Help Identifying Spider-Man Art 0

[Trenton Sy]

I picked up a few Spidey pieces at auction and behind one of the framed pieces I found what is indicated as Web of Spiderman 122 pg 1 - unsigned on Marvel board. It is clearly not the published page but maybe a rejected page / unpublished piece. The edges are in rough condition but the piece itself is rather nice aside from a bit wonky thwip hand on the Scarlet Spider which may be why it was redone. Any help on how I can figure out what this is and who the artist might be? Web 122 had Steven Butler - Breakdowns and Randy Eberlin - Finishes listed as the contributors so I would guess it is one of them if it is legit.  Thanks in advance!

 

[NelsonAI]

I would recommend that you pick up a copy of the comic and compare page 1 to the art as a starting point.

The comic can't be that expensive or hard to find. See if the art looks similar in style to your page.  If it does, it could be a rejected Steve Butler page.  Try contacting Steve via social media.

Randy Emberlin is an inker.  There are no inks so you can rule out Randy as the artist.

 

[Twanj]

Edited November 11, 2020 by Twanj

[RBerman]

The feet on the published page look very Liefeldian, whereas the ones on the unpublished page look, um, better. So I'm going to guess it's two different artists.

[fmaz]

Sometimes if you're trying to see if something is by a particular artist... it's easiest to look for "apples to apples" comparisons.  For example?  The reason I'd be skeptical that this is a Steven Butler piece? The water towers are very different. That's the kind of item that a Spidey artist in particular has to draw in his/her sleep.  So especially from the same exact time, they'd probably be spot on the same.

The condition is a puzzler too... it almost looks like glue all around, like it was behind another page or something? Or maybe just unfortunately stuck to something else for a long time.  Either way... glad you rescued it from auction!  Good luck with the mystery! That's half the fun sometimes!

 

[Blastaar]

Butler was my first thought seeing the image. 

[Ecclectica]

Just my 2¢

Issue #121 was a fill-in issue with an obscure penciler, Phil Gosier, doing the breakdowns.

Maybe issue #122 was destined, for a short time, by the editor, to host a guest penciller too, until Steven Butler told the editor he had enough time to do all the breakdowns for this issue ? (so page 1 already drawn by the guest artist was shelved ?)

[Spider-Variant]

2 hours ago, Ecclectica said:

Just my 2¢

Issue #121 was a fill-in issue with an obscure penciler, Phil Gosier, doing the breakdowns.

Maybe issue #122 was destined, for a short time, by the editor, to host a guest penciller too, until Steven Butler told the editor he had enough time to do all the breakdowns for this issue ? (so page 1 already drawn by the guest artist was shelved ?)

This was exactly my thoughts as well.

[Will_K]

Based on what little I've seen re: Steven Butler, those ball joint knees don't look like he drew them.  In general, the anatomy seems wonky.  The buildings show a lot of work. 

Looks like double-sided foam tape was used to attach a matte.

 

[Jeffro.]

Ugh, mid 90s Marvel art 

[Spider-Variant]

On 11/11/2020 at 1:31 PM, Trenton Sy said:

I picked up a few Spidey pieces at auction and behind one of the framed pieces I found what is indicated as Web of Spiderman 122 pg 1 - unsigned on Marvel board. It is clearly not the published page but maybe a rejected page / unpublished piece. The edges are in rough condition but the piece itself is rather nice aside from a bit wonky thwip hand on the Scarlet Spider which may be why it was redone. Any help on how I can figure out what this is and who the artist might be? Web 122 had Steven Butler - Breakdowns and Randy Eberlin - Finishes listed as the contributors so I would guess it is one of them if it is legit.  Thanks in advance!

What was the framed piece?  was it original art and if so, who by?

[Trenton Sy]

Thanks for all of the replies so far. Some great points that I had not thought of - the water towers for Spidey artists is one that is so obvious but I never thought of. I looked through a copy of Web 122 and I don't think that it is Butler based on some indicators in the form and how the mask is drawn, and the feet as noted in this thread. Another thing that was spot on is the damage was caused by double sided foam that connected the piece to a red and blue mat. The piece in front of it was a con commision from what appears to be a local artist that I will add below, I don't know how much that helps as some of the other pieces had stacked art as well from different artists and different years in one mat. I contacted the seller but have not heard back as of yet. I looked everywhere on it for some sort of signature or mark to get a lead but I don't see anything.Thank you for all of the great insight and I will keep digging for some answers.

 

[grapeape]

Whoever the artist I think it’s a very nice piece. It could use some TLC should be an easy restoration project but leave it to a pro.

The art from what I can see is largely unaffected. That’s the good news. It’s a lesson for all of us on how not to mat the art work. I keep thinking of asbestos when I see those foam splotches.

 

[Will_K]

Considering we currently can't divine who drew that piece, the cost of (properly !) removing the adhesive could far outweigh the value of that piece.

And how is it attached to the backer ??  And so far, noone has commented on the tear on the left side to Spidey's right knee.