The first time I can recall actually encountering the work of Wally Wood directly was when he embellished the pencils of Gil Kane on Teen Titans #19. Thanks to the steady hand of Nick Cardy, who fashioned the cool creamy cover above, the Titans always had great artwork and the appearance of the Kane-Wood team was not a let down in the least.
It's a bit of a shaggy story in which the Titans are menaced by a self-important bloke named Sylvester Sepastopol, a wannabe villain who uses the "Junior JLA" to prove his worth to more senior baddies and gain their respect.
He dubs himself "Punch" and in this entertaining and breezy story by Mike Friedrich refers to himself ceaselessly as "I, Punch".
Of course his scheme to capture and presumably eventually kill the Teen Titans fails, and he is defeated if not especially humbled. But this early comic somehow fell into my boyhood mitts and I simply adored the energetic yet sleek and smooth artwork and took special note of this inker fellow named "Wally Wood".
Gil Kane added some energy to comic book page, something Wood's delicate and careful staging sometimes missed when he soloed. The two together though were wonderful -- the best of both worlds.
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