Epic Weekend Post Continued Yet Again - One for the collection and One for The Fifty

So after my first trading session netted me 10 pieces I went home tired, stressed, and just plain wired. When I was in Spain in the 10th grade I learned that the meat from the dead bulls after a bullfight is given away to the poor because adrenaline and other neurotransmitters, along with hormones, render the meat tough. I felt like that bull on the ride home.

So when I went back the next day I spent a good hour or so going through all the art: portfolios and piles and stacks and framed pieces on the walls all over the place. So when the trading commenced I had only three pieces with me. One was a goal all along but I could not locate it the day before, a great Gene Colan page inked by Dan Adkins.

Gene Colan / Dan Adkins Strange Tales 170 p 15

The second piece was the Bill Sienkiewicz / Steve Mitchell splash page from Moon Knight 18 I already posted. But the third piece was a valuable one that I saw the day before and had offered a Starman painted cover for it straight up. (This is the piece I teased in my earlier post as the very excellent special surpise.) That offer was rejected as the dealer stated he was fond of the very excellent special surprise and had rejected offers about 80-90% of his asking price in the past. So I took two pieces of art that I have previously posted for the Starman cover featuring blue Starman Mikaal Tomas instead. The next day I targeted the very excellent special surprise again and just went for it - for the three pieces I offered a half full portfolio of smaller stuff for $1250 value (20-30 pieces with only 3 or so valued at more than $100, many of which had been offered but not traded the day before plus many new small things that I would not have initially thought he would accept but had learned otherwise on day one) and then told him he could go through the 11x17 and we would take it from there.

He sighed, I had kept the very excellent special surprise behind the other two until I started talking.

He put it aside and suggested we do the two other first.

Fine. I took the smaller Itoya and showed him the pieces one by one. When I was done he casually picked it up and tossed it in his pile. Here we go! He picked up my 11x17 and suggested a value needed to make the deal. It was very reasonable, as he had been all along, and I told him to take what he wanted at that level.

Now here we go, time for the very excellent special surprise.

Have you gotten that yet? The very excellent special surprise?

Very

Excellent

Special

Surprise

Charles Very Excellent Special Surprise to be exact.

Elric of Melnibone and Stormbringer by Charles Vess

The dealer appeared to have a hard time letting this go, but it never seemed to be in doubt. He went through the 11x17 Itoya and lamented the fact that nothing new and nice was in there. He debated the value of the Starman pages and we danced back and forth. I had learned a few steps in the dance session the day before and it was obvious that I was using the silence better on this day. He went through the Itoya once or twice more and started taking pieces out one by one. Slowly but surely he took out some beauties: a Darryl Banks Michael Golden homage that tore my heart out as it left the portfolio, Andy MacDonald commissions that I could never replace despite the fact that he rightly stated much of this art could be recreated any day now and the Vess was a timeless piece from another era (which is why I went after it and will have it in the main room and not the basement of my home), two JK Woodward pieces with Dr. Strange and The Mindless Ones that I was so proud to conceive and see carried to execution and was even prouder still of JK for that beautiful execution and improving the idea with a second panel on my commission. So many wonderful pieces that were partof my life and my collection. I am choked up again as I write because this is the collection that I enjoyed accumulating over these many years, a collection I often looked at and genuinely thought "I would take this collection over anyone else's" and now I had treated it coldly and dispassionately as bait for more art and absolutely decimated it.

But my mind, and a large part of my heart as well I must admit, was saying otherwise. "Fuck them. Leave them behind. Slash the value of the ones he doesn't like and move them all - you paid for the honor and fun of having them created and owning them these many years and now it is time to take it to another level." When I started seriously sinking money and time into this hobby I was a different person in vastly different life circumstances. Perhaps it is the standard mid-life crisis as I approach the big five oh but I want nice things now. And my tastes and preferences have changed as well.

So I pitched him some more Starman pages, talking head pages mostly. He refused, absolutely refused, to discuss pages with the characters on the phone. But he took a few more and held 8-10 pieces in his hands and said it just did not feel like the value was in his hands. he was probably right, so I threw in some more things. He was still hesitant and at this point I was comfortable with where we were going, so I told him to hit a higher value than previously discussed. We danced a few times throughout the 15-30 minutes it probably took. There was a bystander, a friend of his in the room, who was laughing at the end and saying it was quite the trading session - a heavyweight fight. But eventually I stuffed enough art in his hands and eventually he put his hand out again but empty this time.

We shook hands and the deal was sealed.

The bystander congratulated us both on our acquisitions and said it looked like we both got some good new art. (In fact he was a bit of a help for me that this man was there as he knew some of the artists and characters involved better than the dealer did and the dealer trusted him. he liked a bunch of my stuff a lot as well.) He said it was a good deal in that we bargained hard but were cordial and calm throughout. He was right. I think the fact that we were able to meet a second day shows that neither party felt taken advantage of in the first trade session.

Or it meant that one or both parties felt that they could (continue to?) outmaneuver the other.

I hope to think the first hypothesis is correct. I think it is. I know that I felt we both got a good deal at the end of the weekend. It was like Monopoly, when you trade you both have to feel that the other person did not take advantage of you. You can makes trades in an adversarial situation like Monopoly and both parties can benefit. It was like that.I hope we can continue to trade and benefit each other. In fact I can't wait to get my act together and do it again!

ps  There are still two pieces left tobe revealed from the Epic Art Weekend! Three if you count the one I bought on time payments, but purchased last weekend all the same.

The Fifty
1  Barry Windsor-Smith Storyteller Young Gods page 4 (framed)
2  Tony Harris / Ray Snyder Dr. Strange WIRED Magazine cover  (framed)
3  Barry Windsor-Smith Weapon X page  (framed)
4  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 22  (framed)
5  Tony Harris Starman 3 cover  (framed)
6  Barry Windsor-Smith Daredevil 236 page (framed)
7  Tony Harris Starman 53 cover  (framed)

8  David Mazzucchelli Daredevil 233 page 19

9  JHW3 Milestone Forever pinup (framed)
10  Charles Vess - Elric of Melnibone and Stormbringer (framed)

11  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones (framed)
12  Paul Smith Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom  (framed)
13  Dave Sim Mars Attacks variant cover
14 Jack Kirby / D. Bruce Berry Captain America 196 page 14 (framed)
15  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 1 splash  (framed)
16  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash (framed)
17  Tony Harris 1994 Starman pinup  (framed)
18  Bill Sienkiewicz Superman 400 pinup recreation (framed)

19  Ted McKeever Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom in Hell
20  Dean Ormston Dr. Strange & Eternity

21  Bryan Talbot Dr. Strange commission
22  Dan Adkins Dr Strange 170 page 11  (framed)

23  Dan Adkins Dr. Strange 170 page 10 (framed)
24  Ulises Farinas - Dr. Strange in his Sanctum Sanctorum

25  Rudy Nebres - Dr. Strange, Dracula & The Scarlet Witch
26  Mike Allred - Doctor Strange, Clea, The Ancient One, Wong, and Rintrah...A Day Off
27  Anna Merli Clea
28  Mitchell Bretweiser Dr. Strange watercolor
29  Jae Lee Dr. Strange
30  Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman  (framed)
31  Walt Simonson Alan Moore as Rorschach (framed)

By the way, I used to win at Monopoly all the time. ;-)

The Epic Weekend Post Continued! Moon Knight Art by Billy da'Sienk!

So besides a Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman, which is a real favorite of mine, I got some other fancy things this weekend. (No one does Wonder Woman as well as Darwyn Cooke and Darwyn Cooke doesn't do any superhero as well as he draws Wonder Woman. It is like Vinnie used to say about Peach Snapple - there is no Snapple other than peach and there is no peach other than Snapple.) I am having trouble counting the pieces up at any one time and getting to the right number. In other words, I cannot even remember and name everything I got this weekend.

So today I will stick with the Polish stuff.

I have been buying Bill Sienkiewicz art for about 15 years but it is generally convention sketches. I remember quite clearly the moment I realized it was Bill sitting there drawing. I was walking through WW Philly and saw a young woman make a beeline for some guy as he sat down at his table. She had some books with her that were drawn by Bill and I remember getting quite excited thinking that this might be Bill Sienkiewicz sitting over there. I stayed off to the side and watched as he got his act together and then started to draw for the woman. Almost immediately after pen hit paper I knew.

HOT DAMN BILL SIENKIEWICZ!

I jumped in line behind her. She was quite a cutie but I don't recall anything more about her other than the fact that she was only charged $10 for the drawing she got (a head sketch). My heart was leaping up my throat and through my mouth as I got out my $10. As she left Bill explained that she and I had some distinct and important differences and that my request for Jimi Hendrix would require either $80 or $100.

Oh.

I stammered something and asked for the $80 version. He started right in on it and about 30 seconds later I got my wits about me and cancelled the $80 sketch for the $100 sketch instead. I was stupefied but not stupid! For $20 extra bucks I was going to get something extra and that was not a difficult $20 to spend.

Bill went to work. I think he started with the eyes, and if he didn't start there he was there soon enough. He worked at it and worked at it and then as he moved on to the hair he said something I remember quite clearly "you're paying too much money for this" and he ripped the page from the pad!

I remember instantly thinking "I am going to get two Jimi's out of this!"

But Bill being Bill he did the unexpected and turned the page over. He started Jimi again, This time using the eyes from the first version and revising the rest. He would hold it up to the light and look through the paper frequently to make sure he got the eyes right. And the hair was much improved. I may have sold a few Sienkiewicz pieces over the years (The Thing and Demon Bear head sketches come to mind) but I still have this one. Here, check it out:

Jimi Hendrix - Bill Sienkiewicz convention drawing

So while I have been buying Sienkiewicz art over the years, maybe 10 pieces in all, I have not been buying published pieces. Well, I do have a page from Starman 81 by Bill. And I owned but sold a page of Big John Buscema art inked by Bill (Galactus Destroyer or something like that) a few years ago. So when the opportunity to get some Bill Sienkiewicz Moon Knight art arose recently I felt both fortunate and lucky.

Bill Sienkiewicz Moon Knight Special Edition - Crawley & Gena portfolio piece

At first it was purely mercenary. I saw the two pinups and thought they would be excellent currency for my collecting and trading plans. But I realized they were my number one priority pretty quickly. Now after all was said and done two days later I had managed to utilized a large amount of art and get something else that will be on the wall by the end of the year; it isn't a Sienkiewicz. But we will get to that. And it is not the Mignola. (Oops, there I go again.) It is a very excellent special surprise!

But anyway, acquiring the art in this post and the other posts to come did not happen in one day. I have two purchases from this weekend coming in the mail in the future and was involved in negotiations both Saturday and Sunday. So when I went back Sunday I made a beeline for the very excellent special surprise and the page from Moon Knight 18 at top of this post. The pinups are one thing, but the splash page is another beast entirely.

Oh, I keep saying two pinups, don't I?

Bill Sienkiewicz Moon Knight Special Edition Frenchie portfolio piece

Look at Frenchie's shadow. Who does something like that other than Bill Sienkiewicz? No one does it as well, that is for sure!

okay, enough for now. That makes seven pieces from the previous post and these three. Quite a weekend! And I still have more! I'M ONLY TWO-THIRDS DONE! well, one piece is layaway for comic art con but it is ordered!

So stay tuned, because the best is definitely to come.

Epic Art Weekend, or "How to Turn 48 in Style, Bitches!"

I had an awesome weekend.

Weekend, the end of the week.

That is as important as the weekend itself, because last week was my 2nd Annual Birthday Sale that ended last night at midnight. I sold four awesome pages and a few smaller things.

But I got rid of about 70 items in the sale.

Huh Wha?

Trades my kind sir, trades.

I contacted a local dealer during the early stages of my sale and expressed a desire to trade with him. He was surprisingly willing but frustratingly vague for the most part. As the week went on I added some items to the sale and dropped prices once or twice while simultaneously engaged in ongoing discussion with the dealer setting trade parameters. At one point he expressed concern that I was trying to sell everything before we met for the trade on my birthday. He said he bought art as well as traded for it. I explained that I was indeed trying to sell the art before we met and that he was welcome to buy the art at stated prices at any time.

He elected to wait for the trade.

In the meantime I sold a few more pieces, including one he professed interest in during our talks. That was good, as it showed I had viable items for sale/trade. I also fortified what I had for sale publicly with some awesome items for trade. And when the weekend came I was ready.

Or so I thought.

We met Saturday as planned and after about two hours I was dizzied, battered and bruised. Not from the dealer, who was just doing business in the exact style I had hoped for and anticipated. But it was a business to him, and I was engaged in the wholesale destruction of an art collection that I had built over the course of 25 years.

It was vicious.

I was vicous.

I was ruthless and I was mercenary. A piece got bent and I had to let it go. It was merchandise, not my collection. It was no longer my collection.

I am choked up typing that. Seriously.

Starman pages were flying out of the portfolio left and right. I had accumulated over 100 at one time and here he was taking some, leaving some, and generally wreaking havok on my collection and my psyche. All dealers hate your stuff as they look at it, trade for it, or even pay cash for it but having some pages dismissed casually regardless of content was rough for me. He never read the book, and no dealer has ever had an inventory of more than 3 Harris Starman pages at one time since Scott Eder 20 years ago. mostly because I was buying them. (I mean, I survived. Trust me in that I survived, but we will get to that.) I mean, you may know already and you may not. You may think it is ego on my part, but if you wanted to buy Harris Starman art you had to deal with me at one point or another. You HAD to go through me.

Unless I feel asleep before a late night auction.

That happened, more than once.

But here I was actively trying to give them to the dealer for far less than I would sell them to you. But then again you didn' t have stuff like this for me in return.

Wonder Woman REAR - pencil layout Dave Bullock / inks Darwyn Cooke

And it wasn't just Jack Knight I turned my back on. Steven Strange forgive me! But the all-seeing Eye of Agamotto was there to guide me and show me the way. The dealer was even heard to tell a friend/spectator in his shop that he was getting out ahead of the movie.

Yeah, me too.

I gave him more Dr.Strange than you can imagine. I condensed and then eliminated three Itoyas to do it. Twenty years plus of paid con sketches -masterpieces and quickies both - and commission after commission. He got at least two of my Darryl Banks commissions. After I went out to the car and got the double secret stash - a painted Starman cover and more Doc beauties (the good ones!) - he managed to procure my Valkyrie commission by Kevin Nowlan. Yeah, the big-ass Bruunhilde. I wouldn't be surprised if he keeps that one for a while or even if I see it onhis wall framed in the future.

And that was just the first day.

HEY NOW! JHW3 / Mick Gray Flash Annual 1996 splash with Grateful Dead motif!

When I got home I realized I had left early and made a bad decision or two when I was there. I did not regret anything and was not at all unsatisfied by the trades we had made; I got 10 pieces, one of which he could not locate and was to be mailed later. But I was overwhelmed losing so much art in such a quick manner that I had to end it after 2.5-3 hours and head on home.

I was so pumped but still had a ton of art left to trade. I know I can always trade or sell it at a later date but felt that I had missed out on capitalizing better on the opportunity.

But then I got an email saying the dealer had located the Mignola piece (oops!) and that he had enjoyed the day as well. I decided I would see if he wanted to do it again Sunday.

With the exact same stuff that he had seen earlier Saturday.

He did.

We made arrangements to meet again and I set out to work. A man with a plan. Now that I knew how he worked I prepared thoroughly and even reviewed his website again. Man oh man,how did I miss all that excellent stuff! Plus, I had seen things. Scary things. Wonderful things. Many many different things. All available for my treasures.

JHW3 / Mick Gray Gambit & Bishop 6 cover

When I got there today I asked if I could spend some time looking through his inventory again. I was looking for a BWS unused cover rough from Valiant days gone by and a Pacheco unused Avengers Forever cover with a lone figure of Kang the Conqueror. After really busting my butt I finally asked and eventually learned they were both long gone. But I found something that I was looking for on Saturday and that was a bonus for sure. I really wanted that goofy 1973 Marvel page (unscanned as yet so don't bother looking in this post for it! Look at this instead!)

Tom Raney / Randy Elliott Stormwatch 48 cover

So after locating just three items we got down to it. I showed him my 9x12 portfolio and hit him with my plan: I had the leftover-from-Saturday stuff in the book and had labeled it by name and trade value and wanted him to take it all then and there. It was almost all $25 and $50 sketches with one $125, one $200 and the occasional $75 piece in there as well. Free sketches from big names, good sketches from no-names, and great pieces by mid-level guys as well. I mean the Dustin Weaver was to-die-for. I had the lot, about half the portfolio, valued at a number between $1000-$1500. Then I told him I also had the larger stuff from the prior day: the demeaned and debased Starman pages, some oddities of high quality, and Doctor Strange galore. It was all labeled and valued.

Whilce Portacio Stormatch Team Achilles issue 6 cover

So then he asked what I wanted and I showed him. He groaned. Three pieces, none of which are in this post. Three pieces and one of which I had tried to get the day before. You know,the day on which he had taken the better of my material available to him. This one was beautiful and I thought pretty special. I had not targeted it on the website even though I had seen it but when I saw it in person I loved it so. So slowly but surely he went through the same process of grudgingly accepting my wares.  But I must emphasize that I do not think it was a sales tactic but a genuine uncertainty as to his ability to move the art in a timely fashion. I eventually came though with enough to make it happen, and at the end of the day I got $3150 for just over $4000 of my collection. And not $4000 worth like when you go through your collection and say "this is worth X" and "this is worth y" but slashing a high quantity of that shit to its' core and tossing it at quality. Small level unpublished quality for published quality is what I was after.

Andy Kubert / Dan Green X-Men 52 page 1 Gambit splash

Because you see this is not the end game. This was the opening bloodbath in a war on my collection. My original art collection will be forged in fire and blood until it shines unlike ever before and will emerge magnificent and wonderful. Unfortunately there are casualties and this will end with the population decimated, but far far stronger from the experience.

Mark Silvestri / Dan Green Wolverine 41 page 2

In other words, everything you see in this post is open for offers. Cold hard cash. Trade. Cash/trade. I will be actively shopping some of this to dealers and/or an auction house at the next comic art con in late March so if you don't want to see if get marked up yet again by those dealer guys, buy it from me instead. But you'd better do it soon, because if you think I don't mean business in this The Fifty deal, you can just ask Jack Knight and Steven Strange (if you can find them at their new home in AC). They'll tell you, but it will cost you.

Wait until you see some of the other stuff I got. Oh boyo did I get some sweet sweet art!

Three published Billy da'Sienk Moon Knight, a Mignola as leaked above, a Vess that will blow your socks off, Colan / Adkins and more! ;-)

The Fifty - Jack Kirby Captain America

"Hound Dog to Base. I've got a bogie!"

I got this Jack Kirby page years ago. I was extremely happy to pick it up even if it is not the most memorable page. It has so much Kirby in it that the rather pedestrian nature of the page is immaterial;it is a cool Kirby page. It is from an issue of Captain America (1976 I think) and is ably inked by D. Bruce Berry. I was getting a few pieces framed a month or so ago and decided that this page should be on the wall. That is all that needs to be said in the end...welcome to The Fifty to the King of Comics. And I ain't talkin' Johnny Carson here either!

The Fifty is really shaping up now. I have 22 pieces framed and on the walls at this point and really love the way the room looks. I will post a few shots of the room later this weekend but I want the Kirby piece to have its' due for a bit first. When I do post those shots you may notice a few framed pieces not yet announced for The Fifty; I do not frame a piece without believing it part of The Fifty but have made one exception - see if you can spot it when the time comes.

The Fifty
1  Barry Windsor-Smith Storyteller Young Gods page 4 (framed)
2  Tony Harris / Ray Snyder Dr. Strange WIRED Magazine cover  (framed)
3  Barry Windsor-Smith Weapon X page  (framed)
4  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 22  (framed)
5  Tony Harris Starman 3 cover  (framed)
6  Barry Windsor-Smith Daredevil 236 page (framed)
7  Tony Harris Starman 53 cover  (framed)

8  David Mazzucchelli Daredevil 233 page 19

9  JHW3 Milestone Forever pinup (framed)

10  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones (framed)
11  Paul Smith Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom  (framed)
12  Dave Sim Mars Attacks variant cover
13 Jack Kirby / D. Bruce Berry Captain America 196 page 14 (framed)
14  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 1 splash  (framed)
15  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash (framed)
16  Tony Harris 1994 Starman pinup  (framed)
17  Bill Sienkiewicz Superman 400 pinup recreation (framed)

18  Ted McKeever Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom in Hell
19  Dean Ormston Dr. Strange & Eternity

20  Bryan Talbot Dr. Strange commission
21  Dan Adkins Dr Strange 170 page 11  (framed)

22  Dan Adkins Dr. Strange 170 page 10 (framed)
23  Ulises Farinas - Dr. Strange in his Sanctum Sanctorum

24  Rudy Nebres - Dr. Strange, Dracula & The Scarlet Witch
25  Mike Allred - Doctor Strange, Clea, The Ancient One, Wong, and Rintrah...A Day Off
26  Anna Merli Clea
27  Mitchell Bretweiser Dr. Strange watercolor
28  Jae Lee Dr. Strange
29  Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman  (framed)
30  Walt Simonson Alan Moore as Rorschach (framed)

Dr Strange 170 page (again) by Dan Adkins for The Fifty

My pursuit of The Fifty has included a massive sell-off of my comic art collection; just the other day I went through and consolidated Itoyas again, eliminating three more profolios. It meant mixing some pieces in ways I would not prefer, but I wanted to see how many fewer Itoyas I actually need. I am down at least 6 Itoyas now since the process started. Of course, 15 of those pieces went on my walls as well but the rest went out the door. Just in time for the Dr. Strange movie buzz to get started.

And in that sell-off I have offered many pieces that have not sold; many fine pieces from my collection have been available at the right price at one time or another. And one of them just got put into The Fifty, so if you were thinking of buying the page from Dr. Strange issue 170 that I offered briefly, too late!

Dan Adkins Dr. Strange 170 page 10

I used to have four pages from this issue but have sold two over time. One got framed, and it is the page after this one. So I decided that the Dr. Strange wall, aka Frames of The Faltine!, would look better with the two pages from issue 170 on one side complementing the two pages from Tomb of Dracula 44 that sit on the other side. This will mean relocating the Paul Smith commission, but I had always planned on having a wall of Dr. Strange commissions eventually anyway so this works for me a few ways.

This page and the one that follows it in the book and on my wall are just wonderful pages. Dr. Strange's astral form and his battles with Nightmare are core elements of the character's history and it is because of pages like these that those elements are so lasting to the mythos. And I think Dan Adkins was a wonderful artist and am proud to own some of the art he produced and display it on my walls.


The Fifty
1  Barry Windsor-Smith Storyteller Young Gods page 4 (framed)
2  Tony Harris / Ray Snyder Dr. Strange WIRED Magazine cover  (framed)
3  Barry Windsor-Smith Weapon X page  (framed)
4  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 22  (framed)
5  Tony Harris Starman 3 cover  (framed)
6  Barry Windsor-Smith Daredevil 236 page (framed)
7  Tony Harris Starman 53 cover  (framed)

8  David Mazzucchelli Daredevil 233 page 19

9  JHW3 Milestone Forever pinup

10  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones
11  Paul Smith Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom  (framed)
12  Dave Sim Mars Attacks variant cover
13  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 1 splash  (framed)
14  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash (framed)
15  Tony Harris 1994 Starman pinup  (framed)
16  Bill Sienkiewicz Superman 400 pinup recreation

17  Ted McKeever Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom in Hell
18  Dean Ormston Dr. Strange & Eternity

19  Bryan Talbot Dr. Strange commission
20  Dan Adkins Dr Strange 170 page 11  (framed)

21  Dan Adkins Dr. Strange 170 page 10
22  Ulises Farinas - Dr. Strange in his Sanctum Sanctorum

23  Rudy Nebres - Dr. Strange, Dracula & The Scarlet Witch
24  Mike Allred - Doctor Strange, Clea, The Ancient One, Wong, and Rintrah...A Day Off
25  Anna Merli Clea
26  Mitchell Bretweiser Dr. Strange watercolor
27  Jae Lee Dr. Strange
28  Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman  (framed)
29  Walt Simonson Alan Moore as Rorschach (framed)

Some Thoughts on The Fifty...What's I Own That Is NOT In

With all my talk about The Fifty, I thought it would be informative to share a few pieces that are not yet included. With the Darwyn Cooke and Walt Simonson pieces, among others, I have gotten a bit of blowback that perhaps I am tossing some pieces in without much thought, or that some pieces are perhaps not worthy of inclusion.

This is understandable to some degree and shows how much The Fifty is a personal process that makes sense really only to me, and makes sense for my collection only. (Does it really? We shall see in the years to come I guess.)

If I were to have conceived the idea prior to starting my collection things would have unfolded differently, but as it is the process of creating The Fifty is one of inclusion,but it is also one of exclusion when you start with 700 pieces and want to end up with 50.

So does it make you understand my thinking anymore to know that my Mignola / Badger Triumph & Torment page is not in The Fifty. It may make the cut eventually but I have a bunch of pieces already designated for inclusion and she hasn't made it yet. I love the page but the stain from lettering balloon glue is jarring and I may wait for a better page from the book.

There is also a cosmetic reason, a smudge on some lettering, that keeps my Seth Fisher piece from inclusion in The Fifty. I know it will be in there sooner rather than later, but that durn smudge is so frustrating and I cannot place glass over it and actually preserve it that way!

For some reason my Frank Miller Dark Knight Strikes Again page featuring Superman is not yet on the wall on in The Fifty. I bought it excitedly with the full plan to put it right in there but for some reason have hesitated. I may also decide to trade up or just get it a partner; believe it or not I may prefer (may) a crazy Lance Blastoff pinup or a Valiant/Dark Horse cover.

Neither of my Cerebus pages are in. I put the IDW cover in because the technique is so superior despite Cerebus being so important to me. But Dave's work on that cover, Mars Attacks variant cover with Cerebus, is so masterful and precise that it trumps my two sweet Cerebus pages. They may also make it in the end, but not yet.

I think these pieces may be some of the last to go before I officially reach my goal of The Fifty being my only comic art possessions. I am already cheating a bit with a framed Tim Truman piece in the upstairs living room but that is art for a concert poster and not a comic book. I am leaning towards also exempting my musician themed commissions but that decision is also for another day.

None of my McNiven is yet in. The FF splash may make it yet, and the Dr. Strange DVD prelim has an outside chance as well but so far I have not felt strongly enough to include any of his work in The Fifty. that may say it all right there as I was nuts for this guys' work for a few years there.

This is the same reasoning that keeps Starman pages out of The Fifty. They exist in another category for me and I am not sure I will ever truly include them in the equation. Selling 10 or so Harris Starman pages recently was a decision I regret to some degree, and I bought 4-6 other Harris Starman pages in the meantime to compensate myself for my loss.

I feel even more strongly about the Tony Harris Dr. Strange pages I own. I have 11 pieces of art from the series, 9 or so pages and a logo and title page or two. I am always buying these pages and have no intention of selling the ones I already own.

But although The Fifty may be a multifaceted jewel of an idea, one facet that I have liked in particular from the start is the inflexibility of the idea. The Fifty. 50 pieces. No more, and no less. Five zero.

The. Fifty.

Man do I have some tough choices to make. Sooner. Later. Whenever I make them, tough choices are coming.

New to The Fifty: Walt Simonson draws Alan Moore as Rorschach

Walt Simonson draws Alan Moore as Rorschach

I have owned a few Walt Simonson pages but nothing that ever really did it for me. A page from What If Stan Lee and Walt Simonson Created..., one from A-Factor with the team but with a whole in it (in panel)...that type of thing. I have a few con sketches and even consigned to the current Comic Link auction the only page Walt ever inked over Gene Colan.

But when I saw this sketch on a fellow collector's CAF gallery I loved it right away. And it was available for trade. After some easy negotiations we commenced with a cross-continent trade. I am not sure what I sent but I am pretty sure it was two pieces (I think a BWS/Sienkiewicz sounds better than it looked Excalibur page, maybe a John Buscema/Sienkiewicz FF page with SS) and I got back at least 2 Milo Manara non-descript pages and this drawing. It was used for an Alan Moore tribute book published in either Spain or Italy (sorry, but my memory fails us yet again). I know at one point one of us mailed the wrong page (me I think?) but it all worked out in the end.

I really only wanted this page in the deal. But once I had it I had a horrible horrible thought...what if it was never returned to Walt Simonson after publication and therefore was not legally or morally mine to keep. The tribute book may have even been published in the country where the collector lived (not casting aspersions he was a very trustworthy man). But since I see Walt often enough at conventions it was easy to check. So at a NYC show not long after I received the art I brought it to Walt and explained my concerns -I was worried that it was supposed to have been returned to him but never was and told him that he could have it if that was the case. He assured me that he had no issue with the ownership of the piece and that it was mine to keep in good faith. So I have that going for me.

About three months ago I was looking at my art deciding what to frame next. I thought that I had framed enough Starman and Dr. Strange for the moment and wanted to show off a little more diversity on the walls. So I framed the Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman and this piece. I have spoken about the Cooke piece in a prior post, but this piece by Walt makes the cut because it shows the distinctive Simonson style, has content that references an historically relevant comic in a new and humorous way, and is a clear sign of affection from one comic legend to another. Here they are on the wall:

Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman from DC: The New Frontier

Walt Simonson Alan Moore as Rorschach

And when they make the wall, the make The Fifty. It is as simple as that. Welcome Walt, and welcome Alan, to The Fifty!


The Fifty
1  Barry Windsor-Smith Storyteller Young Gods page 4 (framed)
2  Tony Harris / Ray Snyder Dr. Strange WIRED Magazine cover  (framed)
3  Barry Windsor-Smith Weapon X page  (framed)
4  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 22  (framed)
5  Tony Harris Starman 3 cover  (framed)
6  Barry Windsor-Smith Daredevil 236 page (framed)
7  Tony Harris Starman 53 cover  (framed)

8  David Mazzucchelli Daredevil 233 page 19

9  JHW3 Milestone Forever pinup

10  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones
11  Paul Smith Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom  (framed)
12  Dave Sim Mars Attacks variant cover
13  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 1 splash  (framed)
14  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash (framed)
15  Tony Harris 1994 Starman pinup  (framed)
16 Bill Sienkiewicz Superman 400 pinup recreation

17  Ted McKeever Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom in Hell
18  Dean Ormston Dr. Strange & Eternity

19  Bryan Talbot Dr. Strange commission
20  Dan Adkins Dr Strange 170 page 11  (framed)

21 Ulises Farinas - Dr. Strange in his Sanctum Sanctorum

22  Rudy Nebres - Dr. Strange, Dracula & The Scarlet Witch
23  Mike Allred - Doctor Strange, Clea, The Ancient One, Wong, and Rintrah...A Day Off
24  Anna Merli Clea
25  Mitchell Bretweiser Dr. Strange watercolor
26  Jae Lee Dr. Strange
27  Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman  (framed)
28  Walt Simonson Alan Moore as Rorschach (framed)

Gene Colan in The Fifty...again

What a great page! Colan / Palmer ToD 44 p 22

This is the first page I acquired from this classic issue of Tomb of Dracula. Issue 44 was a crossover with Dr.Strange 14, and when pages from both issues began showing up a few years ago I went after them. Eventually I owned three pages from ToD 44 and one from Doc 14, but now I am down to the two I intend to keep - the one above and the page one splash from this issue.

I love that first panel, and the last one is striking as well. In between is story, but the page as a whole works very well. The growth of The Eye of Agamotto as it comes off Doc's chest shows true artistry by both Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. I have a lot of my own issues with Colan's work at times, but this page is an excellent example of what made Gene Colan special and also why Tom Palmer was his best inker.

Look at that last panel. Doc firing spells in a classic pose. Classic. This page is awesome and I am proud to own it and look at it on my wall. So without further eloquence...without further eloquence...Gene Colan and Tom Palmer enter The Fifty with a page from ToD 44 (again).


The Fifty
1  BWS Storyteller Young Gods page 4 (framed)
2  Tony Harris / Ray Snyder Dr. Strange WIRED Magazine cover  (framed)
3  BWS Weapon X page  (framed)
4  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 22  (framed)
5  Tony Harris Starman 3 cover  (framed)
6  Tony Harris Starman 53 cover  (framed)

7  David Mazzucchelli Daredevil 233 page 19

8  JHW3 Milestone Forever pinup

9  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones
10  Paul Smith Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom  (framed)
11  Dave Sim Mars Attacks variant cover
12  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 1 splash  (framed)
13  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash (framed)
14  Tony Harris 1994 Starman pinup  (framed)
15 Bill Sienkiewicz Superman 400 pinup recreation

16  Ted McKeever Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom in Hell
17  Dean Ormston Dr. Strange & Eternity

18  Bryan Talbot Dr. Strange commission
19  Dan Adkins Dr Strange 170 page 11  (framed)

20 Ulises Farinas - Dr. Strange in his Sanctum Sanctorum

21  Rudy Nebres - Dr. Strange, Dracula & The Scarlet Witch
22  Mike Allred - Doctor Strange, Clea, The Ancient One, Wong, and Rintrah...A Day Off
23  Anna Merli Clea
24  Mitchell Bretweiser Dr. Strange watercolor
25  Jae Lee Dr. Strange
26  Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman  (framed)

The Fifty - Starman 3 cover painted by Tony Harris

Tony Harris - Starman 3

I was so happy to be able to acquire this cover in 2012 (Thank you Elizabeth!). It is a masterpiece. The vibrant colors, the art deco stylings, the Zodiac imagery used in so many early Starman pieces...if you are looking for a piece to represent Tony Harris' early paintings this one would serve that purpose well as it is all here.

I sold some of my Harris art recently, and am a bit regretful even though the money was well spent. At the time I was pressed a bit about this cover and offered it for $5000. That offer would not be made today, as I took the money from that sale and used some of it to frame this cover. As it stands now the plan is for it to stay on my wall for a decade or three. In fact I am over selling the bigger pieces for a bit (at least until my 11/29 birthday sale perhaps) and won't be selling any Harris at all unless something changes.

So getting framed means being placed in The Fifty. I sent another piece out along with this one, so there are more additions to the Fifty to come soon. But for now it is "welcome to The Fifty" for this exquisite cover! I now have 25 items in the list and 15 framed pieces of art on the walls!



The Fifty
1  BWS Storyteller Young Gods page 4 (framed)
2  Tony Harris / Ray Snyder Dr. Strange WIRED Magazine cover  (framed)
3  BWS Weapon X page  (framed)
4  Tony Harris Starman 3 cover  (framed)
5  Tony Harris Starman 53 cover  (framed)

6  David Mazzucchelli Daredevil 233 page 19

7  JHW3 Milestone Forever pinup

8  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones
9  Paul Smith Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom  (framed)
10  Dave Sim Mars Attacks variant cover
11  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 1 splash  (framed)
12  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash (framed)
13  Tony Harris 1994 Starman pinup  (framed)
14 Bill Sienkiewicz Superman 400 pinup recreation

15  Ted McKeever Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom in Hell
16  Dean Ormston Dr. Strange & Eternity

17  Bryan Talbot Dr. Strange commission
18  Dan Adkins Dr Strange 170 page 11  (framed)

19 Ulises Farinas - Dr. Strange in his Sanctum Sanctorum

20  Rudy Nebres - Dr. Strange, Dracula & The Scarlet Witch
21  Mike Allred - Doctor Strange, Clea, The Ancient One, Wong, and Rintrah...A Day Off
22  Anna Merli Clea
23  Mitchell Bretweiser Dr. Strange watercolor
24  Jae Lee Dr. Strange
25  Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman  (framed)

The Fifty - Doc at the Beach, my Mike Allred commission

I have loved the look of Mike Allred's work since I first saw it. I cannot tell you when that was, but I know for sure that although I had possibly acquired an issue of Madman or something from dark Horse that had Mike's work in it, I first became a buyer of his work with Superman/Madman: Hullabaloo and Red Rocket 7. I loved Red Rocket 7 especially, it was a ton of fun and that seemed to me to be what separated Mike's work from others for me. He has the chops technically and I appreciate that, but it is his design sense and the way he sets up the page that speaks of genuine joy and just plain fun.

Now speaking of those chops, I really love the look of Mike's smooth, thin, clean line. His style and the choices he makes are what make him special, but he has great anatomy and great storytelling capabilities. he is a real gem in the industry.

So when I heard he was doing commissions (and still is through Simon at gotsuperpowers.com as far as I know) I knew I wanted something. At the time I was very much into commissions and have quite a few good ones by very talented artists. But there are only so many ways to draw Dr. Strange (no, really, there are only a few poses. Get as many commissions as I have and you will find that most artist stick to the stock single figure poses more often that not) and I knew I wanted something distinctive from Mike Allred if I was going to spend serious money. And yet...I had this idea noodling its' way through my psyche. It was The Defenders, specifically Valkyrie, at the beach. Not the kind of thing you get when you are getting something that has a minimum cost of $1000. The resale value on commissions is notoriously low and that goes for even very strong pieces. So when I factored in the 6-8 characters necessary for The Defenders to look like it did in my head I realized it was going to be beyond what I wanted to spend for what was likely to yield considerably less than the cost upon any eventual resale. But the idea just wouldn't let me go. I knew it was a perfect topic for Mike Allred to draw. So I decided to focus on Doctor Strange exclusively and use his supporting cast instead of The Defenders.

Mike Allread commission - Thanks Mike!

I always figure in 20 years I can commission the companion piece with The Valkyrie, Hellstrom, The Demon, The Hulk, The Silver Surfer, and Namor. Maybe all of those people trying to get Namor to come on in to the water and he is snubbing them. Or alternately Namor could be leading them on a waterskiing type thing with sea creatures and even flying fish supporting them. Someday maybe.

As it is this piece is just about perfect. I was really thrilled when I got it but a bit disappointed that there were not some crabs or birds or such about. I am not sure where I would put them though, to be fair. But this piece has everything I hoped for and more. I trusted that the odd nature of the request would elicit Mike's natural proclivities and I think I was right. The volleyball scene is fun and solves some structural problems (getting the game in with recognizable characters on both sides of the net, fitting it all in there at a good size, etc.) with classic Allred wit and style. I think I may have requested an Hawaiian shirt on The Ancient One and I guess I can't blame Mike for giving me the basic shirt style without the effects. Those would be added simply in the coloring process in most cases anyway. I inquired about having it colored by Mike's talented colorist and wife Laura but the answer came back...and it was no. Luckily I know another Dr. Strange fan who also happens to do coloring. Sure enough he couldn't resist jumping all over it immediately when he saw it, and with some discussion I got my Hawaiian shirt. Two of them in fact.

Both colored by fellow Doc devotee and talented colorist Gerry Turnbull

I liked the one with the tress on it, even though they should be on different planes, all upside down and sideways and such scattered across the shirt. Gerry liked the blue one better if I recall correctly. Either way,  it was worth his reasonable charge just to get the shirt on The Ancient One done and to have Clea's suit done just right. Wong and Doc look so good as well. Gerry is a fan and it shows in the work. Thanks again Gerry!

So it is with honor that I put this crazy,wonderful commission by Mike Allred in The Fifty. Someday I'll get the rest of the scene Mike, and I can't wait to see what you do for it!

The Fifty
1  BWS Storyteller Young Gods page 4 (framed)
2  Tony Harris / Ray Snyder Dr. Strange WIRED Magazine cover  (framed)
3  BWS Weapon X page  (framed)
4  Tony Harris Starman 53 cover  (framed)
5  David Mazzucchelli Daredevil 233 page 19
6  JHW3 Milestone Forever pinup

7  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones
8  Paul Smith Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom  (framed)
9  Dave Sim Mars Attacks variant cover
10  Gene Colan / Tom Palmer Tomb of Dracula 44 page 1 splash  (framed)
11  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash
12  Tony Harris 1994 Starman pinup  (framed)
13 Bill Sienkiewicz Superman 400 pinup recreation

14  Ted McKeever Dr. Strange vs Dr.Doom in Hell
15  Dean Ormston Dr. Strange & Eternity

16  Bryan Talbot Dr. Strange commission
17  Dan Adkins Dr Strange 170 page 11  (framed)

18 Ulises Farinas - Dr. Strange in his Sanctum Sanctorum

19  Rudy Nebres - Dr. Strange, Dracula & The Scarlet Witch
20  Mike Allred - Doctor Strange, Clea, The Ancient One, Wong, and Rintrah...A Day Off
21  Anna Merli Clea
22  Mitchell Bretweiser Dr. Strange watercolor
23  Jae Lee Dr. Strange
24  Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman  (framed)