Mad Man's Drum: A Novel in Woodcuts

By Lynd Ward

"Ward is ranked among the finest American wood engravers of the 20th century." -- artoftheprint.com
One of the finest American wood engravers of the twentieth century and an outstanding artist of any era, Lynd Ward (1905-85) created a series of fantastic visual novels. The powerful imagery and psychological intensity of his wordless works have elicited comparisons to the writings of Hawthorne, Melville, and Poe, and they have exercised an enormous influence over latter-day graphic novelists.
Ward's tutelage included studying under the direction of German woodcut and engraving master Hans Alexander Mueller. He published his first book, Gods' Man: A Novel in Woodcuts, in 1929. Like its successors, including Mad Man's Drum, Gods' Man consists solely of Ward's woodcuts, telling its story through imagery alone.
Ward's hauntingly rendered works have been honored with such prestigious awards as the Library of Congress Award, the National Academy of Design Print Award, the New York Times Best Illustrated Award, the Caldecott Medal, and the Regina Award.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486445003
• ISBN13: 9780486445007
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

This book had an enormous effect on me as a child

I grew up in the Chicago area and my best friend's mother was wonderfully unconventional. She had this book and happily let me read it when around 1956 when I was about 11 and in 5th grade. The story and the art was so vivid and powerful. It wasn't until I was in my 40's that I purchased the book, and it was exactly as I remembered it. My grandchild fell in love with it as well and it now resides in their library.

You can learn from this book

I've only recently come across the work of Lynd Ward. Originally published in 1930, Mad Man's drum is a true graphic novel, telling a story only through wordless woodcuts. [Rather than a collection of masquerading comic books bound between hard covers.] Every page of this graphic novel is a lesson in woodcut technique. I've always liked Dover books as publishers. Their books are well made and inexpensive. For 10 bucks or so, this one is a bargain tutorial for any wood-be woodcut artist.

What an amazing novel this is!

I first saw this book when a friend of mine bought a first edition for two dimes and a nickel thirty years ago. I almost stole it from him! This is one of the most fascinating novels ever made. Lynd Ward was an absolute genius. He helped pioneer the graphic novel. The wood cuts are sublime and filled with detail. What wonderful compositions! What a story! I've read and reread this novel many a time and I seem to see something different in it (and myself) every time. I was delighted to see Mr. Ward's works republished in a paperback format that decently represents the original. Since the original hardback version can cost a fortune, it's nice to have this so I can give it to others and let them experience this magical thing. Check out his other woodcut novels too!

excellent development of a pictoral novel!

the progression of the story was excellent, and it is great to see the origins of the popular graphic novel today!

Wonderful, cryptic, and mute

"God's Man" (1929) was Ward's first wordless, illustrated novel. It was a hard act to follow: masterfully illustrated, articulate, and thought provoking. "Mad Man's Drum" (1930) tops that remarkable achievement. In it, Ward shows even finer skills in his demanding medium, more evocative imagery, and more baffling turns of narration. The result isn't just a pointless puzzle, but a starting point for an exploration in thought, the kind that rewards the reader no matter where it leads. The format is stark: one black and white image per page, for over 140 pages. The nature of woodcut, in the style used here, is that there are no greys. The black-and-white blacks are truly black, and whites blank white. Ward overcomes that with mastery of fine line, and with "gray" carefully modulated in their alternation. One scene, an optical effect of light streaming though a cathedral window, is simply mind-boggling. Dover has printed these images beautifully in dense darks on heavy, opaque paper. Part of the reason that this book has been so long out of print may be that the technology for doing justice to Ward's images has only just matured enough to make books like this affordable. Don't assume that low price means inferior reproduction - Dover has created (or recreated) a book truly worth having. //wiredweird

"Read" several times to understand better and better

This is a novel in wood cuts. It is a history of a family in the slave trade. You will be captivated by this story (remember,there are no printed words) each time you carefully go thru it again and again, page by page.