rsonenthal

I’ve always been a fan of keeping a story together. But, I totally understand the other perspective. It’s expensive and if all stories were kept together a lot of people would never be able to own an example from an artist or comic that is meaningful to them. Still, when I have a chance to find a complete story that is a great read by a great artist, and I can swing it – I’m going to do what I can to make it happen. This is one of those times. Hawkman has a long and storied history, first appearing in 1940, later a founding member of the Justice Society of America and was an extremely popular character throughout the 40’s and 50’s. He faded away with the balance of the Golden Age heroes, only to be revived in 1961 by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert (in the Brave and the Bold #34) as part of the DC Silver Age reboot. The Silver Age Hawkman joined the Justice League in Issue #31. His own series ran for a few years, lasting through issue #27, where he combined with the Atom. Sadly, Atom and the Hawkman only lasted another year or so before being cancelled. The Silver Age solo Hawkman series was initially written by Gardner Fox and the art chores were handled by the incomparable Murphy Anderson through issue 21 (after that Richard Dillin took over as penciler). As with any run, some books are better than others. When I saw issue #12 come up for auction – a complete book no less – I knew I had to make a run at it. It's a great story. Hawkman and Hawkgirl find themselves trying to stop a war in between two ancient warlords from being refought on their home planet of Thanagar. Spoiler alert – they stop the bad guys and prevent the war. It’s a fun adventure with a lot of action, lots of great pages of Hawkman and Hawkgirl and three nice title splashes (back then the comics had chapters, so there were multiple title splashes in each book). So, for your reading pleasure (and I suggest reading the story as well as appreciating the art) is the complete Hawkman #12, with artwork by Murphy Anderson. The link: http://cafurl.com?i=24712 As always, feel free to look around and see if anything else looks interesting. Ron

Camelot 3000 was a 12 issue mini-series that ran in the early 80’s. The basic premise was that King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were resurrected in the year 3000 AD, fulfilling an ancient prophecy that Arthur would return when England needed him most. Written by Mike Barr, this was Brian Bolland’s first major work for the US market, with inking assists from Terry Austin and Bruce Patterson. I had to double check the dates of publication, because it took so long to get the story out. I didn’t recall waiting so long between issues, but apparently Bolland got behind on the last 4 or 5 issues, and it reportedly took Bolland almost nine months to pencil the final issue. I just remembered liking everything about this story. It was a new art style for me, it was on heavier, glossy paper (which somehow felt more adult), and the treatment of various members of the round table was different than I would expect; much edgier. I’ve been looking for the right piece. Although I’ve come close on some others before, this popped up at the right time for me. Please enjoy the cover to Issue 8 of Camelot 3000 by Brian Bolland. The link: http://cafurl.com?i=24669 As always, feel free to check out anything else that looks interesting. Ron Sonenthal

And now, for something completely different. I’ve never really been focused on illustration art. Don’t get me wrong, I think many of the pieces that are posted are wonderful and amazing but I’ve never been ready to buy something. Until now. I recently picked up a piece that I thought I would share. Something about the artwork spoke to me. I can’t explain why (believe me, my family has asked), but I just love the piece. The artist is Thomas Lovell. Born in 1909, by the 30’s, Lovell provided illustrations for advertising agencies and magazines such as Redbook, Life, Collier's, The American, Woman's Home Companion, and Cosmopolitan. In the 40's Lovell produced covers and illustrations for several magazines including Ace-High Western, Clues, Complete, Detective Tales, Dime Detective, Rangeland Romances, Star Western, and Top-Notch. Too old for the draft by WW II, he volunteered in 1944 and served for two years in the Marine Corps Reserve and spent most of his time as a Staff Sergeant working in Washington DC illustrating some 100 paintings for the Marine Corps magazine, Leatherneck. Later in his life, he changed his focus to the Southwest and Native Americans. At this point, his career took off and in 1973 he was invited to become a charter member of the National Academy of Western Artists, and is the only artist to twice receive their Prix de West Award. In 1974 he was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame, and in 1975 he became a member of the Cowboy Artists of America. He passed away in 1997. This piece was published in American Magazine in May of 1942. The American Magazine was founded in June 1906 and published through August 1956. High-profile writers contributed articles on a variety of topics. The magazine had mostly fictional short stories, and the magazine published several winners of the O. Henry Awards. The link: http://cafurl.com?i=24640 As always, feel free to look around and see if anything else is of interest. Ron PS. While I was doing some research on the artist, I found a book about his career. When I saw the cover, I knew I had made the right decision.

Congrats!

Jim just posted this to Twitter:

David, I am so sorry for your loss.

That's pretty great. Nice to see some amazing pieces get the attention they deserve. Ron

My guess is that he's got a good accountant and they've told him that an artist can't get a charitable deduction for a contribution of their own work. It may just be that Jim is a really talented and nice guy who is trying to do something wonderful for a bunch of stores that played a small but critical role in building the industry that he loves. In other words, maybe he's doing it without any expectation of reward; he's doing it because they need help, and he is in a position to do so. Good on Jim.

I suppose it depends what you're looking at. I actually thought the weekly prices seemed strong, and I was chalking it up to pent up demand from people being stuck at home, and no comic-cons on the horizon.

I don't think Jim is saying the amount you pay is 95% deductible. What the listing says is that 95% of the proceeds are going to a charity. The other 5% presumably goes for some type of overhead expenses. The amount of a charitable deduction (if any) is a different conversation. I normally don't provide tax advice, and I'm trying to avoid it here, but I would suggest that anyone should talk to a real tax adviser - before you bid on something - if you're basing your bid with the assumption that what you're paying is deductible.

Who’s a Legion fan? Me!! I’m glad to see that they’re back, and Ryan Sook’s fine line is complimented nicely by the inking of Wade Von Grawbadger. Sook is turning out to be the right artist for a complicated team book, and we’re starting to see the forming of the (expected) multiple story lines by Bendis. The Legion has come and gone over the years, but I (for one) am glad to see it’s back. So glad, as a matter of fact, that when the opportunity presented itself, I was able to grab a complete book from Issue 2 of this new run. Thanks Felix!! By the way, and I could use the knowledge of the Legion of the Superheroes fans out there (you know who you are). Does this issue truly contain the first time that a member of the Legion gave the finger to the President of the United Planets? Let me know!! Here is the link to the entire story: https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=204567

Looks great! Congrats!!

Congrats! Very nice!

The complete 22 page Fabry story, including the painted cover was sold in a May 2017 Heritage auction. Ron

I did a quick calculation for December of 1964. At that time, Marvel had 14 titles on the spinner rack. By my estimation, Jack penciled 77 pages and 9 covers for that month. All hail the King!! Ron

I just got an email that my package shipped.

Me too. I grab the two Frazetta paintings Frank did of his kids. And, then make sure there is no evidence of me setting the fire....

This is the complete book of Detective 1006 (on a bit of an complete book binge). An amazing story by Kyle Hotz. Working from a bare bones plot, Kyle plotted and laid out all of the artwork and created a two part story that reminded me of the good old days of the The link: Brave and the Bold. This time it's in Detective and it's Batman teamed with an angry and vengeful Spectre. I've posted the first part of the two part story. Hotz's art is new to me, but I'm predicting he's got bigger things in his future. He's a little Jack Davis, a little Wrightson, and maybe even a little Bolland in the mix too. In any case, I think the art is magnificent. As most of you know, I tend to skew a bit older in my taste, but I still read new books. I saw this story and immediately reached out to see if the entire story is available. I know. I could have tried for a great page, but honestly, every page is great. Take a look and see if you agree with me. The link: http://cafurl.com?i=24356 As always, feel free to take a look around and see if there is anything else interesting to you. Ron Sonenthal

GI Joe? Gene?

ROM is definitely one of my guilty pleasures. A comic based on a toy that was never really successful? Really? Yes. ROM was a Parker Brothers toy that had red LED eyes that lit up. At the time (1979), it was considered cutting edge and even made the cover of TIME magazine. In spite of that, it wasn’t really successful in the marketplace. At Bill Mantlo’s urging, MARVEL made a play for the comic rights and then Bill created an entire backstory for the space knight from Galador. Sal Buscema handled the art chores and established ROM’s look and feel. The comic outlasted the toy, running for some 75 issues. The world that Bill Mantlo created contained not just ROM, but also the Dire Wraiths, the balance of the Space knight corps, and concerned human authorities who didn’t understand that ROM was there to protect them. Seriously, it was good stuff. Anyway, when I came across the opportunity to purchase the entire third issue, I jumped on it. I’m a sucker for complete stories and am thrilled to have such an early example. The link: http://cafurl.com?i=24301 As always, feel free to look around at anything else that looks interesting. Ron

I think there are more people buying complete stories than you think. Felix has sold something like 100 or so in recent years.

Well, the first group of auctions has come and gone, and I was able to grab the artwork I wanted. This tribute's artist is Kim Dwinell, who was new to me, but I love this piece and I'm going to pick up her graphic novel, Surfside Girls. There will be more auctions coming and it's all to benefit the Cartoon Art Museum. Last time they focused on the the art of Hellboy, and I was able to get some amazing specialty pieces. The museum is based in San Francisco and supports our wonderful hobby. You should keep a look out for more auctions. I know I will. Ron Sonenthal

I've had the same problem a number of times. HA sets it up as "Direct Signature", as a result FedEx won't leave it with a Walgreen or local FedEx location. I haven't tried to change my shipping address to a FedEx location. Not sure if that would circumvent the process. But, I don't think this is a FedEx thing, I think it's a HA thing. In fairness, no porch pirate risk under this scenario. Everything I've gotten from them is signature required. I've never seen them drop off a piece of OA on my porch and leave. Ron

Page 26? Issue 125 had 18 pages. Issue 138 had 19 pages. Am I missing something?

I can't speak for everyone, but I've gotten pieces for a lot less than my maximum. But, if you're concerned, you could simply watch the auction and bid live on HA Live. I don't know if I was clear, but the Sunday auction is going on right now. Just like the other auctions, the pre auction internet bidding stops, and then the live piece takes over. I'm not sure there is any difference between the Sunday weekly auction format and the format of the Saturday auction as part of the larger, quarterly auctions.