rsonenthal

Sunday is online only. The "live" online auction is happening right now. You can access through HA live just like the premium auctions. It's the same, but without a live auctioneer. It's a computer voice. Ron

I don't think the Doctor Doom story from FF Annual 2 is complete. Is it? Ron

I'll play.

Jack Kirby told us the origin of Captain America three times. First in 1941, when Cap was introduced to the world. Weakling Steve Rogers was injected with the super soldier serum by Dr. Reinstein, transforming into our hero. When Cap was reintroduced to the world via the Marvel Universe in Avengers #4, Kirby needed to remind everyone of how he came to be. So, shortly after he was given his own shared space in Tales of Suspense, Kirby once again told Cap’s origin. In Tales of Suspense 63 Kirby uses one five panel page to show the scene. We see frail Steve Rogers drink the super soldier serum handed to him by Dr. Erskine. Why drink versus injection? The Comics Code Authority. It was essentially forbidden to show someone getting an injection. The actual transformation happens over three panels, the first of which is the reaction shots of those watching it all happen. Why Erskine from Reinstein? I have my theories, but I can’t find anything that definitively tells us why. But, a few years later, with Cap now in his own book, Kirby decides to once again tell the tale. But, now, Kirby is at the peak of his powers and the Marvel Universe is no longer a fledgling title, it’s a full bore powerhouse. In Captain America 109, Kirby changes the origin one more time. This time, to fully put Cap in the same style as many of the star Marvel line up, he adds the missing ingredient. Radiation. The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men (sort of) owe their powers to radiation. It was time to add Cap to the list. In Cap 109, skinny Steve Rogers undresses and prepares for the experiment on page 14. Interestingly, Kirby has him injected with the serum (but off screen). Then, on page 15, he is bombarded with the Vita-Rays and we watch him painfully transform over the next four panels, enduring some significant Kirby Krackle before emerging as the Super Soldier. The Vita-Rays have stood the test of time, including being part of the Marvel film universe. These two pages were exhibited as part of The Art of the Superhero exhibit at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in 2009/2010, and the subject of a great essay by Charles Hatfield. I first saw these pages in the Hakes auction in 2014. I planned and was still caught off guard when the price sailed over my limit. So, when they came up again in the Heritage auction earlier this year, I was ready. There was a lot of chatter on the message boards about the price paid for two small art Captain America pages with no Captain America in costume. But, I was thrilled to pick these up. They are historic, not only for what they mean for the character of Captain America, but for showing how Kirby had evolved and setting the stage for future graphic storytelling. Besides, it’s the Vita-Rays!!!!! Page 14: http://cafurl.com?i=23980 Page 15: http://cafurl.com?i=23981 I've been too busy to post in a while. As always, feel free to take a look around at anything else. Ron

See if this works. It's not creased. It's in plastic and there are shadows being cast.

Make sure you tell him that originals are in color. Hasn't he read a comic??

Bring the pics!

Right! I forgot about that. Splash vs. panel. Another important distinction.

Actually, it has Kirby Thor at $5k-$10k. You just need to read further down the list. But, this is a good example why the list isn't perfect (not was it meant to be). The splash to 126 sold a year ago for $77,675. I don't know if that has much, if any, bearing on what the following page would go for (which is not a battle page).The list you're looking at is a valiant attempt at pricing "A" pages. That definition is, at best, complicated and subjective. Even though there are a number of battle pages in that issue, I don't know if anyone would call every battle page "A." In fact, I know I wouldn't. Said another way, it's difficult for anyone to value a page they haven't seen, just from a character. And, I would think no one would want to steer you wrong. I wouldn't feel good if I said $30-$40k sounds right, and you bought something that would bring substantially less if you tried to sell it. This is all one of a kind art. Even narrowing it down is difficult. Twice up Thor? Who is the inker? Colletta? Giacoia? Stone? What's going on in the page? Has someone offered you a specific page from that issue? Are you trying to get a valuation for that? I think if you're prepared to spend a serious amount of money, you may want to do some more research before diving in. Ron

It doesn’t say that at all. Journey into Mystery and Thor are not interchangeable. 2x up or small art, inker, scene, etc. all matter. Justin, I would suggest you do some research (other than asking some questions here) before you commit serious money. Waiting and understanding the differences that affect value may protect you from a poor decision. Ron

I don't know that we all agree as I think we all have different criteria for "great" in this context. Skill? Volume? Long-term impact? From some of the names listed above, Marvel work (vs. DC?)? Joe Kubert anyone? Fun discussion!

Steranko?

Doesn't he get credit for Daredevil?

Reserves posted....

Thanks to Bill and Brian for keeping this going. I try to keep up with CAF, but there is a staggering amount of artwork added on a daily basis. The "Best of" let's me see what I've been missing! For me, I've loaded the following in for my top 5 (Golden, Kirby, Ditko, Raymond, and Powell - it's been a good year): Covers: The 'Nam #42 - Michael Golden returned to the book he started for a number of covers. I am a long time war book fan, but The 'Nam always was a special book. It was realistic, and told a story without being too preachy. Splash pages; Tales of Suspense #60, page 1 - Jack Kirby and Chic Stone. Kirby on Captain America at the height of his power. I'm thrilled to be the custodian of this one. Panel pages: Showcase #73, page 6 - Steve Ditko introducing the Creeper to the world. I love Ditko's "other" characters. The Creeper is at the top of the list and this page is from his introductory book. Strip Art: Rip Kirby 11/24/1954 - Alex Raymond could do more with a brush and india ink than anyone of his time. Look at the use of lighting here. It fascinated me, and made this piece a must have for me. Published/Unpublished other: "March" is a graphic novel illustrated by Nate Powell and follows the civil rights movement in the United States through the eyes of Congressman John Lewis. This piece is a quote from the speech he gave in the march on Washington. He was the sixth speaker. The tenth? It was Martin Luther King, and he gave his "I have a dream" speech. Ron Sonenthal

If you grew up in the Chicago area in the 60’s and 70’s and read the comics in the Chicago Tribune (like me), you were likely a fan of “Rick O’Shay.” Created by Stan Lynde and syndicated nationally by the Chicago Tribune, Rick O’Shay was a western comic that ran from 1958 to 1977 and followed the exploits of Deputy Rick O’Shay and the more interesting character, the gunslinger Hipshot Percussion, in the town of Conniption. For me, it was a must read. It had a clean, almost sparse style in terms of background, but Lynde’s precise line was usually very detailed on the characters. For this reason, the people seemed to pop out in a 3D kind of way that made you forget the background. Lynde kept enough in the frame to keep it going, but still allowed your imagination to fill in the scenery and his style worked to emphasize the story telling. Every once in a while he drew a beautiful countryside, but mostly he kept the focus on the characters. It started as a funny comic with simple gags but eventually evolved to more thoughtful, even serious themes. Some of the strips were frankly kind of edgy. For example, compare the two Sunday strips I’ve added. The one from 1964 is a clear gag. The other, from 1969, is well, something else entirely. Same with the dallies. Look at the one from 1959. The characters are drawn in a much more exaggerated style, and it goes for a simple laugh. Or the two from August of 1972. Again, he goes for the laugh, but it’s more about showing the false bravado of the Indian Chief. Now, compare those to the storyline at the end of 1965, or the daily from 1962. There, he’s got a storyline going that would rival Caniff. Lynde was a true outdoorsman. He grew up in rural Montana near the Crow Indian reservation and loved the west. He later created another strip, Latigo, but Rick O’Shay will always hold a place in my heart. As I understand it, Lynde (who passed away in 2013) had kept most of this originals and a fire in 1990 destroyed much of the collection. Because of that, originals have been hard to find. But, recently, a number of Sundays and dallies have been showing up and I was lucky to grab a couple of Sundays and a few dallies. Enjoy!! The link: http://cafurl.com?i=23538 As always, feel free to take a look around at anything else that seems interesting. Ron

I just realized that price was for the whole story.....

Very cool!! Love Hawk and Dove, especially from Showcase!

I’ve let life and work take away from my art time, and so I haven’t had time to post much recently. So, what follows is a bit of a mish mosh of things I picked up, and a bit of an explanation why they are important to me. First, I’ve always liked the “other” Ditko characters, like the Question, Hawk and Dove, and the Creeper. So, when a page from Showcase 73 popped up, I jumped on it. Showcase was (and sorry if I’ve mentioned this before) DC’s tryout book. First appearances in Showcase? How about the Silver Age Flash, Green Lantern and the Atom! Yep, Barry Allen, Hal Jordan and Ray Palmer all made their first appearance in DC’s Showcase. Some years later, the Hawk and Dove appeared there before getting their own book, and were quickly followed up by the Creeper. Created by Ditko, the Creeper follows Jack Ryder, former TV host turned security investigator. In the origin story, Ryder is investigating a missing scientist, and crashes a costume party (where we think the scientist is being held) wearing a pretty odd costume which includes a green wig and a red cape. In trying to save the scientist, he is stabbed. The scientist (luckily) has a special formula to save Ryder, which gives him powers and also some sort of electronic gizmo that lets him make his costume appear or disappear with the flick of a switch. Remember, it’s 1968… Anyway, the scientist is killed, the Creeper is branded a criminal but uses his powers to go on the attack of the criminal underworld. This page is from his first appearance in Showcase and is the page where Ryder is mortally stabbed (and before he gets his powers as the Creeper). It’s all Ditko and all Creeper. How cool is that?? The link: http://cafurl.com?i=23499 Second, I’ve always liked the war books, and when The ‘Nam came out, I was all over it. The primary pencils during the first year were by Michael Golden, and he was later replaced by Wayne Vassant (a Viet Nam veteran). Golden’s art in that first year was (IMO) among his best work. Earlier this year, I was able to pick up a complete Golden Nam story that appeared in Savage Tales prior to The ‘Nam getting its own book. I recently was able to pick up a page depicting a firefight from Issue #2; pencils by Golden and inks By Armando Gil, and then in the most recent Heritage Auction the cover to Issue 42 came up. Golden handled the covers in the first year (1-13), and then came back for six other covers in the 84 issue run. So, for all of you Golden ‘Nam fans, enjoy! The link to the action page from Issue 2: http://cafurl.com?i=23498 The link to the cover from Issue 42: http://cafurl.com?i=23497 Finally, I’ve made no secret of my love of the Silver Age of comics. My three favorites are Marvel’s Tales to Astonish, Journey into Mystery and Tales of Suspense. TTA was home to Ant-man, Giant-Man and the Wasp, the Sub-mariner, and eventually to the Hulk. So much so that at some point, the numbering continued, and the title TTA went away to be replaced by the Incredible Hulk. Journey into Mystery contained the first appearance of Thor, and like TTA, JIM at some point disappeared to become the Mighty Thor. But, TOS was special. It was where Iron Man was born and where Captain America made his home (besides Avengers Mansion) after returning to comics in the Marvel Universe. Iron Man’s first appearance was in TOS 38, and Captain America joined the book in issue 59. From then on, they split the book till issue 99. At that point, the title became Captain America 100 (that’s why you don’t see a Cap #1 - other than him punching Hitler in 1941), and Iron Man started in his own book. The art in those books show us the Marvel bullpen (and especially Jack Kirby) at the height of their powers. To think how much work Kirby was turning out on a regular basis is just awe inspiring. Cap was Kirby’s character, and he was the primary artist during the TOS run. By my estimation, Kirby penciled all but 13 of the 40 issues, and provided layouts for 8 of the 13 that he didn’t pencil. We saw more variety in the inkers, in part because of the need to just keep up with Jack. Remember, he was also penciling Thor and the FF and whatever else was needed at the time. For inking Kirby on Cap, you had Giacoia picking up 11 issues, Sinnott handling 7, and Chic Stone picking up 6 issues. Don Heck, Ayers and Syd Shores each took on just one story, but then Shores went on to ink the issue 100 of Captain America. Everyone has their favorite, and I won’t debate that here, but I don’t think you could go wrong with Giacoia, Sinnott or Stone. Splash pages in the Silver Age were designed to grab you and pull you in the story right away. In some cases, they introduced new villains, and in some cases they needed to bring you up to speed with where the story left off. But in all cases they made you want to turn the page. So, when I saw this page come up, I knew it was going to be mine. It grabbed me, and it made me want to jump in the story. Plus, I liked the depiction of the character early in the run; Kirby had Cap lean and mean, emphasizing his agility and athleticism. And to be honest, I had been looking to fill a gap in my collection - I didn’t have any examples of a “Bulbous Head Cowboy Stance Fake Captain America.” J But - I do now. Take a look at the title splash from Tales of Suspense #60: http://cafurl.com?i=23500 Sorry for the long entry, I just haven’t kept up with my posting, but I didn’t realize just how far behind I had fallen. As always, thanks for listening and feel free to look around at anything that interests you. Ron Sonenthal

Raymond's work is just so well done. Everyone focuses on Flash Gordon (and with good reason), but it's pieces like this that make you realize that he could do just about any time or place and make it look perfect.

Those are excellent! I'm more of a WW II fan, but the Dragon Lady strip is wonderful. Caniff got so much done in 4 panels. I've never seen the artwork from so early on in the story. Very interesting on how his line matured as time went on.

I’ve always read the strips in the paper, and was a big fan of the comics in the papers growing up. I haven’t historically been a huge collector of strip art, but that’s changed a bit over the last few years. By the way, if you’re looking for a great book about the Golden Age (but not really the Golden Age) of comic strips, I would recommend Cartoon County: My Father and His Friends in the Golden Age of Make-Believe by Cullen Murphy. Cullen’s dad was an artist on Big Bolt Ben, and later on Prince Valiant. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the lives of so many artists that we now revere. Anyway, at the suggestion of some friends, I started reading strips from well before my time and have just fallen for Terry and the Pirates. Not fallen as bad as some friends and “Carol Day,” but there’s something about Terry and the Pirates that I just find compelling. It’s not just the stories (although they’re great), or the artwork, or the characters. It’s truly the balance of all three. Although he was fantastic with action sequences, it’s how he handled the quiet moments that I find so wonderful. I’ve recently picked up three strips that are great examples of how Caniff used white space to create dramatic tension. In the examples (bookending World War II), it’s how he portrays the emotions of anticipation and concern. First, see the strip from August of 1941 (from the “Raven Nevermore” story). Note that there isn’t any dialogue in the last two of the four panels. But, Terry’s face in the third panel, and his posture as he heads off in the night tell volumes. Now, look at the strip from December 14, 1946. It’s not just in the faces of the characters, but in the lighting and the placement of the phone in the foreground that tell the story and create dramatic tension. Finally, I also picked up a post WW II strip (from the same story “Fanning Old Flames”, shortly before Caniff left the strip). I love this one. It’s mostly Terry, but the star is Burma. It sums up both character’s personalities and their relationship. It’s got a ton of blacks and an amazing city scene – and all in four panels!! Just great stuff!! The link to August 1, 1941: http://cafurl.com?i=23461 The link to December 14, 1946: http://cafurl.com?i=23462 The link to December 17, 1946: http://cafurl.com?i=23463 I’ve also started picking up some of Alex Raymond’s work, specifically Rip Kirby. Raymond was killed in a car crash at age 46, and the work he left behind shows a genius in the art form. Raymond’s use of blacks and shadows are extremely dramatic and cinematic. Seriously, these strips can be the subject of a class in inking. These two (from 1948 and 1952) use a lot of ink - all to good measure. The strip from 1948 (from “The Terror on the Thames”) is an especially good example of using lighting to set the mood. Note how Raymond changes the light source from the protagonists in the first two panels from the overhead lights in the ceiling to the third and final panel where the bad guy’s face is lit from beneath by the dashboard instrumentation. In the 1952 piece (from “The Millbanks Murder Case”), note how he lit the newspaper reporter. He’s leaning into the shadow as he reports to his editor. The light is coming from outside of the phone booth, highlighting where Desmond is listening in. The link to the 1948 piece: http://cafurl.com?i=23464 The link to the 1952 piece: http://cafurl.com?i=23465 As always, feel free to look around at anything else of interest. Ron Sonenthal

Winner.....

I think everyone is trying to make a totally relative standard into an absolute standard. Comparing a Killing Joke page to a piece of modern art is a fruitless exercise. In a modern run, there are those pages that a fan would argue are "A" pages. I say, great! But, since every page of the Killing Joke would sell for much more, does that suddenly make all of them "A" pages, and the modern art somehow lesser? It's a relative, and perhaps more importantly, a personal standard. Always interested in a respectful debate over which page in a particular book is an A, but I can guarantee you that very few pages will get uniform agreement.

I didn’t think I bought anything at SDCC this year and, as it turns out, I was wrong. I’ve been a pretty consistent buyer at the annual Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) auction. This year, I wasn’t able to attend (double booked!) myself and had to put a remote bid in. I didn’t hear anything that evening so I assumed I had been outbid. And, then a few days later, I got a phone call and found that I was the high bidder and my artwork was on the way! The CBLDF is a great charity that supports First Amendment rights for comics. In this day and age, it’s amazing to me how busy they are defending free speech. Anyway, it turned out that the auction had something that I was really looking for, hadn’t seen, and then found at the CBLDF auction (and at another charity auction weeks earlier). And, well, me and charity auctions are a dangerous combination – I got both! “March” is a three volume graphic novel written by Congressman John Lewis (with Andrew Aydin) and illustrated and lettered by Nate Powell. John Lewis is the only person to have spoken at the 1963 March on Washington that is still alive. When the book first came out, Congressman Lewis went to the SD Comic-Con and had hundreds of people lined up to get his signature. The novel follows his life as a crusader for the civil rights movement, and it’s just wonderful. Congressman Lewis was the commencement speaker at my daughter’s law school graduation this year. He is a moving speaker with a focus on standing up for things that he just believes are wrong. He’s been arrested over 50 times in his career, and as he told the audience, even at age 78, he’s pretty sure he’s going to get arrested again. I met Nate Powell at SD this year and had him sign some copies of the graphic novels. I told him that I was the high bidder on a piece he put in an auction to benefit the Boston Comic Arts Foundation. He told me that he had let a few pages from the graphic novel go early on, but really regretted it. As a result, he’s keeping everything else, and trying to get a show pulling it all together in one place. He also told me that he had only completed three pieces for charity auctions. I had one, and there was another in the CBLDF auction. That’s all I needed to know. I zoomed over to the CBLDF booth to work out the logistics of a remote bid. As a result, here’s two pieces Nate prepared to benefit some worthy charities: To benefit the Boston Comic Arts Foundation: http://cafurl.com?i=23327 To benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: http://cafurl.com?i=23328 As always, feel free to take a look around at anything else that looks interesting. Ron Sonenthal