John Byrne, Jurassic Park #1, DPS

I have no memory of how I acquired a few pieces of art. A chance dealer transaction at a convention perhaps … or possibly a last minute sweetener in a trade? Too much art probably, too many years definitely, and as they say…. hard drive almost full.

But this art’s provenance I remember very well.

NYCC about 5 years ago. I had heard a lot about John Byrne’s house and all the various collectibles that made up some of the décor, but hadn’t had a chance to get up to the wilds of Connecticut to check it out.

This time I was determined. So, one rainy afternoon at the end of the convention day, we trudged our way through monsoon-like rain (no exaggeration) to the train station, missed our connection, but eventually made it up to John’s town, and, after dinner, ultimately his house.

It was everything as described. Great collectibles and memorabilia, and some amazing art hanging in his studio by comic book legends John admired.

At the end of the evening, he pointed us to his flat files of his own art and told us to find something we liked. These files contained a potpourri of recent projects, pieces he had yet to give to his art representative to sell for him.

I was interested in finding something cool that we had published at IDW, and after some deep digging, I came up with this terrific Jurassic Park double-page spread from the mini-series John created for us.

He was delighted that I admired it, and I, of course, was delighted with his generosity. It is a great piece, and to date, I walk past it every day and smile. Permanent collection, for certain.

Getting it back to California from New York wasn’t easy, but that’s a story for another day.

Thanks again, JB!