Matt Baker: The Art of Glamour

Are ALL the copies improperly trimmed on the right edge? For 30 bucks it would be nice to have some professional finishing on what is otherwise a very nice book.

I wanted to be thrilled by this book, for Matt Baker deserves the full, lavish appraisal in book form that some of the other golden age greats have received of late. Unfortunately, while good, this book falls a bit short. From the paper stock to the layout and design, all in all, the book feels like a hardcover version of a typical issue of TwoMorrows' fine magazine, Alter Ego. I love Alter Ego, but that's damning with faint praise for a $40 hardcover book. The reproductions range from good to just acceptable, but there are quite a few nice photos from the Baker family's scrapbooks. Much of the book is given over to Q&A-style interviews, some much better edited than others, and to an unnecessarily long checklist: even a little layout finesse could have cut the page count down considerably, and considering it's unannotated, it would have been better time spent making sure the Grand Comic Book Database was up to date on this score. But the checklist constitutes almost 20% of this book's pages, so the publisher probably needed it to pad the book out. Other nitpicky curiosities include the weak montage-style cover, the book starting immediately on page 1 with a comic story with the book's title page appearing much later at page 33 (just strange), and the fact that almost half of this books' 192 pages are printed in black and white when at this price point a full color book might be more the norm these days.I would also like to point out that currently the only other review for this book is by Daniel Burke, who manages to "name drop" his own Matt Baker self-published books not once or twice, but THREE times in the span of his review. Don't be fooled...I made the mistake of ordering  Matt Baker. With Love. Issue 3. (Volume 3) , and it is easily the worst comic reprint volume I own in my collection (and I probably have about 300 assorted volumes of comic reprints). These "Matt Baker With Love" books are a disgrace to Matt Baker and feel like a shoddy cash grab.At least "Matt Baker: The Art of Glamour" has its heart in the right place, and actually brings us some much needed new insight into Baker's life and work. For that, TwoMorrow's book is a welcome addition to my library.

I am huge Matt Baker fan. That should be noted. I thought this was a good book. It contains some revelations that seem to contradict themselves. Was Matt a lady man's or gay or both? There are claims by people that knew him to both points of view. None of it matters, but it's odd that it came up. I wonder if a book on Steve Ditko will come out claiming he is gay?I wonder why they chose to OUT Matt Baker, and in no other Comic History book is anyone OUTED like this. I am not sure why the publisher did this. I suppose it's a sign of the times?Does the sexual orientation of any artist matter? I wonder.The books focus is on Matt's art and his career and it rocks. A quick and fun read.If you are a Matt Baker fan this is a nice book and contains a check list of his art. Along with the "Matt Baker with Love" series this is nice addition to the reprinted works of this artist.The real things of interest for me in this book, was the information on his art career. Where he worked and when. The timeline of his life. "Matt Baker with Love" the series of tribute books, also here on Amazon, prints in full color 100's of pages of Matt's art. Something this book does not. This book is a series of interviews and short commentaries by people that knew Matt or were around during those early years.This book had some great art but I yearned for more. And color. The (final pages in the book) reprint from the original boards, a complete TIGER GIRL story from FIGHT #57. This was worth the price of the book.Not the "complete" volume fans might yearn for, but between this and other Matt Baker tribute books, (Matt Baker with Love) you get a great overview of this wonderful and talented artist. For fans of Matt Baker this is a good book to own.

Matt Baker was a prolific African-American comic book artist from the mid-1940s to his death from heart disease in the late 1950s, when Baker was only in his late 30s. He drew a variety of different types of comics, including some superhero, sic-fi, and horror issues, but his greatest renown is for his work on romance comics. Because interest in Baker developed relatively recently, decades after his death, not a great deal has been known about him. The authors attempt to fill in the blanks by interviewing some of his surviving relatives and friends. The interviews make up the bulk of the book and are interesting, but sometimes contradictory. For instance, Baker's best friend delivers the news that Baker was gay, while his relatives describe him as being a lady's man.In addition to the interviews, the book also reprints a few of Baker's stories from different genres, including a Phantom Lady story and a Canteen Kate story.For collectors of Baker's comics, the most valuable aspect of this book is probably the extensive checklist. Because a good deal of Baker's work was cranked out at the Iger Studio in collaboration with other artists and because other romance comics artists often attempted to copy his style, there is an ongoing debate about which comics contain Baker's art and which don't. The checklist printed here takes a relatively conservative line, casting doubt on whether some work widely accepted as being drawn by Baker is actually his work.While this book is far from being a definitive account of either Baker's life or his work -- at this point, such an account is probably impossible -- I can't imagine that a Baker fan won't find it to be very worthwhile reading.

Matt Baker is virtually unknown in the UK, in spite of having a successful career in the US comics industry. Probably most famous for his PHANTOM LADY comics, Baker had a very attractive, lush style that made his female characters very easy on the eye indeed. Sadly, he had a short life, passing away at the young age of 38. However, he left a legacy of superb art, much of which has been gathered together in this handsome volume. The book features interviews with Baker himself, as well as friends and family. A nice touch is a bound-in reproduction of a complete PHANTOM LADY comic. Highly recommended and extremely good value.

Contains lots of excellent Baker art. Essential for fans of good (and bad) girls.

This is a great book for those that want to get a feel of what Matt Baker was all about. Lots of great illustrations and even some full stories reprinted just as they first appeared. I didn't know much about Baker before I got this book, just that he was a master of "Good Girl" art. This guy is so much more. This book shows all the facets of his short life. A must-have for those that are Baker collectors as there is a full Baker checklist. The book comprises a series of articles written for various comic publications and is from what I can see the most complete book to date on this legendary artist.