Unity #1 Cover

To me, Barry Windsor-Smith is the greatest comic book artist of all time. His body of work reflects this, and the impression he’s left on comic fans worldwide throughout our generation is undeniable. There’s a lot to say about my personal nostalgia surrounding this piece but Im not going there because there’s a better story behind its acquisition to be told.

I’ve been a die-hard Valiant fan since the 90s. In fact, when I first started collecting original comic art, it was with the artists Bernard Chang and Sean Chen because they were the ones I remembered buying early Valiant books from. Eventually though, I found myself looking for more key pieces from their forefathers like BWS. (Who had hand picked Sean and served as his mentor during his time at Valiant)

As we all know, it takes a lot of time to curate your own tastes in this collecting hobby. I picked up a few Valiant pieces early on, but none were significantly nostalgic, mainly because of two reasons: 1) I had no idea where to find them (since I hadn’t figured out all the CAF tools yet) and 2) I was always the underbidder at auctions (meaning I just couldn’t break through that ceiling). Truth be told I was also heavily engaged by all the great modern art that kept dropping from Felix’s roster.

The story of this cover is significant for two reasons. First, it was the first cover to pop up after I finally subscribed to CAF premium and set up my keywords. (Do it now if you haven’t already!) Second, I went all out for it, but not in the way I imagined. (Way above and beyond!) This piece would mark the expansion of having nostalgia play a bigger role in my collection.

This tale begins with my near-death bout with COVID in 2020. When you lose a couple of months of your life, bedridden, down 30 lbs, and waking up days later, something changes in you. Why was this important?

Well, this cover came up on the same day I was going to get my first COVID shot. My wife was highly concerned on what the vaccine may do to me so asked that my sister-in-law drive me due to my allergies. When the CAF alert came on, my sister-in-law had just arrived at my house. I called the dealer who had this cover and began negotiations. It was tough because imagine a close confidant of my significant other, someone who’s never been exposed to this hobby, listening closely to trade pitches, monetary values, and nostalgia talk.

It definitely made things hard because I was self-conscious and trying to spend as little cash as possible. A mix of trade would be ideal, which is what we ended up agreeing on as I approached the vaccination station (or so I thought). As we approached the tents, the military presence was real, and things got serious, so I told the dealer I’d call him back to exchange details and finish up the deal.

The next 20 minutes felt like the longest of my life. We waited in line, I got my shot, and as I was ready to call the dealer back, they said I needed to sit and wait 10 minutes under observation. To be respectful of the nervous vaccine recipients around me, I stayed quiet. Eventually, I was released, and we headed home.

I still vividly remember thinking about how happy I’d be to finally hold this cover in my hand as I called the dealer back. He immediately answered, “It’s gone,” and I remember my heart dropping into my stomach. I was so confused as I asked about our deal. He said, “The first to pay that number gets it.” Apparently, someone called while I was getting my shot and paid the asking price. I was devastated.

As life would have it, the collector who got this cover also happened to be the guy who had outbid me on a few covers at the auctions on several occasions. As time passed, we bonded over our mutual love for Valiant and connected on all the future pieces we wanted to see each other acquire. Unity 1 was the cover I would ask to see every time I was at his house.

During a casual conversation one day, as we talked about another Valiant cover coming up for auction, we dove deep into a discussion about that cover’s aesthetics. For one reason or another, he mentioned he’d trade Unity 1 for that cover. I remember time stopping, and I confirmed with him. He said yes. So there it was, I went after that cover with a vengeance.

The story concludes with another friend of his who was also going for that cover with a pretty generous price in mind. Instead of me bidding it up, he agreed to let me have Unity 1 in that price range so he could get something else he had in mind. The price was significantly more than my first go around but to me, the second chance was worth it.

I personally went all out for this one, but I also know he didn’t need to let it go. So thanks, Dinesh, for letting me have this and allowing me to help you upgrade to Unity 0! Not a lot of folks can nerd out on Valiant like we do, so I’m happy to be on this shared journey together.

Unity 1 by BWS, the G.O.A.T. Welcome home.