Kent Mansley

For some reason, every time I submit the full name for the talented artist in bold above, the board edits out his first name. So I'll just say his full name was Richard Bickenbach, although he went by the shortened form of that name instead of the formal one.

I could be misremembering, but I believe these sold a few years ago in another auction. Don't hold me to it, but I think in that auction they listed the three head shots as done by Toth and the rest by Sgroi. Sgroi was a strong artist but could not draw as well as Toth. Those head shots are definitely better than the figures on the boards. Seems potentially plausible to me. These were also done in the early to mid-60's and Toth's animation style was still closer to the Space Angel series than what we remember him for. These head shots feel more like that than what we know ultimately became Space Ghost. In any case, it's impossible to know who did what with all this stuff unless it's signed. Multiple artists did drawings for the H&B show pitches back in the day including Ed Benedict, Bickenbach, Iwao Takamoto, Doug Wildey, Toth and more. As an aside, I used to know Tony Sgroi's daughter as she also worked in animation. Tony is mostly unknown but worked on so much stuff that we all grew up on. He was one of the most prolific animation artists at H&B for years. It's fun to see some of his art posted here.

I'll take a whack at some of the stuff that's come up in this thread. Apologies for the length. 1. In general, cels are fairly safer to buy as they are not easy to reproduce or fake at home. Most folks don't have the needed equipment to fake something in the same way you can for a sketch(see the McFarlane thread Malvin started). Cel setups with the background can be really hard to find as there is only one background for a scene but many cels. So if you can get a cel with a background that actually matches the scene, that's a win. Oftentimes, sellers will just grab a photocopy of the background or the wrong painted background and put it with any old cel and say they were supposed to be together. For example, this cel below does not actually match the BG. At least Heritage is kind enough to acknowledge that. Most sellers don't. https://comics.ha.com/itm/animation-art/my-neighbor-totoro-mei-chibi-totoro-and-chu-totoro-production-cel-with-production-background-studio-ghibli-1988-/a/7254-18177.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 2. Ghibli art is incredibly rare. As GeneticNinja posted, Mandarake is usually where you can get the best stuff. Just be prepared to spend a pretty penny for it. Anything that has come out from Ghibli was either a gift or from someone at the studio as they have not officially sold anything. Don't trust anything on eBay. And Bronty has a good eye! 3. As for the fake Eyvind Earle's and Mary Blairs, in most cases they are not fake paintings created by crooks although some of that exists. The reality is there were many artists at Disney that did development paintings for the films. Most folks probably couldn't tell the difference between a Eyvind Earle painting and Ralph Hulett painting, let alone know who Ralph was. Both were very talented painters but each subsumed their own style to fit into the films. In animation, the whole point is to have it look like it was all done by one person. A lot of art sold as done by Mary Blair is most likely done by a different Disney artist. I can tell a Mary Blair original from another artist credited as her pretty easily but that comes from studying her work for many years. 4. Tons, and I mean tons, of art was taken from the Disney morgue in the 70's and 80's. So it is not surprising to see so much of it for sale as prices have risen. 5. There was a lot of anime cels sold in the 90's but the beauty of animation is lots of cels were created for our favorite shows. Unlike comic art where there is only one piece for that page, animation has 24 frames per second. Not every frame has a new drawing or cel, but that's still a lot. So don't lose hope if there is something you are looking for. You never know when something will pop up! =) 6. Keep an eye out for sericels being sold as originals. These are typically studio sanctioned reproductions. Almost every studio has done these including Ghibli. Usually though, there is a demarcation on the cel that it is a reproduction and also a number like a fine art print. I've seen some sellers on eBay try to pass these off as originals. They are not. Good luck to anyone who bids in the HA. There is some great stuff!

These are really fun! I love the bright colors that were used on Peanuts merchandising in this era. There is a very loyal fanbase for Peanuts merch. They used to get together in Santa Rosa, CA, near the Schulz Museum for sales but not sure how the pandemic impacted things. Sadly, the stickers you have are not very valuable from a monetary perspective. It sounds like there is some nice sentimental value with them though if they have been with you this long. Priceless!

That's really nice! I wish Salmons had done more work. He really had a great style. Good luck with the page!

I was able to sell enough to fund my purchase so I'm moving the remaining Timm pieces back into my collection. Thanks to everyone who looked or bought. Very much appreciate it! It allowed me to get a page from something I've wanted for a long time. Still have some other art available by the likes of Matteo Scalera, Filipe Andrade and Shane Glines.

Need to raise some funds for a purchase, so I've updated my CAF For Sale folder. Bruce Timm covers and superhero art. Green Lantern, Red Sonja, All Crime and more. See a sample below. Prices are listed but make me a good offer and I'll consider it. Thanks for looking! https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=192389

Congrats! It's been fun to see all the additions you've gotten so far. This has to feel like you made it to the top of Mt. Everest. Love the detail on this page. Just perfect!

I love his short run on Detective Comics issues 569 to 575 so much. Davis and Neary were so perfect together. I'd love to find any pages or covers if anyone has any leads. Willing to buy or trade. Please feel free to reach out here if you have anything or via my CAF gallery, which I've linked below. Thanks so much for any help! https://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=107626

I posted this piece to CAF recently. I really love Timm's take on the FF.

That particular strip holds a special place in my heart. I directed the last Peanuts animated special which has a focus on Linus and his blanket. The strips it's based on are beautiful and show Linus' humanity in an interesting way. I'm so glad to see this strip emerge and very, very happy to see it land in your collection. This thread is filled with your appreciation for Peanuts and it's always nice to see Sparky's art in the hands of folks that love it. Huge congrats to you!

Here's one I recently uploaded to CAF. I believe this was done for a San Diego program but I have never seen the printed version. If someone knows different, please let me know.

Thank you! I love the final painting of this cover a lot, but I will admit that I like this prelim more. I'm a big fan of Timm's ink work. He is a wizard with color but I feel like the animator in him shines the most when he is inking.

Thanks for posting those Barreto Shadow pages. I really loved his run on that book. Just beautiful art that had wonderful nods to the past but also felt very present and modern. Beautiful work all around.

Oh man, that is some vintage 80's goodness! So cool to see! Thanks for sharing. It took me back in time!