Desert Island Discs (transposed to OA)

[Terry Doyle]

Over here (in the UK) we have a long-running BBC radio programme called, Desert Island Discs, in which a guest celebrity chooses the following items (as a would-be castaway on an imaginary desert island) to help keep him/her sane:

 

* 8 x all-time favorite records (to hear over and over again)

 

* A favorite book.

 

* A luxury item.

 

If we were to transpose this scenario to an OA collector . . .

 

What would be (must currently reside in your collection):

 

* 8 x all-time favourite OA pieces you actually own.

 

* A favorirte book.

 

* A luxury item.

 

Please feel free to provide pictorial content to accompany your OA choices . . .

[Terry Doyle]

Over here (in the UK) we have a long-running BBC radio programme called, Desert Island Discs, in which a guest celebrity chooses the following items (as a would-be castaway on an imaginary desert island) to help keep him/her sane:

 

* 8 x all-time favorite records (to hear over and over again)

 

* A favorite book.

 

* A luxury item.

 

If we were to transpose this scenario to an OA collector . . .

 

What would be (must currently reside in your collection):

 

* 8 x all-time favourite OA pieces you actually own.

 

* A favorirte book.

 

* A luxury item.

 

Please feel free to provide pictorial content to accompany your OA choices . . .

 

To start the ball rolling . . .

 

From my personal OA collection (in no particular order), I would list the following 8 pieces of art as items that would help keep me sane through unknown periods of solitude:

 

 

WEIRD FANTASY # 14 cover by Al Feldstein

 

My favourite Al Feldstein WEIRD FANTASY cover! First time I saw the cover to this comic-book was at a Liverpool (UK) comic mart back in the late 1970s. At the time, I was a newcomer to EC (which I'd recently discovered, then, via the East Coast Comix reprint series).

 

Anyway, back to the story of the Liverpool comic mart . . . as I was walking around the venue (the Blucoat Chambers), I noticed one of the atendees trying to sell a bunch of 1950s EC comics to a dealer. The dealer was trying to sound unimpressed/disenterested (in an effort to low-ball on the kind of prices he was willing to pay). I quietly stepped in and politely asked the guy with the ECs if he would consider selling his comics to me. Much to the displeasure of the dealer (if looks could kill . . . ), we moved away to another part of the venue to look at the books in detail and discuss an appropriate exchange of money. All the asking prices were very reasonable and I ended up buying most of the ECs. I also arranged to purchase others the seller had at home.

 

Amongst the selection I bought at the comic mart was WEIRD FANTASY # 14. Although EC was new to me, I'd already formed a definite preference for the Science-Fiction titles. Al Feldstein's cover art was a big pull for me, and I absolutely loved the cover image to that WF # 14 comic-book when I fist set eyes on it back at that 1970s venue! I'd grew up watching television repeats of all the old Science-Fiction movies of the 1950s - and Al's art was a perfect reflection of those times.

 

The image, showing a group of astronauts effecting a repair on their rocket ship is highly reminiscent of George Pal's DESTINATION MOON (1950), which no doubt influenced Al's science-fiction artwork, together with Chesley Bonestell's famous space paintings.

 

A journey beset by problems as man makes fledgling steps into the great unknown . . .

 

Several years later, during the early 1980s, when I'd progressed my EC addiction to buying original artwork from the Russ Cochran EC art auctions, I was looking forward to the time when the cover art to WF # 14 would become available for sale.

When the artwork eventually surfaced and Russ's Auction Catalog reached my doorstep, timing was bad . . . an emergency had arisen in which I needed to buy a new motorcycle; essential transportation for getting me to and from my workplace. I had to make a practical decision and in the process missed-out on a much-loved piece of art.

 

Fast forward to nearly three decades later . . . the cover art re-surfaced for sale via Steve Ferzoco (who was offering it out on behalf of the then owner)! But by this time, the market for vintage EC artwork had skyrocketed in demand and value - and I couldn't quite raise the funds needed to meet the asking price.

 

In recent times, the cover re-appeared for sale once again - ironically, by the auctioneer who had sold it first time round . . . Russ Cochran! Surprisingly (at least to me), the cover failed to meet its reserve price. Unfortunately I wasn't quite in a postion to compete during the auction, but after I discovered that the artwork didn't sell I e-mailed Russ to ask if we could perhaps negotiate a deal on the cover (which had been on consignment from Don Lineberger, who tragically died several months after releasing this cover from his collection.). I put forward a proposal, and a little under a week later Russ got back to me with a counter-offer (that I was more than happy to agree to).

 

Funny things is . . . this past year I've been winding-down my collecting habits and selling off chunks of my collection to finance future plans that will have a lasting benefit for all of my family. Just when I think I'm over the addiction, something really special comes along and I know I have to make a concerted effort go for it (or face a future of regret). Nature of the beast, I guess . . .

 

Big, big thanks to Russ Cochran and Angie Meyer (Russ's right hand person) for making this wonderful acquisition possible Also special thanks to Steve Ferzoco (who first highlighted me to the cover's availability), Dan Forman (who offered some useful advice along the way) and Paul Stephenson (who pitched-in on organizing an overseas payment). Thank you guys . . . this is a cover from a long time ago, that I've long-admired. Although I've had to shed a number of prized possessions this past year, I somehow think that this particular piece of art is destined to remain with me.

 

 

LOST IN SPACE # 25 cover by George Wilson

 

Back in the 1960s, in my home town of Liverpool, England . . . I used to scour all the local newsagents for the latest American comic-books. Although I had a preference for the Marvel titles, I was quite open to try anything that looked interesting (regardless of publisher).

 

One weekend, during a systematic search of the neighborhood, I came across the # 24 issue of a title I'd not seen before . . . SPACE FAMILY ROBINSON, LOST IN SPACE. The dramatic (painted) cover depicted a daring rescue bid to save a sacrificial victim from an imminent fiery death, atop of the hands of a gigantic statue in the ancient mythical land of Atlantis.

 

On the strength of the cover painting alone, I bought the comic-book and was duly hooked on the adventures of the Robinsons (which have no bearing on the TV series of the same name).

 

The interior art, by Dan Spiegle, was deceptively simple. His story-telling, in comparison to the superhero stuff of the time, didn't go in for the heightened sense of drama most of us had become accustomed to. Spiegle's story art was a gentle, refreshing change of pace . . . allowing the strength of the writing not to be overshadowed by flashy macho-posturing characters.

 

A month or two after buying LOST IN SPACE # 24, I bought the follow-up issue of this two-part adventure. The cover image to SPACE FAMILY ROBINSON, LOST IN SPACE # 25 was, to the 10 year old boy I was at the time, even more spectacular!. For over four decades I've been enamoured of George Wilson's stunning # 25 cover painting - and it has remained high on my 'Wants' list of nostalgic favourites.

 

Recently, when I decided to scale-down my collection to a core group of cherished favourites, I'd abandoned all hope of ever finding my LOST IN SPACE cover grail. Out of the blue, I received an e-mail from the (then) owner - expressing an interest in releasing the cover to me in trade. Through several weeks of looking at trade options (for artwork outside of my own collection that I could possibly buy as trade-bait), the alternative idea of a straight cash sale was agreed upon - and many, many years later, the original artwork for a much-loved and long-admired painting finds its way to me. Thank you, Joan Gispert.

 

 

TALES TO ASTONISH # 98 cover by Dan Adkins

 

Outstanding twice-up cover from Sub-Mariner's run in TALES TO ASTONISH (one of the very best surviving examples!). Artwork is cropped close to the image size (i.e. there is no border) and measures a large 20" x 13".

 

 

REIGN OF THE ROBOTS (Dan Dare) cover by Frank Hampson

 

My favourite artist from my favourite comic-strip, DAN DARE - PILOT OF THE FUTURE. This cover, by Frank Hampson (assisted by Eric Eden), is from the story "Reign of the Robots" and dates from January 1958. The attention to detail is absolutely amazing (I've studied this original many times with a magnifying glass and the work is cameo-like in its precision). The original art was illustrated 'same size' (as the printed page), a small 11.5" x 9.5". Full-colour painted art, with the use of air-brush for space backgrounds. A personal favourite DAN DARE example . . . and a grail-like item from my collection.

 

 

MONTGOMERY OF ALEMEIN episode by Frank Bellamy

 

From an 18 episode series detailing the life of Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, this is # 11. Many regard this as artist Frank Bellamy's best-ever war strip - and probably the finest-illustrated war strip ever to appear in a comic-book. Full-colour painted art.

 

 

CAPTAIN ATOM # 80 cover by Steve Ditko/Rocke Mastrosserio

 

Ditko's very first superhero character was Captain Atom (which pre-dates Spider-Man). The character appeared in Charlton's SPACE ADVENTURES title from # 30, March 1960 throuugh to # 42, october 1961. Towards the end of Ditko's run on Spider-man, the artist resurrected Captain Atom (in his own title) in December 1965. The CAPTAIN ATOM # 80 cover, displayed here, is actually the THIRD issue of the Captain's new adventures (the SPACE ADVENTURES covers featured stats taken from the interior story pages). The artwork appeared at the same time as THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 35. Large Art Ditko superhero covers from the mid-1960s are extremely scarce (the handful of ASM covers known to exist are locked-away in permanent collections, unlikely to re-surface any time soon).

 

 

THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKYS pressbook illustration by Frank Frazetta

 

This amusing illustration was created for the pressbook used to promote the film THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY'S (United Artists, 1968), directed by William Friedkin. The image depicts Bert Lahr (best known as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz) as Professor Spats. Signed with a trademark "F" in the upper right corner (as well as a full signature on the reverse), this piece measures 10" x 13.5" overall, with a general image area of 7" x 11.25".

 

 

KELLY’S EYE episode 2 splash page by Francisco Solano Lopez

 

From the UK's VALIANT comic-book dated April 10, 1965. The story so far . . . "Tim Kelly was in Rome, demonstrating the amazing life-preserving powers of the Eye of Zoltec at a charity show, when he heard about a sinister mystery surrounding the village of Raffino, where three people had been snatched into the air by strange creatures. Tim decided to investigate . . . "

 

A favourite book would be:

 

THE OUTER LIMITS COMPANION (1960s TV series) by David S Schow and Jeffrey Frentzen

 

A luxury item would be:

 

Traci Lords

 

You want an explanation for the last choice?!!!

[tth2]

Wow, nice pieces!

[rsonenthal]

Great art, great stories, and a nice thread. I need to do some thinking.....

[comix4fun]

Over here (in the UK) we have a long-running BBC radio programme called, Desert Island Discs, in which a guest celebrity chooses the following items (as a would-be castaway on an imaginary desert island) to help keep him/her sane:

 

* 8 x all-time favorite records (to hear over and over again)

 

* A favorite book.

 

* A luxury item.

 

If we were to transpose this scenario to an OA collector . . .

 

What would be (must currently reside in your collection):

 

* 8 x all-time favourite OA pieces you actually own.

 

* A favorirte book.

 

* A luxury item.

 

Please feel free to provide pictorial content to accompany your OA choices . . .

 

 

This is gonna take a while to respond to in full....but for my Luxury Item I am going to have to go with

 

The Eclipse

 

[Terry Doyle]

Over here (in the UK) we have a long-running BBC radio programme called, Desert Island Discs, in which a guest celebrity chooses the following items (as a would-be castaway on an imaginary desert island) to help keep him/her sane:

 

* 8 x all-time favorite records (to hear over and over again)

 

* A favorite book.

 

* A luxury item.

 

If we were to transpose this scenario to an OA collector . . .

 

What would be (must currently reside in your collection):

 

* 8 x all-time favourite OA pieces you actually own.

 

* A favorirte book.

 

* A luxury item.

 

Please feel free to provide pictorial content to accompany your OA choices . . .

 

 

This is gonna take a while to respond to in full....but for my Luxury Item I am going to have to go with

 

The Eclipse

 

 

Mind you . . .

 

If I've got Traci and you got your boat . . .

 

Who needs OA?