Brian Peck

Just the interiors to AF 15 are housed at the Library of Congress.

Flip it the other way, if you had to part with everything in your collection (for financial issues) except one piece which you could keep. What would it be?

No I would not trade or selling my whole collection for just one piece. I have a handful of pieces in my collection which I will never sell or part with. They will be with my til I die.

Please only original art in the Best of 2016. No coloured prints or colour guides. Also the Lowry is NOT a place for selling items. Please do NOT post sale prices in Lowry/Best of. Thanks.

Another good year I didn’t buy as many pieces as in past years. Did fill in some holes in my collection for artists I had been wanting nice examples of including Joe Kubert, Dave Stevens and Carmine Infantino. As usual its always hard to pick just 5 so I have included my runners-up. My Top 5 for 2016: The Rocketeer, Volume 2, Cliff's New York Adventure page 29 - Dave Stevens (Published: Interior Panel Pages) Loved Dave's Rocketeer from the first time I read it in Pacific Comics Starslayer. Always a fan of the old Commando Cody serials, Includes Cliff and Peevy, some great dialog (boy I miss that on modern comic art) and expressions by Peevy. The cherry on top is the inclusion of the Bull Dog Cafe (an LA landmark) on the page. http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=8432 Avengers #58 page 12 - John Buscema and George Klein (Published: Interior Panel Pages) From the classic "Even An Android Can Cry" story by Roy, John and George. My 2nd page from the issue. For me Klein is my favorite inker over Big John. http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=8433 Secret Agent X-9 "The Key To Power” - Al Williamson (Published: Strip Art) This was Al Williamson and Archie Goodwin's audition for the X-9 strips and later called Secret Agent Corrigan. Showcasing Phil Dexter aka X-9. Great example by Al from his prime period, some of the X-9 portraits have a strong Raymond influence. http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=8429 Osiris and Isis (plate 3) - Nestor Redondo (Unpublished/Published: Others) Fantastic inks, I have been after this page for a number of years. Published in "Men, Maiden and Myths" portfolio 1979. http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=8431 Excalibur #4 back cover - Alan Davis and Paul Neary (Published/Unpublished: Covers) Love Alan’s rendition of Meggan one of the best back covers from the series. http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=8430 Runners-Up for 2016: Warren Vampirella #110 cover - Enric Torres (Published/Unpublished: Covers) Great cover by Enric from the original Warren. Love the colours. http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1329979 Silver Surfer #1 cover (recreation) - John Buscema (Unplublishd/Published: Commissions) This is the 2nd cover recreation I have picked up by BIG John. Iconic image, for me John is THE Silver Surfer artist. I like Kirby's version but Surfer looks better drawn by Buscema. He did this recreation shortly before his death. http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1292615 Brave and Bold #15 page 26 - Joe Kubert (Published: Interior Panel Pages) A great pages with the Viking Prince fighting his way to freedom and diving into the water. http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1359465 Rocketeer Adventures #1: "Dear Betty…” - Mike Kaluta (Published: Splashes/Pin-Ups) I loved it when IDW started publishing new Rocketeer stories done by different writers and artists. This is from the series Rocketeer Adventures anthology series, Kurt Busiek wrote this tale illustrated by Kaluta. Mike pays tribute to one of the most iconic images of WWII, taken in Times Square on V-J Day. Having Cliff and Betty stand in for the sailor and nurse was perfect. Love Mike's art for the short story. http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1349814 Flash #142 page 3 - Carmine Infantino and Frank Giella (Published: Interior Panel Pages) I have been searching for a nice page with Flash extracting his suit from his ring. Great next panel with him running. Bonus is Iris telling Barry he should be catching the Trickster and he then leaves to do just that and Iris made at herself. Classic silver age. http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1332621 Bewitched page 2 (National Lampoon #1982-01 )- Bernie Wrightson (Published: Interior Panel Pages) A parody Bernie did in National Lampoon of the sitcom Bewitched using the premise "What if Samantha and her mother Endora behaved like stereotypical Witches from horror movies?" Great caricatures of Agnes Moorehead! Love the classic EC page with nosey neighbor Gladys Kravitz with her eyes melting for being a Peeping Tom! http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1311418 Etta CANDY vs. THE Cheetah - 10 Rounds - HG Peter (Unplublishd/Published: Others) H.G. Peter co-created Wonder Woman and drew her from 1941-1958. He also created Etta Candy and Cheetah . This watercolour piece was created in 1943. Very rare to find art by Peter especially in colour. http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1308437

It Begins: Here are the rules and information on Best of 2016. This year the Unpublished Convention Sketches will be expanded to include Sketch Covers. Below is instructions on how to upload images and descriptions for the entries. We have set aside a week for people to upload their stuff and then voting will begin. Best of 2016 Published and Unpublished (happens at the same time) You will have up to 5 entries and they can be in any of the 7 categories: Published Covers (Unpublished covers as well) Published Splashes, Pin-Ups Published Interior Panel pages Published Strip Art Published/Unpublished Commissions (work artist drawn outside of conventions) Unpublished Sketch Covers/Convention Sketches Published/Unpublished Other (all Published/Unpublished material which doesn’t fall into the other 6 categories (drawings, prelims, Style Guides, Rock Poster art, illustrations. etc.)) Posting Entries Begins: Saturday January 7th Posting Ends: Jan 15 11:59PM (Sunday) Best Published Acquisions of 2016. This theme lists each participating member's best acquisition of 2016 that has appeared or is/was scheduled to appear or created to appear in a comic book or comic book related publication. This category includes all published material, unpublished covers, and similar items. Best Unpublished Acquisions of 2016. This theme lists each participating member's best acquisition of 2016 that has not appeared and is not scheduled to appear in a comic book or comic book related publication. This category includes all unpublished material (except unpublished covers and pages), drawings, prelims, Style Guides. sketches commissions ect. Procedure for adding entries: 1) Goto http://www.comicartfans.com/Login.asp 2) Select Login then Admin/Edit User Profile 3) Select Manage/Manage Galleries Preferences 4) Select Your Lowry and add pieces (if you have not used the Lowry before) 5) Click the 'View/Add Pieces' link and then click the 'Add New Artwork' link. 6) Add a piece as you usually do to the caf but there is an additional field "Best of 2016" 7) Please include the artists names (both penciler and inker if it applies) 8) There are 6 categories to chose from: Published Covers (Unpublished covers as well) Published Splashes, Pin-Ups Published Interior Panel pages Published Strip Art Published/Unpublished Commissions (work artist drawn outside of conventions) Unpublished Sketch Covers/Convention Sketches (artwork drawn at conventions) Published/Unpublished Other (all Published/Unpublished material which doesn’t fall into the other 6 categories (drawings, prelims, Style Guides, Rock Poster art, illustrations. etc.)) 9) Select Active Voting starts Monday January 16th (Monday) Voting end January 22th (Sunday) In everyone's CAF there is a yellow section in the lower left there is a "Art by Year" section. It breaks down when pieces are posted by year. I will post instruction on where and how to go about voting for the Best of before voting day.

Best of 2016 will start on saturday. This year the Unpublished Convention Sketches will be expanded to include Sketch Covers.

Another great podcast, I was hoping you would have Scott as part of your series. He has an amazing collection and he is so focused. Years ago when I started my Collecting Comic Art panel at SDCC I had Scott and Tim Townsend. They had great perspectives on collecting OA from an artists point of view. I knew Scott would be a perfect guest for your series. Scott has so much great art in his collection but was disappointed he didn't talk (or highlight them in the video) my two favorites Avengers #58 splash "Even an android can cry!" and the unpublished Frazetta] Felic keep up the great work. Thanks Brian. I'll explain to you why I chose the art to show with a response to another friend collector who emailed me earlier... '' I purposely chose pieces that were not quite the “trophy” calibre pieces I have in my collection, because I wanted to explain the magic of quality art that’s meaningful to me, regardless of rank or value. I’m happy that my passion came through clearly and I appreciate you telling me so!" Having said that, it was hard to narrow down the choice to just 5! Scott Next time Felix should blindfold the subject and have them randomly pick pieces from a stack of their collection. Then tell the story when I got the piece.

Another great podcast, I was hoping you would have Scott as part of your series. He has an amazing collection and he is so focused. Years ago when I started my Collecting Comic Art panel at SDCC I had Scott and Tim Townsend. They had great perspectives on collecting OA from an artists point of view. I knew Scott would be a perfect guest for your series. Scott has so much great art in his collection but was disappointed he didn't talk (or highlight them in the video) my two favorites Avengers #58 splash "Even an android can cry!" and the unpublished Frazetta. Felic keep up the great work.

Interesting how paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and photographs are treated one way where the work can not be destroyed but other items that are also artistic like buildings can be and are destroyed all the time.

Look above and below the hand. There is both "Smith" and "JV" (hence the John Vuscema comment). Fan art, most likely . If it was intended to deceive it wouldn't have the JV signature yeah, I saw the smith.. My questions was more to "why John Buscema?" but I was unclear. It doesn't matter actually and draws attention from the simple fact that this is bad art. My guess is that the seller doesn't know that Buscema didn't do the early books. The seller references Buscema as "the series artist" and is likely unaware of the early contributions by Barry Smith. This seller doesn't strike me as very knowledgeable about comic art, evidenced by this attempt to pass the art off as Buscema. (And I'm not inferring that he doesn't know this is a fake - given his made-up story). He has been emailed many time that it was not drawn by Buscema and it a bad copy of BWS art. He is just trying to screw over some poor sap.

I hae emailed the seller a few times to take it down telling him it isnt by Big John

Hans sounds very reasonable in that discussion, he makes a lot of sense. Yes and his Comment detractors much less so. +1. After reading the linked article, its comments, this article https://itsartlaw.com/tag/nazi-looted-art/, and this article https://itsartlaw.com/2012/10/18/seven-year-saga-of-bakalar-v-vavra-ends-in-victory-for-current-owner-of-schiele-drawing-and-settles-concerns-over-application-of-the-laches-defense/, I am firmly on the side that the Mr. Kirby's heirs have a difficult path. The referenced Bakalar case on Nazi stolen art shows us that the "case ultimately turned on the defense of “laches,” an equitable doctrine asserted by Bakalar that bars title actions in which there has been a lengthy delay in filing a claim. Ultimately, the district court ruled in favor of Bakalar. It stated that to prevail in asserting the laches defense, a defending party must show that (1) the claimant was aware of the claim (or had reason to know of the claim), (2) the claimant inexcusably delayed in taking action, and (3) the defending party was prejudiced as a result. The district court held that Vavra and Fischer’s “ancestors were aware of–or should have been aware of–their potential intestate rights to Grunbaum property,” and that the ancestors “were not diligent in pursuing their claims to the drawing.” This thread is full of reasons why a laches defense would apply to Kirby art. Here's another reason, the mid 90's I purchased 6 pages from a 1962 kirby pencilled Marvel from a purchaser who had bought them at a Christy's auction in the early 90's. I would argue that the fact that a highly visible public auction was held without any claims of stolen artwork being made effectively scrubs the provenance clean. The same could be argued for pieces having sold on Ebay and Heritage in the past. Obviously, without knowing all the facts this must be determined on a case by case basis. All original art, not just Kirby's, faces the same issue and prices will most likely chill as a result. Hate to pile on when it comes to the Kirbys because of how Jack was abused, but these points are valid. And another thought that occurs: since the suit disregards the inkers' share, it begs a response regarding pages whose pencils were inked over and then erased. Could it be argued by lawyers who want to play just as much hardball that Kirby's "art" was destroyed in the production process with Kirby's full awareness and that all which remains are finished works by other people based on Kirby's designs? Kirby's art still exists under the inks so it wasn't completely destroyed.

Were the same thing being done at DC? If so I wonder why Jim Lee went to DC and became Co-Publisher.

They probably have the same lawyer, Marc Toberoff, from the Disney settlement. He has a history I trying to line his pockets. In 2001, Toberoff set up a joint venture with the Shusters that would have entitled Pacific Pictures, a company of his, to half of their reclaimed Superman rights. And in 2002, he and Emanuel approached the Siegels with an offer to pay the family $15 million to license their Superman rights. Nothing came of his efforts. The Siegels didn’t want to part with Superman. And he dissolved the joint venture with the Shusters when he realized it wouldn’t hold up in court. This comes from the legal case WB brought against Toberoff. So take alot of what the Kirby's say with a grain of salt since its probably coming thru Toberoff.

Yes! I find the idea of the artists having a perpetual percentage of resale to be utterly offensive. If your home builder wanted 10% of the price of the home every time it changed hands, what would you say to them? Property rights belong to the owner period. If the artist wants to participate in his or her own market, simply keep your originals. You can't have the money from selling them and participate in their future market too! I'd be shocked if we could find a lot of people that thought this was a good idea. Except for some artists who's art has increased in value alot since it was originally produced.

The family just got a s h i t load of money and now they want to go after original art that has been out there for at least 30 years (when some of the art was returned to Jack). They now have the money to throw at lawyers to lean on sellers and auction houses. I bet Marc Toberoff is behind this.

This is not the Uncanny X-Men art you are looking for. Slowly walk away.

The Kirby lawyer is Marc Toberoff, the ambulance chasing lawyer of entertainment. He is a very sleezy guy. He was the one who sued DC/WB on behalf of Siegel family.

The Kirby family are just a bunch of greedy bastards. Since none of them had a hand in producing any of the artwork they are going after.

This whole thing seems arbitrary, I don't see the Kirby family having any records on what Kirby sold and what he didn't. All this falls out of the statue of limitation.

Fewer pieces going to auctions and more private deals.

Problem with value categories, no way to verify. The other categories are easily to distinguish from their description, under $200 is all up to the person. Don't want to deal with the inevitable emails "That looks like its cost more than $200. It would be the honor system, for sure. Still, it might be worth a try. Would people honestly email you to complain? I find that astonishing. You guys are organizing this as a fun event for the community. Da noiv of some people! Yes some would. I have been overseeing the Best of for over a decade on the CAF (and before that on comicart-l). I do get emails like that.

Another category or just expand the con drawing one. Looking at alot of the sketch covers in CAF most look similar to con drawings. I don't think we would get enough entries if there was a separate sketch cover category.

Problem with value categories, no way to verify. The other categories are easily to distinguish from their description, under $200 is all up to the person. Don't want to deal with the inevitable emails "That looks like its cost more than $200.