Wally Wood

Infobox Comics creator


imagesize =
caption = Self-portrait by Wally Wood
birthname = Wallace Allan Wood
birthdate = birth date|1927|6|17|mf=y
location = Menahga, Minnesota
deathdate = death date and age|1981|11|2|1927|06|17
deathplace = Los Angeles, California
nationality = American
area = writer, penciller, inker, publisher
alias = Woody
notable works =
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". Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he claimed to dislike.Stewart, Bhob, ed. "Against the Grain: Mad Artist Wallace Wood". TwoMorrows Publishing, 2003. Trade paperback ISBN 1-893905-23-3, hardcover ISBN 1-893905-28-4] 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.

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.

EC publisher William Gaines once stated, "Wally may have been our most troubled artist... I'm not suggesting any connection, but he may have been our most brilliant". [Evanier, Mark, "Mad Art" (Watson Guptil Publications, 2002), p. 47; ISBN 0-8230-3080-6]

Biography

Early life and career

Wally Wood was born on June 17 1927, and began reading and drawing comics at an early age. 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". 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.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. He went from training at Fort Benning, Georgia, to occupied Japan, where he was assigned to the island of Hokkaidō. 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. 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.

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. 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". 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. This lasted about a year. I also started doing backgrounds, then inking. 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". [Wally Wood interview, originally published in "The Buyer's Guide" #403 (Aug. 1, 1981), reprinted in "Comic Book Artist" #14 (July 2001); p. 18 of the latter.]

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. 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.

1950s

[
thumb|left|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. 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".

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"). 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".

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". 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". [Wood interview, "Comic Book Artist" #14, p. 19] 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. 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". He inked the first eight months of the 1958-1961 syndicated comic strip "Sky Masters of the Space Force", penciled by Jack Kirby. 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. [Guthridge, Sue. "Tom Edison, Boy Inventor". Illustrated by Wood. New York : Aladdin Books ; London : Collier Macmillan, 1986, c1959] [ [http://seriesbooks.com/cfa.htm "Childhood of Famous Americans"] (1947 original issue)]

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. Science") and the toy company Wham-O ("Wham-O Giant Comics"). In 1965, Wood, Len Brown, and possibly Larry Ivie [Ivie, Larry, "Ivie League Heroes", Comic Book Artist 14 (July 2001), pp. 64-68] created "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents" for Tower Comics. He wrote and drew the 1967 syndicated Christmas comic strip, "Bucky's Christmas Caper". [Starger, Steve and J. David Spurlock, "Wally's World" (Vanguard Productions, 2007), p. 177. ISBN 1-887591-80-X]

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). When Daredevil guest-starred in "Fantastic Four" #39-40, Wood inked that character, over Jack Kirby pencils, on the covers and throughout the interior. [Per Stan Lee in letters page, "Fantastic Four" #42 (Sept. 1965)] Wood also penciled and inked the first four 10-page installments of the company's "Dr. Doom" feature in "Astonishing Tales" #1-4 (Aug. 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. [Wood inked "The Avengers" #20-22 and the "Iron Man" feature in "Tales of Suspense" #71, both over penciler Don Heck, as well as the "Human Torch" feature in "Strange Tales" #134, over Powell, in 1965; "Captain America" #127, over Gene Colan, in 1970; "Kull the Conqueror" #1, over Ross Andru, and "Red Wolf" in "Marvel Spotlight" #1, over Syd Shores, in 1971; and "The Cat" #1, over Marie Severin, in 1972. He inked Kirby on the covers of "Avengers" #20-21 and "The X-Men" #14. The Grand Comics Database (see "References", below) also cites "additional inks... uncredited" on the Kirby layouts and George Tuska pencil and ink work of the "Captain America" feature in "Tales of Suspense" #71.]

In one of his final assignments, Wood returned to a character he helped define, inking Frank Miller's cover of "Daredevil" #164 (May 1980).

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". [ [http://www.ep.tc/realist/74/12.html "The Realist" Archive Project: "The Realist" #74 (May 1967): "The Disneyland Memorial Orgy", by Paul Krassner and Wally Wood, pp. 12-13] , with credits listed at archive's [http://www.ep.tc/realist/74/24.html May 1967 Contents Page] ] 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. 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." ["Comic Book Artist" #14, p. 20] 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. 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. 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.Ro, Ronin. "Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution" (Bloomsbury, 2004)] 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". Active with the 1970s Academy of Comic Book Arts, Wood also contributed to several editions of the annual "ACBA Sketchbook". His last known proper credit was inking "Wonder Woman" #269, cover-dated July, 1980. [ [http://www.comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=62422 ComicBookDb: "Wonder Woman" #269] . Accessed April 2, 2008]

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.

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). 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.Wood additionally collected his feature "Sally Forth", published in the U.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.

In 1969, Wood created another seminal independent comic, "Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon", intended for his "Sally Forth" military readership. 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". 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. 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". [ [http://joeguide.com/hama/artist.shtml JoeGuide.com: "Larry Hama: Writer & Artist"] , no date]

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. A stroke in 1978 caused a loss of vision in one eye. 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.

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. 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". ["EC Lives! The 1972 EC Fan-Addict Convention Book" (privately published)]

Awards

*National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Division awards, 1957, 1959, and 1965.
*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

ee also

List of Mad Magazine issues

Audio

* [http://209.51.142.186/~dogatco/mmms/mmms65.mp3 Merry Marvel Marching Society recording] includes voice of Wally Wood

Footnotes

References

* [http://bpib.com/illustrat/wood.htm Illustrated Profile by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr.]
* [http://www.stevestiles.com/wood.htm "Wallace Wood: The Tragedy of a Master S.F. Cartoonist"]
* [http://www.tvparty.com/comics/woodPIC.html John Hitchcock's Wally Wood Letters and Photo Album]
* [http://www.twomorrows.com/alterego/articles/08wood.html Michael T. Gilbert profile of Wood]
* [http://splashpages.com/wood/gallery/woodgallery1.html Neil Riehle's Splash Pages: Wally Wood Gallery and Online Checklist]
* [http://www.comics.org/search.lasso?type=credit&query=wallace+wood&sort=chrono&Submit=Search The Grand Comics Database: Wallace Wood] and [http://www.comics.org/search.lasso?query=wally+wood&type=credit&sort=chrono&Submit=Search Wally Wood] separate chronological search results
* Wood, Wally. "The Marvel Comics Art of Wally Wood". New York: Thumbtack Books, 1982, hardcover. ISBN 0-942480-02-3

External links

* [http://www.comic-art.com/biographies/wood0001.htm "Comic Art & Graffix Gallery": Biographies" Wallace Wood]
* [http://isthistomorrow.com/2004/woodcard.html "Is This Tomorrow?" Wood trading card]
* [http://www.reuben.org/ncs/awards.asp National Cartoonist Society Awards]
* [http://joeljohnson.com/archives/2006/08/wally_woods_22.html Wally Wood's "22 Panels That Always Work"]
* [http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/m/misfitsww.htm Wally Wood's "The Misfits"]
*The Wally Wood yahoo group: [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wood-l]