Number 1128: Alex Toth in the Land Unknown!

Number 1128


Alex Toth in the Land Unknown!

This is one of my favorite Alex Toth art jobs, done for Dell in 1957 as a tie-in to the Universal movie.

Toth penciled and inked. He used a pen, filling in blacks with a brush. See the original art for page 27 (downloaded from Heritage Auctions) I've inserted after the printed page for a good look at his technique. Years later Toth went to felt tip pens for inking, although he probably could have used a toothpick dipped in road tar and come up with something great. He was just talented, regardless of the tools he used.

The lettering looks like his, and—dare I say it?—I believe he could have colored the book, too. Comic book colorists are usually addicted to color filling in any area where white should be, but there's lots of white space in this book, used very effectively, too. The coloring job is excellent, which makes me believe he had something to do with it. That's a guess on my part, so take it for what it's worth. If there's anything I don't like it's the shape of his speech balloons, but that's an awfully small quibble for an otherwise masterful job.