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Setting the Standard
Toth's influence on the art of comic books is incalculable. As his generation
was the first to grow up with the new 10-cent full-color pamphlets,
he came to the medium with a fresh eye, and enough talent and discipline to
graphically strip it down its to its bare essentials. His efforts reached fruition
at Standard Comics, creating an entire school of imitators and establishing
Toth as the “comic book artist’s artist.” Setting the Standard collects this highly
influential body of work in one substantial volume.
Toth began his professional career at fifteen in 1945 for Heroic Comics, but
quickly advanced to superhero work for DC. Responding to the endless criticism
of editor Sheldon Mayer and production chief Sol Harrison, the young
artist strove toward a technique free of “showoff surface tricks, clutter, and distracting
picture elements.” Simply put, he learned “how to tell a story, to the exclusion of all else.”
After falling out with DC in 1952, Toth moved west. He freelanced almost exclusively for Standard over the next two
years, contributing classic work for its crime, horror, science fiction, and war titles. But perhaps most revelatory to the
reader will be the romance collaborations with writer Kim Ammodt, Toth’s personal favorites. “I came to prefer them
for the quieter, more credible, natural human equations they dealt with — emotions, subtleties of gesture, expression,
attitude.”
To explain his take on comics, Toth would quote such proverbs as “To add to truth distracts from it,” or “The beauty
of the simple thing.” He employed these axioms “to make clear how universal this pursuit of truth, clarity, simplicity,
economy, in all the arts and many other disciplines really is — and has been for 6,000 years.” These and other observations
regarding the comic book form will be collected in an essay based on Toth’s published and unpublished letters
and interviews.
Every page of Setting the Standard is restored to bring Toth’s unsurpassed graphics and page designs into full clarity,
making this an essential edition for anyone with an appreciation of the art of graphic storytelling.
was the first to grow up with the new 10-cent full-color pamphlets,
he came to the medium with a fresh eye, and enough talent and discipline to
graphically strip it down its to its bare essentials. His efforts reached fruition
at Standard Comics, creating an entire school of imitators and establishing
Toth as the “comic book artist’s artist.” Setting the Standard collects this highly
influential body of work in one substantial volume.
Toth began his professional career at fifteen in 1945 for Heroic Comics, but
quickly advanced to superhero work for DC. Responding to the endless criticism
of editor Sheldon Mayer and production chief Sol Harrison, the young
artist strove toward a technique free of “showoff surface tricks, clutter, and distracting
picture elements.” Simply put, he learned “how to tell a story, to the exclusion of all else.”
After falling out with DC in 1952, Toth moved west. He freelanced almost exclusively for Standard over the next two
years, contributing classic work for its crime, horror, science fiction, and war titles. But perhaps most revelatory to the
reader will be the romance collaborations with writer Kim Ammodt, Toth’s personal favorites. “I came to prefer them
for the quieter, more credible, natural human equations they dealt with — emotions, subtleties of gesture, expression,
attitude.”
To explain his take on comics, Toth would quote such proverbs as “To add to truth distracts from it,” or “The beauty
of the simple thing.” He employed these axioms “to make clear how universal this pursuit of truth, clarity, simplicity,
economy, in all the arts and many other disciplines really is — and has been for 6,000 years.” These and other observations
regarding the comic book form will be collected in an essay based on Toth’s published and unpublished letters
and interviews.
Every page of Setting the Standard is restored to bring Toth’s unsurpassed graphics and page designs into full clarity,
making this an essential edition for anyone with an appreciation of the art of graphic storytelling.
434 pages, Paperback
First published April 11, 2011
6 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Alex Toth
317Ìýbooks23ÌýfollowersAlexander Toth was an American professional cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout the 1960s and 1970s. His work included Super Friends, Space Ghost, The Herculoids, and Birdman. Toth's work has been resurrected in the late-night, adult-themed spinoffs on Cartoon Network: Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Sealab 2021, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
He was inducted into the comic-book industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
He was inducted into the comic-book industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 15, 2023
Standard Comics. Setting the Standard. Get it? Eh? Eh? Get it?
This collects Alex Toth's output from Standard Comics. 400 pages plus an interview plus bonus materials. The art is all Toth.
The bulk of the book is romance comics but there's some war, horror, and sf thrown in. There are some panels suitable for hanging in a gallery, powerful in their simplicity. The story telling is so clear that you can tell what's happening without reading the dialog balloons or captions, which came in handy since I wasn't about to push through 300 pages of romance comics.
This is one gorgeous book. The art quality is as high as a lot of Fantagraphics' EC Library. The stories I did read were better than say the Harvey Horror books I read last year or the year before. Standard had its act together. Four out of five stars.
This collects Alex Toth's output from Standard Comics. 400 pages plus an interview plus bonus materials. The art is all Toth.
The bulk of the book is romance comics but there's some war, horror, and sf thrown in. There are some panels suitable for hanging in a gallery, powerful in their simplicity. The story telling is so clear that you can tell what's happening without reading the dialog balloons or captions, which came in handy since I wasn't about to push through 300 pages of romance comics.
This is one gorgeous book. The art quality is as high as a lot of Fantagraphics' EC Library. The stories I did read were better than say the Harvey Horror books I read last year or the year before. Standard had its act together. Four out of five stars.
September 16, 2011
Arguably one of the most influential comic book artists, Alex Toth deserves mention alongside luminaries , , and . His works informed the DC house style for better than a quarter of a century. Though the Simon/Kirby tandem invented the romance comic, Toth's vision stands at the iconic view of the genre. Setting the Standard collects Toth's entire 62 story output for obscure publisher Standard Comics. These over 400 pages of crime, horror, romance, science fiction, and war tales showcase some of his finest works, typifying his mastery of design, graphics, and visual narrative. As he did with the excellent
and
tomes, editor Sadowski supplies copious end notes and annotations. Toss in the reproductions of original Toth pages and Setting the Standard becomes mandatory reading for any fan of the medium.
September 27, 2013
This is a handsome book, well-reproduced with useful editorial content, including notes on the stories. Toth's art generally shines, as one would expect--especially his propensity for drawing unique and individual characters rather than generic types. He was a master of the medium. However, his mastery here is, for the most part, in the service of pretty generic stuff. Standard was not one of the flagship publishing houses, so though it is nice to have all of Toth's work for them in one place, it is work that for the most part does not rise above the mediocre. Because the organizing principle is to give us all Toth's work for Standard in order, the transitions between war, horror, crime, and romance can be bizarrely jarring. The stories are mostly mundane--the casual racism of the bulk of the war stories giving them, perhaps, a certain edge it might be better if they did not have. The romance stories eventually begin to show a bit of variety but are initially oppressively paternalistic in their admonitory tone to girl readers (one imagines the intended audience must have been conceived of as "girls") about how to look good, how to land a man, and so on. Only Toth's visual flair makes them--the earlier ones, at any rate--tolerable, though some of the later romance stories do begin to show a bit of narrative depth. buy it for the masterful art, but don't expect much from the stories as stories.
January 13, 2012
Alex Toth's reputation lies on mostly forgotten works: superhero books of the late 40s and genre books of the 50s. His name deserves a place alongside Eisner and Kirby, but because he didn't do a huge body of work for one character, he remains the artist's artist. He's frequently cited as an influence in hushed tones, but up to this point his work has belonged only to collectors and enthusiasts. This book, as far as I know the most comprehensive compilation of his work, is a great step in correcting that. It collects the stories he did for small publisher Standard Comics between 1952 and 1954, when the company went defunct. Filled out by a long interview with Toth and copious endnotes, this volume is a delight for anyone interested in the history or craft of comics.
Toth took his cues from the more polished strip cartoonists of the era rather than the crude journeymen of comic books. Toth drew with painstaking care and economy--witness the bold lines of Space Ghost, his most famous design--but what jumps out of these pages is his gorgeous angular style and rich detail. No matter how flimsy the story, he makes sure to establish a world. While he's known for his minimalism, which comes through when he inks himself, when paired with a painterly inker like Mike Peppe, Toth's work becomes lush and gorgeous to behold.
In a long interview that serves as introduction, you get a glimpse at Toth's massive ego. He thought very highly of himself and his work, but his skill backed it up in spades. His adherence to the principles of storytelling had him crafting comics on a much more sophisticated level than his contemporaries.
Beyond the horribly dated plots (i.e. one where a housewife is shirking on her housework, causing her husband embarrassment. All is well when she does her chores again.) what remains in the mind are Toth's perfectly composed images and stories. He was a master of the form before most realized there was a form to master.
Toth took his cues from the more polished strip cartoonists of the era rather than the crude journeymen of comic books. Toth drew with painstaking care and economy--witness the bold lines of Space Ghost, his most famous design--but what jumps out of these pages is his gorgeous angular style and rich detail. No matter how flimsy the story, he makes sure to establish a world. While he's known for his minimalism, which comes through when he inks himself, when paired with a painterly inker like Mike Peppe, Toth's work becomes lush and gorgeous to behold.
In a long interview that serves as introduction, you get a glimpse at Toth's massive ego. He thought very highly of himself and his work, but his skill backed it up in spades. His adherence to the principles of storytelling had him crafting comics on a much more sophisticated level than his contemporaries.
Beyond the horribly dated plots (i.e. one where a housewife is shirking on her housework, causing her husband embarrassment. All is well when she does her chores again.) what remains in the mind are Toth's perfectly composed images and stories. He was a master of the form before most realized there was a form to master.
October 4, 2023
The genius of Alex Toth may be lost on younger fans, as he was one of those artists whose voice was so different than his peers that those who followed in his footsteps stripmined his brilliance to the point where it became the norm. When you compare his Standard Comics output to his contemporaries he is head and shoulders above everyone aside from the stable of artists over at EC.
That said, the stories in and of themselves are unremarkable at best and banal at worst. Most of the writing is average or worse for the era, with the occasional story standing out. I enjoy this era of comic books, but if you are a fan of modern decompression style comic books then this book might be a chore for you to read. Toth did a lot of war and romance comics, and those are heavily featured in this book. I am not a big fan of either genre but Toth's artwork made them palatable. His Pre-Code Horror work is collected here as well.
His Horror and Sci-Fi stuff really pop, but to be honest none of the stories in this book are what I'd call great. This book is still a worthwhile addition to any serious comic fan's library. This is over 400 pages, so it is dense and will take a while to plow through it but it is worth it.
That said, the stories in and of themselves are unremarkable at best and banal at worst. Most of the writing is average or worse for the era, with the occasional story standing out. I enjoy this era of comic books, but if you are a fan of modern decompression style comic books then this book might be a chore for you to read. Toth did a lot of war and romance comics, and those are heavily featured in this book. I am not a big fan of either genre but Toth's artwork made them palatable. His Pre-Code Horror work is collected here as well.
His Horror and Sci-Fi stuff really pop, but to be honest none of the stories in this book are what I'd call great. This book is still a worthwhile addition to any serious comic fan's library. This is over 400 pages, so it is dense and will take a while to plow through it but it is worth it.
November 29, 2013
Selección de historias dibujadas por Toth entre 1952 y 1954, donde su destreza al lápiz encadena una sucesión de relatos tan diversos en género (guerra, terror, romance, ciencia ficción) como en calidad. Sin abordar cabalmente su primera etapa artÃstica (que es imposible dejando de lado a Jon Fury y El Zorro), el volumen brinda sus seguidores una perspectiva sobre su habilidad e ingenio para resolver viñetas, que con los años terminó formando escuela.
March 26, 2015
Librote con las mejores historias cincuenteras de Toth, ideal para abrirle la cabeza a alguien, sea estética o literalmente hablando. Incluye una extensa entrevista con el autor a modo de introducción y jugosos extras con el método de trabajo del amigo Alex.
March 22, 2013
[+] Setting the Standard:
[+] Alex Toth: Toth
[+] Alex Toth: Toth
March 22, 2012
Rating is for the art. Most of the stories are dated, although in some cases, fun as period pieces.
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