TALON POSTER PRELIMINARY Pencils by Jim Steranko

For many collectors, Jim Steranko's Talon tops the list of "what could have been" in the Bronze Age of comics, particularly in the fantasy genre. Proposed by Steranko as early as 1968 as a Sword & Sorcery title similar to Conan, Marvel toyed with the idea of publishing the project, but for whatever reason it just never got off the ground. Fans of Steranko were left with just a few glimpses of the barbarian hero, the first of which were a series of pin-ups in Witzend #5 from 1968, next was an insert poster that ran in Steranko's magazine Comixscene in 1973 and then an article about the project in Savage Tales #3 from 1974. More images emerged in fanzines and portfolios, but a published story never appeared. In the meantime, of course, Robert E Howard's Conan had taken comics by storm and staked his claim to the fantasy throne in comics. We are left wondering what could have been, but luckly we are also left with some exceptional art by Steranko.
This item is a highly finished pencil preliminary for the Comixscene insert poster with details closely matching the finished art. It is a wonderful depiction of Steranko's hero in what is probably his most famous pose. This pencil on paper art has an image area of approximately 9.5" x 13". It is signed by Steranko at the lower left.