From: Steve Stiles <swstiles at comcast.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Al Williamson, 1931 -2010
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:08:34 -0400
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

On Jun 17, 2010, at 9:53 AM, Michael Walsh wrote:

> I expect on Mr White & Mr Stiles will recognize the name.
>
> The Locusmag.com obit <http://www.locusmag.com/News/2010/06/al-
> williamson-1=
> 931-2010/> is a thumbnail synopsis of his life & career.
>
> The usual wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Williamson - with
> some =
> sample of his art.
>
> More of his work:
> http://lambiek.net/artists/w/williamson_a.htm
> http://www.linesandcolors.com/2009/10/23/al-williamson/
> http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_y3W81YXu5p4/TBbPQEyf-qI/AAAAAAAABz4/
> EqeSDOI_ohw/s=
> 1600/upheaval.jpg
> http://www.comicsbeat.com/2010/06/14/al-williamson-1931-2010/
>
> And yes, the women were sexy.  And the men handsome.
>
> Undoubtedly due to my peripatetic youth, I never read the EC
> comics.  I =
> first came across them in 1964-65 with the Ballantine paperback
> reprints.  =
> Great stuff.  One story that stands out - and got EC into trouble
> with the =
> Comics Code Authority, and not over sex and/or violence - when first =
> published in 1953 (artist was Joe Orlando):
>
> http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/54803.html
>
> And some details about the dust up with the Comics Code Authority: =
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EC_Comics#.22Judgment_Day.22
>
> Damn subversive comics.
>
> mjw

I don't have time to check out those links tonight, but I do have
plenty of Williamson's work in one form or another, the best being in
Russ Cochran's hardcover E.C. reprints. My first introduction to his
E.C. s.f. work was at my local barbershop, since mom wouldn't let me
buy anything of E.C.s but MAD: that was WEIRD SCIENCE FANTASY #25
with his cover & story for Bradbury's "Sound of Thunder" --it was
*magnificent*, and I used to look forward to getting my haircut just
so I could look at that battered issue (which I persuaded Tony to
hold for me for a very long time).

Williamson became friends with my editor/writer, Mark Schultz,
(XENOZOIC TALES), and I hear tell he didn't care for my stuff, which
he regarded as too stiff. That was okay, since it was probably true,
especially in the early stories, but then I considered Al's later
stuff to be too posed and reliant on photo swipes (so there --nyah!).

My favorite of Williamson's later work was his inking for Rick
Leonardi's SPIDER MAN 2099 --a good penciller for a good series, and
probably none of youse in WSFA have ever seen the mag...

--Steve Stiles