Gods' Man: A Novel in Woodcuts

Published in 1930 by Jonathan Cape, Gods' Man: A Novel in Woodcuts is a wordless graphic novel by pioneering artist Lynd Ward, told entirely through 139 sequential wood engravings. This single-volume work, released at the dawn of the Great Depression, follows an artist who makes a Faustian pact for a magic brush, exploring themes of ambition and moral consequence through stark, expressionist imagery. Ward's innovative use of the woodcut technique established the novel-in-woodcuts as a powerful narrative form, influencing generations of visual storytellers and earning the book a lasting place as a landmark of early American graphic literature.