Wally Wood, one of the great comic book writers and artists of the 20th Century, had a note taped to his drawing board: “Never draw anything you can copy, never copy anything you can trace, never trace anything you can cut out and paste up.” Wise words indeed for any working artist.

In 1980 he created a three page, 24 panel “guide” on how to use comic book panels to their fullest for narrative and visual impact. It was published in The Wallace Wood Sketchbook, but in 1981 Wood’s ex-assistant Larry Hama pasted up photocopies of Wood’s copyrighted drawings on a single page, which he titled “Wally Wood’s 22 Panels That Always Work!!” This page quickly became famous and has spawned numerous parodies and homages ever since.

Have an awesome day, everyone!