Alex Toth Critiques Steve Rude's Pencils on Jonny Quest Comic Book Art

From the 1980s: David Marshall shares a page by page, panel by panel critique of Steve Rude's pencils by Alex Toth.

Steve wanted to get Toth's feedback, so he faxed over (I told you this was the eighties!) his penciled JONNY QUEST comic book pages -- and Toth got very nitty- gritty.

For instance, here's Toth on the splash page:

I won't mince words! You're too good to be so bad! Right up front! Your 'Quest' splash is fake everything! From palm tree, camel (!?), tarp, supplies, 'copter, shack, pumps, incidental props! Terrain, etc. You could have researched the lot (since it was your story's setting) via photobooks, mags, like National Geographic, etc., etc., and your library or bookshop! The fakery's so obvious, in the most important splash, that it detracts from what follows — you cripple credibility at the start (yours! And the story's!) by sloughing off the setting and integrity of your depiction of it. Christ, man, you weren't asked to depict another planet! Just (what I assume to be) North Africa or the Middle East — (I can't read your copy!) — So why didn't you document the locale?! Authenticate it?! Or, fake it, one helluvalot better!

The whole thing is here.

Hat tip to David Campiti!

EDIT: My sincere thanks to John Platt for pointing out (very politely) that I had initially called this "Alex Toth Critiques Dave Stevens' Pencils on Jonny Quest Comic Book Art" when it was actually Steve Rude's pencils. I really must go and get more coffee now ….