TwoMorrows takes a detailed look at the life and art of Don Heck in their new hardcover biography Don Heck: A Work of Art. The original artist of Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye and early, key issues of The Avengers, fans have had a long love-hate relationship with Heck, a fact that TwoMorrows readily admits.

Author John Coates researched the artist’s background and career.

The book documents how he joined Atlas-Marvel Comics in 1954, and along with industry giants Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Joe Maneely and Dick Ayers became an integral player in “The Marvel Age of Comics.”

TwoMorrows publisher John Morrow championed this project for several years.

“As a kid, I was one of the fans who jumped on the popular bandwagon of considering Don Heck to be one of the worst artists in comics. Thankfully, I’ve matured since then, and have come to realize how wrong I was. So I challenge readers to give this book a try—you can’t help but come away a new appreciation for this underrated artist,” he said.

There’s a wealth of examples of his artwork (all in full-color), and a special chapter where the author debunks the longstanding myth that putting Heck as artist on a comic meant the sales would drop—complete with actual sales figures to prove the point.

Stan Lee provided the foreword, and Beau Smith penned the afterword.

This full-color hardcover is 192 pages, and retails for $39.95. It is available now in both print and digital editions.