Card #95
card back
uncropped
Location: New Stuff
Artists:
Arthur Adams
(Penciller)
,
Arthur Adams
(Inker)
456 Views - 53 Comments - 42 Likes
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Such a great card! Wow.
Phenomenal! Adams channelling Miller!
Killer battle card art from a classic set!
Fun art and love the story!
Kind of weird to use duoshade for something that was reduced to trading card size. Weren't some cards in some series also published in comics size ?? Ignoring the background, there looks to be some Miller influence in the posing. Glad to hear your mother improved.
I don't recall seeing any of this card art being done on a large board. They're are almost 40 years old, so I may not be remembering right but for some reason I want to say that the individual characters were done 4 to a sheet. At some point, I think they were cut up so they could be sold individually. The battle cards were obviously a little bigger. And I think there were a couple of team shots that were done on half an art board (maybe a little smaller). The FF one from this set sold on Comic Link a few years back. I think that one was like 8 x 10 or 10 x 10, something like that. And yes, like you, I would be very interested in knowing why he used duoshade for all these. Was it a mandate from Marvel or the card complany? Was he experimenting and trying something new? Maybe it's simply that this was all the paper he had lying around. Haha! Who knows?
Amazing art and wonderful story! Had I known card art would get so popular, I would've scooped up everything I could when I grabbed mine. Happy everything aligned and you were able to pick this piece up, even more so that your mom is on the mend.
It always gives me immense pleasure when you share you've been able to add another example from your favorite artist, Arthur Adams, and I also appreciate the wonderful write-up about this particular piece, and it's aquisition. Congrats my friend, thanks for sharing!
Is it on duo-tone, and what are it's actual dimensions?
Hey buddy! Thanks for the comment(s). So the actual board for the art is about 5½ x 11½. Prompted by your comment, I went ahead and a posted an uncropped scan in the Additional Images. The reason I posted the cropped version was more about aesthetics, plus I wanted the image to more closely resemble the actual trading card. So I lopped off about an inch of blank space on both sides. For those who care, now you can see the title of the card on the left in Arthur's own handwriting. And yes, as Will has already commented, it is duotone - or duoshade - whatever the proper term is.
I love how AA found the room to sneak a signature into the piece, I knew there had to be one somewhere and eventually found it, top right, upside-down on the piping. Congrats on the piece!
Yeah, I initially planned to flip it over and do a crop/zoom on that then post it in the Additional Images, but figured it might just be more fun to let people play "find the signature." Congratulations, you win! Haha!
Sockamagee!
This is too cool! Another jawdropping piece in your Adams collection!
All these cards are so memorable for me. What a set.
Wow! Incredible!
Gorgeous!
Such a great nostalgic piece. Thanks for sharing Eric!
He's drawing inspiration from Miller, but the use of the duo tone paper says he's more into TMNT!
I am very glad this Art Adams gem made it's way into your incredible collection! I am even happier knowing your Mom is doing so much better! This card art is proof that, even in comic art, good things sometimes do come in small packages!
Thank you for your comment. But more importantly, thank you for your friendship, kindness, and support. I'm sure that wonderful prayer card you sent helped speed Mom's recovery. While this art allowed me to thank a friend I've known for almost 20 years, I'm even more happy and proud to acknowledge our friendship of almost 40 years. Thanks Jim!
A great story and so nice to read about a CAF friendship - even without having met in person. It's another gift of the wonderful site.
Fun story and great TC art by Art.
(I was surprised it's your first TC art by him)
Not my first trading card art (that's the Upper Deck DC Superman piece) but the first art from the 1991 Marvel set. I tried to be very specific in my description, but I think people may still get the wrong idea. Thanks for the comment my friend.
Such a memorable card! Wonderful to see the original drawing and that toned background. Sincere congrats!
It was my pleasure to help you secure this piece. Being able to admire the art for a few days was an extra bonus. The piece is absolutely exquisite in person, the backgrounds are particularly impressive. Adams magic! Well done!
You are definitely a better man than I my friend. If it had been the other way around and it was me shipping the art to you, I might have made up a few excuses to delay the shipping so I could hold on to this longer. Haha! And yes, leave it to Arthur to include so much background detail for an image that would end up being 2 x 3 inches. Thank you again for ALL your help.
Congratulations on such a great piece, and making friends!
Incredible piece to add to your AA collection! Very nostalgic too, I still have this card! But more importantly glad to hear your mom is feeling better. Big congrats!
Darn it. I wish I had known that. I spent an entire afternoon digging through my storage for this card set. Then I rememberd that I gave my last complete set to Jonathan Wayshak as a gift. I thought I might still have an extra copy of this particular card, but apparently not. So I ended up having to buy one on eBay. If I had known you had one, I would have just come by the house and bought it from you. Haha!
Incredible! I also find it interesting that Art did this art on a duoshade board. Must be a story there. I love the composition and even the upside down sig and date on the pipe. Congrats on a beautiful piece!
Magnificent work by Art Adams, a true gem Eric!
That is terrific! Love the horizontal breakneck action, and the fully rendered textured background somehow makes the characters jump off the page. The tangle of pipes and horizontal format evokes Miller for me
Overpaying is relative. Congrats, and best to your mom!
Agreed. And psychology plays such a huge part in that relativity. Some time back, there was another Series 2 card on a dealer’s site. I liked it a lot. Maybe not quite as much as this one, but I really liked it. The price was about 25% of what I paid for mine. I pondered it for a while but ultimately decided it was too much for such a tiny piece of art (needless to say it ultimately sold). In thinking about it now, especially in relation to this piece. If I HAD bought that other card, I don’t think I could have brought myself to pull the trigger on this one. I’m almost certain I wouldn’t have been able to overcome the psychological hurdle of having to pay FOUR TIMES MORE to get this one. Even if I liked it better. So while I have some regrets about that other piece, I think it worked out for the best. Maybe not from a financial perspective. But I feel I got, not only the better of the two examples, but maybe even one of the best cards Arthur did for that set. Anyway, as you stated, it’s all relative.
No such thing as "overpaying" when it comes to this classic gem! Congrats on adding this to your collection.
Thanks so much Victor. I think you (and André) are pretty much saying the same thing. We all probably have different ideas or definitions of what overpaying is. But at its core, it all comes down to comparisons. If I pay more for the same thing, does that mean I overpaid? If I pay less, does that mean the other person overpaid? In that sense, yes it IS all relative. Of course I feel better that another piece of card art sold for twice as much on HA. But I doubt the person who won it feels he/she overpaid. At the end of the day, the price is just a means to an end. It's an amount that, based on your desire for the art, allows you to take possession of it. But once it's yours, that number becomes an afterthought. Bottom line, your opening statement will probably resonate with most collectors. There is "no such thing as overpaying." Especially for something you truly, truly, desire.
Love seeing these older more vintage-y Adamsn pieces! Got that more cartoony look, and love the tones. Hard to top a DD vs Elektra card, too! Congrats!
Always a great story and an awesome piece for your collection. Major congrats!
The tale is almost as good as the art itself. Love the subject matter and seeing Arthur take a crack at DD & Elektra too. Thanks for sharing, Eric!
the most important part of the story is that your mom is getting better :)
anyway, the card art is terrific
One wonders how you can ever have a drought when you have a reservoir of Adams? Nice piece of art. You have great taste.
Okay, okay, technically you're right. It's hard to think of one as being deficient with such a large reservoir. But even so, you can still experience a dry spell. My last AA acquisition was in late 2023. That might be the longest time I've gone between Adams pieces. Thanks for the comment (and the compliment) my friend.
This is so cool! What an awesome addition to your collection man!
GORGEOUS Art Adams addition - the AAA (Art Adams addition) continues, and the tradition lives on. Congrtas E!!!!
What an absolute stunner!
I can see duoshade paper being helpful here to add shading/texture for the concrete wall, but it's still unexpected. Congrats! And sorry to hear about the scare with your mom but glad to hear she's doing better!
That makes sense for this piece specifically, but he used duoshade for all 36 Series 2 cards. And I don't think he used this stuff for any of the Series 1 cards. So still a mystery.
Love this Arthur Adams trading card! The fighting poses of DD and Elekltra are fantastic. I also love the stylized background of pipes suggesting an underground sewer. So much Arthur Adams goodness on a tiny trading card! Delightful!
I worked in a comic book store when this series came out, and I spent many, many hours opening cases of cards to put together complete sets for the store to sell. It could have been tedious work after a while, but the art was so good that I never got bored. It's great to see an original like this as it takes me back to that great time.
Ha! Your comment takes ME back to when I had my comic business. Which also included toys (action figures) and trading cards. I didn't have any employees, so it was just me. Which meant having to bag & board every comic myself. And, like you, having to open countless cases of ALL kinds of trading cards and making complete sets to sell. Plus separating and pricing all the chase cards. Sometimes pulling all nighters when I had a big show coming up. I don't miss those long nights and all the back aches that came with them. I'm glad this art brings back fond memories for YOU. But just thinking about those days makes my back hurt. haha!
another amazing piece in the collection bro, love this