PhilipB2k17

I said it was either mind blowing or a forgery. At the time, you didn't claim it was fake. But, I definitely allowed for that.

Why did you put quotation marks around the word "obvious" when I never wrote that word, or even implied it?

Yes, unless they copied the original and pasted on new titles and blurbs for production, which are now lost. Maybe done for a reprint? Its just weird for a forgery. Why not copy the paste ups too? Unless you had the actual original to compare it too, abd knew which were paste ups, how would you know the lower blurb was a paste up? Very odd.

I posted it there.

It may not be the OA, but is it possible this is an original production piece?

Sweet Jeebus. You can see the glue stains for where the title and cover blurbs went. And someone wrote “please rush!!” on the bottom. Is this real?!?

Was Boris commissioned for this job? Or did they just buy the rights to the painting?

How do you think I feel.

It’s possible Crespi’s anecdote was about the late 60’s rather than the early 60’s.

Is there an online copy of Irene Vartanoff’s initial 1974 art list anywhere?

Hey Felix. That new Marvel early silver covers art find wouldn’t be in the possession of Mark Landis, would it?

Looks too perfect.

Not to mention, I’d like to see that art be authenticated.

Well ain’t that interesting.

Yes. Not the part I specifically referenced.

This is based on Glen Gold's research. The printers' policy was to return the art in an envelope to Marvel. Including the covers. Because Marvel wanted it returned.

How did he get it? Did it fall off the back of the same truck those two guys in the 80's were following when out popped the OA for ASM 1-4 and X-Men #1?

Yes. But we know the OA covers I’m talking about were likely returned to Marvel. They weren’t destroyed.

I keep hearing a rumor that the cover to Cap #1 still exists. In the possession of the Simon family perhaps? Where else would it be?

Maybe because Billy died in 1999 and none of his art was put up for auction or sold in the interim. Maybe Glen assumed Billy got rid of it? Billy was something of a renaissance man, so maybe Glen thought he didn’t place much of a value on his comic book art? If Glen is following this thread, he can comment on it himself In any case, had it not surfaced, many of the same arguments used in our present debate could easily be used to “prove” the art no longer existed.

Yes, but how did this cover survive?

This is hilarious. I was ready through Glen Brunswick's blog, going back to 2012. One of his early entries has him questioning what happened to a lot of the Billy Graham Hero for Hire covers from the 70's. He had been searching for them forever. http://originalcomicartlocator.blogspot.com/2012/08/art-highlight-missing-hero-for-hire.html Well, just this year, a story was published (after the Black Panther film came out) about Bill Graham in the New York Times. Turns out, he kept all of his art from that series still in the Marvel return envelopes. On the Facebook message boards just a few weeks ago, Glen posted a story about how he contacted Billy's family and bought a lot of these "missing" covers from them. He just got back one of them (the cover to #5) from the restorer, in fact. Just goes to show that sometimes Art that is has been "missing" for a long time, might actually be somewhere after all.

I hate to say this, but it sounds like I am starting to step on some people's toes, and there is some butt covering going on for their pals.

What it shows is that tons of early Marvel art was stolen, and a lot of it is hidden away in black hole collections.

http://originalcomicartlocator.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-real-story-how-original-art-to-x.html From an interview with Glen Brunswick: "BECHARA [Maalouf]: One day in the mid 80's, Brad [Savage] was in the local comic shop he frequented when two young men entered the store with a bundle of comic art to sell the owner. Brad was stunned as the art turned out to be originals by Steve Ditko. The actual original Marvel art pages from complete stories to Amazing Spider-Man unfolded before his eyes--ASM issue 4 with Sandman, the third issue with the first appearance of Doc Ock, issue 2 featuring the Vulture and finally the complete original art to the historic Amazing Spider-Man number 1.The two men offered the whole lot, four issues of originals, to the shop keeper for $2000. Brad couldn't believe it--the shop keeper either couldn't afford it or didn't want to buy the art but Brad absolutely did. Between what he had in his pocket and a loan from the shop keeper he was able to scrape together $700. Brad offered to give the men the $700 as a down payment but they wouldn't take it. They needed the full $2000. Brad desperately tried to buy just one of the stories, the ASM 1, for the $700 but they wouldn't take that either. However, they were willing to meet Brad back at the comic shop the next day and do the deal if Brad had all the money. Brad figured he would never see the men again. The next day Brad was surprised to find the men back at the shop just as they had agreed. Brad was ready with the cash. Unfortunately, the men explained that they had found a guy to give them $2000 for the ASM 1 story alone, and they sold the book and the other Spidey stories to that same guy as well. However, they did have some good news for Brad. They had with them additional art that included the complete stories to X-Men 5, 2 and the complete art boards to the first appearance of the X-Men--issue 1--all by Jack Kirby. Brad asked them how they were able to get all this art. The young men explained that it all was very legit. They promised the books weren't stolen--they just couldn't talk about it. Brad wasn't about to argue--he was able to buy the complete X-men 1 story for $400, and the other original X-books as well for the paltry sum of $200 a piece." ******************* Just curious, but have any of the ASM #1 pages surfaced since then? If not, why? They're worth millions! Or maybe the person who bought them knows they were stolen, and doesn't want to deal with the headache.