Art Identification. (Or "What the hell is this?") 0

[Local Net Plus, LLC]

Anyone know what this animation cell is from?  It is obviously a recreation of More Fun #59.  It is very high quality cell.  Picture does not do it justice.  Size of cell is about 8x10.  The ink on board came with it and is the same size.  I picked it up on eBay a long, long, long time ago.  I don't remember if the seller said anything about its origins or not.  Just knew I had to have it!  

 

[Will_K]

As you mentioned. an ebay seller would post cels of (mainly) DC golden age characters/art.  This goes back over 10 years.  But I think the seller would still sell 1 or 2 even now (like every couple years or so).  What I remember is they were some kind of prototype of something for theme parks (e.g. Universal Stuidios).  Not merchandise but part of the theme park "experience".  I only recall the seller listing cels, never including a 2nd piece with linework.

[ShallowDan]

Will_K's thinking of this guy:  https://www.ebay.com/usr/stjohngreen

I've picked up a couple of these from him over the years (a funny Hot Stuff gag and a golden age Wonder Woman for my daughter).  I chatted with him once about the story behind these and IIRC, he has a friend who basically has tons of them.  They were originally going to be sold at Universal Studios gift shops but things never worked out.  I've no idea how the heck the licensing was going to work given the IP involved.  The crazy thing is that they are all one of a kind (I've never seen him put up duplicates) and they go so deep with some of the golden age characters that I'm not sure who the target audience would've been for some of them.

But like Will mention, I've never seen him sell anything other than the cels, so I'm not sure if it's the same source as you got yours from.

[Local Net Plus, LLC]

1 hour ago, Will_K said:

As you mentioned. an ebay seller would post cels of (mainly) DC golden age characters/art.  This goes back over 10 years.  But I think the seller would still sell 1 or 2 even now (like every couple years or so).  What I remember is they were some kind of prototype of something for theme parks (e.g. Universal Stuidios).  Not merchandise but part of the theme park "experience".  I only recall the seller listing cels, never including a 2nd piece with linework.

This rings a bell now.  I see where he states these "prototypes became available in 1999 which is probably close to when I got this one.  

 

1 hour ago, ShallowDan said:

Will_K's thinking of this guy:  https://www.ebay.com/usr/stjohngreen

I've picked up a couple of these from him over the years (a funny Hot Stuff gag and a golden age Wonder Woman for my daughter).  I chatted with him once about the story behind these and IIRC, he has a friend who basically has tons of them.  They were originally going to be sold at Universal Studios gift shops but things never worked out.  I've no idea how the heck the licensing was going to work given the IP involved.  The crazy thing is that they are all one of a kind (I've never seen him put up duplicates) and they go so deep with some of the golden age characters that I'm not sure who the target audience would've been for some of them.

But like Will mention, I've never seen him sell anything other than the cels, so I'm not sure if it's the same source as you got yours from.

I messaged the guy and sent pics of this piece to ask if it was one of his.  I also asked him if he had any others of certain characters.  Let's see if they wind up on eBay. 

I have a theory now after seeing this information.  It seems very odd that he has been selling "prototypes" for nearly 20 years.  He has over 2200 feedbacks and the vast majority are regarding these cells.  If you conservatively said half were cells then that would be over 1000 cells that were "prototypes".  I suspect that this guy is creating all of these cells himself (or a "friend" is creating them and this guy is just the seller).  Mine could have been an original "prototype" as he claims them all to be or perhaps just another one of their creations.  Regardless, 20 years ago in most studios, especially home studios, the line art would have been hand drawn on board or paper then traced onto the acetate before painting.  Now he/they are probably using digital line art and direct printing to the acetate for painting.  Hence no line art white boards included with current auctions.

Whether they are "Universal Prototypes" or "mess I make in my basement",  they are cool pieces and if he has/creates any more in my genre of collecting I would probably buy.  I would just like to know the real story.  

[Will_K]

3 hours ago, ShallowDan said:

Will_K's thinking of this guy:  https://www.ebay.com/usr/stjohngreen

That was it.  I remember it was saint-somthing.

[Local Net Plus, LLC]

Here is his reply to me via eBay

Greetings!
Yes...that Spectre sericel was one of mine, all right...and one of a very few that still included original line used in its production. I haven’t ever come across any Valiant stuff...but the Spectre pops up from time to time, and I once had a Gold Key Magnus piece.
Charles

Edited December 20, 2020 by Local Net Plus, LLC