IMHO,
George Klein and
Murphy Anderson were
Curt Swan's premiere inkers. It's taken me a while to find a piece that I both wanted and could afford.
I bought this at a Heritage Auction. Heritage has been swamped with excellent examples of work by "Swanderson" as the pair was known because they are liquidating Murphy's collection. Here's their description:
Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson Superman Annual #10 Story Page 27 Original Art (DC, 1984). Distracted by Morgan Edge's briefcase, Superman is taken down by King Kosmos in the WGBS studios on this page from "The Day the Cheering Stopped!". Ink over graphite on Bristol board with an image area of 10" x 15". The page is lightly toned. The corners are trimmed, and there is a "continued..." paste-up in the bottom corner. In Excellent condition. From the
Murphy Anderson Collection.
The bidding was very active for pieces early in the auction and I was resigned to not winning. The two pieces that I liked the most were the last two in the auction so I had to pick one. It was a tough debate for me since I liked them both.
Here's lot
15698 from the
2020 May 17-18 Sunday & Monday Comics, Animation, & Art Weekly Online Auction #122020 auction.
What I liked about it was the very clean look of the page and the great shots of Superman flying especially the turn. I also really liked the saucer's design. It reminded me of my old
Pluto Platter, a Frisbee for you young people.
I decided to go for Superman Annual page because while Superman is not flying, he's in a battle for his life. However, the main reason was I love the way that Curt handled clothes. I like the way they drape, I like how he reflects the way they would move in the fight, I can feel the guy encumbered by his jacket and I can feel the briefcase hit Superman in the back.
I'm quite thrilled with this one.
P.S. It was pointed out to me that since I bought it from Murphy's estate, I'm the first collector to own this page and that Murphy's family gets the money (well, most of it). That's kinda cool.
