Return to Gallerie

Hale, Phil : Sequential

“to an undisclosed sum of money”

17” x 22.5”

7 comic pages in pencil, ink, paint, coffee and dirt, 1996

In 1996, Phil Hale was playing around with the creation of a sequential Johnny Badhair comic for the first time since his debut stories in Epic Illustrated, which came and then ended 10 years earlier. The mid to late 90s, was a period where Phil was most prolific in his Illustration. Working on covers for DC comics. Doing the second iterations of his Dark Tower paintings for that reprint. Painting some of his most well known art for various card games.

It also saw the more evolved versions of the Badhair persona take shape. Refining the character from the wild bruiser physique, into one that was more lithe and athletic, with the more instantly recognizable stylized hair. Formalizing the robot-battles into man vs machine archetypes trapped in a singular point in time. As Phil would put it, "the most extreme moment."

This period of material that would make up the heart of Goad and beyond.

For this would-be comic story, Phil was setting up a sort of Johnny Badhair homage to Krazy Kat. Which may seem anachronistic, but Phil making direct and indirect references to older comics was not unheard of. There are also some oblique homages to Walt Kelly’s Pogo baked into many of the final Badhair paintings, so this sort of tip of the hat is not at all out of character for Hale.

These rough pencil pages are 17” x 22.5” each, and drawn in mostly pencil on sheets from a large spiral Bristol “sketchbook”. They contain some inspired panels from Phil. A rare peek behind the curtain into something that was ultimately not meant to be.

Repeatedly drawing some of the same pages/panels in typical Hale fashion, you can see he was constantly refining, redeveloping and tinkering for a particular level of exactness that he is perpetually seeking in all his work. Only in this case, eventually abandoning the project altogether.

You may also notice other themes and motifs are present that would re-appear in other projects. On one page, he has written the words “Jerry Lee Lewis”, and of course there was a limited release print that was released titled “Jerry Lee Lewis, he tried to kill me.” With a figure in that painting looking an awful lot like a blonde Johnny Badhair.

On another single image page that appears to have been a possible cover idea, a hand reaching into the frame from the left side of the page is not unlike the one that would appear on the painted cover of Hale’s John Constantine cover for DC/Vertigo, which you can see here on CAF in the gallery of Arnie & Cathy Fenner. Johnny’s reaction to the reaching arm here, being completely in character, as is Constantine’s in his painting.

These pages have various notes added front and back. Several in light pencil give hints about dialogue or narration. Today Phil’s shorthand notes to himself now prove somewhat more impenetrable, even for himself. The would-be title “to an undisclosed sum of money” is written on most pages in pencil or ink, along with his art rep ASFA (Allen Spiegel Fine Art) noted repeatedly.

The pages were recently unearthed during a studio move, and were found wrapped in another sheet of paper, with a note that indicated he should "possibly do one completely painted, as an “experiment”, along with some additional notes. Phil could not remember the details of course, as it has been 30 years, and these shorthand notes he left himself mean little now.

If you want to see even more of this material, I encourage you to head over to Ashley Wood’s gallery here on CAF, as he has 2 more of these pages that were probably a little farther along in the development process, looking more like traditional comic linework, and cut and pasted together into what seems to be a more formalized panel arrangement.

There are 7 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.    

+

C7

Art Details

Artist:	Phil Hale (Penciller)
Media Type:	Pencil
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	67
Comments:	4
Added to Site:	10/27/2025

About the Owner

Eric Seffinga
Member Since:	September 2005

C7
Artist: Phil Hale (Penciller)
67 Views, 4 Comments

+

C6

Art Details

Artist:
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:
Views	60
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	10/27/2025

About the Owner

Eric Seffinga
Member Since:	September 2005

C6
Artist: 60 Views

+

C5

Art Details

Artist:	Phil Hale (Penciller)
Media Type:	Pencil
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	60
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	10/27/2025

About the Owner

Eric Seffinga
Member Since:	September 2005

C5
Artist: Phil Hale (Penciller)
60 Views, 1 Comment

+

C4

Art Details

Artist:	Phil Hale (Penciller)
Media Type:	Pencil
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	54
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	10/27/2025

About the Owner

Eric Seffinga
Member Since:	September 2005

C4
Artist: Phil Hale (Penciller)
54 Views

+

C3

Art Details

Artist:
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:
Views	47
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	10/27/2025

About the Owner

Eric Seffinga
Member Since:	September 2005

C3
Artist: 47 Views

+

C2

Art Details

Artist:	Phil Hale (Penciller)
Media Type:	Pencil
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	51
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	10/27/2025

About the Owner

Eric Seffinga
Member Since:	September 2005

C2
Artist: Phil Hale (Penciller)
51 Views, 2 Comments

+

C1

Art Details

Artist:	Phil Hale (Penciller)
Media Type:	Pencil
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	55
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	10/27/2025

About the Owner

Eric Seffinga
Member Since:	September 2005

C1
Artist: Phil Hale (Penciller)
55 Views, 1 Comment

There are 7 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.    

About the Owner Eric Seffinga Premium Gallery Owner Joined: September 2005 Last Login: January 2026 Country: UNITED STATES On CAF: Premium Member Q&A Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

Contact the Owner Use can use a contact form to send an email to this gallery owner, but, you must be logged in to use this feature. Click Here to Login Click Here to Register