WELL–THERE IT IS–FINIS/ENDE/FIN —

LET THEM REBUT/CORRECT ME as NEED be–
THERE ARE MANY SIDES TO EVERY ISSUE and–the TRUTH!
MY TRUTH’S BEEN TOLD–AS DIRECTLY, SIMPLY, as I
COULD MUSTER and DO–” Alex Toth

Alex Toth has been a great source of inspiration to me. He was a master in composition and design.
His work will stand the taste of time.

Alex Toth has been a great source of inspiration to me. He was a master in composition and design.
His work will stand the taste of time.

As a boy, years and years before I ever knew his name, the art Alex Toth created effected me. Largely it was by “proxy”; seeing his concepts and designs translated to the animated television programs I’d watch in the early to mid Sixties. Later, after I had become a professional artist (but not yet in comics), I met other artists and long-time fans who introduced me to his name and showed me just how far reaching his influence on the industry was. I was already a convert and didn’t even know it!
Reading, a few weeks ago, that he had been hospitalized…well, I had hoped for the best for Mr. Toth.
According to his son, he died at his table working and writing;
a full life, holding purpose, influence and undying respect. May we all count ourselves as fortunate to have had Alex Toth share his talent.

As a boy, years and years before I ever knew his name, the art Alex Toth created effected me. Largely it was by “proxy”; seeing his concepts and designs translated to the animated television programs I’d watch in the early to mid Sixties. Later, after I had become a professional artist (but not yet in comics), I met other artists and long-time fans who introduced me to his name and showed me just how far reaching his influence on the industry was. I was already a convert and didn’t even know it!
Reading, a few weeks ago, that he had been hospitalized…well, I had hoped for the best for Mr. Toth.
According to his son, he died at his table working and writing;
a full life, holding purpose, influence and undying respect. May we all count ourselves as fortunate to have had Alex Toth share his talent.

[...] As reported by many others Alex Toth has passed away at age 78. His work is incredible and the industry is going to greatly miss him. Our condolences to the Toth family. [...]

I started learning about comics and its icons later in life! As I got more into the art and design of sequencial art one name always poped up, Alex Toth. I never understood how powerful a line was until I saw his work. How powerfully he defined posture, strength, gesture all with simple suttle lines. I have a great admiration for The STUDIO which consisted of Wrightson, Kaluta, BWS and Jeff Jones. It was very hard to understand the thought process sometimes as to how they created such masterpieces. Alex Toth was like a teacher and unvailed to me the beauty and simplicity in his style and his method. I cannot put into words how much he has influenced how I see and draw comics today. I never got to thank him for his art lessons, and for his patience as a teacher, so mr. Toth thank you for being more than just an artist but an influence and a mentor. You are missed.

I started learning about comics and its icons later in life! As I got more into the art and design of sequencial art one name always poped up, Alex Toth. I never understood how powerful a line was until I saw his work. How powerfully he defined posture, strength, gesture all with simple suttle lines. I have a great admiration for The STUDIO which consisted of Wrightson, Kaluta, BWS and Jeff Jones. It was very hard to understand the thought process sometimes as to how they created such masterpieces. Alex Toth was like a teacher and unvailed to me the beauty and simplicity in his style and his method. I cannot put into words how much he has influenced how I see and draw comics today. I never got to thank him for his art lessons, and for his patience as a teacher, so mr. Toth thank you for being more than just an artist but an influence and a mentor. You are missed.

Find this book and bask in his greatness.
The master has died.

Find this book and bask in his greatness.
The master has died.

Such sad news. It’s a huge loss, and yet he’s definitely left his mark, both in the fields of commercial art and in us, his fans.

Such sad news. It’s a huge loss, and yet he’s definitely left his mark, both in the fields of commercial art and in us, his fans.

Sad news. I understand he was working when his peephole closed. Died in the saddle.

Sad news. I understand he was working when his peephole closed. Died in the saddle.

You could have picked a better Toth illustration than that cover! that’s probably the worst Toth artwork I ever saw!

You could have picked a better Toth illustration than that cover! that’s probably the worst Toth artwork I ever saw!

I don’t know, the cover’s a nice little piece of design. He gets “batman” across with just a very few shapes, in a real dynamic, graphic image. Certainly couldn’t be THE WORST you’ve ever seen him do, could it? Toth’s later stuff got more and more graphic, and he was doing some wonderful stuff with black. Some of my favorite Toth pages are all in sillouette. Probably, from both a design and storytelling point of view, one of his best stories is a short story he did for a “Hotwheels” comic ook. As I recall, in that one, some of the panels consisted of nothing but headlights in an otherwise black panel.

Now I could point you to some truly awful Toth hackwork, like some of his Red Circle covers (though the interior art he did for Archie/Red Circle is some of his most overlooked and finest stuff of the period), but this Batman cover strikes me as pretty sucessful.

I don’t know, the cover’s a nice little piece of design. He gets “batman” across with just a very few shapes, in a real dynamic, graphic image. Certainly couldn’t be THE WORST you’ve ever seen him do, could it? Toth’s later stuff got more and more graphic, and he was doing some wonderful stuff with black. Some of my favorite Toth pages are all in sillouette. Probably, from both a design and storytelling point of view, one of his best stories is a short story he did for a “Hotwheels” comic ook. As I recall, in that one, some of the panels consisted of nothing but headlights in an otherwise black panel.

Now I could point you to some truly awful Toth hackwork, like some of his Red Circle covers (though the interior art he did for Archie/Red Circle is some of his most overlooked and finest stuff of the period), but this Batman cover strikes me as pretty sucessful.

Toth is in heaven now.
He does the best work.
All love Toth, and remember Toth, all rip-off Toth style, solutions, layouts, etc…
Hace una semana me mostraron unos viejos comics, que estaban en venta, entre ellos habia algunos con trabajos de Toth, magnificos, como es usual, yo pense: ‘tengo tanto Toth, no necesito mas comics de el’
Ahora lo pienso de otra manera. Nunca se tiene mucho Toth.
Alegria en la otra vida al genio del blanco y negro.
CALVI!

Toth is in heaven now.
He does the best work.
All love Toth, and remember Toth, all rip-off Toth style, solutions, layouts, etc…
Hace una semana me mostraron unos viejos comics, que estaban en venta, entre ellos habia algunos con trabajos de Toth, magnificos, como es usual, yo pense: ‘tengo tanto Toth, no necesito mas comics de el’
Ahora lo pienso de otra manera. Nunca se tiene mucho Toth.
Alegria en la otra vida al genio del blanco y negro.
CALVI!

Nem nehéz kitalálni, honnan kaptam az én inspirációm… köszönöm szépen, Alexbácsi.

Nem nehéz kitalálni, honnan kaptam az én inspirációm… köszönöm szépen, Alexbácsi.

total bummer.

total bummer.

[...] In this series of scans, Alex Toth rips into Steve Rude as he critiques the artist’s work on an issue of Jonny Quest. Toth (previously) seems quite harsh in his criticism, but there are valuable lessons to be learned here regarding staging, storytelling, research, and layout. One of Toth’s last bits of criticism: “Think! Think! Think! — Before you draw, while you draw, and after! And redraw if it doesn’t work!” [...]

[...] Toth rips into Steve Rude as he critiques the artist’s work on an issue of Jonny Quest. Toth (previously) seems quite harsh in his criticism, but there are valuable lessons to be learned here regarding [...]

dude – such a bummer. a fact of life but a bummer nonetheless

dude – such a bummer. a fact of life but a bummer nonetheless