Sean Clarke :: Gene Colan

Daredevil #138 cover

Artists: Gene Colan (Penciller) , Tom Palmer (Inker)

22 Comments - 1,120 Views - 8 Likes

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Additional Images:

naked

in color, as printed

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Daredevil #124, page 3

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Dr. Strange #176, page 10

Artwork Details

Title:	Daredevil #138 cover
Artist:	Gene Colan (Penciller)
Artist:	Tom Palmer (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Cover
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	1,120
Likes on CAF:	8 9
Comments:	22
Added to Site:	1/22/2021
Comic Art Archive:

Description

Daredevil #138 hit the stands in July of 1976, our nation's bicentennial. As you'll learn below, the past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

How differently? Shortly after DD #138 was published, an interview with Playboy Magazine nearly torpedoed Jimmy Carter�s presidential campaign. Carter admitted to having "looked upon a lot of women with lust" and continued: "I've committed adultery in my heart many times. This is something God recognizes I will do -- and I have done it -- and God forgives me for it." This statement set off a media feeding frenzy and damaged Carter's support among conservative Christians. Things were different in 1976.

In 1976 I was twelve years old and fervently immersed in my comics obsession. I was making my own comics, and in hindsight, I was mere months away from a crippling zipatone addiction. I would sometimes forego school lunch to spend my lunch money on a comic, instead. Comics had morphed from a fun hobby to a consuming fixation.

One summer day I asked my brother "Hey, where's our copy of Daredevil #138? I can't find it anywhere." To my shock, he replied that he had loaned it to a friend to read. Wondering when he was going to get around to sharing this information on his own, I implored him to get the comic back immediately, before any damage could befall it. I knew the kid he loaned it to, and I knew that if he damaged it, he wouldn't spring for a replacement copy.

As a reminder: in 1976, welching on your financial obligations didn't make you smart, it was regarded as a sign of poor moral character.

The next day my brother handed me the Daredevil #138 comic. "I got it back" he said. It was mangled beyond recognition. The comic was not torn, but was now a parallelogram of fanned and creased pages. The cover was rippled and discolored, and had a texture that looked like the back of a Nestle's Crunch Bar. Wondering when he was going to get around to sharing this information on his own, I blurted "This comic is mangled beyond recognition!" He nodded. "Yes, it is."

Visually autopsying the devastation, I said "Wait a minute... the discoloration... the rippled cover... this comic has suffered water damage! How... ?" My brother nodded in assent.

Then, the enormity of what I was witnessing struck me in waves of devastating stupefaction. Wondering anew when my brother was going to get around to sharing this information on his own, I stumbled back to support myself against the wall and stammered:

"This... comic... has been... peed on."

"Yes," replied my brother, unfazed. "My friend was reading it in bed, fell asleep, and peed on it."

As a reminder: in 1976, having something peed on was not a springboard to high elected office. Quite the contrary, it was considered repellent and objectionable to the broad tastes of society as a whole.

I think that was the only time in my life I ever threw out a comic book. I eventually found a replacement copy, and my brother's friend didn't pay for it. I've learned a lot about myself in the intervening decades. Forty five years later, there's a good chance that my modern self might say "Don't sweat the 30 cents. I got it." But, the damage was done.

Traumatic memories can be nearly impossible to shake. They can remain present and persistent in our lives, until we take steps to restore ourselves, and heal the damage. Buying this cover is a first step to laying my burden down, and learning to live again. Not to in any way diminish the experiences of others, but Daredevil #138 was my Viet Nam. Now I'm coming home.

Decades later, it took me fifteen months of saving every spare nickel, and it was my own children who had to go without school lunch so that I could afford the Daredevil #138 cover.

Thanks, Sean!

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About the Owner

	Sean Clarke Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	January 2005
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Comments on this Artwork

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Mark Howland
Member Since 2004

1 - Posted on 1/22/2021

And where is the Pee Man now? Squarely in your sights, I hope.

West Stephan
Member Since 2007

1 - Posted on 1/22/2021

Great cover! Don't let your brother near it!

Steve Day Vich
Member Since 2007

2 - Posted on 1/22/2021

I don't think you have any choice but to let me me pee on this cover. It's the circle of life.

Aaron N.
Member Since 2009

1 - Posted on 1/22/2021

Gene January just don't quit. Each entry more epic than the last...

Dino Mauricio
Member Since 2009

1 - Posted on 1/22/2021

Outstanding DD cover and even more awesome memories...thanks for sharing!. Worth every one of those saved nickels!

Roger K.
Member Since 2005
Forum Moderator

1 - Posted on 1/22/2021

I guess that gives Death's Head a whole new meaning.

Duke Fleed aka #1 Groo Fan
Member Since 2013

1 - Posted on 1/22/2021

Just a great cover. Love the bad guy, the girl and oh.. ghost rider to boot! Huge congrats!!

LB Jefferies
Member Since 2003

1 - Posted on 1/22/2021

Love it. Cover and (your) story

Alex Johnson
Member Since 2006
Forum Moderator

1 - Posted on 1/22/2021

Fun cover and great story! Thanks for sharing!

Mark Levy
Member Since 2004

1 - Posted on 1/22/2021

I remember this as a semi-key due to the cool cover and Byrne interiors - great write up as always, Jimmy Carter is one president further from the bottom now!

P A
Member Since 2013

1 - Posted on 1/23/2021

Spectacular DD cover! Congrats Sean!

artless artmore
Member Since 2013

1 - Posted on 1/23/2021

Had Hefner's interviewers inquired about my inner life, I'd admit that I have lust in my own heart for this and so many other beauties in your outstanding collection! Acquiring this cover was well worth your childrens' sacrifice

Comics Superworld
Member Since 2007

1 - Posted on 1/23/2021

Whatever you do, don't let any of your brother's friends pee on the art!. . .ahem, excuse me, got a bit hysterical there

Chris C
Member Since 2004

2 - Posted on 1/23/2021

So many lessons to take from this:

1) Don't Trust Brothers,

2) Don't Trust anyone who would be friends with your brother(s),

3) Don't Trust anyone who would be friends with bed-wetters regardless of familial relationship,

4) Always bag your comics before bed...

I think that's it, but I really hope that you've overcome your PEE-TSD.

glen gold
Member Since 2004

1 - Posted on 1/23/2021

The EMDR of comic art acquisition stories.

Bill J
Member Since 2009

1 - Posted on 1/24/2021

Wonderful cover and horrifying story! Fantastic Colan pencils enhanced by stunning Palmer inks! Congrats!

Peter Sullivan
Member Since 2006

1 - Posted on 1/27/2021

Just wait till your 'starving' family get their revenge for no treats during the period known as 'scrimp and save' and you look at your long wanted grail, with a sickened, shocked, glazed daze of deja vu, before blurting out the immortal question, "This... cover... has been... peed on. Who...?"

* bronze-is-gold
Member Since 2007

1 - Posted on 1/29/2021

Always had to stop and admire this comic cover whenever I came across it, and it looks even better in original art. Perhaps a little less Colon is evident here than with some of the other inkers, but I love Palmer's inks on whatever he does and this one is exceptional and fantastic. What a great way to recover from that most horrific loss of your comic.

Nick Katradis
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 1/31/2021

Sean, a stunning cover! Colan/Palmer. An art collaboration that is unparalleled.

Xavier .
Member Since 2010

1 - Posted on 2/4/2021

Sweet cover!

Ben Friedman
Member Since 2006

1 - Posted on 11/20/2021

Yeah, I guess this is allright. But honestly, only 75+ great Colan pages? Dude, you have to step up your game.

Steven Dilworth
Member Since 2012

1 - Posted on 9/10/2023

Oh, no! I'm glad no one peed on it, but someone wrote on it in ink right under the woman on the floor!

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