Genius, Animated: The Cartoon Art of Alex Toth

Alex Toth: Genius #3

by Dean Mullaney (Editor), Bruce Canwell (Text), Alex Toth (Illustrator)

The Library of American Comics concludes its in-depth look at Alex Toth's life and art with Genius, Animated. This companion volume to 2011's award-winning Genius, Isolated and 2013's Genius, Illustrated zooms in to focus on Toth's groundbreaking contributions in the field of animation and features many rarely-seen or never-before-published pieces of art, much of it uncovered in the archives of Hanna-Barbera Studios! Featuring presentation illustrations for unsold series, character designs and storyboards for old favorites such as Space Ghost, SHAZZAN, and Superfriends, and work taken from both the beginning (Space Angel) and end (Bionic 6) of Toth's "Saturday kidvid" career, this oversized artbook features observations from animation professionals about his work, plus Alex's own commentary on the cartoon shows that shaped a generation. Genius, Animated is filled, cover-to-cover, with must-see material, making it essential reading for Toth-fans and animation enthusiasts alike.

Genres: Comics, Art

328 pages, Hardcover

First published May 6, 2014

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is more an artbook compared to the previous two installments of the Alex Toth Genius series - and man, what artwork!

[Tim Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book covering the life and work of the incomparable Alex Toth. This one is really a pure art book covering Toth's time in animation. It's jam packed with character designs, model sheets, storyboards and proposal drawings. Toth was unquestionably one of the most important animators of the 60s and in to the 70s. What we get here is a sampling of the huge impact he had on the Saturday mornings of those of us who grew up in those decades. The genius behind Space Ghost, Birdman, The Herculoids, The Super Friends and so very much more. This is just a gorgeous love-letter to Saturday mornings and an amazing artist who made them so much better.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

The behind the scenes stories are fine but you're not reading this book for the words, you're here for the gorgeous art and character designs of Alex Toth. Truly inspiring stuff.

[Michael Emond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heaped praise on the first volume of this trilogy and I will continue it for this book. I loved it. It is one of those books that I not only love, I am proud to have it on my bookshelf it looks so darn fine. A standing ovation to the creators of this book – this was obviously a labour of love for them and it shows. Why do I love it? Well it contains page after gorgeous page of Alex Toth’s work in the field of animation. All 25 years of it. There are many character designs, pages of coloured presentation art and, most exciting to me, story boards for two Super-friends episodes. Very cool. The one complaint you could have is that compared to volume one (I haven’t read vol 2…yet) this one has only a couple dozen pages of text. So it is mostly 300 pages of artwork. But what artwork! So this is a book for lovers of Toth, animation, or gorgeous art books.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of animation work done by Alex Toth during his career. Unfortunately, much of his production work was lost or thrown away, so his significant contributions to numerous influential animation productions is lost to time. This collection does an admirable job of assembling production sketches and character model sheets for Space Ghost, Jonny Quest, Birdman, Challenge of the Super-Friends, and even storyboards from a Super Friends episode, as well s other Hanna Barbera productions. The storyboards are a very interesting opportunity to see the combination of artistry, design, staging, and overall craft that Toth possessed. A great text for animators, artists, and fans.

[Tim Lapetino · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is mostly an art book focusing on the fantastic animation art and designs of legendary artist Alex Toth. His work is simultaneously of its era and totally timeless. A great expanse of work and variety is included, like designs from Super Friends, Space Ghost, and the Herculoids. Highly recommend to designers, comic fans, and others. Really makes me want to check out the other books in this set of three.