Randall Dowling

David's a wealth of knowledge. He has really wonderful stories about growing up watching his dad work. I helped my buddy, Steve, when he set up a couple tables at Windy City a couple years ago. We were lucky enough to be setup next to David and I got to talk to him a bit. Really great guy.

This is a great point about speed and quality. I remember speaking with a buddy back in the 90s that was a commercial illustrator and was shocked to hear that not every piece was done by only one artist. Sometimes an illustrator would execute a painting and then someone would say "I don't like her hair" or "He should be smiling", and then whoever was available to make the change would end up doing it if the original artist was busy with something else. As he described it to me, there wasn't a lot of ownership over the work. It was just "the work". It wasn't fine art, it wasn't expected to have value independent of the usage as a cover, it was just "the work". So, very possible for all the reasons you list that this could be a rushed piece or overpainted by someone else. Without direct first hand knowledge from inside the publisher at the time, I guess all we have is supposition. In my own profession, working on design drawings and construction documents, it's really the same. Especially with CAD work and BIM modeling, but before that, when we were drawing on mylar, there might have been 4 different people that modified a drawing. It's all just work, no ownership (unless something is wrong ).

Correct. Darcy = Chiriacka (Darcy was his middle name). I'm a big fan of his work and even had a client that was a family member of his. They have a ton of his originals in storage but she's (the client) a bit odd and protective of it (yes, I tried to buy some and she didn't seem to like that). But I don't think Sin Street is his work. The lines look wrong for Chiriacka to me but I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first time). There were definitely a lot of illustrators that did one or two covers and that was it. So, they're relatively obscure and unknown. I have a few pieces that fall into that category. Here's a few quick examples of more of his work:

Crime/Detective mags are severely underappreciated. All of the books you have are pretty desirable photo covers. Cool stuff, sir!

I'll do 30% off on all the remaining books in this thread until 7:00 CST tonight, when I close it down. Thanks again for all who purchased and looked.

Thanks for the additional purchases, guys! I've listed the recap on the first page but I'm most likely closing this thread tomorrow. Feel free to PM with any questions offers.

Thanks again for the purchases, guys! I think I've got the thread updated (let me know if I missed anything). If you've already purchased, feel free to claim any of the remaining books for 20% off.

A lot of books that you just don't find very often have already been sold in this thread. Gorgeous material, SA!

And that's it! Thanks to everyone who's purchased and all who've looked. As always, you guys are the best! I'll come back in the morning and clean up the thread. In the meantime, feel free to PM with any questions or reasonable offers.

Phantom Books 506, Carl G. Hoges, Crime On My Hands, VG/F 5.0. Another tough Phantom, this copy is solid with a small amount of creases but still colorful and clean. One of my favorite George Gross covers of any publication, it's so scandalous because her skirt is unbuttoned! Tough book in any condition. $50 Sold to mstrange

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

Phantom Books 500, Joe Barry, Homicide Hotel, FN 6.0. These first US Phantoms are pretty difficult and this is the first issue. Always loved this cover. A solid copy with moderate wear. $100 Sold to mstrange

Exotic Novel 14, Tonight For Sure, 1951, G/VG. A solid and bright copy with the usual wear and minor staple rust (a very common phenomenon on these digests). Exotic Novels are some of the most sought after of the period, tough to find in any shape. Wonderful George Gross cover. $30

Croydon, The Dead Take No Bows, 1946, G+. All there and attached on this scarce title with a cover by L.B. Cole. All of these Cole Croydons are notoriously difficult in any grade. $30 Sold to goldust40

Stork, Lust For Love, 1949, VG+. Another tight and clean copy of these tough Storks. Would grade it higher but for a moderate amount of staple rust. Rodewald cover. $30 Sold to goldust40

Stork, Life of Passion, 1949, VG/F. A very pretty copy of these tough Stork books. Would grade it higher but for a very slight amount of staple rust. Otherwise, I very clean and bright copy with a wonderful Rodewald cover. $50 Sold to goldust40

Fantastic #1 (Copy B), VG/F 5.0. Solid copy with moderate wear. Paper loss at the heel of the spine (common to this book). Still solid and tight. Classic cover by Barye Phillips. $40 Sold to goldust40

Fantastic #1 (Copy A), FN/VF 7.0. A very pretty copy of this first issue. Only a small amount of paper loss at the heel of the spine (common to this book). Otherwise, bright and glossy. Classic cover by Barye Phillips. $70 Sold to mstrange

And that does it for all the magazines for now. I'm going to take another break and get some crime and sci-fi digests together to finish up the evening.

Crime/Detective Magazine Group, Avg. VG/F 4.0-6.0. Very cool detective magazines from the 1950s. $50 for the group.

Nugget Group Lot, Avg. VG 4.0. Nice books with not a lot of wear but some rust on the staples holds them down. $40 for the group.

Fantastic Art of Frank Frazetta Book One and Two (later printings), all in all, nice shape. Not perfect but they look essentially new and unread. These are the books that I first really got a look at Frazetta's incredible paintings as a kid. High quality reproductions throughout. $60 for the pair. Sold to TheComicsPreacher

Marvel Graphic Novel 17, Revenge of the Living Monolith, NM 9.4. Very pretty copy that looks essentially like new. $70

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu 22, VF+ 8.5-9.0. One of my favorite covers of the run, first appearance of the Jack of Hearts. Very attractive copy with nice colors and gloss. $140 Sold to jayhawker

Creepy 137, 9.2. Nice bright copy with full gloss. $50 Sold to roach04