T!M. Finney :: 1960's & 1970's Silver & Bronze Age Art

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century #4 p. 30 by Frank Bolle and Jose Delbo

Artists: Frank Bolle (Penciller) , Jose Delbo (Inker)

9 Comments - 450 Views - 6 Likes

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century #4 p. 30 by Frank Bolle and Jose Delbo Comic Art

Additional Images:

Published page

Jose Delbo's signature (?) -- not on the scan

Dueling Dealers

Anthony's Dueling Dealer Extras

Next Item:
Marvel Feature No. 6 p. 27 (Red Sonja) by Frank Thorne

Artwork Details

Title:	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century #4 p. 30 by Frank Bolle and Jose Delbo
Artist:	Frank Bolle (Penciller)
Artist:	Jose Delbo (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	450
Likes on CAF:	6 7
Comments:	9
Added to Site:	8/18/2022
Comic Art Archive:

Description

Nothing succeeds like success. Thus, after George Lucas' Star Wars (AKA, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope) came out in 1977 and became the most successful film at the box office up to that point, it spawned several copycat science fiction adventure films, TV shows and comic books of varying quality.

So, in 1979, junior high school me plunked down my lawn-mowing money for a ticket to see Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, starring Gil Gerard in the title role and Erin Gray as Colonel Wilma Deering. Sure, it was derivative, and it was originally shot as a pilot for a TV show, and, okay, it might not hold up as well as George Lucas' masterpiece, but it was all we had back in 1979, and a movie ticket was only about $2 back then.

Also, as Marvel Comics did with Star Wars to great success, the folks at Gold Key decided it would be a good idea to adapt the movie into a comic book (although, I'm pretty sure I bought a treasury-sized edition of it published by Marvel). To do the art honors, they brought in veteran Frank Bolle to pencil it, and Al McWilliams and Jose Delbo to do the inks.

Now, 43 years later, I was watching the Dueling Dealers of Comic Art on the Comic Art Live YouTube channel, and Anthony Snyder proffered this page from the adaptation's explosive climax where, spoilers for those who haven't seen it, the Death Star (sorry, I mean, the "Draconia") blows up real good just after Buck, C-3PO, and R2-D2 (again, sorry, I mean, Doctor Theopolis and Twiki) are rescued by Wilma in her X-Wing... (again, extra sorry, I mean Starfighter). As a special bonus, the page was autographed by Ms. Gray, Mr. Gerard, and the actor who played Twiki, Felix Silla.

In the recap round, Anthony had just repriced his previous two pages at $575 each. When he was struggling to come up with his best price for this page, I, being something of a smart ass, began typing an impulse offer, "$575 on Buck Rogers?" (which showed up in the chat right after he gave his much higher real "best price"). I did NOT expect him to say yes, but, soon afterward, he saw what I wrote, and, confused by my wording and the fact that he'd offered up the previous two pages for the same price, he said yes to my offer before realizing what had happened. I was sure he would reconsider and say that he'd made a mistake, and, for a moment, he was obviously reviewing the situation in his head, but then, like a true mensch, he made it official and took my offer.

As Twiki would say, "May the Force be with you"... (I mean, "Biddi-biddi-biddi.") Thanks go out to the entire Dueling Dealer crew, but especially to Anthony and Sharon, for allowing me to acquire a nostalgic page at a price that I could afford.

Social/Sharing

About the Owner

	Timothy Finney
Joined:	August 2006
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	JAPAN
On CAF:	Timothy's Want List Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

Contact the Owner

Use can use a contact form to send an email to this gallery owner,
but, you must be logged in to use this feature.

Comments on this Artwork

You must be logged in to make comments.

Will K
Member Since 2006

1 - Posted on 8/18/2022

Great memories !! Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25 Century (both Glen Larson productions) were good placeholders for Star Wars. Buck Rogers doesn't hold up so well but both shows were good for the time.

Timothy Finney
Member Since 2006

1 - Posted on 8/18/2022

Will K wrote:

Great memories !!� Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25 Century (both Glen Larson productions) were good placeholders for Star Wars.� Buck Rogers doesn't hold up so well but both shows were good for the time.

Exactly, also Erin Gray looked really hot in that fighter pilot outfit (and I was a hormonally disadvantage teen-ager).

Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 8/18/2022

In the year 2022, at the Anthony Snyder Dueling Dealer Center, Round 4a launched the last of Buck Rogers deep space pages. The payload, perched on the nose cone of the youtube channel, was a one-man exploration buyer - Timo 3. Aboard this compact starship, a lone astronaut - Captain Timothy "Big Bucks" Finney - was to experience nostalgic forces beyond Frank Bolle comprehension. A Delbo brush with inks: in the blink of a recap, his chat offer systems were typing by an offer beyond imagination. Timo 3 was blown out of its planned trajectory into spending money on a claim, a claim which was to return the art full circle to his point of nostalgia - its accepted price - not $1000, but in 575 dollars.

Rick W
Member Since 2017

1 - Posted on 8/18/2022

Target acquired!

John C
Member Since 2014

1 - Posted on 8/19/2022

I bet Barney was leaking info. He can't be trusted.

Bill J
Member Since 2009

1 - Posted on 9/30/2022

Congrats on the pick-up! Buck Rogers was no Star Wars, but it had its merits. Love the giant splash here with the Draconia (aka Death Star) breaking up so gloriously! Nice work by Frank Bolle and Jose Delbo!

Miki Annamanthadoo
Member Since 2003

1 - Posted on 10/15/2022

Great pick up!

Buck Rogers was the original Science Fiction comic hero debuting in 1929 long before Star Wars and preceding the other Science Fiction great - Flash Gordon.

Timothy Finney
Member Since 2006

Posted on 10/15/2022

Miki Annamanthadoo wrote:

Great pick up!

Buck Rogers was the original Science Fiction comic hero debuting in 1929 long before Star Wars and preceding the other Science Fiction great - Flash Gordon.

�

I knew of the Buck Rogers strip, of course, but I never read it when I was a kid (I think they stopped publishing it when I was very young). A few years before either Star Wars or this movie came out, I did get to see the Buster Crabbe serial on a local TV show. That was my real introduction to Buck.

Thomas Vanderstappen
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 11/10/2022

Great page, but with the signatures on top, this makes it a stunner!

All
	P A 9/6/2025 11:02:00 AM
	J Murdock 9/6/2025 10:59:00 AM
	Henrik Henrik 9/6/2025 10:58:00 AM
	Aasemoon ‎ 9/6/2025 10:54:00 AM
	Aidan (Re-Legion ) Lacy 9/6/2025 10:51:00 AM
View All


	Wade AuCoin 9/6/2025 10:46:00 AM
	Shannon Weathers 9/6/2025 10:43:00 AM
	Jason D'Ambrosio 9/6/2025 10:39:00 AM
	DISNEY COMIC ART A 9/6/2025 10:23:00 AM
	david hitchcock 9/6/2025 10:06:00 AM