The Voord

No, you don't have to pay to post your stuff on CAF, premium membership is merely an option. Problem, for me, is that CAF has been swamped over the years with too much drek (amateurish fan-boy art and sexy drawings that look anything but for the most part), that it's become difficult to trawl through to get to the good stuff. I rarely look at daily updates, preferring to search for artists that appeal to me . . . or I keep an eye out for updates from those collectors who have shared interests. I took out a premium membership a while back. Not that it was really needed, but I'd done well over the years selling art as well as collecting - so I figured the least I could do is take out a yearly subscription by way of a small thank you. CAF is also a good way for me to keep a pictorial record of art I'd parted with over the years. I have a de-activated 'SOLD' gallery that only I can see, though sometimes it can be painful for me to look back on.

Is it? Pray tell some more . . . You haven't been listening to Phillip Bin Laden have you (no connection to the terrorist leader, I hope)? He has some great conspiracy theories . . .

Not my thing, I think it's just an off-shoot of the CGC comic-book slabbed phenomenon. That said, some of the drawings I'm seeing look really cool (and also a lot of hastily-illustrated junk), so whatever floats your boat, I guess. . . . If you love slabbed comic-books, you'll love slabbed artwork.

To get back on topic (it's not unusual . . . to go off on a tangent at anytime), I lived through the changeover from Ditko to Romita Snr. Romita, I thought, was a terrific illustrator . . . but it's as if, with Ditko's departure (as plotter for the latter chunk of his tenure), Stan Lee decided to deconstruct a lot of the things that made the book work so well and had made it a must-have monthly buy. It's as if Lee had said, "Hey, let's give Peter Parker a break". The Green Goblin saga was given a sensational finale . . . but one that would make it difficult to resurrect the character successfully (I never really cared much for Marvel's various attempts to revive the villain) and Peter being accepted into the fold (while nice to see) eliminated much of the personal conflicts going on in his private life that made the early books so compelling. The reveal of Mary Jane Watson (hinted as coming in the Ditko books) gave us an airhead female who was (even back then in the late 1960s) sounding dated (with her 'Groovy, baby!' dialogue). Romita Snr designed some impressive-looking new villains, but most seemed to lack the spark of the Ditko-created baddies who have lasted the test of time. The Rhino looked kind of tough as he head-butted his way into things, but was incapable of giving a good villain's speech (being such a dumb mother-f**ker). Jonah Jameson Jnr in a space-suit didn't do much for me (I think they later re-invented him later on as a werewolf in a space-suit?) The Shocker looked cool but seemed to me like a re-invent of Electro. A new Vulture was given wings (and a dinky new dinky cap), but didn't last too long. The Kingpin was a stroke of genius from the new team . . . but then again, he harkened back to crime-lords such as the Big Man and the Crime-Master (Ditko-created criminal overlords). People here after my time may not 'get' Ditko . . . but please acknowledge his groundbreaking work. He was a genius. 'Nuff said . . .

I post everything I have on CAF. Sometimes I've regretted a few things that I got tempted into parting with, but as I prefer to share have learned to live with past mistakes. Within three minutes of posting my recently acquired Ditko ASM splash I had a PM from someone wanting me to sell it to him. This is despite a NFS description and a lengthy write-up talking about how happy I was to have landed the art. I ended-up revising the NFS status to something worded a little stronger.

Actually, I see the problem. Lockjaw is such a blob of a dog. Who in their right mind would want to keep such an overweight lump of lard? Must have set the Inhumans back a few hundred dollars a week in food bills. It's a wonder he could even move to menace the Thing, for Christ-sake. What the cover needed was a REAL dog . . . like my English Bull-Terrier (or English Bull-Terrorist, if you prefer), Sasha. This breed has been known to kill nasty Persian types by their thousands . . .

Maybe it's not everyone's 'Thing'?

They ran a Ditko OA exhibition in Palma, Spain a few years ago, organized by Paris Fred. As an artwork contributor, I got treated like royalty when I finally made the visit with my wife a few months after the official opening. Lots of ASM art on display. For those that may have missed my post at the time, a selection of photos from my visit can be viewed on my CAF at: https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=178300

Currently doing a 'For Sale' gallery on my CAF (link below). Still another five pieces to add, so be sure to check back during the coming week for new additions. I don't like leaving For Sale items up indefinitely, so everything listed will run until the end of March 2020, after which time all unsold items will be withdrawn. https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=201959

Yo, m'man, P-Nutz! Sounds like something I would have suggested after consuming a few beers Oh, wait, maybe I did . . .

Well, I was using my real name (Terry Doyle) up until CGC had its big overhaul a few years ago. As I couldn't remember my original log-in/password details and couldn't find an alternative way back in, I created a new account and changed my user name to 'The Voord' (after the villains appearing in an early 1964 1st season Dr Who story called, 'The Keys of Marinus'). Couldn't re-join under my name as I'd already created (and lost) that account. Don't really think I'm shielding my identity from anyone as I often do CAF updates where I'm listed under my real name.

New in today (please excuse the lousy photograph) . . . full write-up on my CAF at: https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?Piece=1594625

Would make me sad, too.

I own a handful of qualifying artworks, so here's one key example (along with a copy-and-paste write-up from my CAF) . . . Back in the 1960s, in my home town of Liverpool, England . . . I used to scour all the local newsagents for the latest American comic-books. Although I had a preference for the Marvel titles, I was quite open to try anything that looked interesting (regardless of publisher). One weekend, during a systematic search of the neighborhood, I came across the # 24 issue of a title I'd not seen before . . . SPACE FAMILY ROBINSON, LOST IN SPACE. The dramatic (painted) cover depicted a daring rescue bid to save a sacrificial victim from an imminent fiery death, atop of the hands of a gigantic statue in the ancient mythical land of Atlantis. On the strength of the cover painting alone I bought the comic-book and was duly hooked on the adventures of the Robinsons (which have no bearing on the TV series of the same name). The interior art, by Dan Spiegle, was deceptively simple. His story-telling, in comparison to the superhero stuff of the time, didn't go in for the heightened sense of drama most of us had become accustomed to. Spiegle's story art was a gentle, refreshing change of pace . . . allowing the strength of the writing not to be overshadowed by flashy macho-posturing characters. A month or two after buying LOST IN SPACE # 24, I bought the follow-up issue of this two-part adventure. The cover image to SPACE FAMILY ROBINSON, LOST IN SPACE # 25 was, to the 10 year old boy I was at the time, even more spectacular!. For over four decades I'd been enamoured of George Wilson's stunning # 25 cover painting - and it remained high on my 'Wants' list of nostalgic favourites. In recent years, when I decided to scale-down my collection to a core group of cherished favourites, I'd abandoned all hope of ever finding my LOST IN SPACE cover grail. One day, out of the blue, I received an e-mail from the (then) owner - expressing an interest in releasing the cover to me in trade. Through several weeks of looking at trade options (for artwork outside of my own collection that I could possibly buy as trade-bait), the alternative idea of a straight cash sale was agreed upon - and many, many years later, the original artwork for a much-loved and long-admired painting found its way to me.

I stopped at 200. I'd been in the British army for six years from 1972 to 1977 and during that time had a three-year posting in Germany, so pretty much had a period where I didn't really have the opportunity to keep up-to-date with the title. After my de-mob, I bought-up all the back issues and found that I wasn't terribly excited by what I was reading (or looking at, for some artists). There was one period where Spidey was driving around in what looked like a Beach Buggy (called, The Spider-Mobile, I think) and I just thought to myself, "Super-Hero types take a big stretch of the imagination, but this is just totally nuts . . . I guess Stan must have said to the writer of the time, "Beach Buggies are cool, let's give Spidey one to drive around walls on!" For me, the Ditko run is classic (he created most of the enduring villains and developed all the characters that once established pretty much wrote themselves). I like the early John Romita Snr Stuff, as illustrations, but it was clear to me that he was just drawing, whereas Ditko was actively involved in the plotting, writing and development. I get that people here might not necessarily 'get' Ditko, but you gotta recognize that he set the rule-book for what was to follow . . . even if some joker decided to throw-in a Spider-Mobile.

They're dancing 'The Bump', Alex!

Yes, you could describe it as a preliminary artwork, not the final painted version. Conceptual paintings could comprise of a number of different designs.

Currently checking this out with FB friends on a British OA group. Up to now, thoughts are that it could be an unpublished piece? Great painting and definitely a legit John M Burns artwork.

I probably lean more towards Kirby's AF cover though the rejected Ditko version looks perfectly acceptable (not much in it for me). On the other hand, I prefer Ditko's unused ASM # 10 cover over the published Kirby/Ditko version. Fascinating to discover such things exist years after publication and it makes you wonder (outside of a small number of known rejected versions) how many other covers Lee requested re-dos of?

1. Steve Ditko 2. John Romita, Snr 3. Mike Zeck (on Kraven's Last Hunt) No-one else really figures for me.

Ha, ha, ha, I like that! To be honest, an Aunt May page would have been fine for my needs . . . I just wanted to have an affordable page of Ditko ASM original art. What was it Uncle Ben once told Peter Parker: "With great content, comes a great price tag". Last two splash pages to appear in auction through Heritage (#s 12 and # 27) sold for $137,425 and $239,000 respectively. Definitely BSD territory . . . so I guess I swim with the smaller fish I've now got myself a nice triptych of Steve Ditko artworks from 1966, so I'm happy:

No artist worth his salt should be without lined notepaper to draw on!

Can't see artists peddling this kind of cr@p at conventions . . . don't think the organisers would approve? As to the $50k offer to Choi, it's a lot of money to turn down, but maybe not good for his reputation if the work came to light . . .