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  • Published: 15 November 2022
  • ISBN: 9781684059478
  • Imprint: IDW Publishing
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 328
  • RRP: $75.00

Genius, Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth



In comic books, Alex Toth was the foremost proponent of modern design and composition. Starting in 1950, his work influenced almost every one of his contemporaries and has continued to work its magic on the generations that followed. In animation, his 1960s model sheets for Hanna-Barbera are still passed around as swipe sources from animator to young animator in the 21st Century.
 
Now in paperback, this biography was compiled with complete access to the family archives and with the full cooperation of Toth's children, this biography features many rare comics pages, photographs, and drawings. It also reproduces 20 complete stories, including a previously unknown and unfinished story from 1950, most printed from the original artwork.
 
Updates include clarification on Toth's early married life in the 1950s and the first appearance of the recently disovered final page that completes the special section collecting Jon Fury, the comic strip Toth created in the army, a prize long sought by even the most ardent Toth collectors.
 
Winner of the Harvey Award for Best Biographical Book.
 

This lavishly illustrated biography documents the life and art of one of the most significant comics and animation artists of all time.

In comic books, Alex Toth was the foremost proponent of modern design and composition. Starting in 1950, his work influenced almost every one of his contemporaries and has continued to work its magic on the generations that followed. In animation, his 1960s model sheets for Hanna-Barbera are still passed around as swipe sources from animator to young animator in the 21st Century.

Now in paperback, this biography was compiled with complete access to the family archives and with the full cooperation of Toth's children, this biography features many rare comics pages, photographs, and drawings. It also reproduces 20 complete stories, including a previously unknown and unfinished story from 1950, most printed from the original artwork.
 
Updates include clarification on Toth's early married life in the 1950s and the first appearance of the recently disovered final page that completes the special section collecting Jon Fury, the comic strip Toth created in the army, a prize long sought by even the most ardent Toth collectors.
 
Winner of the Harvey Award for Best Biographical Book.

  • Published: 15 November 2022
  • ISBN: 9781684059478
  • Imprint: IDW Publishing
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 328
  • RRP: $75.00

Praise for Genius, Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth

PRAISE FOR THE GENIUS, ISOLATED (IN HARDCOVER):
"This massive coffee-table biography-cum-compilation makes a compelling argument for Toth’s stature through its painstakingly researched text and copious visual examples that demonstrate his masterful illustration, graphic economy, and elegantly powerful design sense. Crucially, it reprints many complete stories—most shot from the original artwork—permitting full appreciation of his commanding storytelling." —Booklist
 
"The first (literally) expansive visual biography of a classic comic book artist that manages to show and tell just what made the man and the work. Anyone with an interest in the medium should own and study this book. It’s one of those." —The Comics Journal

PRAISE FOR THE LIBRARY OF AMERICAN COMICS:

“THE LIBRARY OF AMERICAN COMICS HAS BECOME THE GOLD STANDARD FOR ARCHIVAL COMIC STRIP REPRINTS. The research and articles provide insight and context, and most importantly the glorious reproduction of the material has preserved these strips for those who knew them and offers a new gateway to adventure for those discovering them for the first time.” —Scoop