Alex Toth Space Ghost Art

 Alex Toth has got to be one of my favorite character designers to work at Hanna-Barbera, if not animation as a whole. An exceptional artist who worked at nearly every other comic book company in the business, Toth brought a superhero sensibility to the world of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Whether you love the likes of Space Ghost, Birdman, and The Herculoids is irrelevant.  His work on these shows is nothing short of fantastic, and a big reason these characters are discussed to this day. And on this particular day, I'm sharing some of the great character artwork he did while working on the original Space Ghost. 

This first piece shows some head turns from Space Ghost himself, alongside some notes highlighting things to keep in mind when drawing the character.

Second up, we have a collection of Space Ghost's most fearsome adversaries: Brak, Black Widow, and not one, but two designs for Metallus. The one on the right is what ended up in the show, but I must say the design on the left isn't too shabby, either. Of course, it also goes without saying that Brak and the Black Widow are great designs in their own right. A superhero is nothing without a good set of villains, and Space Ghost is no slouch in that department.

I'm not done discussing Space Ghost's villains just yet. Here's a look at one my personal favorites, Moltar. It's like a hazmat suit with an added dose of pulpy science fiction, how can you not love it? Whether it's with his original yellow and white colors or the more iconic red and gray, it remains one of the most memorable in the show for me at least. I'd love to know from you all what you're favorites are as well.

Lastly, ever wondered what Space Ghost looks like without the cowl? Well, here you go. Not exactly the most shocking reveal, but you never do see him like this in the show itself so I'm not surprised it's a little bland. It's also interesting that the model sheet mentions the show as "Space Ghosts," which makes me wonder if this is a remnant of the show from before it became a more straight forward superhero cartoon.