The legendary artist, Wallace ‘Wally’ Wood, died on November 2, 1981. That date comes with an asterisk. He was last seen on October 31. Sometime between then and November 3, Wally shot himself. He was fifty-four years old.

That detail was something even I--who have considered myself a Wally Wood fan for quite a few years--did not know until last night. I was always under the impression that he'd drank himself to death. That assumption right there says something about Wally's undeserved obscurity and his tragic life.

My time is short this evening--research on this led me down quite a rabbit hole and that took way more time than I'd planned--so I'm not going to rewrite and summarize everything I read. Wood's major impact on comics and his tremendous output are just too much for me to write up in the time I have at hand.

There are three excellent essays out there on Wally's career, one of which is mostly concerned with his death and legacy. Those articles/essays are: Wallace Wood - Lambiek Comiclopedia, Notes Toward a Future Understanding of Wally Wood - The Comics Journal and TwoMorrows Publishing - Alter Ego #8 - Wood Biography. Click those hyperlinks if you want to dig deep into the tragic life of a truly gifted artist.

While Wood was a good--sometimes great--plotter and writer, the main thing he is known for is his art. Below, you can find a sampling of his work. Raise a glass to his restless shade, sword-brothers. He died far too young.

Wally Wood from his absolute glory days at EC Comics.

A Wally Wood cover painting for Galaxy magazine, 1957. He was a mainstay of their art department in the late ‘50s and was soon doing covers for their line of SF novels.

The Cat #1 was my first encounter with Wally Wood’s art—I think.

This cameo, done for a Marvel’s Tower of Shadow #5, is more than a mere frame for the story. From his childhood, Wally loved to escape to other times and other worlds through his artwork and the stories he told with it.

Word on the street is that a new, revised and expanded edition of Wally Wood’s Strange Worlds of Science Fiction is at the printers now. It is all part of the run-up to the Wally Wood centennial celebration next year.

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