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Thank you. I appreciate the opinion of those who have a deep and wide-ranging collection of Simon’s art – one of two of the best I have seen on CAF.
Gracias por sus amables palabras. (Traducción de Google Translate.)
That is a very perceptive comment and I had not thought of that unification of the mother/child relationship until you pointed it out, but it seems so obvious now. Thank you for your view.
Yes, it seemed quite a change of pace – subject matter-wise – when Simon started doing this series of artworks, and in this example it looks a lot more restrained than he normally is. Thank you for your comment.
Thank you for your insight. Simon might have had a copy of the book on his table – he had quite a few of his published books with him – at the convention, but the next time I see that book (which I do not own) I will have to have a flip through it. You must have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Simon Bisley’s work, to go with a deep and wide-ranging collection of his art – one of two of the best I have seen on CAF – and your Angel of Death with Jesus is a stunner.
Good times. Ahh, you can never miss what you never had, and I have a strong feeling that if I had won that page I would have had my head turned by someone offering me five times what I paid for it and I would feel even worse about it having sold it then – “You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from”. Thank you for your comment.
What a scoop. A calling card debut with stippling on a par with Drew Friedman and Howard Cruse. It always makes you feel better, if as it sounds to me, to get the art direct from the artist or their rep. Congrats on a real gem.
Thankfully my one and only visit to Glasgow (one and only visit to Scotland) did not result in me encountering anyone who would give me a tuning similar to that visited on Marv. Comics royalty was in town so everyone was on their best behaviour. Thank you for your appreciation.
I stopped regularly reading 2000AD around prog 50 and would pick it up only sporadically but this is what I was missing. I did look forward to Dave Gibbons’ work when he first started to ply his trade at DC with that Creeper backup story and the Green Lantern, but it was at 2000AD that he honed his craft. Great-looking page.
Thank you for your comment. It was a coup to get Hermann for the Glasgow convention and although I recognised he is a major figure in Euro-comics I was not familiar with his work. I wish I could find the photo I took of him when I was at the con. Will be sure to upload it when (if?) I locate it.
Incredible second paragraph description. This is a sensational six-panel Sal page, and is there any penciller or breakdown artist who Klaus Janson did not make look good?
Thank you for your reply. That is a good philosophy to live by but nothing less than I would expect from one of the voices of reason and experience on CAF. When the few spoil it for the many it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the majority of people act respectfully and work conscientiously. I hope Felix will forgive me for constantly bringing him up again but when someone keeps drawing a blank at his heavily-contested drops it is easy to get discouraged, but when that same person finally lands a page or pages that speak directly to them then all those disappointments fade away, so if you feel towards the Paul Pope page the way I feel about the Seth Fisher pages I acquired from Felix (and you will know why I refer to them specifically) then I have no problem understanding how you would willingly (if not happily) undergo what you did to get it and consider it part of the process/journey. Thank you.
What a headache. It is enough to make you throw your arms up in despair and say, “that is it with me and original comic art; I am done; it is not worth all that aggravation”. And then a little down the line out of the woodwork appears that “must have” item you have always hoped would become available. I have been there, although it has usually been contesting dubious authenticity of works and it has never been as time- and energy-consuming as your debacle which seems can be laid squarely at the feet of FedEx for issuing duplicate identical reg numbers. Who could believe such a well-organised multi-national company could make such a basic mistake … Last week FedEx sent me an invoice for an overdue three-figure customs payment and threatened legal action if I did not settle it in seven days. They used to send items out before customs payments were remitted but have not done so for years (probable after being burned too many times) and they did not bank on accusing someone who hardly ever deletes any emails. I could pull up the email I sent to them back in January with evidence I had paid the charge and also their reply in which they acknowledge receipt and will release the item for delivery. I sent this info off to FedEx and within a few hours they state that the invoice has now been cancelled. No apology, no admission of error. They must think I am some big-shot lawyer (I am not) who if I caught them saying “we’re sorry” would hit them with a million-dollar lawsuit for the initial harassment. If companies like that behave the way they do is it any wonder that when you make what you think is an innocuous ironic comment, then someone misunderstands it and proceeds to abuse you on a public forum before you politely respond that they have misunderstood and then they go silent and delete all the offending public messages. When did this abandonment of basic civilised behaviour start? It is getting worse and worse. FedEx are probably going to read this and get Ace Ventura (see the intro of the first Ace Ventura movie) to deliver my next FedEx package. Sorry for what happened and I hope you think the artwork was worth all the hassle.
I have bought and probably read all of Paul Pope’s mini-series for DC/Vertigo and although I enjoyed them I would not call myself a “Popehead” (I am quite proud of that neologism I made up and which I have not seen anyone else use before) and have never felt the urge to own any artwork from them, which is just as well as they are out of my price range. That’s a great page with frenetic energy and it makes me want to dig out my copies of 100% and remind myself of why you might be so fanatical about it. I give special credit to Paul Pope because in a live Felix Comic Art chat he was a surprise guest and when I brought up the subject of Richard Corben (this was before he passed away) Paul said, “Corben is a god of comics and has a seat at the table of the true masters” which is enough for me to give Paul a permanent hall pass. Thanks for taking the time to type up that full account of your troubles.
No DKR-related posting would be complete without words from OA’s biggest Dark Knight Returns fan. Thank you for the comment, and thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the practice of original comic art collecting.
If only I had known about the ’85 UKCAC – it sounded like a good one. The fan press was not so well-developed in those days. Amazing to see your trajectory during the course of UKCAC’s lifespan – from attending fan to volunteer steward to fully-fledged creator. Well done!
It is generally held that Lynn Varley and a Jaime Hernandez drawing of Robin as a girl that appeared as a spot illustration in The Comics Journal in the early 1980s were the template for Carrie Kelly; Lynn Varley for the youth-oriented argot. If you did not know what Lynn Varley looked like and my upload has been useful then your one comment has made my posting worthwhile. I wanted to just spotlight her invaluable contribution to what is arguably the most influential comic of the last 40 years and also remind people of her generous contribution to the charity auction – she didn’t need to and not all creator attendees did – and the event of her birthday and the 40th anniversary of DKR seemed like the appropriate time to do this. Thank you for your comment.
I don’t always agree with you – I am more of a dog person, for one thing – but you might be right this time. On the other hand, don’t you remember what Warhol said? “The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting.”
Well I don’t recall how much the Miller or the Kirby or the Windsor-Smith went for as they would have been so out of my league they would not have registered, but as far as the Lynn Varley page: I realise that unspoken CAF protocol means you shouldn’t really talk prices – too much and it sounds like boasting and too little and it appears as if you are gloating – but as I do not even own the page so I am not sure why I was being so coy. I bid the item up to the princely sum of £100 and the bidder after me took it by another increment so it ended up as £110. The best £110 they ever spent if they held onto it. Your Lynn Varley colour page is considerably better.
Thank you for your kind words on my guerrilla-style photos. It was definitely Frank and Lynn’s summer that year – they were the Timothée and Kylie of their time. I do not seem to have needed to photo the auctioneer as he still has a comics-related online presence although I have not visited his website out of principle (I don’t think he is losing any sleep over that), not even if he was giving away free OA. That is the way the Ma family roll.
I recall that judging by the descriptions for some of your uploads you were already a seasoned con-goer by 1986 but that year is memorable for being the year that The King was supposed to attend and his contribution to the con catalogue – The Demon (viewable in the CAF gallery of * From the Land Beyond)– was still auctioned in spite of his non-appearance owing to the dangers of air travel following international unrest. The Varley page was as far as I remember half way through the auction, which was quite sparsely attended being the last event of the con when most people had already left, which is probably why they shifted the charity auction to the last event of Saturday a few or a couple of years after. I guess I will never know for sure the reason for the auctioneer cutting short the bidding so abruptly. I could get in touch with him via his website but after almost 40 years it is unlikely he will remember – “the person who throws the stone forgets, but the person whom it hits remembers”. It’s all water over the dam now, anyway. Thank you for your commiserations.
Thank you for your kind comment and sympathetic response. I cannot deny that it would have been nice to have owned that Lynn Varley page but as Bill [Cox] said – you cannot get everything. At least it was a learning experience and I was better prepared for the subsequent years’ charity auctions; even though I was never going to challenge the big boys for the top-of-the-range pages, when 2k pages would probably be the equivalent of five-figure sums today, I was in with a better chance of a shout in the low to mid-range pieces. I don’t think the auctioneer really had it in for me as I had not crossed paths with him that one day I attended the con that year. I think he might have thought what he considered as just a “colour guide” – it is not, but a piece of original colour art in its own right – had hit its ceiling and he was only halfway through the auction and did not want to spend too much time on a lower-value piece. It’s hard to wallow in self pity when I can say that at the first comic convention I went to I got to not only see and hear but also meet Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Barry Windsor-Smith as well as with a small group of other fans get to have a long chat with David Lloyd about V for Vendetta. Anything on top of that would have been just a bonus.
Your comment on his adult work did pique my interest but as I have quite an obsessive nature and was concerned I was going to lose countless hours in another rabbit hole I decided I would have just a little peek. All I can say is that I had a feeling I was not on Elektron anymore.
I am not familiar with either of those artists, but that is one fantastic piece of investigative scholarship. Bravo. The original’s colours are so much better than the published version. And that composition is, umm, to die for.
You will be missed but I hope that you enjoy your well-deserved break. X-Men 102 is significant to British comics readers as it was the first of six issues that were not available from newsagents as normal and could be obtained from only specialist comics dealers, and because of this has always commanded a premium price as a back issue. This illustration is a fantastic throwback to the cover of that comic.
Very sorry to hear that Sam Kieth has passed away. My introduction to him was via his association with Bill Messner-Loebs who might have published some of his earliest work in the back of Journey, and then scripted The Maxx. That is a truly wonderful write-up and it is always gratifying when an artist whose work you admire and enjoy also turns up to be a great human being also. I was never into Sandman but I would follow Sam’s work – the MCP Wolverine serial is a classic – and it is sad I will not see his name on any new comics, but I am more sorry for all the friends and family he has left behind. Thank you for the upload, and your appreciation and reminiscence. I was quite moved by your description. My condolences to you for the loss of your friend.
That is a very astute observation. Thank you. I sometimes wonder why something looks just right but cannot put my finger on it. One of the best tips I was given by a picture framer on choosing the colour of a mount/mat for a piece of artwork is to have it the colour of something that appears in the picture that is being framed so the two are harmoniously connected.
If I had not seen the more delicate colouring in the original I might have agreed with you, but it is good that everyone is different – that is part of life’s rich pageant.
Thank you for your kind comment. That would make the perfect endorsement for the cover of one of his books.
I am finding that as I get older that the past years are merging into one but it is a pretty pass when the decades are doing so as well. Thank you for tactfully pointing out my mistake in the first five words; I meant 1980s and not 1990s, which I have now corrected so it should now make better sense.
Ha ha! I see what you did there. Or perhaps Gene Therapy. *groan*
Yes, it does resemble an elaborate mausoleum, now that you mention it.
Thank you for your comment. Well, that is one new word I have learned today.
Someone much cleverer than me (I?) told me that according to Post-modernist criticism any interpretation of a work is as valid as any other, even if it contradicts the creator’s intention. This means we can all knock ourselves out with how we make the connections between drawing and ailment and still be correct. Thank you for your comment.
Yeah, and if they could only manufacture one for old age. I don’t mean the Dutch variety.
Thank you for the health tip to avoid a common foot ailment. If plantar fasciitis featured on the page of diseases in the human body I could claim to have had a third example.
Of course, easy to see when you mention it but it escaped me. Every alternative comic artist has been influenced either directly or indirectly by Crumb.
Thank you for the tip-off. Just went to Anthony Snyder’s website, and yes, that one is amusing too – but pricey. Too rich for my blood. (I can only imagine how much yours which is much more detailed would have cost!)
“Wauugh!” I quite enjoyed those Bill Mantlo-written issues of Howard the Duck when Howard donned the iron suit, but that was probably because I was just a kid and did not fully appreciate all of Steve Gerber’s adult humour. Frank Brunner’s work on the first handful of stories was fantastic and if I had seen this drawing I also would have been tempted to buy it. It is funny – thank you for letting us all see it.
The two early Batman stories Walt pencilled and inked (’Tec 443 and 450) are engraved on my retina from having been read so many times and this drawing shows Walt has still got it – he has always had it. It is gorgeous. Congrats on picking it up.
Matt Allison is the world’s number one artist at drawing segmented metal/coils/wiring and this drawing is a brilliant example of him really flexing his muscles. Excellent choice of subject matter – you are just like Alan Moore who always played to the strengths of his collaborators; and like him you’re none too shabby as a wordsmith neither.
Arguably Frank Miller’s last truly great work (and I am speaking as a big fan) and what a fantastic page. Thank you for sharing.
Yep, I too really enjoyed that back-to-basics teenage superhero title (as well as the DC counterpart – Firestorm – created to cash-in on Nova’s success).
Thank you for your feedback. Wow, your Sal Buscema Hulk collection is really something else, and the variety of inkers giving their own spin on the pencils (and Sal inking other artists’ interpretation of ol’ Jade Jaws) keeps it fresh. Thank you for posting those!
As ever, succinct and to the point. Not sure we will see his like ever again. Thank you for your input.
Thank you. I never really went for toy-based comics but I made an exception for Rom and I have happy memories waiting for the next issue to come out, and you have a cracking page. Congrats on that.
