Kirby Sketches

[BrianR]

Hey guys, I took a chance on a ebay auction and bought a Kirby thing sketch. I am cautiously optimist that it is real. It was shipped today so I figured its safe to post. Its is about 4"x3" and looks like it was cut from a sketchbook or something. The seller has a low feedback but seems to only deal in autographs (Yes I know easily faked) and everyone has to start at the bottom sometime. He stated he got it from a creation con years back. It looked pretty good to me. The sign seems right compared to my other Kirby items. What do you guys think?

 

Also please feel free to show off your Kirby sketches.

[vodou]

Just a big ol' IMO but I don't think Kirby would hesitate around the Thing's rocky 'face'. It's sort of a mess in there.

[kav]

glen gold can confirm or deny this

[Terry Doyle]

I'm not convinced.

[BrianR]

I thought that too about the face, but honestly I have seen much worse from Kirby in terms of sketches and oddities in the way they were drawn. Overall I think the Think looks really good for a quick sketch. Still I am no expert.

[jaybuck43]

Well to start the signature looks off. Jack is sloping down, while Kirby is sloping up. Not to mention the pressure points don't look right on the K. Then there are issues with Thing's face as Vodou mentioned,

[kav]

The fact that it is small and seems cut out is a red flag. Forgers draw a bunch until they get one that looks ok then cut it out.

[BrianR]

I see your points here is another rendition of the thing by Kirby.

 

[Silver Surfer]

Just a big ol' IMO but I don't think Kirby would hesitate around the Thing's rocky 'face'. It's sort of a mess in there.

 

My first impression was that I thought the pencils looks hesitant in general.

[vodou]

I see your points here is another rendition of the thing by Kirby.

 

You're probably sharing the signature here, but looking at the quick/loose sketch itself...even though it's exactly that, it "reeks" Kirby, all his shorthand is there. That's where you can "feel" a fake - it's not effortless.

 

Unless you really like it or got it so cheap it doesn't justify the return shipping -kick it back.

[BrianR]

The fact that it is small and seems cut out is a red flag. Forgers draw a bunch until they get one that looks ok then cut it out.

 

But at the same time people cut up convention books all the time to just have the drawing. These are all valid points though and I understand the high likelihood of it being fake.

[fmaz]

It was the roundness of the rocks, as opposed to the more typical jagged edges (as in the other sketch) that raised red flags for me. But even so.. the Thing is not a character you normally would see for a "quick" sketch so it's tough to judge.

 

Folks who can speak to the signature will hold a lot more authority here. Fingers crossed you didn't pay too much.

[kav]

Just wait for Glen to post. He is literally the leading Kirby expert and can virtually smell a Kirby.

[glendgold]

Both of those look pretty unlikely. The first one is a tracing out of FF 40, one of the latter pages where he's fighting Doom. Some clown on eBay was selling a forgery based on that last year. The latter one is also something someone wanted to believe was real. How good a signature looks generally doesn't mean much -- Jack would sign anything people put in front of him (famously including a Neal Adams cover) and one person I know well said the only easy thing to fake on a Kirby is his signature.

 

And btw, I love being so highly thought of, but I'm not the leading expert.

[kav]

I would return it.

[kav]

Both of those look pretty unlikely. The first one is a tracing out of FF 40, one of the latter pages where he's fighting Doom. Some clown on eBay was selling a forgery based on that last year. The latter one is also something someone wanted to believe was real. How good a signature looks generally doesn't mean much -- Jack would sign anything people put in front of him (famously including a Neal Adams cover) and one person I know well said the only easy thing to fake on a Kirby is his signature.

 

And btw, I love being so highly thought of, but I'm not the leading expert.

I don't know man.....only a leading expert would deny being a leading expert....

[BrianR]

Both of those look pretty unlikely. The first one is a tracing out of FF 40, one of the latter pages where he's fighting Doom. Some clown on eBay was selling a forgery based on that last year. The latter one is also something someone wanted to believe was real. How good a signature looks generally doesn't mean much -- Jack would sign anything people put in front of him (famously including a Neal Adams cover) and one person I know well said the only easy thing to fake on a Kirby is his signature.

 

And btw, I love being so highly thought of, but I'm not the leading expert.

 

Thanks Glen, The image seemed familiar, but chalked it up to the standard pose and figured it was rough due to being so small and using a marker. I guess back it goes.

[BrianR]

I have always wanted a Kirby Thing piece and was probably more optimistic than I thought on this one.

[vodou]

Yeah, and I shoulda stuck with my first post and kept my mouth shut otherwise. Suddenly the second one looks shtty too. So just fade me ha ha. I can probably spot a fake pretty good (I'm really risk adverse in all things) but not so good on authentic.

[kav]

Here's what a real Kirby sketch looks like: