jick

My latest artwork I got a month ago, it is now framed. I am talking about the John Byrne commission.

I know this is already posted elsewhere but just to archive it in this thread which is about commissions, let me just re-post here my latest commission from the legendary John Byrne (my first from him!) http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=937211&GSub=122143

Got my latest commission from Frank McLaughlin framed. This is an alternate cover to JLA 147, the details of which can be found in my CAF here or elsewhere in this forum: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=918904&GSub=122143 And here is the picture. It hangs right beside my Avengers DPS and the Avengers piece is dwarfed - two 11x17" boards is dwarfed by just one board - thanks to Mr. McLaughlin.

My latest commission is already up in CAF here: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=918904&GSub=122143 But I'd share a little about this piece as excerpted from my CAF description. My pursuit of art from comics cover-dated October 1977 has come up dry since pages from that era are either locked up, lost forever, too expensive or too difficult to find. So I settled for the next best thing which is to have a recreation done. Justice League of America 147, was a mighty giant issue featuring the league with the Justice Society and Legion of Super-Heroes in the "Crisis in the 30th Century." The cover was attributed to the late Dillin. Here is the original cover: I found this incredible splash on just the 5th page of the issue, and I thought it looked even better than the original cover. These Dillin pencils were inked by Frank McLaughlin and here is the page: I scanned it and Photoshopped it into an alternate version of the cover. This to my mind would have been a much better cover than the original, but who am I to argue with the great Julie Schwartz who was the editor at that time. Anyway, he is the splash page converted into a cover: Then I commissioned the original inker Frank McLaughlin, to do a recreation. I have already posted work-in-progress pics in the other thread about Commissions You Are Waiting For. Frank finished the commission and had a pic taken with the art. Boy, this is huge! And I mean HUGE. He even took time out to give his insights on working in this commission: " Dillin was the consummate professional...always on time and no matter how he might be feeling at the time, he always managed to maintain a high standard of quality to his work. Working on this piece certainly brought back vivid memories of a time when comics was still emerging from a cottage industry and had that certain look -printed on newsprint using the fake 4 color process -never to be confused with a magazine. Those days may be gone forever but the memories of those days will not." And here is the original art, scanned. Frank gives credit to Dillin, in blue ink. Frank's work, in terms of customer service, affordability, turnaround time, quality, and size exceeded all of my expectations. I would definitely recommend him to anyone out there who has a fondness of art from that era. Again, here is the link to my CAF if you want to leave a comment: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=918904&GSub=122143

In October 1994, I was diagnosed with having an Atrial Septal Defect - or a hole in my heart. In March of 1995, I underwent open heart surgery to fix that hole. The night before my surgery, the comic I read was Superman 100 - The Death of Clark Kent. The next morning, I was injected with some anesthetics then whisked off to the operating room. It was a successful operation and today some 16 years later, I am perfectly fine. When the opportunity presented itself for me to own pages from this very comic that was close to my heart, I jumped at it immediately. Never in my wildest dreams would I imaging owning actual pages to that comic I read back then. Today I own 8 pages, and if any of you have more pages from this issue so close to my heart - let me know. I made a separate gallery for the pages here. Feel free to comment on anything you find interesting here. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryRoom.asp?Order=Date&Page=1&GSub=130628

I just want to say I belong to the other side of the fence. I have commissioned Joe in the past and have gotten good results. His communication has been good and also his responses to my comments or requests for revisions after he sends me work-in-progress scans. These were all done in the last year with no problems: Batman Inked over Frank Miller bluelines Convention Sketch http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=890570&GSub=122145 Flash 254 Recreation http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=890565&GSub=122143 X-Men Dark Phoenix Saga Commission http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=845107&GSub=129595 I am in no way defending him or condemning him. I am just sharing my own personal experiences which have been good.

I am loving that Azrael cover!

Joe Rubinstein inked and finished over a blueline print of a Frank Miller convention sketch circa 1982. I chose Rubinstein because he worked on Miller during that era with Wolverine. You can see art, additional images, original pencil and work-in-progress pictures - and leave comments - here: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=890570&GSub=122145 If you just want to see the finished art, here it is: And here is my humble attempt at digitally coloring the piece:

Got a page from a Claremont / Byrne collaboration! Well, it's not the X-Men but I am a DC Comics guy: Justice League of America 94 (2004) Page 15 featuring Wonder Woman by John Byrne and Jerry Ordway Interesting to see the panels up close, just goes to show the detail and care put in by Byrne and Ordway: I got that page since I was already ordering from the same dealer (Mr. Warden) who I got my first Jack Kirby art which I posted about elsewhere in this forum. Super Powers (1985) Page 18 with Superman, Darkseid, Desaad, Martian Mahunter, Red Tornado, Wonder Woman and Firestorm by Jack Kirby

I just realized I have not posted this art in this thread. I remember the Death of Superboy from Legion of Super-Heroes 38 very well. And I remember I wasn't too happy with the cover. I felt the cover did not evoke the pain and sacrifice Superboy had to endure in full view of his friends during his death. The original was by Bill Sienkewicz. I decided to create a layout inspired by Greg LaRoque's interior art. I pencilled it myself and commissioned the original inker Mike DeCarlo ink it. He was more than happy to ink it. Here is the post in CAF for those who want to comment: Legion of Super-Heroes 38 (1987-2012) 25th Anniversary Alternative Cover inked by Mike DeCarlo This is the second in my new themed commissions which is "Legendary Inkers On Fanboy Pencils" wherein I get inkers to finish my own pencils, making it an art fanboy's dream come true for me. This first one was an X-Men Dark Phoenix Saga image inked by Joe Rubinstein pencilled by me based on Kevin Maguire's Justice League 1 cover. Here is the first one: X-Men Dark Phoenix Saga Commission (2011) by Joe Rubinstein Anyway, for those who don't have the time or patience to go to the CAF page, I will just post the image here, but I did add the logos and art-board style digitally for presentation effect to give it the authentic look:

I did it myself. I digitally color the art pieces I own when I do have time.

I've had a Spider-Man Joe Rubinstein pin-up in my CAF for some time already. I decided to digitally color and create an imaginary cover for Spidey's 50th anniversary 700th issue, paying homage to issue 300: (click on the image to see and comment on the original art in CAF) Then I had artist Mike DeCarlo ink over my fanboy pencils of a cover concept idea of Legion of Super-Heroes 38 (circa 2007). I never really liked the original cover by Bill Sienkewicz because it didn't tell the story of what's inside. DeCarlo was the original inker of the series, so it was a great commission to do 25 years later. (click on the image to see and comment on the original art in CAF) I also got what I feel is one of the ultimate Curt Swan Superman splash pages! I just love this piece of art! (click on the image to see and comment on the original art in CAF) I just loved the image and felt it was quintessential Curt Swan that I felt like digitally coloring it and making it into another imaginary concept cover. Here are the digital colors: If you have missed my previous update about indulging in a guilty pleasure, here it is - Howard Porter and Mike DeCarlo merchandising/licensee style art from 1998: (click on the image to see and comment on the original art in CAF) Someday when I do have time, I will digitally color the above art and convert it into an imaginary cover of some sort. I also update additional images on my Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez Superman Style Guide art after I obtained more information through an eBay listing. I realized this was the cover of that style guide. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=832891&GSub=122141 Yes the above is the art swiped by Andy Kaufman, sold for thousands of dollars, and which I started a thread about here a few months back. Enjoy these updates!

Here is a splash featuring great contrast: Robin and Darkseid. It is by Denys Cowan, who I admired but did not own a page of yet. Inks by Giordano made this gravy. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=864246&GSub=122146 I just got it this week.

I didn't realize there was a thread on commissions already, so I started a thread elsewhere in this forum. Anyway here is my first commission which I penciled myself and had Joe Rubinstein ink - inspired by the cover of Justice League #1 with the characters from the Dark Phoenix Saga: The story behind how this came to be can be found in CAF here: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=845107&GSub=122146

Here is my room with my framed art. The link in my signature is my CAF page with details of these art: This is my main art. The Jock Detective Cover is above the door because the light reflects or comes out of the glass like a mirror so it helps that the cover is mostly white in the bottom part so not much to look at. Superman interior pages on top - Andru/Byrne, Byrne/Giordano, and Swan/Anderson. On the bottom are Filipino artists from local comics. Very nifty job, but I put fold-in, fold-out descriptions of the art with images of the cover and interior page of the comic. They can be hidden and folded behind the frame. I just wanted this for people who would ask. For those that care to know, the Filipino artists from L-R are: Malang, Tony Velasquez, and Nestor Redondo. Leinil Yu and Gerry Alanguilan on Avengers vs. Ultimates, Garcia-Lopez on this Superman Style Guide. Gil Kane cover pencils for Action 544, 45th anniversary issue, and Detective 876 by Jock. Top (L-R): Tom Mandrake DC Retro Batman cover, Matt Wagner Batman 639 cover, Neal Adams Batman Splash, Schaffenberger/Alcala Smallville splash, Byrne Action 595 splash. Bottom (L-R): Greg LaRocque DC Retro Flash splash, George Perez Infinite Crisis cover, Dan Decarlo Jughead cover, then two Aragones Groo pieces. I'd say my centerpieces are the Infinite Crisis cover which has to be near the couch so it is easy to view the details of this intricately woven cover, and the Wagner Batman cover which is my only painted cover and so beautifully crafted.

Something new in my collection - a Sergio Aragones published Groo splash! Aragones original published art is not easy to track down because he doesn't sell a lot of his art and most of them you find are just the leftovers from the litter. To find this semi-iconic image (to me iconic is Groo in a fray!), is a personal coup for a big Groo fan like myself. This is a classic Groo image - leaving a village in flames while being clueless about it with his dog, Rufferto. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=831906&GSub=122142

Greg LaRocque's nearly 60 issue and 5 year run on The Flash was matched or surpassed only by Irv Novick and Carmine Infantino. This assures his place in Flash history. Despite all the issues he has drawn, it is his most recent work in Flash Retroactive where I feel he made his best splash ever. Stunning piece if you ask me - as a lot of elements are here. Plus, he finally got to ink the costume he himself redesigned for Wally West, which was even carried over to the Justice League Animated series: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=826864&GSub=122145 I am really happy to own this page.

Since I have no chance in this lifetime to own this page, I had to settle for a recreation done by hand, on a retro-themed art board, plus the tape on the sides to give it a retro feel. This is as close as I can get. Here is the CAF link: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=826512&GSub=114039

Check this out: http://www.artbrokerage.com/artist/Steve-Kaufman/Superman-Burst-31517 It is Steve Kaufman who is an assistant to Andy Warhol. This is not even art but a 1/1 print. It is lifted from a Garcia-Lopez image of the 90's Superman with the mullet. And it is selling for $6,300. That is just overboard. Here's more: http://www.artbrokerage.com/_main/search_advanced.php?q2=1&q=superman Those prices are just of prints and they are ridiculous.

I think he is overrated and unoriginal. I don't understand the fascination about him. Lichenstein copies a panel, including the text. Where is the art in that? A comic artist on the other hand only has a rough story or plot or even tight scripts to work with then he has to use imagination, originality, composition, to create a scene and tell a story. Comics is a dying breed. Digital are is the way to go to meet deadlines. People buy comics digitally, but the new generation of kids don't even read comics anymore. They just want for the movie adaptations. Once comics will be on life support and the printed page will be a thing of the past, original comic art will be accepted to the mainstream art and values might keep rising the same way that pop art is quite high now. But I don't think it will ever reach in the millions.

Here are my recent additions. Clicking on the photo will lead you to my CAF page where you can browse a scan of the published page, and make comments: Action Comics 595 (1987), Page 10 Superman Splash John Byrne Avengers vs New Ultimates 5 (2011) Double Page Splash by Gerry Alanguilan (original inks) The Jughead Jones Comics Digest Magazine No.42 (1986) cover by Dan DeCarlo

Thank you all for your opinions, they are much appreciated. I am keeping the Detective cover with the stats. My DC Retroactive Batman cover by Mandrake is too beautiful and detailed though to include stats. Besides it would hide the artist's signature based on the location of the text.

yep So, dumb question, why did he use 2 different boards then? That was my next question. Seems strange. maybe so he'd be okay is he screwed up the inks? I would probably do the same if I was assigned to pencil and ink the same page. I would separate them. He would be ok if he screwed up the inks. He could sell two separate pieces of art. And considering he is the same artist - I think the value of both pieces will be very close to each other unlike other artwork with two separate artists where the penciler's work always commands more.

What is better, with stat or without stat? The stats do not affect the image in any way. Let me know your thoughts.

Here is a double page splash from Avengers vs New Ultimates 5. I just got this today. Nothing like having Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and a little Spidey all in one page. This page is original inks, but the value is no issue to me. Inks look better hanging on my wall, and the inker is a legend-in-the-making in Philippine comics as a publisher, creator, writer, artist, and historian. I wrote a more detailed description to the art here where you can also view it: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=821113&GSub=114039