August Heritage Auction

[batman_fan]

Ringo is the greatest. John Lennon even wrote a song about the greatness that is Ringo. He's also the handsomest living Beatle and is married to a Bond Girl, in addition to being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, as well as a Beatle. So there. Disagree

 

Is John Lennon a "mediocre talent" on Earth 3 or the Bizarro World? Big time disagree

 

Romita Sr. is top tier. His Spider-Man artwork has been used for merchandising by Marvel for 50 years. It is about as iconic as it gets. He drew some of the best Spider-Man comics ever and his artwork is a vital component to those books. Strongly agree

 

I have trouble understanding how people can classify the guy who did works like this a 2nd tier artist, but to each their own.

 

[batman_fan]

That Swampthing cover is absolutely gorgeous. This is a big time cover, and worth whatever crazy price it goes for. I had it pegged for a 200k floor when I heard about it, and I see nothing that changes that opinion. This is THE Wrightson Swampthing art to get. If I was in a position to be a buyer at these prices, and you had the ST 1 cover and the HOS 92 cover at the same price, I'd go ST 1 all day and every day. Pretty much zero interest in HOS 92 cover for me.

 

And don't get me started on Romita v Buscema...

 

Scott

 

 

It looks great! I was worried the backgrounds wouldn't be full inks from looking at the published cover.

 

I should have never let myself be swayed

 

I recant my recant!

 

What do you think of the special series 2 Scott?

 

I don't know why but for some reason I thought Steve F owned the Swamp Thing 1 cover, or was it issue 9?

[adamstrange]

I do not particularly like this as it was printed but I had the chance to see the art in person when it was part of an exhibit at the Montclair Museum. It is very impressive in full-sized b&w.

 

Ringo is the greatest. John Lennon even wrote a song about the greatness that is Ringo. He's also the handsomest living Beatle and is married to a Bond Girl, in addition to being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, as well as a Beatle. So there. Disagree

 

Is John Lennon a "mediocre talent" on Earth 3 or the Bizarro World? Big time disagree

 

Romita Sr. is top tier. His Spider-Man artwork has been used for merchandising by Marvel for 50 years. It is about as iconic as it gets. He drew some of the best Spider-Man comics ever and his artwork is a vital component to those books. Strongly agree

 

I have trouble understanding how people can classify the guy who did works like this a 2nd tier artist, but to each their own.

 

[adamstrange]

That Swampthing cover is absolutely gorgeous. This is a big time cover, and worth whatever crazy price it goes for. I had it pegged for a 200k floor when I heard about it, and I see nothing that changes that opinion. This is THE Wrightson Swampthing art to get. If I was in a position to be a buyer at these prices, and you had the ST 1 cover and the HOS 92 cover at the same price, I'd go ST 1 all day and every day. Pretty much zero interest in HOS 92 cover for me.

 

And don't get me started on Romita v Buscema...

 

Scott

 

 

It looks great! I was worried the backgrounds wouldn't be full inks from looking at the published cover.

 

I should have never let myself be swayed

 

I recant my recant!

 

What do you think of the special series 2 Scott?

 

I don't know why but for some reason I thought Steve F owned the Swamp Thing 1 cover, or was it issue 9?

 

It's 9.

[batman_fan]

That Swampthing cover is absolutely gorgeous. This is a big time cover, and worth whatever crazy price it goes for. I had it pegged for a 200k floor when I heard about it, and I see nothing that changes that opinion. This is THE Wrightson Swampthing art to get. If I was in a position to be a buyer at these prices, and you had the ST 1 cover and the HOS 92 cover at the same price, I'd go ST 1 all day and every day. Pretty much zero interest in HOS 92 cover for me.

 

And don't get me started on Romita v Buscema...

 

Scott

 

 

It looks great! I was worried the backgrounds wouldn't be full inks from looking at the published cover.

 

I should have never let myself be swayed

 

I recant my recant!

 

What do you think of the special series 2 Scott?

 

I don't know why but for some reason I thought Steve F owned the Swamp Thing 1 cover, or was it issue 9?

 

It's 9.

 

will this cover get snagged by the Fish (not Tom).

[delekkerste]

will this cover get snagged by the Fish (not Tom).

 

He's already got the best two ST covers (HOS 92 and ST 9) and didn't have to pay 2016 prices for them. I'd be very surprised if he felt compelled to buy this one as well.

[Eric Seffinga]

Regarding the ST 1, I might be in the minority, but this is one of those pieces where the aging/ambering of the paper & stats actually adds to the vibe of that piece. I think I'd prefer it this way vs an even cleaner white. It really does look great.

[Eric Seffinga]

...and now it's gotten personal. I've always wondered where my old Wrightson Poe painting got off to after I sold it to Ken Danker. Pretty sure I was the one that framed it, and it hung in my house for a long time.

 

I bought it from Mitch out of one of his catalogs a few decades ago. Eventually sold it to Ken like 8 or 10 years ago. One of the very few pieces I regretted letting go of after the fact. Curious to see what valuations on a lesser coveted piece of Wrightson's 70s history are like in today's market.

 

http://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/bernie-wrightson-the-edgar-allan-poe-portfolio-the-cask-of-amontillado-painting-original-a/p/7139-57019.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515

[jaybuck43]

I do not particularly like this as it was printed but I had the chance to see the art in person when it was part of an exhibit at the Montclair Museum. It is very impressive in full-sized b&w.

 

Ringo is the greatest. John Lennon even wrote a song about the greatness that is Ringo. He's also the handsomest living Beatle and is married to a Bond Girl, in addition to being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, as well as a Beatle. So there. Disagree

 

Is John Lennon a "mediocre talent" on Earth 3 or the Bizarro World? Big time disagree

 

Romita Sr. is top tier. His Spider-Man artwork has been used for merchandising by Marvel for 50 years. It is about as iconic as it gets. He drew some of the best Spider-Man comics ever and his artwork is a vital component to those books. Strongly agree

 

I have trouble understanding how people can classify the guy who did works like this a 2nd tier artist, but to each their own.

 

 

Looks great in B&W but I like it in color too.

 

 

[jjonahjameson1]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, regardless of your personal preferences, the 4 Pillars of the Silver Age Marvel Universe are:

 

Jack Kirby

Steve Ditko

John Romita

John Buscema

 

You can debate which tier they belong to until you're blue in the face, but it won't change their importance, contribution, quality of artwork. No amount of attempted revisionist B.S. from the nattering nabobs of negativity will ever change that.

[buyatari]

It depends on what you are judging. Many defenders of Romita as a top tier A list artist point to the success and impact of the Spider-man books that he contributed to. If you go back to the start of the discussion the value of a piece of art was being dissected. The character , importance of the issue and artist were considered. In that context we are solely talking about the artistic merit of the artist.The nostalgia, impact of the comic, character or series has already been accounted for.

[Bronty]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, regardless of your personal preferences, the 4 Pillars of the Silver Age Marvel Universe are:

 

Jack Kirby

Steve Ditko

John Romita

John Buscema

 

You can debate which tier they belong to until you're blue in the face, but it won't change their importance, contribution, quality of artwork. No amount of attempted revisionist B.S. from the nattering nabobs of negativity will ever change that.

 

And if I was doing a Mount Rushmore of marvel magazine cover artists, I'd legitimately have to include Boris and no amount of negativity re shirtless Boris mullets can change that.

[buyatari]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, regardless of your personal preferences, the 4 Pillars of the Silver Age Marvel Universe are:

 

Jack Kirby

Steve Ditko

John Romita

John Buscema

 

You can debate which tier they belong to until you're blue in the face, but it won't change their importance, contribution, quality of artwork. No amount of attempted revisionist B.S. from the nattering nabobs of negativity will ever change that.

 

And if I was doing a Mount Rushmore of marvel magazine cover artists, I'd legitimately have to include Boris and no amount of negativity re shirtless Boris mullets can change that.

 

When you are talking about genius there doesn't have to be X number of qualified candidates in any subset category. You might have 0 or 10 who qualify.

[tth2]

And who else is in the 2nd Tier with Romita?

John Buscema.

 

Ridiculous. Second tier artist with some of the greatest covers ever, yeah sure.

As predictable as me making fun of John Buscema is Peter riding to the rescue to defend him.

[Bronty]

Exactly.

[buyatari]

Boris Vallejo for sure.

 

The best art analogy for John Romita is Renoir.

 

Such diverse analogies for Romita. Perhaps a poll is in order.

 

a) Ringo

b) Boris

c) Renoir

[tth2]

The price of art often fails to track with the quality of the art so the prices paid for Romita Marvel superhero pages just proves they are expensive.

 

I think we clearly have different opinions on what constitutes "being on the A-list" in comic art. To you, it seems to be strictly a talent competition, whereas I view the validation by the fan base and the dollars put to work in the marketplace that ultimately count. To me, talent alone does not get you on the A-list in comic art any more than it does in music or film or fine art.

 

If we're strictly judging talent, then maybe Romita isn't in the pantheon with the biggest names and instead is heading up the second tier. But, in terms of popularity and collectability, I think Romita is a solid A-lister, ahead of some who many would deem to be superior talents.

Based on this criteria, One Direction are an A+++++ list musical group, while The Velvet Underground wouldn`t be allowed to even work as their roadies.

 

Michael Bay would be considered one of the greatest directors in history, while Woody Allen, who`s never made a $100 million film, should still be working as a joke writer.

 

Really?

[Bronty]

Boris Vallejo for sure.

 

The best art analogy for John Romita is Renoir.

 

Such diverse analogies for Romita. Perhaps a poll is in order.

 

a) Ringo

b) Boris

c) Renoir

 

Yes!!!

[Bronty]

The price of art often fails to track with the quality of the art so the prices paid for Romita Marvel superhero pages just proves they are expensive.

 

I think we clearly have different opinions on what constitutes "being on the A-list" in comic art. To you, it seems to be strictly a talent competition, whereas I view the validation by the fan base and the dollars put to work in the marketplace that ultimately count. To me, talent alone does not get you on the A-list in comic art any more than it does in music or film or fine art.

 

If we're strictly judging talent, then maybe Romita isn't in the pantheon with the biggest names and instead is heading up the second tier. But, in terms of popularity and collectability, I think Romita is a solid A-lister, ahead of some who many would deem to be superior talents.

Based on this criteria, One Direction are an A+++++ list musical group, while The Velvet Underground wouldn`t be allowed to even work as their roadies.

 

Michael Bay would be considered one of the greatest directors in history, while Woody Allen, who`s never made a $100 million film, should still be working as a joke writer.

 

Really?

 

Well put! Adam, let's add Michael Bay and One Direction to the poll

[comix4fun]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, regardless of your personal preferences, the 4 Pillars of the Silver Age Marvel Universe are:

 

Jack Kirby

Steve Ditko

John Romita

John Buscema

 

You can debate which tier they belong to until you're blue in the face, but it won't change their importance, contribution, quality of artwork. No amount of attempted revisionist B.S. from the nattering nabobs of negativity will ever change that.

 

And if I was doing a Mount Rushmore of marvel magazine cover artists, I'd legitimately have to include Boris and no amount of negativity re shirtless Boris mullets can change that.

 

 

As long as Earl Norem and Bob Larkin are there, you go girl!