OHMU Update '89 Yukio by Al Milgrom

I am a huge fan of Al Milgrom. His art on Spectacular Spider-Man and West Coast Avengers unquestionably constituted definitive runs for those popular titles and the Kitty Pryde & Wolverine limited series is a personal favorite. I am also a huge fan of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. The first volume of OHMU came out in 1983 just as I was discovering the world of comics and the title definitely paved the way for my indoctrination into the Marvel Universe. So when I saw this Yukio page from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update ’89 on eBay, I couldn’t help but bid.

One of the things that I love about original art from this era is that it really gives you a sense of the entire process of creating a finished page of art. Original comic art today is often just pencils and inks that the artist has scanned and emailed to the publisher for "post-production" work such as coloring, lettering, indicia, etc. This piece shows the 80s-vintage production process in its full splendor: Al Milgrom’s art on Marvel Comics stock in pen and ink with razor cuts on the speed lines for effect and Wite-Out for corrections. The page notes are marked by hand and the page number is a cut out taped to the bottom of the page.