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"Hey Elf - Don't Forget the Beer" or A Grail by Any Other Name!!

Started by delekkerste,

33 posts in this topic

delekkerste

delekkerste

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To paraphrase Billy Shakespeare, "What's in a name? That which we call a Grail by any other name would feel this sweet..." And here we have it - the single most nostalgic piece of comic book art that I can ever hope to acquire in this hobby. The original cover art to the issue which turned me on to comics and profoundly altered the course of my entire life (I even met my wife through comic art, if indirectly, though that is a story for another day). Yes, this is the original cover art to Uncanny X-Men #172 by Paul M. Smith!

 

Back in 1983, I shared a paper route with a neighborhood kid in Colorado. He was into comics and lent me a few issues to read, including UXM #172. I was instantly hooked - this enigmatic Wolverine character battling assassins in Japan, days before his wedding, while having to take his former enemy (Rogue) under his wing? To paraphrase the tagline at the end of the issue, for 60 cents, better fun could simply not be had for a young kid in 1983! As it turns out, another friend at school happened to be into comics as well, and he lent me another batch of comics to read, which included the second half of that storyline in UXM #173. By then, I was a fan for life. Not only did I become an obsessive comic book collector soon after, but I was even inspired to create my own ninja-themed comic book ("The Black Death") featuring a villain who bore an "uncanny" resemblance to the Silver Samurai (sorry, Marvel), as well as a "Choose Your Own Adventure"-style computer program entitled "Death in Scarlet" (a take-off on UXM #172's "Scarlet in Glory").

 

Anyway, I have been collecting interior pages from UXM #172-173 for years now, though I had also been making numerous inquiries regarding the whereabouts of the elusive cover art to UXM #172. Finally, I decided to contact Paul Smith himself, as I had heard he had gifted it to someone years ago, but didn't hear back from him initially. I'm certainly glad I followed up with him recently, though - my previous inquiry had fallen through the cracks, but this time around he contacted the owner, who, in turn, contacted me. Happily, the owner saw how much the cover meant to me and we quickly negotiated a deal that made everyone involved happy.

 

The cover is personalized to the former owner (who owned it for nearly 20 years) in the UPC box area. He offered to have Smitty remove it, but I told him that I would rather leave it alone as I feel that it adds character and provenance to the piece (I've digitally masked the personalization in the below photo to preserve the former owner's privacy - he does not wish to be contacted - but it is still there). In any case, I am truly grateful to both him and Paul for helping to make this dream come true. This is the most excited I have ever been, by a huge margin, about acquiring a piece of comic art. And, while there are of course other great pieces I would love to own, nothing else in the entire hobby would pack as much nostalgic and emotional punch for me as this one - anything I get after this is simply gravy!

 

PaulSmithUncannyX-Men172CoverMasterredacted-1.jpg

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Speedy-D

Speedy-D

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That's a great cover, PMS is my favorite X-Artist by a decent margin. And can I say, as a bit player in this game, it's really nice to see a much bigger fish gushing with excitement over an acquisition! That's an emotion I can totally relate to.

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Brian Peck

Brian Peck

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The Quest can take alot of patience and work but achieving that goal can be oh so sweet. I know the feeling of getting something you have been after since you started collecting. Its a very memorable cover from Paul's run on the book, great that he was able to hook you up with the previous owner and you are the new custodian of the cover. I know I will be seeing it at the end of the year in the Lowry for the Best of 2014. Congrats again!!

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