Books 2 Buy

How could a whole book on Murphy Anderson, filled with his life story and examples of his art, not be terrific? Well, if you're looking for controversy or negative tales, you might be disappointed. Murphy is much-loved throughout the industry and by the readers. The worst thing I've ever heard about him is that some of the artists whose pencil art he inked didn't like how much his style dominated the finished product.

As a fan of everything he's ever worked on, I have mixed feelings there. On the one hand, I think artists ought to have their work look the way they want it. On the other hand, that Gil Kane art inked by Murphy sure looked great. On yet a third hand, I kind of wish no one had ever wanted Murphy to ink their work because then he might have done more drawing all by himself. His solo work on The Spectre, Hawkman and The Atomic Knights (to name three faves) was wonderful. R.C. Harvey, who wrote this book, did a fine job of selecting good samples of Murphy's work (not that there are a lot of bad ones) and presenting and annotating them in a way that presents a pretty solid portrait of a fine craftsman.

Many of Murphy's associates are quoted, all raving about the man and his work, and there's a nice section devoted to his rarely-seen (by fans) work for Will Eisner and the Army. If you're at all a fan of Murphy's work (i.e., you are sighted) then hustle over to the TwoMorrows website and order a copy of The Life and Art of Murphy Anderson. Or wait until I recommend one more TwoMorrows book twomorrow. Then order them all at once.