New podcast/video from Felix Comic Art (UPDATED 1/3/17!) 6 6

[Nexus]

On 5/11/2017 at 5:12 AM, Lee B. said:

Great work as usual Felix!  It's like the Big Lebowski sold a bunch of Frank Miller's Dark Knight artwork on accident.

I have one technical question about the podcasts: I tried to "go back" toward the end of the podcast and listen to a segment again, and the podcast kicked me back to the beginning.  Is it possible to skip around in the podcast?  I hadn't downloaded it, and I wasn't listening from iTunes or anything, just the link you provide in these posts.

Keep up the good work!  Best, Lee

Thanks Lee, and everyone, for your feedback!

Re: technical question...sorry, I don't know! I don't really play around with the Libsyn site once episodes are uploaded...I've heard them already! But yes, I believe you can jump around an episode on iTunes.

[Nexus]

On 5/12/2017 at 3:28 AM, NelsonAI said:

2) was the dealer who bought the Death of Joker page Albert Moy?  Felix already posted an image of the page Klaus inked and it seems like Frank had inked a version himself.  

 

I can answer this one. No. Albert did not buy that page. I happen to know the backstory behind that one. I'll share someday. Right now, even after all these years, still too painful to talk about lol!

[Nexus]

Great to see Scott join us here! Again, Scott was always my fantasy get for the podcast. I had no idea if the guy was even still alive. As a DKR art nut, stories about those early days have always fascinated me. Talking to other fans/collectors over the years (along with a few of Frank's associates from that time), I'd been able to basically piece together the story. But I wanted to hear it from the source. So grateful Scott was willing share. He didn't disappoint! I do look forward to our followup, hopefully in 2018. Would love to hear more about Dave Stevens and Howard Chaykin...get ready, Scott!

In the meantime, full steam ahead with our upcoming slate. I just spent Friday with this guy:

So...throughout the course of this podcast, I've made it pretty clear that I'm an '80s guy, and don't have a high opinion of the '90s (to say the least). That was all to build up to this, a chat with Robert Kirkman. Who may be the biggest champion of '90s art I know. I've kept this one in my back pocket and chuckled to myself every time I'd get hate mail from '90s art obsessives. So '90s fans, this one's for you!

Robert also graciously shot a show-and-tell video with us. '90s OA in all its glory!

All this will be coming up in June. Stay tuned!

 

Edited May 14, 2017 by Nexus

[JadeGiant]

Nice – looking forward to next month’s episode already!

[Bronty]

On 5/14/2017 at 9:58 AM, Nexus said:

Great to see Scott join us here! Again, Scott was always my fantasy get for the podcast. I had no idea if the guy was even still alive. As a DKR art nut, stories about those early days have always fascinated me. Talking to other fans/collectors over the years (along with a few of Frank's associates from that time), I'd been able to basically piece together the story. But I wanted to hear it from the source. So grateful Scott was willing share. He didn't disappoint! I do look forward to our followup, hopefully in 2018. Would love to hear more about Dave Stevens and Howard Chaykin...get ready, Scott!

In the meantime, full steam ahead with our upcoming slate. I just spent Friday with this guy:

 

So...throughout the course of this podcast, I've made it pretty clear that I'm an '80s guy, and don't have a high opinion of the '90s (to say the least). That was all to build up to this, a chat with Robert Kirkman. Who may be the biggest champion of '90s art I know. I've kept this one in my back pocket and chuckled to myself every time I'd get hate mail from '90s art obsessives. So '90s fans, this one's for you!

Robert also graciously shot a show-and-tell video with us. '90s OA in all its glory!

All this will be coming up in June. Stay tuned!

 

well... I'll download it anyway!      

Just  all you 90s art lovers.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Bronty

[biglouv]

My Brush with Scott Free and a Small Mystery.

Thanks very much for the interview.  I answered and bought a partial DK page through the one time CBG ad and wondered for a long time who Scott Free really was.

My story – Like many of you, I was totally blown away by the Dark Knight and when I saw that ad, I jumped at the chance and called right away.  I was not really an art collector but I had a few pieces and was already an FM fan.  I called as soon as I saw it and spoke to Scott.  I recall the conversation and he asked me how much I was looking to spend. I told him that I was looking for a page with Batman on it.  He offered me 2 choices, 1 that was published with Batman, Robin, and Supes -- and one that FM did not use but was similar to the published piece and was almost fully inked with Batman, Robin and Alfred.  I chose the published piece and we closed the deal.  I asked if he could have FM sign it and he said no problem.  I mailed the check and a couple weeks later I got the page.  I loved it then and still love it today.

Knowing nothing about the split between FM and Klaus and having no idea of duplicate pages, I took the page a few years later to a show for Klaus to sign it.  I asked and he took a quick look at it and said “That’s a Frank page.”  I asked him that he meant Frank inked it and he said yes.   I never thought at that time to dig deeper. I wish I had because it was many years later when I learned of all the issues.

Also some years later, I asked FM at a show who Scot Free was and he just kind of shrugged and blew it off.  He was nice about it but I just assumed it had been many years and he didn’t recall the details.  Again I wish I pressed for more details.

Now the mystery.  I still have the cancelled check.  It was dated 2/19/1988 and cashed on the 25^th.  That means the ad could not have run before the 1987 SDCC.  If I dated it the 19^th, I can promise you that it was only a day or two after I spoke with Scott.  So I imagine that ad ran in a CBG the first 2 weeks of that month.  So is Benno’s picture of the 1988 SDCC? Or did Scott just mis-remember and this was run with leftover DK stock in 1988? Neither seems right but after listening to the podcast, I would love to know the correct timeline. It was 30 years ago  --  I surely don't remember all the details but I have the check.

Thanks again for the podcast.  It was a blast from the past to hear this story from Scott.

[Bird]

13 minutes ago, biglouv said:

My Brush with Scott Free and a Small Mystery.

Thanks very much for the interview.  I answered and bought a partial DK page through the one time CBG ad and wondered for a long time who Scott Free really was.

My story – Like many of you, I was totally blown away by the Dark Knight and when I saw that ad, I jumped at the chance and called right away.  I was not really an art collector but I had a few pieces and was already an FM fan.  I called as soon as I saw it and spoke to Scott.  I recall the conversation and he asked me how much I was looking to spend. I told him that I was looking for a page with Batman on it.  He offered me 2 choices, 1 that was published with Batman, Robin, and Supes -- and one that FM did not use but was similar to the published piece and was almost fully inked with Batman, Robin and Alfred.  I chose the published piece and we closed the deal.  I asked if he could have FM sign it and he said no problem.  I mailed the check and a couple weeks later I got the page.  I loved it then and still love it today.

Knowing nothing about the split between FM and Klaus and having no idea of duplicate pages, I took the page a few years later to a show for Klaus to sign it.  I asked and he took a quick look at it and said “That’s a Frank page.”  I asked him that he meant Frank inked it and he said yes.   I never thought at that time to dig deeper. I wish I had because it was many years later when I learned of all the issues.

Also some years later, I asked FM at a show who Scot Free was and he just kind of shrugged and blew it off.  He was nice about it but I just assumed it had been many years and he didn’t recall the details.  Again I wish I pressed for more details.

Now the mystery.  I still have the cancelled check.  It was dated 2/19/1988 and cashed on the 25^th.  That means the ad could not have run before the 1987 SDCC.  If I dated it the 19^th, I can promise you that it was only a day or two after I spoke with Scott.  So I imagine that ad ran in a CBG the first 2 weeks of that month.  So is Benno’s picture of the 1988 SDCC? Or did Scott just mis-remember and this was run with leftover DK stock in 1988? Neither seems right but after listening to the podcast, I would love to know the correct timeline. It was 30 years ago  --  I surely don't remember all the details but I have the check.

Thanks again for the podcast.  It was a blast from the past to hear this story from Scott.

Post more often biglouv!

I hope you are doing well. (Lou was my nemesis for a long time, always getting in the lines ahead of me and always getting the great spots before I knew what to look for). Now he is just a nice guy, no longer the nemesis!

[biglouv]

HAHA -- Hey Sean, all is well thanks.  I do follow a lot of threads here but I rarely post.  I could talk all day about comics and art but sitting and typing always seems like work:) I do have strong opinions about many of the topics -- I'll look to get into more conversations with you.

I hope all is well with you.  See you soon.

As an addendum, to the post above, after I chose the page from Scott, I told my buddy Bill about the unpublished page.  He passed on it and regrets it to this day.  I do remind him occasionally

 

[Bird]

1 minute ago, biglouv said:

HAHA -- Hey Sean, all is well thanks.  I do follow a lot of threads here but I rarely post.  I could talk all day about comics and art but sitting and typing always seems like work:) I do have strong opinions about many of the topics -- I'll look to get into more conversations with you.

I hope all is well with you.  See you soon.

As an addendum, to the post above, after I chose the page from Scott, I told my buddy Bill about the unpublished page.  He passed on it and regrets it to this day.  I do remind him occasionally

 

All is actually well, but collecting life sucks. Read the "French auction" thread and see my pain!

[jjonahjameson11]

On May 14, 2017 at 0:58 PM, Nexus said:

Great to see Scott join us here! Again, Scott was always my fantasy get for the podcast. I had no idea if the guy was even still alive. As a DKR art nut, stories about those early days have always fascinated me. Talking to other fans/collectors over the years (along with a few of Frank's associates from that time), I'd been able to basically piece together the story. But I wanted to hear it from the source. So grateful Scott was willing share. He didn't disappoint! I do look forward to our followup, hopefully in 2018. Would love to hear more about Dave Stevens and Howard Chaykin...get ready, Scott!

In the meantime, full steam ahead with our upcoming slate. I just spent Friday with this guy:

So...throughout the course of this podcast, I've made it pretty clear that I'm an '80s guy, and don't have a high opinion of the '90s (to say the least). That was all to build up to this, a chat with Robert Kirkman. Who may be the biggest champion of '90s art I know. I've kept this one in my back pocket and chuckled to myself every time I'd get hate mail from '90s art obsessives. So '90s fans, this one's for you!

Robert also graciously shot a show-and-tell video with us. '90s OA in all its glory!

All this will be coming up in June. Stay tuned!

 

Geez,  I like 80s art a lot, and 90's stuff.  Not sure why people are so hung up on bashing 90's Art, but there was a lot of good with the bad, just like the 80's.

[Bird]

90s Art? Thibert? Why would anyone bash him? 

[jjonahjameson11]

We can make the same joke with more 90's Art...Adams.  But let's not get carried away ?

[ESeffinga]

Mignola on Hellboy.

Allred on Madman.

Lapham on Stray Bullets.

Moore on Strangers in Paradise.

Mack on Kabuki.

Kieth on the Maxx.

(and just because)

Miller and Darrow on Hard Boiled.

Miller and Darrow on Big Guy & Rusty.

Miller on Sin City.

To say nothing of Vertigo slate of books like Sandman. A title which DID start up in 89, but didn't really become what it became until well into the 90s.

Nope. I can't think of good 90s art to collect, when back in the 80s we had such classics as

Arak God of Thunder.

Crystar the Crystal Warrior.

Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos.

Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters.

Dazzler

Team America

Power Pack

Sultry Teenage Super Foxes

The Jack of Hearts
 

I think the most fascinating bit to me is that the material Felix is selling for his current slate of artists is far closer related to the work of those 90s titles I list above in my eyes, than it is to the 80s material so near and dear to his heart. Not to mention that a lot of his guys are on the very label of those 90s guys.

And here's the kick in the teeth for myself. I loathed the founding Image crew by and large. With the exception of Kieth, I tried the books by all of them and couldn't stand them.  BUT had it not been for the door they kicked open to the industry, and more important, kicked open to a wider audience that a self published book could be worth looking at. A lot of us were aware of this from what happened with the Ninja Turtles, but far too few books were given that chance at a readership and that distribution, until the Image boys came along and did their thing. So while their books may have been lousy, and late, and the art crappy (all IMO), they are begrudgingly due a level of respect for effect they ultimately had.

Could we have gotten from the 80s to today without them, and the wave of creator owned properties that followed?

 

Edited May 16, 2017 by ESeffinga

[eewwnuk]

X-Men #1 October 1991

X-Force 1: August 1991

Spiderman 1 August 1990

Death of Superman October 1992

 

Seems to me like most of the highly sought after modern art comes from the 90's? 

[Pete Marino]

No sure if there's a real conversation to be had about it.

But I really think the "old guard" guys really like to bash on the 90's because there was a seismic shift in how comics were marketed, sold and developed in the 90's.  And it's easy for people who grew up loving Byrne / Cockrum X-Men and Romita ASM to look at those comics and say "that's not my hobby, you've bastardized it".

Just like any decade there is great stuff and bad stuff.  But the one thing you can't take away from that 88-92 period is there was energy surrounding the hobby like never before.  People we buying (gimick) comics left and right.... right until the bottom fell out and the whole house of cards almost toppled, burnt down and got stomped on by a giant elephant

To me, it'll always be when I grew up and I'll look fondly upon those women with broken backs.

[Bronty]

7 hours ago, ESeffinga said:

Mignola on Hellboy.

Allred on Madman.

Lapham on Stray Bullets.

Moore on Strangers in Paradise.

Mack on Kabuki.

Kieth on the Maxx.

(and just because)

Miller and Darrow on Hard Boiled.

Miller and Darrow on Big Guy & Rusty.

Miller on Sin City.

To say nothing of Vertigo slate of books like Sandman. A title which DID start up in 89, but didn't really become what it became until well into the 90s.

Nope. I can't think of good 90s art to collect, when back in the 80s we had such classics as

Arak God of Thunder.

Crystar the Crystal Warrior.

Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos.

Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters.

Dazzler

Team America

Power Pack

Sultry Teenage Super Foxes

The Jack of Hearts
 

I think the most fascinating bit to me is that the material Felix is selling for his current slate of artists is far closer related to the work of those 90s titles I list above in my eyes, than it is to the 80s material so near and dear to his heart. Not to mention that a lot of his guys are on the very label of those 90s guys.

And here's the kick in the teeth for myself. I loathed the founding Image crew by and large. With the exception of Kieth, I tried the books by all of them and couldn't stand them.  BUT had it not been for the door they kicked open to the industry, and more important, kicked open to a wider audience that a self published book could be worth looking at. A lot of us were aware of this from what happened with the Ninja Turtles, but far too few books were given that chance at a readership and that distribution, until the Image boys came along and did their thing. So while their books may have been lousy, and late, and the art crappy (all IMO), they are begrudgingly due a level of respect for effect they ultimately had.

Could we have gotten from the 80s to today without them, and the wave of creator owned properties that followed?

 

 

You're completely right of course, and I almost typed out something along those lines myself before deciding it was too much effort    

Can't argue with any of it.    

I think to the extent there is a backlash its really against the 'image crew' art as you put it.     Its certainly grossly unfair to paint the whole decade with that brush.

[ESeffinga]

7 minutes ago, Bronty said:

 

You're completely right of course, and I almost typed out something along those lines myself before deciding it was too much effort    

Can't argue with any of it.    

I think to the extent there is a backlash its really against the 'image crew' art as you put it.     Its certainly grossly unfair to paint the whole decade with that brush.

Indeed. But I think the second point might be an interesting one for a future discussion in a topic that isn't about Felix's podcast. Which is that the Image guys brought a change in the view of self-worth and self-value among many comic artists, who up to then were just happy they got to make a living, no matter how meager, by drawing funny books. There were exceptions previously of course, but that was the real sea change. Something I think is of huge benefit to artists today. Almost to the level of pre-internet and post-internet, in how they conduct business. At the very least they go into work for the big guys with their eyes wide open when it comes to creating characters, derivative stories, etc.

Edited May 16, 2017 by ESeffinga

[ESeffinga]

...and here I am playing devil's advocate for the Image guys.
Hell really must be a polar tundra right now, or I need to get out more.

[Bronty]

3 minutes ago, ESeffinga said:

Indeed. But I think the second point might be an interesting one for a future discussion in a topic that isn't about Felix's podcast. Which is that the Image guys brought a change in the view of self-worth and self-value among many comic artists, who up to then were just happy they got to make a living, no matter how meager, by drawing funny books. There were exceptions previously of course, but that was the real sea change.

Well...  and there's two sides to it right?   OK so some creators started making a lot more money... great... but the flip side is that with the extra money and the extra power at the bargaining table quality went down and deadlines were missed (not just at image!  I'm thinking of stuff like battle chasers that was like.. the hottest book/artist in the hobby for five minutes and managed to put out.. what.. seven issues or something?).    There was a structure around the artists to keep stuff coming out on time, and when they started making more, that fish didn't have to swim in that pond anymore.    Good for the fish but not so great for the fisherman.   

Edited May 16, 2017 by Bronty

[SquareChaos]

5 minutes ago, Bronty said:

Well...  and there's two sides to it right?   OK so some creators started making a lot more money... great... but the flip side is that with the extra money and the extra power at the bargaining table quality went down and deadlines were missed (not just at image!  I'm thinking of stuff like battle chasers that was like.. the hottest book/artist in the hobby for five minutes and managed to put out.. what.. seven issues or something?).    There was a structure around the artists to keep stuff coming out on time, and when they started making more, that fish didn't have to swim in that pond anymore.    Good for the fish but not so great for the fisherman.   

The 90s Image years are very important to the hobby culturally, but the first few years were not a high watermark.