And Then I Read: BRAVO FOR ADVENTURE by Alex Toth

Image © Alex Toth estate

The only thing wrong with this handsome, oversized hardcover is that it’s not thicker. Imagine Errol Flynn as a reckless but talented stunt pilot working for a film company in the 1930s, and you have the main character, Jesse Bravo. Jesse has lots of pilot pals, and one rival, Bo Bannon, who has captured the lead role in an upcoming plane picture. Jesse agrees to do stunt work on the film, and has a run-in with Vivi Powell, the daughter of the director and Bo’s girlfriend that has sparks flying. Meanwhile, a gangster and his gang are after Bo for welching on some bad debts, and are headed to the film shoot, as are Jesse, his fellow pilots, and Vivi. The plot threads collide in a glorious and gory action thriller that is every bit as entertaining as the films they look back to.

Alex Toth’s writing on this story is excellent, and so is his art. That’s no surprise, but Toth went through a process of simplification throughout his career, and to my eye, this book done in the mid 1970s catches Toth at the perfect balance between the more detailed work of his earlier career and the very sparse and simple work of later. I can’t think of any other Toth work I’ve enjoyed looking at more.

As to why there weren’t more Bravo adventures, it’s the usual story of bad business decisions, bad timing (this could have been as popular as Dave Stevens’ “Rocketeer” a decade or two later I think), and perhaps Toth’s own haphazard approach to his work. He talked of more, and teased with sketches and samples for years, but nothing was ever finished. Too bad.

We can certainly enjoy and celebrate what we do have, and I encourage you to do so. I can’t recommend this book highly enough!