The Fifty

My post earlier got me thinking. That can be a rare occurrence so I thought it worth mentioning. I decided that I would throw a curve a show something a little unexpected for The Fifity.

So in the next day or so expect to see a piece a little different from what people think of when they think of excellent comic art.

I have noticed that the majority of The Fifty is commissions. That surprised me. I am not sure it will be that way if I am ever "done" collecting, but it seems to be the case for now. Of course only 34 pieces are in The Fifty in my mind so far anyway; there is a lot of time before we get to the end point.

And I do have an end point.

The Fifty - It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's...Bill Sienkiewicz

This was a no brainer.

Bill Sienkiewicz Superman 400 recreation

I got a comment on CAF or the yahoo group list about this being the first commission the person had ever known of that requested the back of the character's head. That was a good one, pretty observant and a killer dig at a great piece.

Well played Thomas Vise, well played.

This piece was the result of a little mis-communication that resulted in it not being done in color as originally requested. At first I was really bummed. But that was the first and immediately and visceral reaction; I expected the big red cape but got black and white. Then I looked at the piece and all was well. I have since decided that I am glad it is in ink only. It is more singular of purpose. More abstract. The white is white hot, full of energy the red could never suggest. Less is more, at least in the hands of a master.

In fact it occurred to me that perhaps it was too good. Could Bill have lightboxed his own piece? I mean this is remarkably similar to the pin-up published in Superman 400 that it recreates. Upon further reflection I do not think this to be so, I thik it is original and new and wonderful. The background retains the most important effects and squiggles but is still totally original.  Bill told me when I requested this that it was the first time anyone asked but not the first time it occurred to him and that he was doing a bigger one himself. This piece is really great and Bill was a gentleman to work with. I have received mail from Bill in the past so I was confident I could pull it off but was wrong and thank to the art angel who prodded and reminded Bill a few times.

So this piece really impressed me and is a wonderful addition to my collection. I have gushed about it before here on the blog, so suffice it to say I fuckin' love it. It is the kinetic energy I have always wanted from Bill.

And I even know what I will get next time. Although this may be the ultimate unpublished Sienkiewicz piece for me, I don't think I will ever stop getting convention sketches from him.

See you soon Bill, see you soon.

The Fifty
1  BWS Storyteller Young Gods page 4
2  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones 2007 commission
3  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash
4  Bill Sienkiewicz Superman 400 pinup recreation
5  JH Williams 3rd / Mick Gray Promethea 24 double page spread
6 Rudy Nebres - commission Doctor Strange comes upon Dracula & The Scarlet Witch

Comments, or lack thereof

I wonder sometimes why I do not receive comments on this blog. I try to engage the occasional person who honors me with a comment, but it never leads to more comments from them or from others.

Why is this?

See what I tried to do there?

Anyway, I would love to have an honest, fun and engaging dialogue in the comments section if anyone cares to go at it. I would love comments from readers out there to the comments, not even to me. I would really enjoy more discussion about original comic art, or whatever else  is on your mind as you read my posts. It can be related to the posts or not. Whatever. I would love to listen and hopefully learn a little as well.

I got 74 hits today so far. Someone seems to be reading. I used to get a steady 5-15 per day until I started posting more regularly. Lesson learned there. So I will post and hope someone reads and will be pleased as punch should someone comment.

And thank you to those of you who have commented in the past. I enjoyed reading them and I hope to hear from you all again. Each and every one of you!

The Pursuit of The Fifty

I have finished moving everything from other galleries on CAF to the gallery for The Fifty. I have two other pieces, at least, that I will have in there eventually but have no scans now. Most everything I have is on CAF though.

So right now we have these pieces active in The Fifty on CAF:

The Fifty
1  BWS Storyteller Young Gods page 4
2  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones 2007 commission
3  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash
4  Rudy Nebres - commission Doctor Strange comes upon Dracula & The Scarlet Witch
5  JH Williams 3rd / Mick Gray Promethea 24 double page spread

Five pieces revealed. Well I just counted and I have 34 in the gallery now. Many did not initially come to mind, but as I went through my galleries I saw some things that I knew fit right in The Fifty. Real gems. I thought I had about twenty or so. 

Nope.

Thirty-four. Thirty four gems already in The Fifty.

Does that mean I stop collecting when I have sixteen more great pieces? Of course not! I know right away that just a few are tenuous at best. There are some convention sketches in there, and I am not sure they will eventually pass muster. But right now they do, and that is all I can ask.

And listen...I meant what I said and I said what I meant. I passed over some truly wonderful pieces when looking for members of The Fifty. I thought, more than once, "well, I won't sell that one until the bitter end. If at all." I mean, how do I get rid of something like this, even if it is not in The Fifty: 

Matt Smith commission - Dr Strange and Hellboy

The Fifty - Rudy Nebres

Rudy Nebres lives about 4 miles as the crow flies from my home. From this desk where I type these words to his desk where he draws magic, 20000 or so feet away. I started seeing him at conventions regularly throughout the Northeast US in the 1990s and bought a blue pencil Dr. Strange from him at a horror convention that had Tonya Roberts as a guest, and she looked spectacular from behind! Even in her fifties. but Rudy didn't look so attractive as he made a funny face at me when I wanted him to draw a Doc for me then and there instead of taking one he had brought to the show in his portfolios.

(Rudy, accompanied by his wife as always, still takes these portfolios to shows. They are full of wonderful ink and colored marker pieces; you get that pure Nebres style on the characters he is best known for working with. Vampirella. Batman. Conan. Dr. Strange. John Carter and Dejah Thoris. You get the idea.)

So I had been seeing Rudy for a few years and then he kinda became invisible to me. I really stopped looking at him year after year. Artists like Rudy, Rich Buckler, Irwin Hasen, Joe Sinnott, Ramona Fradon, and Jerry Robinson (to name a few) became commonplace in my convention going experience and I began to pass them by despite their greatness. But after a few years I gained a shred of something related to wisdom, wisdom's inbred double first cousin shall we say, (or at least I said it. I imagine you may not have ever say that. At least there in that spot there.) and the wisdom told me to slow down at shows and look at everyone with fresh eyes. I had acquired 2 Nebres Doc pieces over the years and would eventually come to own a few more after rediscovering him. That renewel came at a Comic Geek Speak Supershow in Pennsylvania. I had been browsing his art and talking to Rudy and the missus.They shortly got to the "where are you from?" part of our talk when we learned we were essentially from neighboring towns. Piscataway NJ is between our towns to be more specific. I filed that information away and left the show for the 2 hour jaunt back to NJ. It is a nice ride, and I am sorry the Supershow will not be happening in 2014. hopefully back in full force in 2015 Geek Speakers!

Shortly thereafter there was a Wild Pig Comics convention. These small mini conventions have been in central NJ for a few years and are a good opportuntity for my daughters to get a quality sketch and be home within an hour or two. Rudy was at a show and we caught up again. This was actually 3 miles from my house, and at that show were Rudy Nebres, Walt Simonson, Joe Staton, JK Woodward, and Reilly Brown! So I decided I would spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a commission to be delivered later. Actually, Mrs. Nebres invited me to the home to pick it up and see Rudy's studio. Bonus! So 2-3 weeks later I was in my car for the 10 minute drive and Rudy, with his family around him, presented me with this:

I stared at them and at the art in stunned and awed amazement. Then I sheepishly underpaid the man given the art he produced, was sworn to silence, said my goodbyes and thank yous, got in my car and drove home, guilty of DUI - Driving Under the Influence, the influence of Rudy Nebres!

Not two weeks after this piece came home I had decided to make it into a t-shirt that I could wear. I have gone on to make six or seven such shirts, all due to the awe inspring art you see above.

So now that the concept of The Fifty has been born, this great gathering will now be subjected to the influence of Dracula, Lord of the Vampires!

May The Vishanti Protect Us!



The Fifty
1  BWS Storyteller Young Gods page 4
2  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones 2007 commission
3  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash
4  Rudy Nebres - commission Doctor Strange comes upon Dracula & The Scarlet Witch
5  JH Williams 3rd / Mick Gray Promethea 24 double page spread

Commissions and The Fifty

When looking at pieces for inclusion in The Fifty some are easy and some are a bit harder to place accurately. As I said in my last post, the Simon Bisley commission I have of Dr. Strange and The Mindless Ones is one of the best pieces in my collection. Therefore its' inclusion was not even up for discussion. Then I looked at it among the other pieces and realized it was the only commission I had moved into the gallery.

You see, I may have a few pieces on display in The Fifty gallery on my CAF page but I have many many pieces in the gallery not yet active as well. So when I went to make the Bisley piece active I realized that the rest of the pieces are published pieces, pages and covers and the occasional pinup.

This made me think about what I was going for with The Fifty and if commissions really fit into my plans anymore at all. Because I once spent a large portion of my collection budget on convention sketches and home commissions. Seventy Five percent I would think. But those days are gone and in the last two years I have decided on far far fewer commissions and only a few sketches at any convention. I used to target about 20 artists and spend thousands of dollars on sketches and arranged commissions two or three times a year. No more.

I still get home commissions though. I got one of the two spots when Carlos Pacheco opened his list this past year. I got Dr. Strange and I love it. It is not for sale. It was $400, plus the stuff. But it will never be in The Fifty. It is 11X14 and just won't cut it in the end. So eventually it will be for sale. Five to ten years, but eventually. I have had a few Pacheco pieces over the years, even a published cover wit hDoc on it!, but have not yet found the one, the one that will make The Fifty. I would love a commission from someone like Art Adams, Mark Chiarello, or J H Williams 3rd (all possible sometime in my future so I hear) and will continue to give repeat business to people who have handled our past exchanges in exemplary fashion. That list includes Darryl Banks, Andy MacDonald, and Rudy Nebres - who have all agreed in principle but not specifics to their next assignments from Les Galleries Fedres.

And the same is true for convention sketches. Their is no way that I will not give money to Sean Chen for a convention sketch, especially more of the 17X5 pieces he has been doing for me these last few (FOUR!) years. Some guys, and some ladies as well, will always get my money if they have the time to take it. Andy MacDonald is again in this category. Tony Harris will never leave this category, even if eventually he will only draw cats and fish as superheroes and heroines from the 30s. And he will be dressed as Steampunk Tony as he does it! (Just kidding Tony, I love ya'! I always will! Come on up to NYCC or at least Baltimore!) Mark Texeira full figure graphic pieces when Renee is not around. (HA!) The days when I shell out $100 or $200 or $300 or even $500 (it'll be watercolor and everything!) hoping for the best are over. I spent ten thousand dollars over the last 5 years on convention sketches worth a grand on the open market. No more of that. But the guys I know are a sure thing, the Tonys and Andys and Marks, will always see my money at shows.

So I now forego those pieces for the most part in the quest for the next great piece. Or at least the next serious contender. But the ones that pan out? The ones that turn out truly special? Those may indeed find a spot next to The Biz in my comic art Valhalla! They have a chance at least, and now that I have thought it through I have a few more moved into the gallery awaiting active status. And as I look at them there, I know that they belong.

Simon Bisley's commission of Doctor Strange and The Mindless Ones - The Fifty

In the short history of The Fifty, I usually say pieces enter The Fifty but that is not appropriate here. Simon Reed once assisted me in getting a commission from Simon Bisley, THE BIZ! It went smoothly and although not completed at the London con that year as scheduled, Simon Reed was in touch frequently, I heard tales of it being seen started at the show, and two or three weeks later I had it in my hands.

Look at this amazing piece of comic art.

Dr. Strange vs. The Mindless Ones by Simon Bisley (2007 commission for me!)

I am going to go on a bit on this one, forgive me. I have not yet really commented on a piece when I name it to The Fifty. But I gotta groove on this one for sure. First of all look at the overall placement and orientation of the central image, Doctor Strange, and the relative placement of the supporting elements. As soon as you look at the piece your eye is pulled immedaitely to the center of the page and eventually to the face, arms, and hands of Doctor Strange. The eye then trails directly down Doctor Strange's figure to his feet. This immediately draws attention to the conflict in the piece from the blast at Doc's feet. Again the eye is pulled, first to the blasting Mindless One and then to the rest of them in the background. Doc's cape pulls you down and back to center again.

A masterfully laid out design by Simon Bisley on this commission tells the story in the first few milliseconds the eye hits the page. Scanning and visual saccades immediately transmit the information to the brain and in this case as soon as you see the piece the spell has been cast and the story has been told once again.

Then we can look at the figure. Each limb has a different technique utilized. One arm is straight at you foreshortening and one is off to the side. The legs are utilized to pull the piece back to center and are the source of the primary conflict in the blast, so one is used to anchor the figure to the ground, or at least close to it. I love the white hot of the foot. The other leg is used to show movement in the figure and increase the action level. In fact that back foot is a central piece in pulling the eye around the page.

And the hands! The Biz is the first of the many artists I have commissioned that has pulled off the circuular spell around the hand effect. And he does is so well. When I got this commission I immediately went "Wow. this is not what I expected! But it is better!!!". When I paid my rather large sum of money (most ever at the time by far, most still for a commission for me. Hopefully that changes soon though!) I expected less structure. But what I got far exceeded what I expected and certainly exceeded  what I would have been happy with out of the experience. Seven years later it is still the gem of my collection as far as I am concerned. I asked for it to be created, please sir!, and lookee here what I got in return.

So forgive me for crowing a bit. I may even be full of shit with all that stuff up above. I have no art experience myself but like what I see and like to analyze what goes into the art. Too much perhaps, eh?

So welcome Dr. Strange and Simon Bisley to The Fifty. And thanks again seven years later to Simon Reed and Simon Bisley for the professionalism and sheer enthusiasm they showed me in 2007. I still want another guys but what could be better than this?

As always, the official count.

The Fifty
1  BWS Storyteller Young Gods page 4
2  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones 2007 commission
3  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash
4  JH Williams 3rd / Mick Gray Promethea 24 double page spread

I think it is time to lay down a challenge. To myself. When I run out of posting members of The Fifty now in my possession I will buy another member. A new guy to sit at the table perhaps. Then that will be it for the year I think.

Unless you have some Starman or Flight of Bones art for sale? No? C'mon now...