Dave Aikins

Years ago I was lucky enough to get one of the limited editions of Batman & Me with the sketch in it. I believe I got mine for under $100. That was great for me, as I knew it was authentic to the extent that Bob Kane had produced the drawings...and maybe...just maybe...he actually drew them. A girl can dream, right? But really, for the price, that's as good as I was ever gonna get. So for me, I would recommend finding one of those limited editions as you at least know it's an official "Bob Kane hired someone" drawing. After that, if I was going to actually spend some serious cash on classic Batman art, I'd track down some Sprang art. That guy was the best. His commission recreations from the 90's are incredible.

Yeah, that line of thinking doesn't work. Bob did a series of gallery paintings at the time of the TV show that had the oval around the bat and the Catwoman costume.... http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2012/10/return-to-the-swingin-60s-with-bob-kanes-batman-paintings/ And of course, by saying he "painted" them, I mean he hired someone to paint them. You would think you wouldn't have to even say this, but there's a guy that owns the one of Batman that still thinks Bob Kane painted it...But hey, it's not a forgery. It is an original Bob Kane. It's just that Bob has help... Maybe he points at things? Tells someone what color Batman's cape is? One can only speculate... and DC & Marvel were/are always pretty lax about their artists using their characters for private commissions. At some point, some insufficiently_thoughtful_person will take this too far and make Disney send out Cease & Desist letters to artists, but for now, it's a gentleman's agreement that it's okay...

Kane believed that if he hired someone to draw something for him, it was the same as if he drew it himself. It's as simple as that. So, it might be real. Stranger things have happened. But knowing how he approached his "art", do you want to spend the money on it? I wouldn't.

Wow, that was weird to click on this thread and see the Universal Monsters art staring back at me...Thanks for the kind words!

Bob Camp is a cool cat, nice guy, and great artist. You totally need to get something from him. Contact him through Facebook NOW! Mike Gustovich is also a totally nice guy, and I get the feeling he's soooo incredibly flattered when fans still show interest in his work. That commission is wonderful, and it's so cool of you to get in touch with him.

I had a couple of these last year. There was a Gene Colan page from Captain Marvel #1 that I got from ebay for much less than I ever thought it would sell for. I was also able to get some 1980's Garcia Lopez Batman pages from Mr Garcia Lopez himself at Baltimore. Never would've thought he'd have any left...and that he'd be selling them for a very reasonable price. Had another moment last year where a dealer was selling a Mike Zeck Captain America page featuring Nomad- again, at a very reasonable price. So...at least 3 times last year. One ebay, one directly from the artist, and one from a dealer...

Most of the 70's coloring books for Marvel were done by Owen McCarron. I have the 1966 Whitman Captain America one, and it could be by Owen, but it would be one of his earlier books, so it looks a bit different. I love that guys work. I grew up with his coloring books, and with his Marvel Fun & Games comic. Good, fun stuff!

similar, but that's a PMS, not a DS. Dave never used a middle initial, and often his DS initial sig was much more decorative/stylized.

Paul Smith, not Dave Stevens.... That is a great page!

I am soooo very happy that you had a good experience with Russ. I was hoping he would somehow get out of his scheduling trap he sank into over the years. The fact that you got yours so quickly is a great sign! And it's awesome!

That would never stop me from getting one (as I'm really lazy about scanning my collection for the internet). It would just stop me from getting a good idea of what these things look like. Hopefully, I'll know some of the collectors that are getting them, and they can just email me.

I am hearing reports that Steranko doesn't want the new commissions posted on the internet. This might kill my whole "wait & see" plan of attack... Can anyone confirm this?

It's all good here, Anthony! Tell your daughter I said "howdy"!

What's so negative about anything I've said? There is no evidence of anything bad about Steranko's commissions at all! The Nick Fury is awesome!!!! The odds are that there should be NO PROBLEM with any of these commissions. He's Steranko! I just want to see more of them before paying $1250. That's just my hang-up with paying that much money for a drawing.

"but you think ALL those junky 1k byrne commissions are the bee's knees." Never said that, and I don't have one. I like some of them. So sue me. Heck, the only Byrne I have is a single figure Captain America that I got from ebay, because it was exactly what I wanted and there was no risk that it would be wonky. We get it, you don't like ANY Byrne commissions EVER! Some of us happen to like some of them. It's no big deal, man. One of the reasons you might think I'm so pro Byrne is that a very nice collector was very excited about getting a Byrne commission, and you came out of nowhere and 100% pooped all over the existence of every Byrne commission, past present and future. That's not cool, man. Not cool. You're entitled to your opinion, of course! But...geez, man... why ya gotta poop on things? Did Byrne run-over your dog? Chill, smile, be cool, man... sit a spell...take your shoes off... But this does reinforce my point about the Streranko drawings- there's nothing to see right now. With Byrne, you can look at years worth of commissions, get an idea of what you'll get, and decide if it's for you or not. You decided all of them are junky. Good thing you had a bunch of them to see. I've found that I feel better writing a check when I see consistency. I tell ya, I REALLY want to be blown away by there Steranko commissions- so I'm totally excited for all those getting one now. PLEASE PELASE post them when they are done! I have good friends that are friends with Byrne, and are also very good friends of Barry Kitson. They work Barry's table at US conventions, and help sell his art. So..imagine that! There are people out there that are friends with Byrne and Kitson!!!! Does that blow your mind or what? BTW, I prefer Allred commissions!!!! Best commission EVER!!!!! Thanks again, Simon!

To me, it's enough of a price that I can't pull the trigger until I see a good 10 full figure finished commissions, and all of them have to ROCK. I can't spend that after only seeing one drawing. But in theory, it is a good price. I just need to have that theory be proven. If it ends up that I've missed the boat, so be it...

Steranko gave me his email many years ago. While I don't have it in front of me to compare 100%, the email you posted to contact him looks correct. Plus, a google search of the email comes up with many Steranko results.

"I'm trying to line up a Russ Heath commission. If that falls through, I suspect that this will take its place." Alex, please please let me tell you about Russ Heath commissions... Russ is a very very nice & talented guy, and I'm sure he needs and wants to do commissions, and they are awesome! But, please don't pay for it upfront. It took me over 2 years of calling Russ over and over again to get my commissions from him (that I had paid for at a 2009 convention). This was made even more frustrating when I saw him at a 2010 convention and he had done new drawings to sell at the con, but not my drawings that I paid him for over a year earlier. I finally got them, and they were great... but wow. It should never take that much work to get the commissions you've paid already paid for. So, please do commission him. Everyone should commission him. BUT, don't pay for it upfront. Or, perhaps pay 1/3 of it upfront....

damn. $1250? That is crazy, but not so crazy that it isn't tempting. I'd do that before a 7x10 headshot. Thanks for the heads up!

I got mine last week. I had requested a 50/50 Spidey/Parker head, but just got the Spider-man head. Still, it's a great book- no complaints! Mine is #23...

I thought they'd go even quicker. I pulled the trigger on mine around 1pm. Very cool deal!

Thanks Scott! I placed my order! I would assume that the sketch you get is random, correct? This is very cool, and I was actually very surprised at the price. I found it very affordable, all things considered.