Byrne Robotics: Discovering Alex Toth.

The John Byrne Forum
Byrne Robotics > The John Byrne Forum		Page of 2 Next >>

Topic: Discovering Alex Toth. (

Topic Closed)

Author

Message

Stephen Churay
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 25 March 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 8369

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 11:50am \| IP Logged \| 1

About five years ago I picked up the COMPLETE ALEX TOTH
ZORRO that Image put out in 2001. Toth took the pages, which were
meant for color publication and add gray tone helping them take
advantage of now being published in black and white.

Now, I'm sure I've had this book for ten years. I know I at least flipped
through it when it was bought, but I've never really read it. That
changed yesterday. About a dozen pages in, my head exploded.
I knew how good he was, but this stuff is amazing.

Being based off the Disney show, there is just enough of a likeness to
know who there tv counterpart is. These characters are acting. Every
face has a unique expression. Every panel's composition is perfectly
framed. Through it all, there isn't a single line wasted.
The man was an incredible storyteller.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go scoop my brains back into my
head.

profile | search e-mail

Doug Centers
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 17 February 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 5466

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 12:06pm \| IP Logged \| 2

He is a master isn't he Stephen ? I discovered him a while ago, here's some useful advice he used to quote often, "Don't draw too much into each panel. Throw out everything you don't need to tell the story !"

He received that advice himself from Roy Crane.

profile | search

John Byrne
Avatar

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132279

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 1:54pm \| IP Logged \| 3

You have taken your first steps into a larger world!

profile | search

Brian Hague
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 14 November 2006
Posts: 8515

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 2:05pm \| IP Logged \| 4

The characters in a Toth comic have a real sense of weight and balance to them. They move properly and dynamically. The "acting" and facial expressions are unmatched in conveying the story as well.

I remember being knocked out at an early age by the Super Friends center spread in a Justice League tabloid edition. The rest of the comic was by Sekowsky, and I liked it just fine, but, omigod, those characters in the middle of the book... Jor-El never carried himself with such grace and dignity before! Lara was amazing! Wonder Woman was unlike any version of the character I'd seen before! There was even a picture of Jay Garrick, then and now my favorite version of the Flash. I pored over those images.

In the recent Genius Animated book, I was once again taken aback and left agog by his presentation boards for a Chris King/Vicki Grant "Dial 'H' For Hero" Saturday morning series. Holy mackerel! Just stunning.

It's rare to find Alex Toth super-hero interiors for comics. Here's a short, certainly not comprehensive list:

Action Comics #406, 407 (reprints Brave & the Bold #53)

Adventure Comics #418, 419,

Adventure Comics Digest #495, 496, 497

Black Hood #2, 3

Charlton Bullseye #5

DC Comics Presents #84

Detective Comics #442

Green Lantern #171

Hanna-Barbera TV Stars #3

Superman Annual #9

X-Men #12 (reprinted in #67)

Some of his Golden Age work has been reprinted in DC 100-page Super-Spectacular issues #17 & 20 as well as Detective Comics #414, 416, 418, 424, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444, JLA #110, 113, and Green Lantern #86. The 1998 faux-60's style GL Annual #1 also reprinted a golden age GL story by Toth.

It's also worth picking up recent Showcase Presents volumes for Eclipso, Rip Hunter, Secrets of Sinister House, the House of Mystery, the House of Secrets, Super Friends, the Witching Hour, and Weird War Tales.

profile | search e-mail

Nathan Greno
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 20 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 9154

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 3:33pm \| IP Logged \| 5

Easily one of the best.

profile | search

Steven Legge
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 28 July 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 866

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 4:02pm \| IP Logged \| 6

I was thinking of that one too, thanks to my old copy of "Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told" which was probably the first time I saw Toth's work.

profile | search | www e-mail

David Allen Perrin
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 15 April 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 3538

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 4:07pm \| IP Logged \| 7

In many ways one of the sculptors of my childhood. My Saturday morning cartoons were all about Alex Toth.

profile | search

Stephen Churay
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 25 March 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 8369

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 4:49pm \| IP Logged \| 8

In many ways one of the sculptors of my childhood. �My Saturday
morning cartoons were all about Alex Toth.
=======
Mine too. But I hadn't seen much of his actual comic book work. I
think I remember him doing either a short story or a pin up for the
BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE series, but that was about it. I've tried
to find copies of all of his animation character sheets (most can be
found via Google). His Zorro work is really the first extensive multiple-
page storytelling I've seen. Every panel flows into the next without
being too obvious, so the page is a work of art, but so is every panel
individually.

The crazy thing is, it looks almost simple, because every line is so
precise. But it's not. It's much harder. Since every line counts so much,
you can't have an unperfect line or the whole thing looks wrong.

profile | search e-mail

Eric Smearman
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 02 September 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 5798

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 5:46pm \| IP Logged \| 9

My first exposure to Toth was that above-mentioned model sheet
section in the JLA tabloid and the DETECTIVE COMICS issue that
Nathan posted. Also really loved the Superman/Batman story he did in
an 80s Annual that was inked by Terry Austin.

profile | search e-mail

Eric Jansen
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 27 October 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 2292

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 6:18pm \| IP Logged \| 10

A friend gave me the SHOWCASE PRESENTS HOUSE OF MYSTERY and while the stories are nothing to write home about, the art just gets better and better--especially once Alex Toth starts. (Al Williamson, Gray Morrow, Bernie Wrightson, and Neal Adams also look great!) I'm not a big fan of B&W comics, but his work here looks incredible! It's hard to imagine how color could have done anything but mess things up.

I still remember a FOX back-up story he did for Archie/Red Circle back when I was a kid. I think he wrote that one too and the whole thing really stuck out for me.

profile | search

Joe Hollon
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 08 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 13675

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 7:21pm \| IP Logged \| 11

Funny, I just started reading the same ZORRO volume about a week ago. I also greatly admire Toth's abilities and find myself very much studying every panel. It's like a Masters' course.

profile | search | www e-mail

Brian Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
Avatar

Joined: 28 July 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 30897

Posted: 23 October 2014 at 7:32pm \| IP Logged \| 12

I've had this book for years and have yet to start it. I need to rectify this.

profile | search

Page of 2 Next >>

Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum