Dreadnaught & Psi-Phon early designs (Superman villains)

This is the second to last art page to post that I picked up way back at San Diego Comic Con 1994, and the only piece I bought at Jim Warden’s DOA Art booth on that jam-packed day in early August. I found Jim’s booth probably midway through day one’s hunt, and couldn’t wait to rummage through nuthin’ but the awesome sauce of Byrne originals for the next hour…buuuut! I slowly noticed something was afoot at the Circle K! I was searching and searching… and searching, and finally noticed I wasn’t pulling out any art to create a small pile of which to make a final decision from. Huh, this is all Byrne, I should wanna buy the whole kit and caboodle! So, I paused and took a small step back. Why hadn’t I seen any juicy splashes, or maybe an obscure cover, or better yet, why no unpublished pages from some secret series to make my mind spin with the possibilities?! So, I thought to myself: Why can’t I find anything?! But, it seems I ended up saying that part OUT LOUD …eep. Then, the guy next to me spoke up. Honestly, I had no idea he was there cause I was so lost in Byrne art. He goes, “Yeah, the Image guys got here first thing, just raided Jim’s booth and cleared him out!” Aaarrghh!
I was dumbfounded.
Gobsmacked.
Crestfallen.
Dejected.
After “Dejected” I’d need a thesaurus!
So, I limped through the rest of the bins, and lucked upon the only unpublished piece leftover after the raid. I loved the one-two punch of Psi-Phon and Dreadnaught starting in SUPERMAN #19, so it was a no-brainer pickup on the character study/early designs of the deadly duo. As to whether or not the Image guys actually descended on the DOA Art booth that morning, only Jim Warden or they can say for sure. I was completely inclined to believe the story, from the barren evidence alone, and the matter of fact delivery of the unnamed random guy bin-diving next to me on that awesome day!

Art is c.1987 - 11x17.