Red Sonja #1 variant (#50, the big FIVE-O)

In 1985 I bought my very first Arthur Adams example. 21 years and 49 pieces later, I am thrilled at being able to present my 50TH!

I don’t know what it is about my relationship with “destiny” and “fate” (no, those aren’t the names of two working girls in Vegas). For whatever reason, things just have this way of working out the way I want or need them too. Not always, mind you. But often enough. For years, I’ve been trying to find some sort of explanation for my “uncanny” knack of having things go my way, and I finally figured it out. IT’S MY MUTANT POWER!!! =) If I wasn’t so afraid of hearing from the Marvel lawyers, I’d start calling myself Eric “Longshot” Delos Santos. But first the story……..

It couldn’t have been more than a few months ago that I was on the phone with one of my art buddies talking about (what else) our favorite subject, original art. Naturally we got around to discussing my Art Adams collection and he wanted to know exactly how many pieces I was up to. At the time, I had not yet posted the Tigra and Gypsy pieces, so I had to do some quick math. When I told him that I was about to post #48 and #49, he said “Wow, I can’t believe you’re up to almost fifty pieces!” That’s when it hit me. I knew right then and there that I HAD to find something special to celebrate my 50th Adams example!

Of course I realized also that this was far easier said than done. With Arthur’s escalating market value and the fierce competition for his artwork (not to mention my very limited financial resources), it was pretty slim pickings in terms of available candidates. Enter Scott and Emerald Green.

Just before the Christmas holidays, Scott and I had finally come to terms on a piece that we had been discussing on and off for some time. However, because of the upcoming holidays, I asked Scott if it would be okay to hold off on payment until after the new year. Being the stand up guy that he is, Scott graciously agreed.

Fast forward to late January. When I emailed Scott to let him know that I was about to send the money, he stunned me with the news that his daughter Emerald had given him permission to try and sell the Adams Red Sonja cover (a piece that was part of a collection that Scott was putting together for her). While I certainly wasn’t too keen on the notion of taking a piece out of some kid’s collection, Scott must’ve anticipated my trepidation because he quickly assured me that Emerald’s favorite Adams piece was her Poison Ivy and that she never really cared for the Sonja very much. When he said that, I could’ve sworn I heard a choir singing “HALLELUJAH!”

Long story short, we combined the two deals, hammered out a price, and agreed on a payment schedule. From that point on, it was just a matter of sending Scott every one of my paychecks until it was done. Needless to say that for the next couple of months, there was really no reason to look forward to payday, since I wasn’t going to be keeping my paycheck anyway!

So now that I’ve hit the big 5-0, where do I go from here? Well, I have no doubt that my days of acquiring examples of this caliber are numbered. Especially when you consider the way Arthur’s prices are rising, and that my last pay raise was a whopping 26 CENTS!!! But while I certainly will miss the good old days of being able to get his artwork for a fraction of what they cost now, no one could be prouder of seeing Arthur’s work fetch these types of record prices. It’s great to have him making the same kind of crazy money as so many of the overrated young turks!

Being lucky enough to find and acquire these fifty pieces over the last 20-plus years has been one of the greatest joys of my life. To all those who have supported and/or assisted me in this endeavor, my deepest and most sincere gratitude. (For a complete list, see the description for piece #49, Gypsy’s Pet).

To those select few who seem so hell bent on trying to ruin my fun, or who have tried to tear me down JUST so they could feel better about themselves, well, on behalf of all the good guys out there let me just say that thank goodness there are more of us than there are of you!

Last, but not least, for piece #50, I have to thank the principal players. To Art Adams for its brilliant conception and inspired execution, to Scott Green for letting me know it was available, and to Miss Emerald Elaine Green for MAKING it available (thanks Em)!

Oh, and to Chris Debol, the former owner (before Scott), who knew I wanted it and sold it to someone else anyway? Thanks for forcing me to go the extra mile. LOL!