Customer Reviews

Will Elder: The MAD Playboy of Art

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I was introduced to Bill (or Will, if you prefer) Elder in the early 1950's when I discovered MAD the comic. I had been a fan of Sunday color comics and Superman/Batman as a kid but the comic art of Bill (that's how he signed his work in MAD) Elder
was so stunningly exceptional it was an instant hit with me and my friends. I especially liked all the "extra gags" hidden around the panels that made reading his stories take just a little longer. And made re-reading a must. I followed Mr. Elder through MAD, Humbug, Trump, HELP! and finally Playboy. Collecting his other contributions to popular magazines, his "Hateful Thoughts" collection and covers whenever I saw one. His work is so distinctive in it's clean clear sometimes photographic images, yet so diversified with his ability to mimic other artist's styles. You can be fooled into thinking you're really reading a L'il Abner story until you catch his signature on the splash panel. I am delighted that there is so much here in this book from the full length of his career, but I would really hope that there is a volume 2 that picks up the missing pieces from Goodman Beaver and a few others. MAD has been reprinted as has Little Annie Fannie. We need the complete Elder to enjoy over and over for years to come. Complimenting the fantastic art is the narrative highlighting Elder's life and other achievements. This marvelous book will be a welcome addition to anyone's bookshelf. Especially if you have a funny bone.

Will Elder, as you know was one of the original EC Comics artists. Along with Harvey Kurtzman he was a part of the first 25 issues of Mad Magazine.
His amazing art helped to define just what Mad magazine was all about. To put it in words, this man went plumb-loco, and just about created lampoon art all on his own.

This big lavish 392 page book is the document of Will's life and his art. Over 100 pages of his comic art is reproduced here, and this material is a feast for the eyes, for anyone who enjoys comics and good humor.

Besides Mad, Will's work from many other publications are featured here as well. The humor magazines: Panic, Trump, Humbug, Help! and Pageant are all represented with lot's of his work not seen in decades. The 'Liitle Annie Fanny" and "Goodman Beaver" Stories {teaming with Harvey Kurtzman, again} are here in bulk as well.

Paintings, portraits, still lifes, stetches and drawings from Will's personal files show another side of his talents.

This book is one of the very best that I have come across on the subject of a comics artist...{and I have seen a few!}. It is a massive volume about an American original...The one and only...Villie Elder !!!

Just buy this already-- here's a book with great production values that features one of the great artists (of any kind!) of the 20th century, Villy Elder. "Genius" it says-- and for once it's fully justified. Comic genius, artistic genius, wiseass genius: Elder is the real thing.

I'm not going to fault Daniel Clowes for including selections from Elder's work available elsewhere (MAD satires on "Gasoline Alley", "Archie", etc) or for NOT including the complete "Goodman Beaver Goes Playboy," which is apparently under copyright limitations from the ARCHIE publishers (and is available elswhere on the 'net!) However I would have preferred more complete sequences from TRUMP and HUMBUG - which are not readily available elsewhere - and fewer examples of Elder's "straight" artwork - one still-life fruitbowl is plenty, thanks! How about more on the "A Night at the Castle" and "With trembling pseudopods" illos, which are in any event reproduced elsewhere?

Gary Groth and Greg Sadowski's Will Elder: Mad Playboy Of Art provides an in-depth retrospective of the American satirist known for his MAD comics. Will Elder packs in over a hundred pages of black and white and color illustrations from both popular and obscure magazines. The Goodman Beaver stories are reprinted for the first time in their original format, while paintings and sketches from Elder's other works document the personality and achievements of a zany artist.

Will Elder is one of the greatest artists in American history. Elder's works have appeared in magazines ranging from Mad to Playboy. Many of Elder's best works are parodies of such comic strips as Archie and Lil' Abner. Elder eventually became a full-time artist at Playboy Magazine and was one of Hugh Hefner's top assistants.

This is a must have book for all Will Elder fans.