Crosby, Jason :: OA Gallery

Crow (1981) Title Pin-up

Artist: James O'Barr (All)

1 Comment - 1,152 Views - 0 Like

Additional Images:

As published in Death Rattle #3 (Vol. 3)

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Artwork Details

Title:	Crow (1981) Title Pin-up
Artist:	James O'Barr (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Pin Up
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	1,152
Likes on CAF:	0 1
Favorited on CAF:	1
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	7/18/2013
Comic Art Archive:

Description

One of the earliest Crow drawings in existence!

Published - Death Rattle Vol. 3, #3

In the deluge of the late 1980s independent comic boom, James O�Barr�s Crow rose to the top of the tide. With its often brutal, unabashed angst and deeply emotional introspection, it captured the imagination of a generation of comic readers and presaged the mainstream emergence of many of the "Goth" and "Emo" motifs in the 1990s and beyond. In also spawned an immense entertainment franchise that has ranged from several follow up and spin-off series to feature films, books, and a television series. The original Crow story itself is reported to have been translated into almost a dozen languages, selling over a quarter-million copies worldwide, an exceptional achievement for any independently produced graphic novel.

Like many independent creators, O�Barr worked over an extended period of time on his brainchild before it ever saw the light of day in print. Though the very first published segment of the Crow was not released until 1989 in Caliber Presents #1, O�Barr began working on the story at the start of the decade. The offered pin-up art, featuring a large image of the protagonist Eric accompanied by a hand lettered title header is one of the very earliest pieces that O�Barr produced. According to the artist, �This was one of the very first Crow drawings from 1981 and was intended for an ad piece but never used.�

This is a significant and impressive example of O�Barr�s work on the character with a huge portrait of Eric likely out sizing any of the images that saw print at that time. Additionally, the sub-text of �Ephemeral Terror / A Love Story� perfectly captures the tone of the tale which constantly walks a precarious path between crushing horror and tenderness. This art has been in the hands of a private collector for a decade and since its initial sale through the gallery which handled O�Barr�s work in the early 1990s, this is its very first public offering. The piece has been published in the "Crow - Lost Pages" article in Death Rattle Vol. 3, #3. O'Barr explains the history and significance of this piece there.
This large art has an image area of approximately 13.75" x 21.5" (11.75" x 17.25" inside the inked black borders).

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About the Owner

	Jason Crosby
Joined:	May 2009
Last Login:	April 2025
Country:	UNITED STATES
On CAF:	Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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Troy C. Punswick
Member Since 2008

Posted on 7/18/2013

Congrats on picking up this awesome Crow example by his creator. I too will be adding an O'Barr Crow example to my CAF gallery in the very near future.

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