The Greensboro, N.C., News-Record profiles local comics retailer John Hitchcock, whose 25-year correspondence with artist Alex Toth is collected in Dear John: The Alex Toth Doodle Book.
“I’ve corresponded with a lot of writers and artists, and he was one of the only ones who would always, always write you back,” Hitchcock tells the newspaper. “And he wasn’t just an artist; he did his own lettering, too. So every letter was a work of art, covered in sketches. Getting something from him in the mail was always exciting.”
The book, just released by Jeff Parker’s Octopus Press, reproduces postcards, letters and sketches from that correspondence, which began in 1981. Toth died in May 2006 at age 77.
A preview of the book can be seen here.
