In the pages of EC's Weird Science #22 there's a story titled simply "My World". It was written by Al Feldstein and drawn by Wally Wood. Here is that story in its original art form. That first page in particular is magnificent in the depth of image one can see, reminding me of the misty backgrounds of Skull Island in the original King Kong of all places.
It's almost like a visit inside the imagination of the creators themselves, or perhaps more particularly Wood himself as his artwork drives this vignette more than most EC offerings. The sprawling capacities of science fiction have rarely been better portrayed.
This story has been often reprinted, but I read it most recently in Comics About Cartoonists - Stories about the World's Oddest Profession from Craig Yoe.
Note: This post originally appeared at Rip Jagger's Other Dojo. I will be transferring some of those posts over here as the month goes on.
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Wally Wood will always be one of my favorite artists. I was very influenced by his artwork, and I never grow tired of seeing his illustrative stylings.
ReplyDeleteYou say it very well. Wally Wood's work never seems to weaken over time, a testimony to his powerful designs.
DeleteKing Kong is a good call; I'm sure it had a massive impact on a couple of generations of comics artists. I bet Wood in particular was also influenced in that splash panel by the Rite of Spring sequence in Disney's Fantasia.
ReplyDeleteCould well be the case. This is from that early period of Woody when he was still full of energy but had flowered into a mature artist. Later he'd pare away the lushness in favor of pure design but like so many fans I adore this era.
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