The story of one of America's most prolific, respected illustrators... who few people ever heard of - until now. For decades, Thomas B. Sawyer created countless high-energy images of "happy people with happy problems" that appeared in every imaginable venue, from the nation's biggest newspapers and magazines to TV to local church bulletins. His artwork graced the country's biggest billboards, and refrigerator-magnets. Among his peers, his work was collected and studied. Fellow professionals hoarded every example they could find, wondering who this remarkable, largely anonymous artist could be. At last, the truth is revealed. Journey through the nearly thirty years of Sawyer's first profession (in his mid-40's, he abruptly abandoned illustration, becoming an award-winning filmmaker and TV showrunner/screenwriter) as you marvel at hundreds of his illustrations, meticulously reproduced, many shot from his original art. As a bonus, each chapter of Sawyer's art-career, beginning with his work for Stan Lee, and ghosting of famous comic-strips, is narrated by the artist himself, providing fascinating insights into his life and the New York City commercial art industry he experienced during the heady days of the "Madmen" era. "Tom Sawyer's work...its seeming effortlessness, and masterful grasp of form, of shape, of theater, underpinning such apparent casual excellence. For those of us who participate in this world, as practitioners and admirers both, there is brilliance here, and lessons to be learned." HOWARD VICTOR CHAYKIN, Cartoonist "A treasure... the work of one of the best craftsmen ever to charm the American consumer!" KURT BUSIEK, Eisner & Harvey award-winning writer of MARVEL'S ASTRO CITY "What else could a fan of illustrative art of the 1950s and 60s ask for?" CHARLES PELTO, Classic Comics Press "How wonderful to have this look at Tom Sawyer's fine work as an illustrator! Now both of his hugely successful careers---as a visual artist and noted TV writer---can be celebrated by fans of each!" DENNIS PALUMBO, author of the Daniel Rinaldi thrillers, screenwriter (My Favorite Year)