How Much Large Byrne FF Art Exists? 0

[DJRome]

A boardie started a post to point out that his Byrne FF page was done on larger board. Since it's coming up for auction, the thread was moved to the marketplace. But it got me wondering about how many big Byrne FF pages exist.

As far as I know, six of his covers were done large, but does anyone know how many interior pages were oversized?

[Bronty]

I don't know but love me some Byrne FF.   Question - how much of it is done without marker?

[NelsonAI]

I've seen pages of his oversized FF pages inked in sharpie.

I assumed he drew the entire issue in that manner due to deadlines.

It's been so long, I can't recall the issue(s).  Jim Warden would probably know.

Edited February 26, 2019 by NelsonAI
Typos

[RICKYBOBBY]

Byrne talks about this on his forum and this is what he said:

That depends on the marker used. Sharpies, for instance, are "permanent", meaning if one treats a piece drawn with a Sharpie with the proper respect -- not hanging it in direct sunlight, for instance -- it will last. I have a Neal Adams page from BRAVE AND BOLD that was drawn about 35 years ago, much of it with marker, and not a single line of it has faded or even reddened.

So as long as you take care of it (like any other piece of art) you should be fine- his FF marker pages are no different than regular inked pages. 

It’s just we read marker we automatically think BAD.  Not the case for Byrnes FF pages.

RB

[RICKYBOBBY]

1 hour ago, NelsonAI said:

I've seen pages of his oversized FF pages inked in sharpie.

I assumed he drew the entire issue in that manner due to deadlines.

It's been so long, I can't recall the issue(s).  Jim Warden would probably know.

Don’t think it was due to deadlines. This is what he said about using markers:

That depends on the artist. It is true that markers -- especially fine point, which are best for the kind of inking we're discussing here -- don't have much "give" and cannot be depended upon to produce line weight variation "automatically", as a brush does, but in my own case I tend to sweep back and forth across the same line several times, when penciling or inking with markers, and this puts in the necessary variation -- with, I might add, a degree of control not possible with a brush.

As always, it comes down to "your mileage may vary", but I think it is profoundly foolish for any professional to condemn the use of any tool based on his/her own experiences with that tool. The best advice is always "Find what works for you."

Edited February 26, 2019 by RICKYBOBBY

[stinkininkin]

21 minutes ago, RICKYBOBBY said:

Byrne talks about this on his forum and this is what he said:

That depends on the marker used. Sharpies, for instance, are "permanent", meaning if one treats a piece drawn with a Sharpie with the proper respect -- not hanging it in direct sunlight, for instance -- it will last. I have a Neal Adams page from BRAVE AND BOLD that was drawn about 35 years ago, much of it with marker, and not a single line of it has faded or even reddened.

So as long as you take care of it (like any other piece of art) you should be fine- his FF marker pages are no different than regular inked pages. 

It’s just we read marker we automatically think BAD.  Not the case for Byrnes FF pages.

RB

Totally false.  Sorry Mr Byrne, but Sharpies are not permanent or stable.  I never inked actual pages with Sharpies, but I did use them very occasionally  to to do a little bit of touch up work on my Xmen run almost 30 years ago.  These pages were then kept in protected portfolio's in complete darkness, and I can tell you the Sharpie bits are either fading or bleeding or turning color.  I'm pretty sure there were other types of markers back then that might have been more stable (I honestly have no idea), but Sharpies were the most common and easily accessible marker on the market, and were NOT stable.

[J.Sid]

Bleeding is noticeable as well on some of Byrne's marker pages. 

[oldwhy]

Issue 287 was on large board as well. Inks are by Sinnott so no bleeding here, but also not a lot of Byrne left :-). I have pages 1 and 2, if anybody's interested I can post some pics when I get home.

[jjonahjameson11]

Definitely some Byrne large art Alpha Flight Pages our there.  

Also, anyone able to confirm if any Byrne large art Namor pages exist?  I recall he was experimenting with various page sizes on that title?

[RICKYBOBBY]

5 hours ago, stinkininkin said:

Totally false.  Sorry Mr Byrne, but Sharpies are not permanent or stable.  I never inked actual pages with Sharpies, but I did use them very occasionally  to to do a little bit of touch up work on my Xmen run almost 30 years ago.  These pages were then kept in protected portfolio's in complete darkness, and I can tell you the Sharpie bits are either fading or bleeding or turning color.  I'm pretty sure there were other types of markers back then that might have been more stable (I honestly have no idea), but Sharpies were the most common and easily accessible marker on the market, and were NOT stable.

That’s very interesting Scott. Appreciate providing your insight since you specialize in inking. The page at ComicLink is from 1983 (older than your x-men pages) but no fading or color changes. You would think if no impact in almost 40 years you would be okay. But I get your remark on markers not being stable. 

Thxx

RB

[J.Sid]

1 hour ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

Definitely some Byrne large art Alpha Flight Pages our there.  

Also, anyone able to confirm if any Byrne large art Namor pages exist?  I recall he was experimenting with various page sizes on that title?

Many Namor pages are actually smaller than 11x17 (at least the ones I've seen). Not sure if there are oversized ones as well

[First Upgrade]

Regarding the 'large' John Byrne Fantastic Four #257 page 10, which was markered, not inked with 'conventional' India-type inks, & currently at auction with CLink...I 'see' areas/panels that appear to be 'glowing' as an artifact of chemicals from the marker having begun to leech or bleed...

[NelsonAI]

When sharpie inks bleed, it has a purple "glow".

[stinkininkin]

3 hours ago, NelsonAI said:

When sharpie inks bleed, it has a purple "glow".

That is a good description.  And that is just stage 1.  It will eventually also fade and/or turn a different color.

[Brian Peck]

14 minutes ago, stinkininkin said:

That is a good description.  And that is just stage 1.  It will eventually also fade and/or turn a different color.

Most of the storyboards Mike Ploog drew for The Thing are in pencil but have a boarder done in market that have turned purple.

 

[Carlo M]

Hello everybody,

as the consignor I have of course a vested interest in this.  I am actually glad that whoever decides to bid on this does so on an informed basis.

I can't comment on the chemistry involved or make a predicition as to how the piece will hold up in the future.  However, I would like to point out that the piece is 35 years old and that the ComicLink scan is IMHO quite accurate.  If people double click on it they should be able to get a good sense of how the piece looks like at close inspection.  Having said that, I would encourage interested collectors to contact Jason Crosby at ComicLink for more information, description, scans, pictures etc. etc. ( jcrosby@comiclink.com )

Thanks everybody, and in general it would be good to know which issues indeed were large art.  For sure I do remember the cover to FF 256 sold on HA being large art.

Carlo

[oldwhy]

She-Hulk 6 was also done on large boards. Here are some pics of my pages from She-Hulk 6 and FF 287.

 

[J.Sid]

Very nice pages. The Galactus page on CLink is amazing as well.

[DJRome]

Thanks for posting some examples from the collection, OW. Would you happen to know the board & image size?

Also, I'd like to throw my 2 cents in regarding Byrne's use of marker:

As far as I know, most any page from the early 80s on that has Byrne credited with pencil & inks is bound to have marker on it. There are many examples (pages & covers) that were done with a fine tip marker & a sharpie for large black areas. For better or for worse, it was part of his process. Any collector that can't deal with marker shouldn't collect that stuff.

Personally, I judge it on a case by case basis. I've seen Byrne covers that showed too much fading for me to be interested. The Cap #290 that just sold on Heritage comes to mind, as does the PPSSM #101 that they sold a few years back. But I've purchased Byrne marker pieces where the blacks are still very crisp. Check out the She Hulk #2 below. 30 years old & still as pretty as ever! It's only had two owners since it was originally sold in '89 & we both took good care of it. That makes a huge difference in the marker's lifespan. India ink will age better than marker in the long run; but if a quality marker is used & the piece is kept out of light, I don't worry much about future fading.

Below I've posted a pic of the cover to FF #257, along with a standard board cover for size comparison. You'll notice that there is some slight fading in the background by Galactus's jawline. In the six years that I've owned it, there has been no additional fading. I spoke about it with a collector who owned it 15 years before I did & he said that it was like that when he got it! And yes, he kept it in portfolio away from light & heat.

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by DJRome
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[J.Sid]

Re: 257