comiconxion

I also have one of these variants which I purchased from a comic shop in Toronto in March 2020. There are also Canadian newsstand versions of this comic with the UPC code as well. There are US polybag reprints of this book, but you can easily distinguish them as they have a checklist with G.I. Joe #11 on this inside and a different back cover (Jedi Game). I checked my copy vs. a 1st printing direct edition and the inside back cover does differ. The Canadian Variant has the MPC Kits ad vs. the Prizes or Cash ad on the 1st printing. This one also has the Dodgers Cracker Jack ad on the inside front cover. That ad combo matches to cover ads that were published in Jan. 1983 (issue #7) so this does appear to be a later printing which used the same interiors as the 1st printings. This is similar to what happened with the Transformers #1-3 three packs which had a different back cover ad on issue #3, but is still considered (by most) a 1st printing. Regardless, it's a cool G.I. Joe rarity. Another bit of trivia... the cover layout was drawn by Ed Hannigan (uncredited) the same person who penciled the cover to G.I. Joe #21.

Not the G.I. Joe #21 cover... but two early consecutive Trimpe G.I. Joe pages coming up for sale from issue #6... Week of 12/22 - https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/herb-trimpe-and-jack-abel-gi-joe-a-real-american-hero-6-story-page-5-original-art-marve/p/322152-55001.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515 Week of 12/29 - https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/herb-trimpe-and-jack-abel-gi-joe-a-real-american-hero-6-story-page-4-original-art-marve/p/322201-42001.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515

CGC is proud to announce that we will be hosting an exclusive Private Signing event with the highly renowned artist Gerhard! He is best known for his detailed and diverse illustrations in the comic series Cerebus the Aardvark. In addition to signing, Gerhard will also be offering his illustrated Remarques for purchase. See pricing and more details below. For 20 years, Gerhard worked as a background artist, environmental designer and cover colorist on the Cerebus graphic novel which has been hailed as, “one of the most sprawling pieces of visual fiction ever created.” Since then he has been exploring other creative endeavors including doing commissioned work through his website, GerhardArt.com; contributing to the awesome Winsor McCay tribute book: Little Nemo, Dream Another Dream; working on a variant cover of The Walking Dead; illustrating a Grant Morrison story Smile of the Absent Cat and most recently, coloring Becoming Frankenstein. “The Signature Series team and I are beyond excited to be given the opportunity to host such a talented and influential artist,” said Brittany McManus, CGC Signature Series Director. “Gerhard has contributed and created numerous astounding pieces such as Cerebus’ popular crossovers in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We cannot wait to see all of the submissions that we will be receiving for this event and we are thrilled to be able to offer fans some of his fantastic Remarques for purchase!” For this exclusive event, ALL CGC members, including free CGC members, can submit books directly to CGC headquarters in Sarasota, Florida. CGC must receive all submissions for this event by Friday, February 11, 2022. If the Private Signing needs to be rescheduled, CGC will securely store all submissions in its vault until the event can be rescheduled. After Gerhard signs the submitted books, CGC will grade and encapsulate them with an estimated turnaround time of six weeks. If CCS pressing is also requested, the turnaround time is estimated at eight weeks. After grading and encapsulation, the collectibles will be shipped back to their owners. The CGC Private Signing fee for Gerhard is $70 per item and includes: Gerhard’s signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CCS pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CCS pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for a Gerhard Remarque is $160 per item and includes: Gerhard’s illustrated Remarque. Submitters may request the desired Remarque. Important: The final design and subject matter of the Remarque is at the artist’s discretion. CGC cannot guarantee Remarque requests. Gerhard’s signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CCS pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CCS pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label

Just announced - An official CGC signing with Gerhard. Get your Cerebus and TMNT #8's signed!

As my 50th birthday descends upon me this week, I wanted to try and do a bit more this year to use the artwork that I've collected to give back. I used some of the art in my collection to seed two exhibits across the US... Sarasota, FL (through March 25, 2022) - "POW! The Comic Art of Mike Zeck from the Costas Collection at Ringling College (https://www.ringlingcollege.gallery/zeck). Back in 2014, I had the opportunity to curate the "Raw Fury" exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum. For that, I assembled what I consider some of the best examples of Mike's work, borrowing some pieces (i.e.., the 6 Kraven covers, SW #1 & #8 covers) from other collectors. For this exhibit, I wanted to use only pieces from my collection to tell the story of Mike's career - from his first tryout pieces to his last interior story on G.I. Joe #21. This show allowed me to go deeper on certain things I hadn't showed publicly before. The complete Secret Wars #1 book is on display as a full display of Mike's G.I. Joe art I've managed keep acquire (and keep) over the years. Fans of Mike's art won't be disappointed! Columbus, OH (through May 30, 2022) - "Marvel: A Universe of Super Heroes" at COSI (https://cosi.org/exhibits/marvel-exhibit). This latest version of this traveling Marvel exhibit opened over the Thanksgiving weekend. If you've seen it before in another city... don't worry, there will be new things to view. I know I lent some additional X-Men props from my collection for this stop on the tour that were being used to create an "illuminating" expansion of the X-Men section of the exhibit. And, I know there were some more additions. As has been noted elsewhere, other collectors have also lent key pieces to this exhibit making this one of the most impressive exhibits of Marvel comic art ever assembled with pieces from many key issues represented throughout the exhibit. From my collection, in addition to others, I lent pieces from X-Men Giant Size #1, John Romita's very first Punisher sketch and a fantastic John Byrne 1978 Spider-man calendar piece with 60 stars from the Marvel Universe represented. With COVID restrictions, grand openings for these exhibits were delayed, but I'm hoping to visit both myself early next year. And, I hope many of you that are nearby to each of these will also got to visit the exhibits in the coming months. It makes me happy to be able to share pieces from my collection with people across the world and I hope to do more of these types of exhibits as I hit the back side of 50. If you do get a chance to visit these exhibits, please post pics here! I'm sure others will love to see them as well.

I believe I was first exposed through the derivative Rumple Minze ad campaign which ran in Rolling Stone in the mid-80's to early 90's. I may have seen Frazetta's work before that, but these ads caught my attention as a young lad. I used to own an original painting for an alternate version of this ad with a red head, but I'm not sure that ever got published.

Well, not to spoil the Mike Zeck exhibit currently at Ringling College in Sarasota, FL (https://www.ringlingcollege.gallery/zeck), but this piece is on display there. This is Zeck's version of the famous Frazetta painting. I didn't realize the painting was introduced into the storyline by Craig the year before. Interesting to see both artists' tribute to Frazetta. Frazetta was one of the artists that inspired Zeck early in his career.

Here's a special opportunity for Punisher fans to get a cool signed limited edition Joe Quesada print along with a chance to own an authentic piece of the Marvel Universe at PropStore.com/Marvel. https://www.marvel.com/articles/culture-lifestyle/marvel-s-the-punisher-items-available-in-latest-prop-store-auction

Similar to Shuriken, I heard they had pretty much immediately gone back to print with it because it sold better than expected.

Some good insights. You may be right that there were fewer counterfeits than we think. If I remember correctly, the numbers from the 150 numbering I saw were numbers 148 and 150. So, I’m the same range. There could have only been 10 or so of them. Who knows. The story I was told when I bought mine is that they came from Kevin’s aunt or some relative. When Kevin confronted them with the fact that the yellow ones were counterfeits, the dealer I got them from, magically had a white original set as well that they traded me for the counterfeits. I guess the aunt had two sets? I always thought that the real white set I had may have been the original source of the counterfeits, but they didn’t look disassembled. And, I could never find photocopied holes on the counterfeits that matched to my book. So, likely it was another copy that was taken apart and photocopied to make the fakes.

There’s always been a rumor that there was a 2nd printing of Primer #2 that was not labeled as such (similar to Shuriken #1). Anyone know how to identify the difference between a 1st and 2nd printing Primer #2? I’m not sure CGC recognizes the difference.

According to the eBay listing, they bought your copies in ‘86-87. That’s the earliest I’ve heard these appear. I had found a set in the 90’s and wrote to Kevin (before the internet) to have him confirm if the signature was real as it looked wrong to me. At that point, he confirmed that they had never made copies with a yellow cover and that these were counterfeit. The copies I’ve seen pop up typically have been in the Pennsylvania area, so I assume there were people selling copies to local comic shops there similar to the story on how Cerebus 1’s got distributed. Since Turtles were hot and no one had really seen an authentic set, who would know? It never became known until Overstreet had me write up an article exposing the counterfeits In the Price Guide in the 2000’s.

When I “discovered” these counterfeits in the 90’s, I also noticed two variations - some that were numbered to 150 and some to 500. So, I wonder if the counterfeiters had so much success selling the first 150 that they ran off another batch to 500? Looks like a lot of them came out of the PA area.

It’s the closest thing you’ll get to a Signature Series from Ditko out of CGC. And there is only one of each (and not even all issues). Was interesting to see the first few go for 3-4x current market and end closer to 10x for most. Not sure what they’re really worth but very cool.

How come no one has mentioned $93k for a New Mutants #98 page that doesn’t have Deadpool on it? And the ink is fading!

To answer your question, that doesn’t appear to be anyone known. From the look of Spider-man, it looks like an amateur, but someone good at drawing from photo reference.

Thought it was odd that John Beatty would have signed this book. Turns out that CGC can’t keep the inkers straight. The Amazing Spider-Man #285 Signature Series: Mike Zeck an... https://comics.ha.com/itm/modern-age-1980-present-/superhero/the-amazing-spider-man-285-signature-series-mike-zeck-and-john-beatty-marvel-1987-cgc-nm-96-white-pages/p/40176-40006.s

Looks nicer than the CGC 4.5 that sold for $2k last month, but I’d still call this one a 4.5. Not as nice as the one that sold in May for $2200 which is likely a 5.5. So, prices still seem to be on the rise. Still a long way from a Turtles 1.

Based on recent sales, I’d expect this one to end in the $2k range +/ $200. But, hey I could be completely wrong. The signature looks like an early one (pre-counterfeit). That may be a bonus to some.

Yes, the inside covers advertise an unauthorized portfolio by Gene Day. I don’t believe it was ever officially released as I believe Lucasfilm enforced their rights on it. Years ago, I think I saw some on eBay - likely left over from Gene Day’s estate or gifted to friends. I’d love to get one myself.

Does it bother people that CGC misidentifies the cover penciller in their attribution? Have they corrected it? It’s not Larry Hama (although he may have done the design layout).

For those that are fans of Mike Vosburg's run on G.I. Joe (issues #9-23), you may want to tune into the CAF Live Art sale that I'll be doing with Mike and Bill Cox on Saturday June 12, 2021 @ 10AM PT/1PM ET. He'll be taking questions from the audience throughout and talking about his art. You can find out more about the sale here https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=217347, but as a teaser, we'll be selling a special G.I. Joe cover recreation that Mike drew specifically for this sale. This is only the 2nd G.I. Joe cover recreation he's ever done so hoping some lucky Joe fan will get it!

On Saturday, June 12th at 10AM PT/1PM ET, join Mike Vosburg, Bill Cox and me (Chuck Costas) for a special live art "claim" sale. We'll get things rolling with an interview with Mike about his career in comics, television and film, and his self-published books including Lori Lovecraft, Retrowood, and Voodoo Mansion. For the sale, Mike will be presenting both published and unpublished artworks many of which are new to the market from his personal collection. There will be 30 lots including two complete stories offered, a G.I. Joe cover recreation specially created for the event, Spawn and Narnia storyboards, recent pinup illustrations, many of Mike's Reelart paintings and of course - several Lori Lovecraft illustrations! You can join the Livestream here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8Nh68GKxjA Each lot will be revealed one by one on the Livestream and on my CAF Gallery (https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=217347) simultaneously. I'll keep the CAF gallery updated during the event so that you'll know what lots are still available and which have been sold. Any unsold lots will also be available through this gallery after the Livestream event until July 4th. Each piece will be priced to sell and orders will be taken on a first come, first served basis. To reserve a piece, send me an e-mail directly at comiconxion@hotmail.com or you can send a message through CAF. Tune in and be quick. I expect many pieces to be sold within seconds of their reveal. When you reserve a piece, please indicate the lot # you want to reserve. Postage & Handling will be $50 for all orders within the US no matter how many pieces you purchase. So, buy more than one! Check out Mike Vosburg's website at vozart.com to learn a little bit more about Mike and to check out examples of his work. Keep your eyes out for banner ads and notices on CAF for more info. about the sale and we hope to see you on June 12th!

That looks like Kevin doing Rambo. I don’t remember this being published, but perhaps it’s a convention piece he did for sale. Sometimes he would do parody pieces like this in the mid-80’s. Sometimes the color pieces were colored on top of photocopies, sometimes not.

I did post on the Cerebus appreciation thread as well as the Original Art thread. I figured that since we weren’t selling Gerhard’s copy of Cerebus #1, it didn’t warrant a mention here I hope people enjoyed watching the sale event and gained some insights on Cerebus and Gerhard that they wouldn’t have otherwise. And, we tried to be reasonable on the pricing of pages so that fans could walk away with something Given that we sold all 30 lots, maybe we were too reasonable! Hopefully we’ll do another event next year. We had planned to do this last year, but then... 2020.