The best eye candy money can buy
The life of Bill Ward, good girl artist. By Eric Kroll
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After college Bill got a job with Jack Binder, drawing background art for one of the first big comic book production houses. Binder moved his shop from the Bronx to Englewood, New Jersey. As his business expanded, Binder asked Ward to find other artists to help at the shop. Ward got dozens of his fraternity brothers hired which, unbeknownst to them, helped begin the 'Golden Era' of comic books. Ward concedes that this was one of the high points in his life. He and his co-workers got to play baseball at lunch in a nearby field. Bill was a sports nut his entire life - darts, golf, and baseball, among others. Besides, he was enjoying the camaraderie he experienced working side by side with talented artist friends, day after day. The war tore the group apart, but also opened up opportunities. Reed Crandall, creator of Blackhawk, got drafted. George Brenner, head editor at Quality Comics, hired Bill to replace him.
Then Bill got drafted into the army and stationed at a naval base in Rhode Island. To earn extra money, Ward began drawing for Wendell Crowley, his buddy from the Binder days, who was working for Fawcett Publications. Within a short time, Ward was approached by the military to draw a comic strip to boost morale that would appear in the local naval base newspaper. Ack-Ack-Amy was born, which later evolved into Torchy, a statuesque, curvaceous blonde bombshell that was probably the most famous paper woman to come out of World War II! After Ward got out of the army, he returned to Quality Comics to work on Romance Comics. After all, he was now well versed in drawing the female form. Soon he was recreating Torchy and by 1949, she had her own book (comic).
Several years later, comics came under attack by the Federal government and that, coupled with the advent of television, meant the Golden Age of comics including Torchy, came to an end.
Ward shifted his hand to 'girlie' art. He found his savior in Abe Goodman, publisher of Humorama, which encompassed dozens of small gag cartoon digests. Bill favored conte crayon because he felt he could work faster. The nature of the medium necessitated big pieces of art work. These doe-eyed, big breasted women are the signature for Bill Ward. Much of what is in The Wonderful World of Bill Ward comes from this period. The women are comely, the images humorous, or bawdy. Raunchy, yet innocent.
Page [1] [2] [3]
Page [1] [2] [3]
After college Bill got a job with Jack Binder, drawing background art for one of the first big comic book production houses. Binder moved his shop from the Bronx to Englewood, New Jersey. As his business expanded, Binder asked Ward to find other artists to help at the shop. Ward got dozens of his fraternity brothers hired which, unbeknownst to them, helped begin the 'Golden Era' of comic books. Ward concedes that this was one of the high points in his life. He and his co-workers got to play baseball at lunch in a nearby field. Bill was a sports nut his entire life - darts, golf, and baseball, among others. Besides, he was enjoying the camaraderie he experienced working side by side with talented artist friends, day after day. The war tore the group apart, but also opened up opportunities. Reed Crandall, creator of Blackhawk, got drafted. George Brenner, head editor at Quality Comics, hired Bill to replace him.
Then Bill got drafted into the army and stationed at a naval base in Rhode Island. To earn extra money, Ward began drawing for Wendell Crowley, his buddy from the Binder days, who was working for Fawcett Publications. Within a short time, Ward was approached by the military to draw a comic strip to boost morale that would appear in the local naval base newspaper. Ack-Ack-Amy was born, which later evolved into Torchy, a statuesque, curvaceous blonde bombshell that was probably the most famous paper woman to come out of World War II! After Ward got out of the army, he returned to Quality Comics to work on Romance Comics. After all, he was now well versed in drawing the female form. Soon he was recreating Torchy and by 1949, she had her own book (comic).
Several years later, comics came under attack by the Federal government and that, coupled with the advent of television, meant the Golden Age of comics including Torchy, came to an end.
Ward shifted his hand to 'girlie' art. He found his savior in Abe Goodman, publisher of Humorama, which encompassed dozens of small gag cartoon digests. Bill favored conte crayon because he felt he could work faster. The nature of the medium necessitated big pieces of art work. These doe-eyed, big breasted women are the signature for Bill Ward. Much of what is in The Wonderful World of Bill Ward comes from this period. The women are comely, the images humorous, or bawdy. Raunchy, yet innocent.
Page [1] [2] [3]
The Wonderful World of Bill Ward, King of the Glamour Girls
Hardcover, 26 x 34 cm (10.2 x 13.4 in.), 344 pages
$ 59.99
$ 59.99
Ward's world: a titillating voyage into the paradise of pin-up
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