Artwork Details

Description

I really wanted this page... I'm on cloud nine... I can think of no finer example from this series I adore so much. I even love it more than my SiP #5 cover art. Seriously... just look at this page! Look at Terry's hand lettering... look at the subtle emphasis on "Ab" in "Absolutely" in panel one, the increased size and bolding in panel three representing their raised voices, the intimacy conveyed by changing to lower case, and a smaller font size from the first 5 & 1/2 panels to that of the latter half of the sixth, and the final two, the blaring "ding dong, ding dong" of panel seven. Observe the zooming in from the first to last panels, in particularly the final three, the subtle shading of their respective noses to emphasise their somewhat inebriated state, Francine's double chin, and Katchoo's cute little nose... and to top it all off it references Calvin and Hobbes... the greatest comic strip ever, and undoubtedly the closest I'll get to owning a C&H piece. Cloud nine I tell ya, cloud nine! Anyhow, unbeknownst to me, it sold at Heritage in 2013. I was out of work during that period and studiously ignoring, and or had disabled, all art notifications since I had no disposable income. When I later learned of it's sale I was bummed I had missed out on it, and to my knowledge it never showed up on CAF, so I could make an offer to the owner. Well it was up for auction at Heritage again today. Their description consisted of this: "The series had been around for over two years at this point and seemed like it had all been leading to this very page... they had danced around the "will they do it or not" question for a long time... but here was the very first kiss! They were not strangers, but they did seem to be in Paradise finally. Crafted in ink over graphite on bright white Bristol board with an image area of 9" x 14". In Excellent condition." I've been on pins and needles about the auction all week. I even dreamed of getting it for merely double what it ended at in 2013... those dreams were definitely fantasies. It cost me way more than it ended at in 2013 (isn't that always the way); but for my money it's the single greatest piece of Strangers in Paradise art in existence. I'm just glad I had enough to make it mine thanks to a generous loan of 5k from my brother Joel. For those wondering, that didn't even cover it all... sheesh!! So there is at least one other SiP fan nearly as crazy about this page as I am. Francine and Katchoo's first kiss, wow! It'll make a stellar companion piece to my Katchoo and David post coitus splash page! Shout out to my buddy Eric who also offered to loan me funds, although in this instance I didn't need them... thank the art gods! P.S. In reviewing it's description from when it sold on Heritage in 2013, I see it was part of the Shamus Modern Masterworks Collection. Pretty Cool.