comick1

I wish I'd known that. When I scored that one--after about 20 years of searching--I scored another one within a couple months and it was almost as nice. I sold it to Keith M. about 4 years ago, but I think he flipped it as well. That ish eluded me forever. Even in lower grades, it's not all that common. . .and for good reason.

Andy got me inspired. I'm posting a few SSWS that preceded the Marie and Dinosaur runs:

Awesome copy of a very cool key-congrats! Ditto Dan. Nice score, Andy!

Hiya Tim!

Absolutely correct, on both the i.d. AND how awesome this story is. This is probably the single issue that I've read the most out of my entire war collection (with SSWS 199-200 being the story I've read the most-Unknown Soldier vs Mlle Marie!). Kirby's pacing and panel layout on OFF 152 reads like a movie. OK, definitely breaking it out of the mylar and reading it again. That & the SSWS 199-200 story arc. Thanks fellers!

Oh man, I didn't know Russ was going to be there. I woulda headed up there for that. Great pic!

Short answer: Our Army at War was Kubert's main gig until about #207 in 1969. The only thing even close is his interior work in GIC until near the end of 1965 (#113). After that, he would only sporadically contribute to any of the interiors of all titles (unless you count reprints in the 80/100 pagers. . .and I don't). So a pivotal term in your questions is "usually." Even in OAAW, he usually was the artist between 1965-1969. Of course, the dwindling interior stories that Kubert was tasked with had zero correlation with how truly prolific he was. It was at this time that Kubert's unprecedented contribution to the "face" of ALL DC war books was solidified. His covers became the norm rather than the exception for all the remaining Big-5 titles. Think late Star Spangled War Stories/ Unknown Soldier covers until the demise of the title. . .how many non-Kuberts can you think of vs Kuberts. A few here and there, but there just weren't all that many. Same with GIC, OFF, and OAAW. Kubert's tenure on all of the cover chores only ended when the titles folded. I WISH Kubert did more of the interiors after 1969, but that's part of what makes the 1965 and earlier periods so amazing. Those early Kubert OAAWs are still some of the finest interiors of any genre from any era. Totally amazing!

That is totally awesome! Uhhhhhhhh. . .YEAHHH!!!!!

Thanks, dude.

Fellers, I zeroed out the Big-5 account. I'm not planning on further sponsoring any artists at this point. The Big-5 war comics banquet will still continue as a fan get-together (and any surviving Big-5 pros who join us will get a free dinner/drinks), but we're scaling back. We've been doing this for 21 years. One of the main reasons we held the banquets was to show some recognition for the creators who made the best genre DC ever put together. Over the years, we held auctions during the banquets from art donated by artists (often from artists in attendance, but a sizable amount of donations made in absentia) and turned that money over year after year after year to help underwrite the hotel and travel expenses. We received sweetheart deals on hotel accommodations from Comic-Con whenever possible, but most of the expenses were on our collective Big-5 dimes. The list of pros who attended our banquets over the years is kinda staggering: Russ Heath, Mort Drucker, Irv Novick, Joe Kubert, Jon Severin, Charles Cuidera, Sam Glanzman, Dan Spiegle, Ric Estrada, Sergio Aragones, Tom Yeates, George Pratt, Carmine Infantino, Tony Dezuniga, Gerry Talaoc, Bob Haney, Walt Simonson, Grey Morrow, Ayers, Angelo Torres, and probably a couple I'm forgetting. Of the 50s and 60s crew, only Heath, Drucker, and Glanzman are still alive. There are still people like Aragones, Simonson, Yeates, Adams, Tucci, and Pratt who all contributed to DC war AND contributed donations to the auctions over the years, but they all tend to make it out to the con on their own dimes or are special guests of the con. We've occasionally been lucky enough for most of them to drop in our banquets, but their attendance is often pending availability against competing events during the convention. One of the original missions was to sponsor remaining artists. . .while they're alive to receive some recognition. With Russ fast approaching 90 and Sam at 92, the roster of artists (from the original Big-5 titles) even ABLE to attend has dwindled to a trickle. Sam Glanzman ALMOST made it a couple years ago, but health issues have made it prohibitive. Likewise, Russ Heath is still interested in attending, but the logistical concerns with travel to and from his home in Van Nuys (north of LA) along with his extremely limited mobility have made it a complicated 24-hour commitment, so I'm hoping that Comic-Con will kick in for him as a special guest in 2017 and any more remaining years. I received the endorsement of all Big-5ers in attendance at the banquet to turn over any remaining $$ after the auction and all the travel arrangement dust settling and split ALL the remaining $$ between Russ and Sam while the two of them can still benefit from the donation. I'm including a snapshot of the two bank checks that will be mailed out by Thecollectron (he doesn't know it yet, but I know I can count on him). For future years, we will continue the war comics banquet, but the focus will move away from artist sponsorship and auctions to just an opportunity for old war comics collectors to convene at an annual event around a mutually loved genre--a modest but certainly no less compelling reason to get together. Here are some snapshots of the bank checks I'm sending to Sam and Russ. If anybody has any questions, I'll be happy to respond.

Those are some pretty strong words, there, pardner! I'm gonna hit up those places in LA just to see if you're right, but I'm a skeptic by nature. There's quite a high bar that's been set by Filippi's. Nonetheless, I'll be as objective as possible. Where are these establishments? [/quote Vito's pizza is located at 846 La Cienega Blvd in Los Angeles. It's Just south of Santa Monica Blvd on the east side of the street in a strip mall. Tomato Pie is located at 7751 Melrose Ave in Los Angeles. I prefer Vito's; I've been eating there for years. Vito's was originally located across the street from LACC on Vermont Ave and Vito moved to his current location many years ago. Anytime you want to meet me there, Mick, just LMK. We can bring a few War Books BTW--Vito's is a hole in the wall. There are a few indoor tables so it's best to meet before the lunch rush or after the lunch rush. A Saturday afternoon would be great as I have season seats to my beloved LA Rams during the football season so Sundays are out. Steve Sounds good. I'll give you a shout next time I'm in Smell-A.

Those are some pretty strong words, there, pardner! I'm gonna hit up those places in LA just to see if you're right, but I'm a skeptic by nature. There's quite a high bar that's been set by Filippi's. Nonetheless, I'll be as objective as possible. Where are these establishments?

Thanks for the kudos, Dan, Andy, and Michael! It was a pleasure every step of the way. We pulled out SO MANY of the original artists over the years. I'm still in awe of meeting them. To me they're ROCK STARS! But then, so are my friends who have reliably attended so many of the banquets. It wouldn't be the same without you guys. Hard to imagine that it's been 21 years! Yikes! Part of it is that I look for excuses to eat some Filippi's vinegar. (with a side of pizza, of course). Mick

You're welcome, Michael. Truly, I am just gratified that it makes Russ Heath happy. It's always been a MAJOR priority of our group to provide these old creators with some laughs, a chance for some recognition by their fans, a way to connect with their old friends and colleagues, and an opportunity to make a bit of cash. We accomplished all four as far as I can surmise. I'm going to wait for the dust to settle a bit and come up with the final amount that we will be splitting between Russ Heath and Sam Glanzman. Mick

This just in! For 90 minutes, legendary Atomic/Silver Age artist, Russ Heath will be signing his Sgt. Rock, "Hall of Fame" Edition of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide at the Diamond/Gemstone booth (2401). A small supply of this LIMITED version of the Overstreet Price Guide will be available for sale during the signing 10:30 AM until 12:00 noon Friday, July 22! Don't miss it! AND Russ Heath will also be signing at the IDW booth (2743) on Friday between 1:00-2:00 Hope to see you then!

Big-5 War Comics Banquet / Auction (coincides with Thursday of San Diego Con) Date: Thursday, July 21 Time: 8:00-10:30 Where: Filippi's Pizza Grotto Address: 1747 India St San Diego 92101 As in the past, we'll be charging $25.00 a head. That pays for salads for everybody AND you can order anything off the entree or pizza menu. You can also order sodas/non-alcoholic drinks on that tab. If you want to order any alcohol, the waitress will keep a separate tab and you'll pay that "cash bar" style at the end. The extra $$ will go toward underwriting Russ Heath's meal and hotel room. We'll take the proceeds from the auction and use some for underwriting next year's guest AND send a little nest-egg to Russ Heath and Sam Glanzman. Everybody's invited Special guest -- Russ Heath As in the past, I'm working on a few art donations for the auction, including one from Russ Heath. You are also welcome to bring your own items to auction off that night. We're inviting people to bring any things that they'd like to auction. You may specify how much of the proceeds from the auction will go toward the Big-5 group (20% minimum. In other words, people who donate an item pocket a maximum of 80%. If you want to donate more or the whole thing, that's up to you.) We'll have some cool little surprises on hand as always. Hope you can make it! Please RSVP with a headcount if you ARE planning on attending. Best, Mick Private message or email work great. comick1@aol.com

It's been awhile since I posted some books, so here are a few later 10¢ers:

My favorite band of all time--The Kinks. (Sorry, just now answering this one)

Awesome story. Ayers was a very nice guy who had some great art in Atlas. He was much more than just a Kirby inker. HE did some good work in DC war comics in the 70s as well. Always a very approachable and generous fellow who donated numerous times to the war comics banquet auctions. He was our guest about 3 X over the years, but he donated more than that even in absentia. Total gentleman of the first order.

Wow thanks! I'll be in the area so I'll be there. Will there be a drawing or a fundraiser? If I remember right you've done those in the past. We always manage to have a few cool surprises for the art auction. Artists donate stuff and collectors bring their own stuff to auction off (minimum of 25% goes to the Big-5 war group so we can continue to underwrite hotel and travel expenses for artists).

It'll be Thursday night. Goes from 8-10. Filippi's Pizza Grotto on India St. (North of downtown)

For any of the DC war fanatics who's planning to pick up a copy of the Overstreet guide for this year, I guess it's going to be the limited edition Sgt. Rock cover for you guys then. An absolutely gorgeous Sgt. Rock cover by Russ Heath and definitely better than the standard edition Harley Quinn and Power Girl covers by Amanda Conners. Especially since this limited edition cover is going for the same price as the standard edition covers. Holy ! Anyone know who has this available as a pre-order? This is awesome! Here's more info: http://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1013?articleID=178428 I already placed my order with the owner of my LCS on FCBD. He was not even aware that this limited edition was available for order by the stores as he initially thought that I was talking about the Hero's Initiative Limited Edition which are not available for order by the LCS's. By far, the best Overstreet cover that we have EVER seen in several years! Fixed that for you. Russ Heath STILL CAN DRAW LIKE A MADMAN!!!!!!!

Russ is a go. He's not officially set up in Artist's Alley and probably won't be, but he's coming to the Big-5 war comics banquet and will probably be toodling around a bit on the con floor on Friday of con. PM me and we can figure out some logistical stuff so that you can be sure to meet him.

Working on that eventuality right now. I'll keep you updated.

A valid claim! Yes!