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Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, and MAD Magazine from its inception in 1952 until 1964, as well as for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and work for Warren Publishing's Creepy. He drew a few early issues of Marvel Comics's Daredevil and established the title character's distinctive red costume. Wood created and owned the long-running characters Sally Forth and Cannon.
He wrote, drew, and self-published two of the three of his Masterpiece, The Wizard King trilogy, about Odkin son of Odkin before his (Wood’s) death by suicide.
Much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood; some people call him Wally Wood, a name he disliked. (2026). 9781893905283, TwoMorrows Publishing. ISBN 9781893905283 Within the comics community, he was also known as Woody, a name he sometimes used as a signature.
In addition to Wood's hundreds of comic book pages, he illustrated for books and magazines while also working in a variety of other areas – advertising; packaging and product illustrations; joke cartoons; record album covers; posters; syndicated ; and trading cards, including work on Topps's landmark Mars Attacks set.
EC publisher William Gaines once stated, "Wally may have been our most troubled artist ... I'm not suggesting any connection, but he may have been our most brilliant".
He was the inaugural inductee into the comic book industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1989, and was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1992.
In 1947, at age 20, Wood enrolled in the Minneapolis School of Art but only lasted one term. Arriving in New York City with his brother Glenn and mother Alma (of Finnish descent), after his military discharge in July 1948, Wood found employment at Bickford's restaurant as a busboy. During his time off he carried his thick portfolio of drawings all over midtown Manhattan, visiting every publisher he could find. He briefly attended the Hogarth School of Art but dropped out after one semester. In 1948, he enrolled in the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (now known as the School of Visual Arts), staying less than one year (although he made a number of professional contacts which helped him later).
By October, after being rejected by every company he visited, Wood met fellow artist John Severin in the waiting room of a small publisher. After the two shared their experiences attempting to find work, Severin invited Wood to visit his studio, the Charles William Harvey Studio, where Wood met Charlie Stern, Harvey Kurtzman (who was working for Timely/Marvel) and Will Elder. At this studio Wood learned that Will Eisner was looking for a Spirit background artist. He immediately visited Eisner and was hired on the spot.
Over the next year, Wood also became an assistant to George Wunder, who had taken over the Milton Caniff strip Terry and the Pirates. Wood cited his "first job on my own" as Chief , a continuing series of strips for a 1949 political newsletter. He entered the comic book field by letterer, as he recalled in 1981: "The first professional job was lettering for Fox romance comics in 1948. This lasted about a year. I also started doing backgrounds, then inker. Most of it was the romance stuff. For complete pages, it was $5 a page ... Twice a week, I would ink ten pages in one day".Wallace Wood interview, originally published in The Buyer's Guide No. 403 (August 1, 1981), reprinted in Comic Book Artist No. 14 (July 2001); p. 18 of the latter.
Artists' representative Renaldo Epworth helped Wood land his early comic-book assignments, making it unclear if that connection led to Wood's lettering or to his comics-art debut, the ten-page story "The Tip Off Woman" in the Fox Comics Western comics Women Outlaws No. 4 (cover-dated January 1949, on sale late 1948). Wood's next known comic-book art did not appear until Fox's My Confession No. 7 (August 1949), at which time he began working almost continuously on the company's similar My Experience, My Secret Life, My Love Story and My True Love: Thrilling Confession Stories. His first signed work is believed to be in My Confession #8 (October 1949), with the name "Woody" half-hidden on a theater marquee. He penciled and inked two stories in that issue: "I Was Unwanted" (nine pages) and "My Tarnished Reputation" (ten pages).
Wood began at EC co-penciling and co-inking with Harry Harrison the story "Too Busy For Love" ( Modern Love #5), and fully penciling the lead story, "I Was Just a Playtime Cowgirl", in Saddle Romances No. 11 (April 1950), inked by Harrison. and
Wood was instrumental in convincing EC publisher William Gaines to start a line of science fiction comics, Weird Science and Weird Fantasy (later combined under the single title Weird Science-Fantasy). Wood penciled and inked several dozen EC science fiction stories. Wood also had frequent entries in Two-Fisted Tales and Tales from the Crypt, as well as the later EC titles Valor, Piracy, and Aces High.
Working over scripts and pencil breakdowns by Jules Feiffer, the 25-year-old Wood drew two months of Will Eisner's Sunday-supplement newspaper comic book The Spirit, on the 1952 story arc "The Spirit in Outer Space". Eisner, Wood recalled, paid him "about $30 a week for lettering and backgrounds on The Spirit. Sometimes he paid $40 when I did the drawings, too".Wood interview, Comic Book Artist No. 14, p. 19 Feiffer, in 2010, recalled Wood's studio, "which was at that time in the very slummy Upper West Side of in the West 60s, years before it was the Lincoln Center area. It was a cartoonist and science-fiction writers' ghetto – just a huge room where the walls were knocked down, dark, smelly, roach-infested, and all these cartoonists and writers bent over their tables. One was science-fiction Harry Harrison."Transcript of March 24, 2010, Feiffer interview at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, published as "Backing into Jules Feiffer: An Exclusive Q&A", p.2, FilmFestivalTraveler.com, April 18, 2010. WebCitation archive.
Between 1957 and 1967, Wood produced both covers and interiors for more than 60 issues of the science-fiction digest Galaxy Science Fiction, illustrating such authors as Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Jack Finney, C. M. Kornbluth, Frederik Pohl, Robert Silverberg, Robert Sheckley, Clifford D. Simak and Jack Vance. He painted six covers for Galaxy Science Fiction Novels between 1952 and 1958. His gag cartoons appeared in the men's magazines Dude, Gent and Nugget. He inker the first eight months of the 1958–1961 syndicated comic strip Sky Masters of the Space Force, penciled by Jack Kirby.
Wood expanded into book illustrations, including for the picture-cover editions (though not the dust-jacket editions) of titles in the 1959 Aladdin Books reissues of Bobbs Merrill's 1947 "Childhood of Famous Americans" series.Guthridge, Sue. Tom Edison, Boy Inventor. Illustrated by Wood. New York : Aladdin Books; London : Collier Macmillan, 1986, c1959
Wood penciled and inked the first four 10-page installments of the company's "Doctor Doom" feature in Astonishing Tales #1–4 (Aug. 1970-Feb. 1971),Peter Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 146: "Marvel's second split book of 1970 gave two longtime Marvel stars their own series. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby collaborated on the first installment of the new series starring Ka-Zar ... Marvel's greatest villain, Dr. Doom, also received his own series, scripted by Roy Thomas and drawn ... by Wally Wood." and both wrote and drew anthological horror/suspense tales in Tower of Shadows #5–8 (May–Nov. 1970), as well as sporadic other work.Wood inked The Avengers #20–22 and the "Iron Man" feature in Tales of Suspense #71, both over penciler Don Heck, as well as the "Human Torch" feature in Strange Tales #134, over Powell, in 1965; Captain America #127, over Gene Colan, in 1970; Kull the Conqueror #1, over Ross Andru, and "Red Wolf" in Marvel Spotlight #1, over Syd Shores, in 1971; and Tigra #1, over Marie Severin, in 1972. He inked Kirby on the covers of The Avengers #20–21 and Uncanny X-Men #14. The Grand Comics Database also cites "additional inks ... uncredited" on the Kirby layouts and George Tuska pencil and ink work of the "Captain America" feature in Tales of Suspense #71.
In circles concerned with copyright and intellectual property issues, Wood is known as the artist of the unsigned satire Disneyland Memorial Orgy poster, which first appeared in Paul Krassner's magazine The Realist.Krassner, Paul, and Wally Wood "The Disneyland Memorial Orgy", The Realist Archive Project: The Realist #74, May 1967, pp. 12–13. WebCitation archive. Credits listed at archive's May 1967 Contents Page. WebCitation archive. The poster depicts a number of copyrighted Disney characters in various unsavory activities (including sex acts and drug use), with huge dollar signs radiating from Cinderella's Castle. Wood himself, as late as 1981, when asked who did that drawing, said only, "I'd rather not say anything about that! It was the most pirated drawing in history! Everyone was printing copies of that. I understand some people got busted for selling it. I always thought Disney stuff was pretty sexy ... Snow White, etc." Comic Book Artist No. 14, p. 20 Disney took no legal action against either Krassner or The Realist but did sue a publisher of a "blacklight" version of the poster, who used the image without Krassner's permission. The case was settled out of court.
At DC Comics, he and Jim Shooter launched the Captain Action comic book series in 1968. (2026). 9780756667429, Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 9780756667429 The following year, Wood briefly served as inker of the Superboy series. Discovering from Roy Thomas that Jack Kirby had returned to DC in 1970, Wood called editor Joe Orlando in an attempt to get the assignment to ink Kirby's new work, but that role was already filled by Vince Colletta. That same year, Wood was a ghost artist for an episode of Prince Valiant. Wood worked on various series for DC between 1975 and 1977, producing several covers for Plop!McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 156: "From the lavish covers of Basil Wolverton and Wally Wood to one-page gags and stories too peculiar for even the likes of a Mad magazine, Plop! lived ... by its own macabre rules." and inking the pencil artwork of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby on Stalker and The Sandman respectively. He worked on the Hercules Unbound series as well, providing inks for José Luis García-López and Walt Simonson. (2026). 9781893905641, TwoMorrows Publishing. ISBN 9781893905641 Wood penciled and inked All Star Comics and contributed to the creation of Power Girl by exaggerating the size of her breasts. Active with the 1970s Academy of Comic Book Arts, Wood contributed to several editions of the annual ACBA Sketchbook. In one of his final assignments, Wood returned to a character he helped define, inking Frank Miller's cover of Daredevil #164 (May 1980). His last known mainstream credit was inking Wonder Woman #269 (July 1980).
Over several decades, numerous artists worked at the Wood Studio. Associates and assistants included Dan Adkins,Adkins in Reprinted in (2026). 9781893905429, TwoMorrows Publishing. ISBN 9781893905429 Richard Bassford, Howard Chaykin, Tony Coleman, Nick Cuti, Leo and Diane Dillon, Larry Hama, Russ Jones, Wayne Howard, Paul Kirchner, Joe Orlando, Bill Pearson, Al Sirois, Ralph Reese, Bhob Stewart, Tatjana Wood, and Mike Zeck.
In 1969, Wood created another independent comic, Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon, intended for his "Sally Forth" military readership as indicated in the ads and indicia. Artists Steve Ditko and Ralph Reese and writer Ron Whyte are credited with primary writer-artist Wood on three features: "Cannon", "The Misfits", Wally Wood's "Misfits" at An International Catalogue of Superheroes. WebCitation archive. and "Dragonella". A second magazine-format issue was published in 1976 by Wood and CPL Gang Publications. Larry Hama, one of Wood's assistants, said, "I did script about three Sally Forth stories and a few of the Cannon's. I wrote the main Sally Forth story in the first reprint book, which is actually dedicated to me, mostly because I lent Woody the money to publish it". JoeGuide.com: "Larry Hama: Writer & Artist", no date. Original link dead as of at least February 4, 2010. .
In 1980 and 1981, Wood did two issues of a completely pornographic comic book, titled Gang Bang. It featured two sexually explicit Sally Forth stories, and sexually explicit versions of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, titled So White and the Six Dorks; Terry and The Pirates, titled Perry and the Privates; Prince Valiant, titled Prince Violate; Superman and Wonder Woman, titled Stuporman Meets Blunder Woman; Flash Gordon, titled Flasher Gordon; and Tarzan titled Starzan. A third volume, published in 1983, contained three more sexually explicit parodies of Alice in Wonderland, titled Malice in Blunderland; a second Flash Gordon sendup titled Flesh Fucker Meets Women's Lib!; and The Wizard of Oz, titled The Blizzard of Ooze.
In 1980, Wood's original, three-page, 24-panel (not 22) version of "Panels" was published with the proper copyright notice in The Wallace Wood Sketchbook (Crouch/Wood 1980). Around 1981, Wood's ex-assistant Larry Hama, by then an editor at Marvel Comics, pasted up photocopies of Wood's copyrighted drawings on a single page, which Hama titled "Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work!!" (It was subtitled, "Or some interesting ways to get some variety into those boring panels where some dumb writer has a bunch of lame characters sitting around and talking for page after page!") Hama left out two of the original 24 panels as his photocopies were too faint to make out some of the lightest sketches. Hama distributed Wood's "elegantly simple primer to basic storytelling"McDonald, Heidi. "Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work: Unlimited Edition", The Beat, August 21, 2006. WebCitation archive. to artists in the Marvel bullpen, who in turn passed them on to their friends and associates.Johnson. Eventually, "22 Panels" made the rounds of just about every cartoonist or aspiring comic book artist in the industry and achieved its own iconic status.
Wood's "Panels That Always Work" is copyright Wallace Wood Properties, LLC as listed by the United States Copyright Office which assigned the work Registration Number VA0001814764.
For much of his adult life, Wood had chronic, unexplainable headaches. In the 1970s, following bouts with alcoholism, Wood had kidney failure. A stroke in 1978 caused a loss of vision in one eye. Faced with declining health and career prospects, he shot and killed himself in Los Angeles on
November 2, 1981. Toward the end of his life, an embittered Wood would say, according to one biography, "If I had it all to do over again, I'd cut off my hands."
In 2017 and 2018, Fantagraphics Books published The Life and Legend of Wallace Wood, a set of two hardcover books (, ), mainly compiled by his former assistant Bhob Stewart over a 30-year period. It is a revised, expanded, and uncensored version of his previous Wood book Against the Grain: Mad Artist Wallace Wood (TwoMorrows, 2003). It features personal recollections of Wood's friends, colleagues, and assistants, including John Severin, Al Williamson, Paul Krassner, Trina Robbins, Larry Hama, and Paul Levitz; previously unpublished artwork and photographs; and a detailed examination of his life and career. It was Stewart's last publishing project, but he did not live to see it in print.
(2026). 9781893905238, TwoMorrows Publishing. ISBN 9781893905238
Biographies, criticism, collections
Wally's World: The Brilliant Life & Tragic Death of Wally Wood, the World's 2nd Best Comic Book Artist by Steve Starger & J. David Spurlock, is a comprehensive biography. It was published in 2006 by Vanguard, which also publishes collections of Wood's comic book work, including Wally Wood: Strange Worlds of Science Fiction, Wally Wood: Eerie Tales of Crime & Horror, Wally Wood: Dare-Devil Aces, Wally Wood: Jungle Adventures, Wally Wood: Torrid Tales of Romance, new editions of The Wizard King books, and the Wally Wood Sketchbook.
Awards
Bibliography
DC Comics
EC Comics
Marvel Comics
Tower Comics
Warren Publishing
Gallery
Footnotes
External links
Categories: 1927 Births, 1981 Deaths, 1981 Suicides, 20th-century American Illustrators, 20th-century American Writers, American Artists With Disabilities, American Comic Strip Cartoonists, American Erotic Artists, American Fantasy Artists, American Horror Artists, American People Of Finnish Descent, American Sailors, American Science Fiction Artists, American Writers With Disabilities, Artists From Minnesota, Artists Who Died By Suicide, Comic Book Publishers, Dc Comics People, Ec Comics, Golden Age Comics Creators, Inkpot Award Winners, Mad Cartoonists, Marvel Comics People, People From Menahga, Minnesota, Prince Valiant, Silver Age Comics Creators, Suicides By Firearm In California, United States Army Soldiers, United States Merchant Mariners Of World War Ii, Will Eisner Award Hall Of Fame Inductees, Writers From Minnesota
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