Spiderman 49 cover in upcoming Heritage Auction

[jimjum12]

ASM 49 is in my top 5 Romita covers. The 39 would rate higher for me in some regards, but Kraven and Vulture......same cover.....WOW, This One's Got It !!!!! GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

P.S. ASM 68 is also a fav, it screams 60's SA.

[Nexus]

Good thread to show that once we get past first appearances and key events, OA does become highly subjective. Doesn't seem like there is a consensus top 5 for Romita ASM covers, for example. Looking over the posts here, what some of you consider a top cover is very different from what I consider a top cover. Lots of room for us all.

[heartened]

I already have my example

Having seen it in the Montclair exhibit I would say that I much prefer it over this battle scene, though I suspect I would be in the minority in that regard. Yours is much more understated and affecting.

 

Thanks. Obviously I agree, or I'd be trying to "upgrade". The one I own, the #75 cover, while not twice-up, is one of my top 5 Romita covers of all-time. It does indeed evoke the drama that was Spidey at that time.

 

Spiderman 75 is one of the best covers in the entire run in my opinion

 

But you can't even see his face!

 

(Just trying to point out how ludicrous that criterion can be--Spider-Man 75 is a great cover)

 

Mike

 

Even more ludicrous when you consider that he always wears a mask! We ain't seein' his face in ANY of the covers

 

Hari

 

 

:ohnoez: :ohnoez: :ohnoez:

 

You got me there, Chris! Now having seen a cover with his face on it, I MUCH prefer the mask

 

[heartened]

Good thread to show that once we get past first appearances and key events, OA does become highly subjective. Doesn't seem like there is a consensus top 5 for Romita ASM covers, for example. Looking over the posts here, what some of you consider a top cover is very different from what I consider a top cover. Lots of room for us all.

 

Good point, Felix! That's what makes this fun. The Romita ASM covers a good example of how collectors like different things about those covers.... the drama, the spidey image/pose, the romantic sub-plot, the villains, the 60s "classic" appeal, etc. I would think we could probably agree on a top 20, but definitely not a top 5.

 

Top 5 for me: 50, 39, 69, 75, and 68 (in that order). Siince Bill Woo isn't letting go of the 69 anytime soon, and I probably couldn't afford either the 39 or the 50, I'm pretty much done with my Romita ASM cover example!

 

Found someone else's top 10 list here:

 

http://stevedoescomics.blogspot.com/2011/04/john-romitas-all-time-top-ten-spider.html

 

Hari

 

[bluechip]

As an illustration of Spidey and a "screaming 60s" image, here's an obscure piece with an interview by Stan Lee (those are his peace-out groovy quotes in the blurb)

 

[bocaratondefense]

Found someone else's top 10 list here:

 

http://stevedoescomics.blogspot.com/2011/04/john-romitas-all-time-top-ten-spider.html

 

These lists are so subjective. From that list, I would include only #50 in my own top ten Romita cover list.

 

.... that one and #86, of course!

 

 

 

[Mephisto]

This cover is ok. I like it a lot better in color with the blue back ground. I really love the cover to 47 that Burkey had a few years back. Most people consider Kraven and the Vulture second rate Spidey villains. The Vulture here isn't even Adrian Toomes but the 4th rate Blackie Drago.

[adamstrange]

IMO, the best cover he ever did (concerning Spider-Man) was the 2nd issue of the Spectacular Spider-Man magazine (1968).

+1 I saw it in person at the Heritage sale and it's much, much nicer than how it was reproduced for the cover of the comic.

 

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=803&lotNo=5886#Photo

[comix4fun]

I already have my example

Having seen it in the Montclair exhibit I would say that I much prefer it over this battle scene, though I suspect I would be in the minority in that regard. Yours is much more understated and affecting.

 

Thanks. Obviously I agree, or I'd be trying to "upgrade". The one I own, the #75 cover, while not twice-up, is one of my top 5 Romita covers of all-time. It does indeed evoke the drama that was Spidey at that time.

 

Spiderman 75 is one of the best covers in the entire run in my opinion

 

But you can't even see his face!

 

(Just trying to point out how ludicrous that criterion can be--Spider-Man 75 is a great cover)

 

Mike

 

Even more ludicrous when you consider that he always wears a mask! We ain't seein' his face in ANY of the covers

 

Hari

 

 

:ohnoez: :ohnoez: :ohnoez:

 

You got me there, Chris! Now having seen a cover with his face on it, I MUCH prefer the mask

 

Me too.

[jimjum12]

As an illustration of Spidey and a "screaming 60s" image, here's an obscure piece with an interview by Stan Lee (those are his peace-out groovy quotes in the blurb)

 

 

.....yeah,the OA for 68 , for me, transcends the medium. It could hang next to a Warhol or Lichtenstein and easily hold it's own in an upscale Manhatten brownstone. It's definitely an early effort to marry pop culture and social relevance, although D.C. may have attempted it earlier. I can't recall an earlier attempt by "The House of Ideas". It really spoke to me as a young fellow when I bought it off the stands, at a time when I had no clue what social relevance even was. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[bluechip]

As an illustration of Spidey and a "screaming 60s" image, here's an obscure piece with an interview by Stan Lee (those are his peace-out groovy quotes in the blurb)

 

 

.....yeah,the OA for 68 , for me, transcends the medium. It could hang next to a Warhol or Lichtenstein and easily hold it's own in an upscale Manhatten brownstone. It's definitely an early effort to marry pop culture and social relevance, although D.C. may have attempted it earlier. I can't recall an earlier attempt by "The House of Ideas". It really spoke to me as a young fellow when I bought it off the stands, at a time when I had no clue what social relevance even was. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

 

"Transcends the medium." That's a good phrase.

 

I have said a similar thing for a while now, though I didn't put it quite as eloquently (or pithily?) as you.

 

I think, by the way, that a piece of art can transcend the medium while still being very obviously a comic book. Lichtenstein used panels that were out of context but which summed up a comic book situation. You didn't need to know the names of the characters or their back story, or what issue it came from.

 

Sometimes a single panel in a superhero comic does the same thing (like that Dr. Doom panel someone posted a while back).

 

To appreciate that you don't need to know the names of Kirby and Lee (although, at this point, most people do).

 

Sometimes the value of comic art hinges a lot on what issue it came from or what storyline it figured into, whether it was the artists only time working for that company, etc. Nostalgia and comics history play a part in value, often as much as, if not even more than, the composition and the tone of the piece, etc.

 

But there are lots of pieces out there which I've seen that make me feel they'd be appreciated by anyone who enjoys good art and has even a passing acqaintance of comics. And, nowadays that's nearly everybody.

 

SOme examples in the romita covers include not just 68 but 50, 75, 65, 70, etc. You don't need to have read those issues or even have any knowledge of them to get what the story is about. I'm sure people can cite others.

 

Some pages are like that as well. I love it when a panel page stands on its own and tells a bit of a story in a way that you can see the page completely out of context.

 

As for the timeliness of the art, that also makes it interesting. What beats an image of Superman throttling Hitler and Tojo for summing up both the comics of the 40s as well as what it was like to be a kid during the war,

 

The 50s and 60s were also very distinct, though I think the 60s will stand the test of time more so than the 50s, and that kids several generations from now are still going to know (or think they know) what it was like to live then.

 

Pound for pound, DC actually outdid Marvel in covers that tried to capture the zeitgeist of the era.

 

With some exceptions, many of Marvel's covers of the 60s could just as easily be used as covers today But toward the end of the 60s and the early 70s the DC covers were so of the moment they were dated a few months later. Some were oh-so-cheesy they're hard to believe now. Like the ones wherein Robin and Jimmy Olsen were locking up Batman and Superman in concentration camps just because they were, you know, old

[PrechterFool-migration]

As an illustration of Spidey and a "screaming 60s" image, here's an obscure piece with an interview by Stan Lee (those are his peace-out groovy quotes in the blurb)

 

 

.....yeah,the OA for 68 , for me, transcends the medium. It could hang next to a Warhol or Lichtenstein and easily hold it's own in an upscale Manhatten brownstone. It's definitely an early effort to marry pop culture and social relevance, although D.C. may have attempted it earlier. I can't recall an earlier attempt by "The House of Ideas". It really spoke to me as a young fellow when I bought it off the stands, at a time when I had no clue what social relevance even was. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

 

With some exceptions, many of Marvel's covers of the 60s could just as easily be used as covers today But toward the end of the 60s and the early 70s the DC covers were so of the moment they were dated a few months later. Some were oh-so-cheesy they're hard to believe now. Like the ones wherein Robin and Jimmy Olsen were locking up Batman and Superman in concentration camps just because they were, you know, old

 

The early stuff pre 1969 is artistically the best

 

At around 1970, many comic book covers "jumped the shark" as they say

[heartened]

Good thread to show that once we get past first appearances and key events, OA does become highly subjective. Doesn't seem like there is a consensus top 5 for Romita ASM covers, for example. Looking over the posts here, what some of you consider a top cover is very different from what I consider a top cover. Lots of room for us all.

 

The other thread, which is pretty much done, ranked people's votes of the top Romita ASM covers. Interestingly, although #39 is the clear winner, followed by #50, only 10% of people put either of them in their top 5! So, there really isn't much consensus out there, which is actually quite nice to see.

 

Overall, the rankings are #39 and #50 at the top of the heap, followed by #40, then a big drop to #s 44, 46, 68, 69, 75 and 90 which all around the same in popularity. That was a fun poll!

 

Hari

 

[delekkerste]

Interestingly, although #39 is the clear winner, followed by #50, only 10% of people put either of them in their top 5!

 

Actually, those percentages are based on the total # of votes cast, not the # of people who cast votes.

 

Not everyone voted for the full 10 possible, which is why #39 got 41 votes out of 357 (and not out of 410+) presently cast, but I think it's not unreasonable to assume that it made it on 90+% of ballots cast while #50 made it on 75%+% of ballots cast (assuming ~45 people actually voted).

 

Plus, in these situations you always have people who don't vote for the obvious picks like #39 and #50 because they want to see their personal favorites well represented both absolutely and on a relative basis vs. the top examples. I'm not even remotely surprised to see that #39, 50 and 40 were the three highest voted covers in the run - I would have bet before the poll that those 3 covers, in that order, would finish on top. They are the 3 clear stand-out covers of the pre-100 Romita run (based on a blend of art quality, key issue/relative importance/recognizability, storyline/characters depicted and nostalgia) and would each likely fetch more money at auction today than any of the other potential candidates listed.

[heartened]

Interestingly, although #39 is the clear winner, followed by #50, only 10% of people put either of them in their top 5!

 

Actually, those percentages are based on the total # of votes cast, not the # of people who cast votes.

 

Not everyone voted for the full 10 possible, which is why #39 got 41 votes out of 357 (and not out of 410+) presently cast, but I think it's not unreasonable to assume that it made it on 90+% of ballots cast while #50 made it on 75%+% of ballots cast (assuming ~45 people actually voted).

 

Plus, in these situations you always have people who don't vote for the obvious picks like #39 and #50 because they want to see their personal favorites well represented both absolutely and on a relative basis vs. the top examples. I'm not even remotely surprised to see that #39, 50 and 40 were the three highest voted covers in the run - I would have bet before the poll that those 3 covers, in that order, would finish on top. They are the 3 clear stand-out covers of the pre-100 Romita run (based on a blend of art quality, key issue/relative importance/recognizability, storyline/characters depicted and nostalgia) and would each likely fetch more money at auction today than any of the other potential candidates listed.

 

Agree with you on almost everything, except I'm just not a big fan of issue #40's cover. I wouldn't even try to guess at what the #39 and #50 would fetch at auction, but it would have to be at DK splash levels these days.

 

[bluechip]

Interestingly, although #39 is the clear winner, followed by #50, only 10% of people put either of them in their top 5!

 

Actually, those percentages are based on the total # of votes cast, not the # of people who cast votes.

 

Not everyone voted for the full 10 possible, which is why #39 got 41 votes out of 357 (and not out of 410+) presently cast, but I think it's not unreasonable to assume that it made it on 90+% of ballots cast while #50 made it on 75%+% of ballots cast (assuming ~45 people actually voted).

 

Plus, in these situations you always have people who don't vote for the obvious picks like #39 and #50 because they want to see their personal favorites well represented both absolutely and on a relative basis vs. the top examples. I'm not even remotely surprised to see that #39, 50 and 40 were the three highest voted covers in the run - I would have bet before the poll that those 3 covers, in that order, would finish on top. They are the 3 clear stand-out covers of the pre-100 Romita run (based on a blend of art quality, key issue/relative importance/recognizability, storyline/characters depicted and nostalgia) and would each likely fetch more money at auction today than any of the other potential candidates listed.

 

You also have to take into account the fact that some people voting in this poll may actually own some of those covers, or know the person who does.

 

[wurstisart]

was wondering if anyone knows who currently owns this cover (Issue 49)?

[heartened]

Interestingly, although #39 is the clear winner, followed by #50, only 10% of people put either of them in their top 5!

 

Actually, those percentages are based on the total # of votes cast, not the # of people who cast votes.

 

Not everyone voted for the full 10 possible, which is why #39 got 41 votes out of 357 (and not out of 410+) presently cast, but I think it's not unreasonable to assume that it made it on 90+% of ballots cast while #50 made it on 75%+% of ballots cast (assuming ~45 people actually voted).

 

Plus, in these situations you always have people who don't vote for the obvious picks like #39 and #50 because they want to see their personal favorites well represented both absolutely and on a relative basis vs. the top examples. I'm not even remotely surprised to see that #39, 50 and 40 were the three highest voted covers in the run - I would have bet before the poll that those 3 covers, in that order, would finish on top. They are the 3 clear stand-out covers of the pre-100 Romita run (based on a blend of art quality, key issue/relative importance/recognizability, storyline/characters depicted and nostalgia) and would each likely fetch more money at auction today than any of the other potential candidates listed.

 

You also have to take into account the fact that some people voting in this poll may actually own some of those covers, or know the person who does.

 

There will always be a little of that, and I certainly voted for my own #75. But, I also voted for the others I already mentioned. I only voted for 5 though, as they were the clear standouts in my mind. Looking at the top vote-getters, I believe these are overall the most favored though. Nothing looks really out of place.

 

We should do similar polls for other runs (Kirby FF, Miller DD, Cockrum X-Men, Byrne X-Men, Lee Batman, etc.).

 

[spider9698]

was wondering if anyone knows who currently owns this cover (Issue 49)?

 

The current owner (consignor) is a woman who received the art from an editor at Marvel in the 1970s. I believe the family is consigning on her behalf.

 

[heartened]

Already at 90K or so when you include the premium. Will be interesting to watch.