Baker Romance 43 43

[adamstrange]

On 8/18/2023 at 6:32 PM, PeterPark said:

Wish I had heard heritage was having this...high prices and affordable ones!

I think there are many sellers out there that can help you with even higher prices!

[manetteska]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:09 AM, Robot Man said:

Thanks for posting these. Wow, that Cinderella Love 29 and Crown 7 (two of my favorites) went crazy. I bought these for peanuts (by todays standards) a few years ago just because I loved them so much. I am a bit astounded but so happy I grabbed them and hung on to them…

I guess I'm a bit out of touch on the Jo-Jo #25; I thought that price was crazy until I looked up recent sales -- seems in-line.

Is it definitely a Baker cover?

Edited August 19, 2023 by manetteska
typo

[comicnoir]

On 8/18/2023 at 8:53 PM, manetteska said:

I guess I'm a bit out of touch on the Jo-Jo #25; I thought that price was crazy until I looked up recent sales -- seems line.

Is it definitely a Baker cover?

I'm not sure. JoJo looks a little stiff, unBaker-like. The native looks Baker. The girl looks nice.

[10centcomics]

On 8/18/2023 at 8:53 PM, manetteska said:

I guess I'm a bit out of touch on the Jo-Jo #25; I thought that price was crazy until I looked up recent sales -- seems line.

Is it definitely a Baker cover?

There is some doubt about that one. In The Art of Glamour, there is a footnote that says it could be an Iger Studio artist swiping Baker's style.

[comicjack]

On 8/18/2023 at 8:58 PM, 10centcomics said:

There is some doubt about that one. In The Art of Glamour, there is a footnote that says it could be an Iger Studio artist swiping Baker's style.

One can say that about Phantom Lady 17 also they all most likely had some input on many books from what i see 

[10centcomics]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:27 PM, comicjack said:

One can say that about Phantom Lady 17 also they all most likely had some input on many books from what i see 

Yeah I'll take it a step further with Phantom Lady 17 and confidently say Baker did not draw that cover. Does not look like anything else he has done.

[comicjack]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:44 PM, 10centcomics said:

Yeah I'll take it a step further with Phantom Lady 17 and confidently say Baker did not draw that cover. Does not look like anything else he has done.

The hands give it away for me he was so much better than that 

[10centcomics]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:47 PM, comicjack said:

The hands give it away for me he was so much better than that 

Hair, eyes, hands, chest, and wooden pose all do not look like Baker's work. The heavy shadows and wrinkles on the shirt look like classic Al Feldstein. I'm not sure where the Baker attribution came from. I think there was some signed Baker interior Phantom Lady art and folks then just assumed he might've drawn the covers as well? 

[comicnoir]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:53 PM, 10centcomics said:

Hair, eyes, hands, chest, and wooden pose all do not look like Baker's work. The heavy shadows and wrinkles on the shirt look like classic Al Feldstein. I'm not sure where the Baker attribution came from. I think there was some signed Baker interior Phantom Lady art and folks then just assumed he might've drawn the covers as well? 

I met Feldstein twice and we talked about Baker and how he influenced him, but nothing about PL17.

[10centcomics]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:02 PM, comicnoir said:

I met Feldstein twice and we talked about Baker and how he influenced him, but nothing about PL17.

Yeah in the The Art of Glamour there is an interview with Al Feldstein and he only recalls doing minor inks and backgrounds on Phantom Lady, not the covers. So the mystery continues...

[Ryan.]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:09 PM, 10centcomics said:

Yeah in the The Art of Glamour there is an interview with Al Feldstein and he only recalls doing minor inks and backgrounds on Phantom Lady, not the covers. So the mystery continues...

There's extensive discussion buried in this thread regarding Baker, Phantom Lady 17 and Feldstein's recollection thereof. At one point Feldstein refers to Baker as the leading headlights artist, which is certainly not Baker's claim to fame and diminishes his skill as a draftsman. My conclusion was that Feldstein was misremembering certain events, which most people would when recalling details from decades prior. I say this as a huge Feldstein fan. I can barely remember the names of coworkers from ten years ago let alone what those people contributed to any given project. 

If Baker did draw the cover of Phantom Lady 17 it was done so under the artistic direction of someone else in the Iger shop.

[Robot Man]

On 8/18/2023 at 3:39 PM, lou_fine said:

Well, you really shouldn't have been THAT surprised by the Cinderella Love 29 going so high since it was the one and only featured promo cover book for this latest Matt Baker Showcase Auction.  

I don’t follow the HA auctions nor do I see the catalogues. Just astounded with the hammer price after what I paid just a few years ago for about a 3.0. I know it is a good one and one of my favorites. Very grateful to one of the best board members here! 

[comicjack]

On 8/18/2023 at 11:15 PM, szav said:

I went big for one last night.  I know at any given time there's like 30 of these in VG- or worse shape for sale on eBay, but I like the genuine file copies and this one has the best back cover of the 3 Baker Lassies IMO.  Love the painted covers by Gollub too.

Bright and white 

[plady69]

On 8/18/2023 at 8:15 PM, szav said:

I went big for one last night.  I know at any given time there's like 30 of these in VG- or worse shape for sale on eBay, but I like the genuine file copies and this one has the best back cover of the 3 Baker Lassies IMO.  Love the painted covers by Gollub too.

Matt sure didn’t like drawing thumbs…

[Yorick]

I was out of town and disconnected from the internet for the recent HA auction.  I had to put my bids in quite early, but I am happy that at least one of my bids was a success.  Likely the worst copy of All Picture All True Love Story #1 I've ever seen, but I will be quite happy to cross that off my "need" list!  I can't wait to flip through it and see what guts it has inside.

ps. VERY happy to see those results for CL29!!

[Point Five]

On 8/18/2023 at 11:15 PM, szav said:

I went big for one last night.  I know at any given time there's like 30 of these in VG- or worse shape for sale on eBay, but I like the genuine file copies and this one has the best back cover of the 3 Baker Lassies IMO.  Love the painted covers by Gollub too.

 

I sure hope you're planning on doing the right thing, and that you'll return this book to Western Printing & Litho Co. in Racine, Wisconsin. It's been almost 70 years now; they must be worried sick!

 

[comicnoir]

I'm showing my copy again.

[lou_fine]

On 8/19/2023 at 8:45 PM, comicnoir said:

I'm showing my copy again.

Congrats on having a copy of this clearly much in demand Matt Baker cover book in your personal collection?  

From looking at this cover image though, can somebody explain why this book here has been burning red hot lately since the Heritage archives indicates that an equivalent CGC 5.0 graded copy to the CBCS 5.0 graded copy that sold for $7,800 managed to fetched only $403.91 back in 2014.    

It's not like there's some scantily clad half naked femme fatale or some salicious innuendo undertones to this cover image?  Or since there's no words on this cover image, are we supposed to tell from their eyes and where they appear to be looking that we can read their minds and the sinful salicious thoughts that they must be thinking about?    

[comicnoir]

On 8/20/2023 at 1:22 AM, lou_fine said:

Congrats on having a copy of this clearly much in demand Matt Baker cover book in your personal collection?  

From looking at this cover image though, can somebody explain why this book here has been burning red hot lately since the Heritage archives indicates that an equivalent CGC 5.0 graded copy to the CBCS 5.0 graded copy that sold for $7,800 managed to fetched only $403.91 back in 2014.    

It's not like there's some scantily clad half naked femme fatale or some salicious innuendo undertones to this cover image?  Or since there's no words on this cover image, are we supposed to tell from their eyes and where they appear to be looking that we can read their minds and the sinful salicious thoughts that they must be thinking about?    

I know ppl who love this cover and have tried to get it off me. They like it better than CL 25. Why? One guy, who doesn't like it, compared it to a Norman Rockwell painting. Nothing salacious, a certain innocence that St. John's was trying for in their code period just before they ceased publishing. I love those wordless mini masterpieces. Check out the final days of Teen-age Romances or Going Steady, which started out as Teen-age Temptations. Check out TaR 40-45. Very sought after. And continuing to be so as the populations on those books is scarce. High grade would kill it price wise.

I find the posing elegant, subtle and evocative in the 29. Even the holding of the tennis racket says so much.Then there is the car, perfectly positioned. The colors are muted, but beautiful. Their eyeline, important in film, is spot on. Baker knocked it out of the park with this one. Why he was a genius.

Edited August 20, 2023 by comicnoir

[Point Five]

On 8/20/2023 at 2:18 AM, comicnoir said:

I know ppl who love this cover and have tried to get it off me. They like it better than CL 25. Why? One guy, who doesn't like it, compared it to a Norman Rockwell painting. Nothing salacious, a certain innocence that St. John's was trying for in their code period just before they ceased publishing. I love those wordless mini masterpieces. Check out the final days of Teen-age Romances or Going Steady, which started out as Teen-age Temptations. Check out TaR 40-45. Very sought after. And continuing to be so as the populations on those books is scarce. High grade would kill it price wise.

I find the posing elegant, subtle and evocative in the 29. Even the holding of the tennis racket says so much.Then there is the car, perfectly positioned. The colors are muted, but beautiful. Their eyeline, important in film, is spot on. Baker knocked it out of the park with this one. Why he was a genius.

All this! Really well said, Ron. 

I find CL #29 is a joyful cover without being over the top. You can view it as selling a certain fantasy of the towns just outside the big city... an evergreen theme to me, as someone who now lives in one... and perhaps signaling independence (from family, etc) as well in their leisure pursuit. This couple looks perfectly happy and in the moment.

I'd add too that we know Baker was a car enthusiast, and it really shows here. This car (then-current, now vintage) is really lovingly rendered, and must be one of the best car drawings ever published on a comic cover. Both the car and the figures have elegance and weight, and are perfectly, convincingly intertwined. 

Like Ron, I'm a big fan of these late-period dialogue-free covers, which say a lot with a much more subtle visual palette. This one is a masterpiece.