Madman's Drum

The powerful imagery and intensity of Ward's wordless novels have elicited comparisons to Hawthorne, Melville, and Poe. This 1930 work tells a gripping tale through imagery alone, consisting solely of 128 hauntingly rendered woodcuts. 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.