comicfanboy007

5 hours ago, Flambit said:

 

Thanks.  Aparo is "my" Batman artist too, hands down.  As someone said on another thread, there's a lot of Aparo Batman art out there, and a lot that's affordable - if that's who you really want a piece by, you will definitely get it.  

But yeah, growing up at SDCC as a teen in the 80's was amazing.  Although I totally missed the El Cortez era, that CPAC SDCC era in the 1980s was magical.  

Some random memories:

Frank Miller: He was actually pretty accessible in the 1980s, roughly up until just after DKR - then the lines started.  I met him at SDCC 1985 and he was just watching someone's booth - the booths were basically big wooden tables pushed together which stacks of books on them, and some dealers had gigantic spaces with many tables, so I guess he was helping out. There seemed to be very few people wandering around - a big panel must have been going on - and no one knew who he was, but I recognized him immediately and grabbed a whole stack of my Daredevils. He was cool about it as I pushed a stack of about 20 at him, but my dad had to intervene: "ok, give the poor guy a break." I felt like an insufficiently_thoughtful_person, but he did sign quite a few. (Miller also signed at my LCS  that year as well we spoke about working with Harlan Ellison on the Heroes for Hope one shot).

Mobieus: Super cool guy! Met him in 84 or so at SDCC. Super friendly and engaging. He whipped out this amazing sketch for free - some sort of spaceman with an infinite horizon behind him, that he outlined with a blue highlighter.  I hope I still have that sketch somewhere. 

Kevin Maguire: he was a bit reserved, but not quite stand-offish, just very serious. Met him in the late 80s. I worshipped the Giffen/Maguire JL and I was trying to work out a deal to buy the original art to the cover of Justice League International #16 which had just come out, but I couldn't afford the $250 (that's the cover with Bruce Wayne as James Bond and Fire and Ice as Bond girls on either side of him).  

Stan Lee: I remember it was a big deal when he came to SDCC in the late 80s. He signed the cover of an X-Men #10 I bought. Pretty much took the book, signed it, I said thanks, and that was it. But the line wasn't that long and I didn't have to pay anything, at least. 

George Clayton Johnson: Just the coolest, nicest dude. He started talking to me in the con hospitality suite in the early 90s, and was telling me all about his Twilight Zone days. A few of my stoner friends would go smoke joints with him in the stairwells. He was a wonderful staple of the early SDCC and I still miss seeing him around. 

Alex Schomburg: he was the golden age artist that did all those amazing Marvel Mystery Comic covers with the crazy detail. This was probably the most depressing meeting. He was doing sketches in 85 or 86 at SDCC and I really loved his covers so I stood in line. And he was not doing well. He was frail and kind of struggling to keep up, but he had some sort of handler standing behind him, this really thin, brown haired guy with a tan shirt that was almost sheer so that you could see the wifebeater he was wearing underneath, and he just cracked the whip: "You got to keep up! Come on! Let's go!" as Schomborg worked to grind out each sketch. It felt almost abusive and was uncomfortable to watch. Never found out what that story was. 

I remember also that year Harvey Kurtzman was signing, and he had a huge line, so I decided to go eat instead. Lines were a little unusual back then, because attendance was still pretty small for SDCC (most of the 80s it was under 10k people), so it was a big deal. But I've always regretted not meeting him.  He was an absolute master of the art form. But I later read a story by Harvey Pekar where he meets Kurtzman's daughter, talking about that era of Kurtzman's life, and she said that he was actually in really bad shape then. 

Jerry Robinson: in the mid 80s he was there one year and did large head shot sketches for $200 each (of Batman or whatever villain you wanted).  As I was kind of obsessed with the golden age, I splurged and got Batman and a Joker.  It was neat to meet the guy, but in retrospect, for that kind of money, I probably would have been better off buying a Kirby Eternals cover and a couple of Joe Kubert war covers and I still would have had money left over for lunch.  Don't regret it though.   

Big regrets: didn't try to meet Alan Moore the year he was there, nor, in my infinite wisdom, did I bother to attend probably the most famous panel in SDCC history (when Alan Moore gets into the argument with Shooter in the audience about Kirby's art), but I remember the dealer's room had cleared out to nothing while it was going on.  And then for the next hour, that's all people were talking about.  And people had these black shirts with white lettering that said something like "God Save the King."  I did not get the reference until years later.  I guess I wasn't really aware of the issue with Kirby/Marvel at the time.  I also missed Joe Kubert or Irv Novick when they were there - I was huge fans of both artists.

 

 

Hearing these Tales from the Con makes me so happy. SDCC 2017 was the first time I have missed since 2006 and I realize I was lucky to have gone that many years. I know these is a lot of griping about how the con has changed but I still think the energy and excitement that permeates the air of San Diego for that weekend is something special. Fortunately I am going this year and I am so excited to be going back now more than ever since I have really immersed myself in the original art hobby. Thank you so much for sharing these.

10 hours ago, theflashunc said:

A couple years ago, during the Daredevil relaunch by Waid and Rivera, I picked up the first splashy-page from issue #1 from Paolo's rep. He was going to be at HeroesCon not long after, so I brought it along for him to sign. When I brought out the page to sign, Paolo lit up about how excited he was to work on the book, and how the page was the first his dad had ever inked of his work, and one of the few they did with pencils on the page before he moved cross country and they started to do bluelines under inks. He shared how the left arm of Daredevil was actually him, showing his dad some of the technique, and dad went off, did the rest and they continue to work together today. He seemed genuinely touched to see something again that was a bit more than just some work for hire, but a real family moment between father and son. 

Couple years later, Paolo and Joe are at a signing at Isotope comics in SF, so I bring the page by for Joe to sign. Paolo recognizes me and we chat a bit about what he's been up to, the usual as Joe signs the page, and I notice he's touched seeing the page again as well. He admitted also to being a bit perplexed why some folks collect the original pages. 

Its that kind of stuff that's really fun in the hobby. The hunt is great and all, but sometimes its more than just pencil and ink on paper, yanno?

Great story, I love that Paolo and his father collaborate to create such beautiful art. Thanks for sharing this.

7 hours ago, Flambit said:

What a great thread!

I may have told this story on the list years ago, I honestly don’t remember, so apologies if I did, but this is my favorite memory of the original art hobby.  Warning, it’s long.

At SDCC 1989, on Sunday, as the con was winding down, my friend and I walked into the room across the hall from the main dealers room (once used as the Masquerade room in the early 80s).  Just inside the door was one of those big round tables with chairs for people to sit and rest.  People were gathered around a man sitting down, telling stories and generally entertaining the small crowd.  Bob Kane.

I loved Batman - of course, who here doesn’t - and I had a big obsession especially for golden age creators (I was young - my teens - and I hadn’t heard of Bill Finger yet, so please forgive me!).  I loved Kirby, but he was a fixture at SDCC every year and I’d met him a couple of times.  But Kane - I’d never met him, never even seen him!  (As far as I knew, he was the man who created Batman!  Again, you know, I was young…).  Anyway, Kane was at con promoting the Batman movie, but he hadn’t been listed as a guest; I didn’t even know he had been there, so I was super stoked!  We edged our way into the group, said hi, and I told my friend to stay there, and I took off to the dealers room in a sprint: I wanted to find a nice, but affordable GA Detective or Batman with the last of my con money for him to sign.  

I sprinted up and down the aisles and suddenly came across an art dealer.  Remember the days when they had the art in stacks six inches tall, with no binders and no mylars, just anonymous piles of covers, splashes and panel pages?  I couldn’t tell you even who this dealer was.  And standing in front of his table, a guy was holding the cover to Batman 291, my first ever Batman comic!  I slammed to a halt, mouth agape, and basically said to the guy, “I will take that right now if you don’t want it.”  I remember then having the gall to talk the dealer down from $100 to $90, and ran back to Kane. 

I asked Kane if he would sign it (as an aside: I would never have art signed today, but back then, this stuff was this weird oddity - not worthless, but not really valuable.  There was no real market that I was aware of, not like the comics themselves.  There was no way of knowing what something was worth, because there was only one of everything.  So it was more like having a special memento from a particular comic, in a way).  He signed it to me, and I remember he held it, and studied the central Aparo drawing of Batman for a minute, then asked, ”Who drew this?”  “Jim Aparo,” I said.  “That’s really good!  This guy can really draw Batman!"  

WOW. Regardless of what we now know regarding Batman's creation that is still pretty incredible. I love hearing stories from SDCC from the pre-pop culture explosion where you would just be able to walk up to legends like Kirby and find OA like the piece you just shared. That's incredible.  The first time I went to SDCC it was 2006 which was right when it really started to blow up and go more Pop Culture Con. I was still able to buy tickets for Sunday just by waiting in line. So I can kind of imagine the SDCC back before things went crazy.

Also Jim Aparo is my definitive Batman artist so great choice in first comic and Original Art pick up. Batman #442 was my first comic also drawn by Jim. I dream of one day picking up a piece by him.

Thanks for sharing this story.

14 hours ago, chrisco37 said:

Fun topic.  Mine is an easy choice....

2004 Dynamic Forces Fan Fest.   It was at some hotel in Jersey (right near Philly).  It was the same day as the 2004 NFL Draft.  This is going to be a long post...

Got a PM from either @Foolkiller or @dam60 the week of.  I was/am a huge Eduardo Risso fan.   The PM aid he was going to be at the show.   At the time, he rarely came to the US for shows.   He had just started the Batman arc (620-ish).  I had multiple Bullets pages already and had just purchased one of his pages from the Batman arc.   I had to go.

Jeff (JG) Jones and Mark Millar had just started Wanted.  I had the luck, a few months prior, to buy Page 1 of #1.  They were at the show as well.  

Anyway, I make the 2+ hour drive from DC to the show and it's, more or less, an OA show and "meet and greet" with artists.   A few books for sale, but mostly art and creators (Risso, Azz, Johnson, Jones, Millar, Joe Q, Starlin, Chaykin, etc..).   I was there to try and meet Eduardo, but I first got in line for Jones & Millar (they were signing at the same table).  Line moves pretty quick.  Mostly fans getting books signed.  I get up to the front and drop my Wanted page in front of Jeff.  He flips out and taps Millar.  He freaks out.  "Where did you get this!?"   Chat with both of them for a few minutes about the book and also about the NFL Draft (which was just starting).  Ran into Jeff at the end of the show and talked more NFL Draft.   Good times.

After the Wanted stuff, I decide I'd better get in the lines for the Bullets guys.   Meet Azz (surly guy) and Dave Johnson first and then I get in the line for Risso.  He was doing head sketches for everyone in line.  And he draws SLOW.   I'm in line for about an hour and it has barely moved.   100 people in front of me.  At this rate, I'm never going to get there before the show ends.   CGC has just started the sig series program and Dave (dam60) was one of the original witnesses.   He's getting books signed from all the various creators at the show, so they all know who him by this point in the day.   Eduardo gets up to take a quick break.  On his way back to his table, Dave grabs him real quick and starts talking to him.   At the same time, he looks over at me and gives me the "wink-wink, come over here".  I jump out of my spot in line and go over.   Dave says "Hey Eduardo, this is Chris.  He's one of your biggest fans!".    At that point, I open up my portfolio and start flipping thru the Bullets pages and the Batman page.  Eduardo lit up.  He signed all my pages (much to the chagrin of everyone in line since I cut ahead of everyone that wanted their book signed with a head sketch).  Couldn't really chat with him too much due to the language barrier.   Still, it was awesome to meet one of my favorite artists and make him smile.  There are pics somewhere, but not on my current computer.   

Throughout the day, I was hanging out with Foolkiller and Dam60 and @plitch and Paradise Peter.   Met a bunch of OA fans/boardies too. I think Hari was there.  Maybe Gene too.  Lambert, etc... When the show ended, Brian said I could crash at his place (first of a few times in Philly that Brian extended an invite), so I said WTF.  We ended up leaving the show and going to some bar where they served all sorts of mussels.  It was me, Brian, Dave, Paul and Peter (there's a pic somewhere of this too).  We had the best time.  

I've been to many shows/cons over the years since then (and even before).   To this day, it remains my all-time favorite con and one of, if not THE, best hobby memories for me.   

 

 

What a wonderful time, Dynamic Forces Fan Fest sounds amazing. I met Mark Millar at a signing at Golden Apple for the release of War Heroes. Both he and Tony Harris were there and there was an open bar.  The line was incredibly slow as Mark was extremely generous with his time talking to every fan, as Tony was signing at a table Mark would take a break and start walking the line signing and talking to everyone individually. It was really nice he did not rush anyone and really tried to take his time.

I have only met Azz super briefly he was hanging out with Frank Miller when I met him at the C2E2 meet and greet. It was a very quick hi and thank you.

Thank you so much for sharing this.

1 minute ago, Nexus said:

Off the top of my head, here are two collectors who will provide what you're looking for:

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=24154

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=32864

Not-so-coincidentally, they are both also members of CFA-APA.

 

Thank You Very Much Felix!!! Greatly appreciated.

Collecting original art is a personal hobby where we purchase a piece of pure nostalgia. Sometimes from a dealer, sometimes from the artist directly. Regardless  it brings us deeper in the hobby of comics, a hobby that we love.  Does anyone have any tales from the hobby they want to share? A cool interaction with a creator? The joy of finding their grail. Whatever was an experience you were able to have because of the hobby.

Last year I was able to meet Frank Miller  at a con meet and greet and acquire a Dark Knight Head sketch. It was a brief interaction but one that I treasure. ,
The sketch itself is a simple sketch, I can see the pencil and ink marks which is awesome.  What's more valuable for me was the time I spent talking with Frank.
Our encounter was brief but meaningful. The traditional Frank Miller scowl in the picture hides a genuine warmth. He was gracious as he signed my books. I thanked him for his hard work and countless contributions to my favorite medium. I said he changed how I read comics, when in an interview, he said (and I paraphrase) more than any other medium the reader controls the speed of the story and I want them to slow down." That changed how I read comics going forward. I told him I wish I could say something more thoughtful and profound. He indicated my remarks were more than enough. I thanked him again and added how much I am enjoying DKIII and his artwork in the mini comics "it's very "Punk Rock Kirby" he smiled again and said "I've never heard that, it's weird and I like it. We need to get that on a shirt. I concluded by wishing him a great con. It was such a special moment for me.

I know this is not the craziest of moments but it really resonated with me, now it's your turn, what is one of your favorite memories of the hobby?

If an example of an article is not possible if anyone has suggestions for people on CAF who write great descriptions of their art I would happily take those suggestions as well.

I'm looking for examples of articles where collectors talk about their collection and specific pieces of art. (sketches, commissions, and published pages) I know this is something that the CFA-APA http://cfa-apa.blogspot.com/ does in their publications. Does anyone have an example of one of their articles? I am curious how its structured and how experienced collectors write about and describe their collection. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thank you.

I have been fortunate in my sketch collecting. 

Frank Miller Dark Knight Head Sketch acquired at 2017 C2E2. 

Gotham By Gaslight Batman by Mike Mignola acquired at the LA Book Festival.

Daredevil by Lee Bermejo acquired at SDCC

Ted Kord Blue Beetle by Ivan Reis acquired at SDCC 09. 

Captain America by Paolo Rivera acquired at a signing at Jim Hanley’s Paolo was working in Mythos Captain America at the time and showed me a few gorgeous pages. 

Jon Snow by Liam Sharp SDCC 2016. What that man accomplished in minutes with a sharpie just blew my mind. 

Hope you enjoy. 

I have resigned myself to the fact that grails are a tier of art and not just a single piece. In 2017 I Acquired a beautiful Jim Lee Justice League page. While I would love to have a Dark Knight Page the art that would mean the most to me is to have pieces by Jim Aparo my favorite and definitive Batman artist. He drew Batman 442 which was my first comic. I  would do anything to have a page from that issue or a page that would feature Batman Unmasked drawn by Aparo. Alas I got into the game too late. I know there are Aparo Batman pages out there but they are no longer cheap and a lot of them are still with the estate and may never be released...This post is becoming depressing...Sorry about that. But I will not give up I know I will eventually get an Aparo Batman page SDCC is only five months away and believe me I will be looking.

One of the few pieces I have framed is a cover recreation by Alex Maleev of his cover to Daredevil issue 57 which was my favorite issue from my favorite arc. The King of Hells Kitchen was Bendis and Maleev firing on all cylinders. Alex was at a guest of I think Anthony’s Comic Art in SDCC back in 2007 and he created this for me on the spot. Still on of my favorite pieces. 

One of my favorite themes in my collection is Batman in his anti-Superman armor from the Dark Knight Returns final chapter “The Dark Knight Falls” 

Below you can see three of my favorite pieces from the theme. The are by Chris Samnee, Aaron Kuder, and Carlos D’Anda. I hope you like them.  

On ‎1‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 8:56 PM, comix4fun said:

Added a couple of pieces that fit the trophy wall theme.

One was through heritage auctions, and the other was a commission piece. 

First is Richard Pace's "Harvey Dent's & Two Face's Trophy Room" I did a nice write up of how Richard and I arrived at the composition for the piece and the various thematic elements. 

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1449539

 

The other was from a Heritage Auction, but fit nicely into the theme.

Giorgio Comolo's "Space Game Hunter". 

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1449542

I've identified most of the trophies in this piece, if you can spot the ones I missed please include information in the comments, I'd appreciate the help as some of these are on the tip of my tongue but I can't place them. That's the danger of picking up a trophy room that I didn't have a hand in creating.

 

These are beautiful. The Harvey Two-Face Trophy Room has such an incredible design. The Space Hunter is just wow. Both are perfectly executed. Thank you for sharing.

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 7:18 AM, Owsler said:

Been a while, but here's some recent pages:

2 Akira Colourised pages from Steve Oliff
Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley
God Country by Geoff Shaw
Paper Girls by Cliff Chiang. 
 

 

 

 

Stunning God Country page, absolutely stunning. Great pick up man. I came to that book way too late to ever get art but at a time were I really needed to read it in my life. Congrats.  

Hi Everybody, I’m Matt. I am still new to the boards. In the past year, I have gone from a passive comic art collector to an actively engaged comic art collector. I had been collecting for almost 20 years, originally focusing on free con sketches and occasional con commission to eventually making some bigger moves published pages and higher end commissions and topping it all off with a Jim Lee Justice League page. 

I am still figuring out my collection. I am not exactly sure where I am going with it but I am really enjoying figuring it out. One of my themes is Batman Unmasked and Batman in his Dark Knight Returns Armor. 

Feel free to share your thoughts on my collection.  

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=103886

Thank you so much for having this discussion. This is my first post on the CGC Boards.  Hi Everybody.

Despite collecting OA for years I am still a rookie when it comes to collecting. One thing that has been confusing to me is the distinction between Original Art inks and pencils. Of course I would prefer to own inks over pencil but that is becoming harder and harder particularly with more and more artists drawing digitally. I have a Superman page by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, I bought off of Prado at C2E2. He told me Ivan is drawing digitally now but he (Prado) is inking the blueline print out. In this case would the inks be the original art since it's published and there are no physical pencils. Sorry if these are already figured out I am still learning my way around the hobby.