FELDSTEIN: The Mad Life and Fantastic Art of Al Feldstein! Hardcover – August 20, 2013

Having rationed myself a few chapters a night to prolong the inevitable completion of this wondrous tome, it pleases me to report that Feldstein is, and should be, a seminal volume in any comic book enthusiast's library. I can't recall another book on a comic book personality, perhaps with the exception of Will Elder: The Mad Playboy of Art, that was as encompassing and vast as this book. The difference, though, is one of candor as well as rawness. Feldstein is chock full of complete comic book stories, photos, ephemera AND original art contrasted with the same piece as printed. We also get personal details that most books like this tend to leave out....somewhat in a warts and all vein. I found this book to be compelling all the way through as a fan of the history of EC Comics, Mad Magazine, the Golden Age of comics and the struggle between the commercial artist and the fine artist. It's a beautifully laid out work with plenty to look at and ogle, but unlike a lot of monographs there is also a great deal of informative text. I think anyone with a casual interest in the history of comics would be bowled over by the details, the color and the heft of this important work. I think it's great, too, that Mr. Feldstein is still around to be able to dig it. So many of his contemporaries have left us, and he's one of the pioneers of the medium who is still with us and can give us his view of it, and the people who pretty much put the whole thing together. Thank you Grant Geissman for a terrific job. I own and have read all your books thus far dealing with EC, and this one is probably my favorite. You've outdone any expectations I ever had for the book and it's a total bargain at twice the list price....on Amazon, it's a no-brainer!!!

Grant Geissman has produced several books about Entertaining Comics and MAD but has outdone himself with this volume. Lavishly illustrated it traces the career of EC Editor Al Feldstein but is much more as a history of their comics line, still held in high regard as the best marriage of writing and art in 1950's comics. In addition to the pictorial aspects it is also extremely well written with numerous quotes carefully placed so that the material flows smoothly and captures the readers attention. If one has even the slightest interest in EC comics and its history, this is THE book to have. --Ron Parker, former publisher of legendary EC fanzine "Hoohah!"

May 4, 2014 Update Review: I was saddened to read of the recent passing of Al Feldstein. This book is a long awaited marvel of what I consider to be THE Artist of most all other Comic Artists. Al Feldstein truly fits that title. His works of art done for the early EC Comics are phenomenally illustrated. I am really fascinated with Feldstein's handling of dreary rainy nighttime scenes, suggestive of inevitable doom for an unmerciful killer trying to cover his tracks, only to have his past misdeeds finally catch up to him. I recall a Feldstein EC story which had a shady character stalking a lady passenger on a night train ride which depicted an atmosphere of imminent doom. The detailed art of his splash panels kept me captivated from beginning to the stories conclusion. Those character facial expressions are among my favorites of Feldstein's works of art. My only wish...if only the book had been done in bolder text to accommodate my aging vision, and done on non-glossy pages. Nevertheless, I am extremely grateful to see this outstanding artist get his just recognition. Hopefully, there will be forthcoming archival hardback editions, giving his fan-following complete comic stories from the Al Feldstein vaults. Al, Thanks for the wealth of art you've left us.

Feldstein is the most enjoyable book I have read in a long time. I savoured it for days, poring over every bit of art, and beguiled by the story. Though it is a good biography of one man, Al Feldstein, it also clarifies and explains a lot about E.C. and Mad, exploring Feldstein's relationship to colleagues, chiefly publisher William Gains. If you are fascinated by this era (the high watermark for comics) this book will turn you into a fly on the wall, overhearing legendary conversations, puzzling over fateful decisions. The book has an ideal ratio of art to text. The quality of reproductions is superb. The format is large, and there are no weird, distracting borders, etc. that graphic designers sometimes mar their books with. It's well researched, taking advantage of primary source material, the recollections of the master himself.

I got this book just as Al Feldstein passed away. It is a fitting tribute to a man who edited and scripted many of the classic EC horror and science-fiction comic books in the 1950s, as well as editing MAD magazine after Harvey Kurtzman jumped ship in the mid 1950s. The book prints his artwork in full color and many of the images came from original art. This is a great book and I highly recommend it. The text also is well written and informative.

I was first introduced to EC comics by the first printings of the Mad paperbacks like The Mad Reader & others back in the early 60s. I joined an underground club then & never left. I'm a huge fan of Al Feldstein's comic art, especially his EC work, so I have been looking forward to this book. It doesn't disappoint. A large book which is in beautiful color containing original art, splash pages, some entire stories reprinted, EC ads, early good girl comics, original paintings & early photos of inside the EC offices along with extensive text & much, much more. There is a section in the back of his more recent paintings & recreations of EC covers. The western realistic paintings are amazing, who would have guessed? This book avoids what I call the 'computerized' graphics look of a few of Geissman's earlier books & keeps it more vintage in feel which I personally prefer. IDW did a great job with high end printing & paper stock. If your an EC fan don't hesitate, you will be glad you bought this book. All hail EC!

Albert B. Feldstein is a rare mix, showing not only the creativity to succeed as an artist and writer, but also the editorial, organisational and business acumens to steer the ECs and MAD Magazine, commercially; he also demonstrates an interesting taste in neckties!ABF has been ridiculously underrated in some quarters, with the comics hall of fame honouring both his MAD predecessor Harvey Kurtzman and EC publisher Bill Gaines in precedence (I feel that these three could have at least been treated simultaneously).Even for the cover price, I was immediately pleasantly surprised by the size and thickness of this hardback. Author Grant Geissman has been described (in the `Journal of MADness' fanzine by editor John E. Hett - himself no slouch when it comes to MAD fandom) as MAD's number one fan; and this Feldstein biog has to be praised in pulling together this long overdue, warts-and-all compilation of sentiments, plus past and current work, including a number of hitherto-unaired items from Feldstein's personal archive.Among those I had not seen before, my favourite is, ironically, not by Feldstein: it is of Feldstein at his drawing board, depicted by Jack Davis (an artist whose work I didn't really like as a teenager), a trademark Davis rush-job with solid-looking objects and strong linework. From Feldstein himself, there are many great examples, including reproductions of the same drawing as both original line and printed colour, with differences so stark that the two versions almost seem like separate entities; again ironically, the addition of colour sometimes dampens down the beautiful original black line.There are superb, atmospheric images of the younger Gaines and Feldstein, poring over EC work; and I enjoyed the (what I would call) interim snaps of Gaines from the MAD trips, between his younger, initial crewcut style and the more hippie older look for which he is perhaps best remembered.Grant has pulled together material from many sources, and every time I thought he might be about to `miss a trick', GG came good - as with the worthy-of-repeating comment from the World Encyclopaedia of Comics that Feldstein's depiction of `static horror' - freezing one shocking moment in time - has yet to be successfully replicated.From early on, Al seems to have been capable of concocting a tight script; and it's noticeable that he didn't take the `easy line', often introducing a subsidiary plot idea before the narrative ends. Furthermore, a soft version of the `O. Henry ending' is already in place in the teen books, an integral part of the EC horrors; and, incidentally (if subliminally), of MAD's film and TV satires.Geissman compliments Feldstein on the cleanliness of his pencil work but, to be honest, everything Al did seems to have been clean, right up to the photo-realistic style of some of his current, framed art; plus his ability to copy-cast using an old-fashioned typewriter (it's tricky enough on a modern, computerised word-processor).Feldstein admits that his writing for comics was wordy, with the size of the text boxes `forcing' the panels to be generally wider than they are high. Sometime MAD artist Harry North once commented to me that this was a regrettable constraint when applied to an illustrator as good as Mort Drucker, for example.We proceed through the phases of Feldstein's career chapter by chapter. One problem with the MAD story is that is has been told a number of times by others (I'm hoping the next MAD book might exclude the Haiti trip!) Some stuff was new to me, including the puzzling attitude of Lyle Stuart; and Feldstein's brush with 3-D comics.I had previously read an earlier in-depth interview with Feldstein, post-MAD, in one of the Comics Journal-type fanzines; and this had seemed `edgier'. It's possible that Al has mellowed since then, especially considering the more delicate state of his health; and I'm sad that certain aspects of his earlier relationships remain unresolved.Kudos to both Feldstein and Geissman, without whose toil in getting this work published (let alone in compiling such a comprehensive collection), such a deserved tribute would probably not exist.

This is one of the best books I've read about the world of EC Comics. Many other books have featured the work of ECs superlative artists such as Wallace Wood, Al Williamson, Jack Davis et al, but this is the first - I think - that focuses on the career of ECs editor of the horror and science fiction titles and later editor of the magazine version of MAD after its transformation from a comic book to magazine and the departure from EC of its creator, Harvey Kurtzman.This terrific book goes into great detail about Feldstein's professional career, his relationships with other EC contributors and his own tremendous creative input into the EC comics line. It also doesn't shy away from his often troubled personal life.It is a large book, incredibly well illustrated and printed on good stock, as we've come to expect from IDW. the quality and presentation is simply breathtaking.This is a splendid celebration of a much underappreciated talent and represents outstanding value for the money.Very highly recommended for all comic art fans.

A really great tribute - and long overdue! A Beautiful book! Al deserves so much credit, not just as a great artist, but also as a great writer for EC. This book goes some way towards rectifying this oversight.

Great package but the content could have been so much better Very little of is real work A big disappointment in many ways for an expensive book