The HA War Comics Showcase Auction 1 1

[Ricksneatstuff]

Putting all of these golden age and pulp showcase auctions has been a lot of fun, and I was especially excited because of the quality of books we got for this one. I am glad these themed showcases (Baker, Fiction House, PCH, Nedor, GGA, Fox, etc) have been well received and put a spotlight on different genres.  We have more in the works for later in the year  

Congrats to all the winners! 

 

 

[adamstrange]

On 5/20/2023 at 10:41 AM, Ricksneatstuff said:

Putting all of these golden age and pulp showcase auctions has been a lot of fun, and I was especially excited because of the quality of books we got for this one. I am glad these themed showcases (Baker, Fiction House, PCH, Nedor, GGA, Fox, etc) have been well received and put a spotlight on different genres.  We have more in the works for later in the year  

Congrats to all the winners! 

 

 

Even 5 years ago I would never have anticipated an auction dedicated solely to war comics. 

Kudos to you and the Heritage Team for putting together such a bang up event.

[GermanFan]

At least I got a remainder copy of a Foxhole 2 left. 

[GermanFan]

Never sell. Do not sell. Ever.

[Johnny545]

On 5/20/2023 at 5:52 AM, adamstrange said:

 Along with a couple friends, I visited Heath at his apartment back in the 90s.  We took along a few comics to see what he might remember about them.  Among the stack was War 23, a favorite of mine for both the art and the color design, which I considered unusually good for Atlas.

When we came to War 23, he said "I colored that" and proceeded to break down his use of each of the colors.  Atlas had their own primary colorist but was so loosely managed that when Heath; whose artistic talents include a great sense of color and who was dissatisfied with their typical muddy, dull coloring, decided he wanted to do it himself, they let him.  They weren't, of course, going to pay him any extra for that, but he had the satisfaction of seeing his art published consistent with his vision.  He did not say how often this happened because it was so long ago and depended on whether he had time when he delivered artwork in person to the office.

To recognize his coloring, look for a cover that is very appealing, realistic, and with subtlety.   As an artist, he prided himself on accurate depiction and that included the coloring.  At the same time, he wanted to keep things interesting, so his tried to make them stand out from the usual fair.

For War 23, he drew a night scene but didn't want to go with the usual black background.  Instead, he imagined the scene happening at the peak of the explosion of the bombs dropped from the jets.  They would produce a red/yellow light, turning reddish brown the further away things were, that would dictate the rest of the colors on the cover. 

The underside of the silver metal planes were closest to the light and would reflect the intense brightness as white and orange.  The GI's helmet is painted green, but under the light of the explosion would look white (closest to the explosion) transitioning to light blue, blue, then black to the front of the helmet completely shaded from the blast.  The brim is green as it would be lit indirectly.  The star on the commie's hat is red but under the reddish brown light would be a dark red.  Care is taken everywhere to place white highlights appropriate to how the light would strike each surface.

I'm sure one of our board artists could provide a better breakdown, and point out aspects that are not realistic, but it's a comic book, and the cover needs to scream "BUY ME" to the young men who were the likely audience and Heath took that into account as well.

 

Great story and breakdown of the coloring. One of his great covers - the intense facial expressions and eyes draw you in. The explosion in the background casting a glow over them, but shading other areas just adds so much depth. So good in so many ways.

[adamstrange]

On 5/20/2023 at 1:53 PM, Johnny545 said:

Great story and breakdown of the coloring. One of his great covers - the intense facial expressions and eyes draw you in. The explosion in the background casting a glow over them, but shading other areas just adds so much depth. So good in so many ways.

One of the critical aspects to selling the danger is in the drawing of the hands.  The muscles have to show the intensity of the life or death struggle, and Heath replaces his typical cross-hatching for a superb impressionistic approach to the inking.

[Ryan.]

On 5/20/2023 at 1:18 PM, GermanFan said:

Never sell. Do not sell. Ever.

I'm agreeing with this more and more. Stuff I never think anyone but me would care about will suddenly 

[tth2]

On 5/20/2023 at 9:00 PM, adamstrange said:

If I am lucky, this brief burst of intemperance will be quickly forgotten, and the hobby will return to ignoring comics without superheroes in tights.

Fat chance of that.  The hottest areas in GA over the past few years have been GGA and PCH.  

This auction may now turn the spotlight on another previously overlooked sector in GA.

[tth2]

On 5/21/2023 at 7:20 AM, Ryan. said:

On 5/21/2023 at 1:18 AM, GermanFan said:

Never sell. Do not sell. Ever.

I'm agreeing with this more and more. Stuff I never think anyone but me would care about will suddenly 

So there's hope for all the westerns?!

[batman_fan]

On 5/20/2023 at 7:20 PM, tth2 said:

So there's hope for all the westerns?!

Sadly, no 

[Professor K]

On 5/20/2023 at 11:47 AM, adamstrange said:

Even 5 years ago I would never have anticipated an auction dedicated solely to war comics. 

Kudos to you and the Heritage Team for putting together such a bang up event.

I hope there are more. At least once a year. I was assuming all or most of the books in the auction were from a single collection. Not sure and it doesn't matter if this was the case, I'm just glad they had it. It was enjoyable. 

[GermanFan]

On 5/20/2023 at 9:12 PM, adamstrange said:

One of the critical aspects to selling the danger is in the drawing of the hands.  The muscles have to show the intensity of the life or death struggle, and Heath replaces his typical cross-hatching for a superb impressionistic approach to the inking.

Drawing/painting hands is complicated. Painters like for instance Velasquez when doing paintings of royalty charged more when painting more hands in the portraits.

[bronze johnny]

Nice article on Burgos art and the action:

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/the-marvel-atlas-war-covers-of-carl-burgos-up-for-auction/

The corpus of Burgos’ work during the Atomic Age of precode war is no less outstanding than many of his contemporaries. 

Edited May 21, 2023 by bronze johnny

[Robot Man]

On 5/20/2023 at 6:20 PM, tth2 said:

So there's hope for all the westerns?!

Depending on what Westerns. There are many that might come close if in high grade.

The beauty of GA comics is there are so many great ones to explore.

I used to feel the same way about Romance, Archie and teen age titles. Look what has happened to them. I have added a lot of these to my collection once I explored them. 

One just need to have an open mind and be willing to discover all the medium has to offer…

Edited May 22, 2023 by Robot Man

[1950's war comics]

On 5/22/2023 at 10:49 AM, Robot Man said:

I used to feel the same way about Romance, Archie and teen age titles

yep....teen humor are fun to collect and comparatively cheap

[Flex Mentallo]

On 5/20/2023 at 1:52 PM, adamstrange said:

 Along with a couple friends, I visited Heath at his apartment back in the 90s.  We took along a few comics to see what he might remember about them.  Among the stack was War 23, a favorite of mine for both the art and the color design, which I considered unusually good for Atlas.

When we came to War 23, he said "I colored that" and proceeded to break down his use of each of the colors.  Atlas had their own primary colorist but was so loosely managed that when Heath; whose artistic talents include a great sense of color and who was dissatisfied with their typical muddy, dull coloring, decided he wanted to do it himself, they let him.  They weren't, of course, going to pay him any extra for that, but he had the satisfaction of seeing his art published consistent with his vision.  He did not say how often this happened because it was so long ago and depended on whether he had time when he delivered artwork in person to the office.

To recognize his coloring, look for a cover that is very appealing, realistic, and with subtlety.   As an artist, he prided himself on accurate depiction and that included the coloring.  At the same time, he wanted to keep things interesting, so his tried to make them stand out from the usual fair.

For War 23, he drew a night scene but didn't want to go with the usual black background.  Instead, he imagined the scene happening at the peak of the explosion of the bombs dropped from the jets.  They would produce a red/yellow light, turning reddish brown the further away things were, that would dictate the rest of the colors on the cover. 

The underside of the silver metal planes were closest to the light and would reflect the intense brightness as white and orange.  The GI's helmet is painted green, but under the light of the explosion would look white (closest to the explosion) transitioning to light blue, blue, then black to the front of the helmet completely shaded from the blast.  The brim is green as it would be lit indirectly.  The star on the commie's hat is red but under the reddish brown light would be a dark red.  Care is taken everywhere to place white highlights appropriate to how the light would strike each surface.

I'm sure one of our board artists could provide a better breakdown, and point out aspects that are not realistic, but it's a comic book, and the cover needs to scream "BUY ME" to the young men who were the likely audience and Heath took that into account as well.

 

Great analysis of a perfect cover.

As a composition, it has so many disparate elements,  but Heath orchestrates them brilliantly, so it doesnt feel cluttered.

The almost lyrical 'dance' of the circling jets contrasts with the static tension of the foreground, with the explosion serving as a unifying device.

The light falling on the knife echoes the planes.

The apocalyptic explosion makes  manifest  the G.I's berserker rage.

And every element of the composition leads us inexorably to the Chinese soldier's panicked eyes.

It's cinematic!

There is a unifying psychology holding the entire composition in a fugitive balance.

In another instant, darkness will fall.

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

On 5/21/2023 at 8:11 AM, GermanFan said:

Drawing/painting hands is complicated. Painters like for instance Velasquez when doing paintings of royalty charged more when painting more hands in the portraits.

Albrecht Durer was so fascinated by hands he made portraits of them - as expressive as any face!