Big Ben Bolt 1968-05-10

(click for larger image. pencils and inks by John Cullen Murphy)

I had never heard of John Cullen Murphy before I started collecting comic book and strip art, but once I discovered his work on Big Ben Bolt, I was smitten.  In my opinion, he is one of the greats of the medium. He had a very unique style which employed fine scratchy lines, yet the work still managed to look clean and realistic.  I used to own four examples which I picked up for a song, but regretfully sold them off (save one).  Since the strip is about a boxer/detective character, I'd always wanted one of him boxing and when I saw this one come up, I couldn't resist.  This is quite a bit later than my other example (from 1961), and I actually prefer the early one, but this one has some great line work, so I can't complain.  Murphy later went on to work with Hal Foster on the Prince Valiant newspaper strip in 1970, and eventually took it over completely in 1979.  He continued on the strip all the way up until 2004 and died shortly thereafter.

Fantastic Four 235, p 05

Another one for my Byrne obsession… (click for larger image) As a collector of original comic book art, few things are higher up on my want list than originals from John Byrne's run on Fantastic Four. Once I discovered you could actually buy this stuff, I thought "I want some Byrne FF!" It's what started me down that long, terrible road of addiction. I've been looking for great examples for almost ten years, and when I see something special, I do my best to acquire it. I have some pages that I really like, but this one is exceptional. I think if I had been able to find a page of this quality from the start, I might not have looked so hard for others. This one has it all - some great action, a good self-contained page, and all four members of the team. It's also from the early part of the run (only Byrne's fourth issue of his 61 issue run!), which features traditional inking tools (i.e., pen and brush rather than magic marker - a trademark of later issues). These early pages tend to have tighter inks and more detail, and this one has some really cool detail. In this particular story, the FF go up against Ego - "The Living Planet!" The last panel shows some really cool "Daliesque" (as Byrne puts it) details of the surface of this massive monster!

Alpha Flight 12, Page 28

(click for larger image or click HERE for triptych)

SOLD!! 2013

Back in the 1980's, I became a full-fledged comic book addict. I just loved the stuff and couldn't get enough. I would buy any title that caught my interest, in hopes that it would be worth my while. Some stuff was great, and some stuff not so great. I soon found that the current monthly books were not enough, and began backtracking to find previously published issues of things I liked, or other titles that I'd never heard of. If memory serves, the first John Byrne comic book I purchased off the newsstand was Fantastic Four 272. I was instantly smitten. I loved both the writing, and especially, the artwork (Byrne was doing both). It wasn't long before I was tracking down back-issues to get up to speed on what I'd missed (he began his run with issue 232). I was also happy to discover another title that Byrne was writing and drawing at the same time - his own creation, the Canadian super-team, Alpha Flight.

Alpha Flight wasn't as "cosmic" as the Fantastic Four, and it certainly didn't have the history (having been created in 1961 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby). It was also not a favorite of Byrne himself as he has stated repeatedly in interviews. Nonetheless, I loved it simply because it was Byrne. The book may not have been Byrne's personal favorite, but it did have a strong fan following. Byrne only ended up doing the first 28 issues, but some might argue that his initial run climaxed with issue 12 - the death of Guardian. Fans were shocked and devastated. If most fans were like me, they were probably thinking "he'll be back". Surely it was just some stunt or trick to boost sales? But, unlike today's superhero comics, he was dead. Really dead. Forever.

When I got introduced to the world of original comic art, my first thought was to obtain some nice Byrne Fantastic Four art. It turned out that that wouldn't be so easy (as chronicled in my CFA-APA article for issue 62 link HERE). So in conjunction with my search for Fantastic Four pages, I happily added Alpha Flight pages to my collection. And not just any Alpha Flight pages, but pages from the famed issue 12! Here is the first one I obtained. I've posted it on this blog before, but always in a group with the other two pages in the sequence (see them together HERE). I thought these pages deserved their own post, so here is the last. (Pencils and inks by John Byrne. Click for larger image.)

Alpha Flight 12, Page 27

(click for larger image or click HERE for triptych)

SOLD!! 2013

Back in the 1980's, I became a full-fledged comic book addict. I just loved the stuff and couldn't get enough. I would buy any title that caught my interest, in hopes that it would be worth my while. Some stuff was great, and some stuff not so great. I soon found that the current monthly books were not enough, and began backtracking to find previously published issues of things I liked, or other titles that I'd never heard of. If memory serves, the first John Byrne comic book I purchased off the newsstand was Fantastic Four 272. I was instantly smitten. I loved both the writing, and especially, the artwork (Byrne was doing both). It wasn't long before I was tracking down back-issues to get up to speed on what I'd missed (he began his run with issue 232). I was also happy to discover another title that Byrne was writing and drawing at the same time - his own creation, the Canadian super-team, Alpha Flight.

Alpha Flight wasn't as "cosmic" as the Fantastic Four, and it certainly didn't have the history (having been created in 1961 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby). It was also not a favorite of Byrne himself as he has stated repeatedly in interviews. Nonetheless, I loved it simply because it was Byrne. The book may not have been Byrne's personal favorite, but it did have a strong fan following. Byrne only ended up doing the first 28 issues, but some might argue that his initial run climaxed with issue 12 - the death of Guardian. Fans were shocked and devastated. If most fans were like me, they were probably thinking "he'll be back". Surely it was just some stunt or trick to boost sales? But, unlike today's superhero comics, he was dead. Really dead. Forever.

When I got introduced to the world of original comic art, my first thought was to obtain some nice Byrne Fantastic Four art. It turned out that that wouldn't be so easy (as chronicled in my CFA-APA article for issue 62 link HERE). So in conjunction with my search for Fantastic Four pages, I happily added Alpha Flight pages to my collection. And not just any Alpha Flight pages, but pages from the famed issue 12! Here is the first one I obtained. I've posted it on this blog before, but always in a group with the other two pages in the sequence (see them together HERE). I thought these pages deserved their own post, so here is the second. (Pencils and inks by John Byrne. Click for larger image.)

Alpha Flight 12, Page 26

(click for larger image or click HERE for triptych)


SOLD!! 2013

Back in the 1980's, I became a full-fledged comic book addict. I just loved the stuff and couldn't get enough. I would buy any title that caught my interest, in hopes that it would be worth my while. Some stuff was great, and some stuff not so great. I soon found that the current monthly books were not enough, and began backtracking to find previously published issues of things I liked, or other titles that I'd never heard of. If memory serves, the first John Byrne comic book I purchased off the newsstand was Fantastic Four 272. I was instantly smitten. I loved both the writing, and especially, the artwork (Byrne was doing both). It wasn't long before I was tracking down back-issues to get up to speed on what I'd missed (he began his run with issue 232). I was also happy to discover another title that Byrne was writing and drawing at the same time - his own creation, the Canadian super-team, Alpha Flight.

Alpha Flight wasn't as "cosmic" as the Fantastic Four, and it certainly didn't have the history (having been created in 1961 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby). It was also not a favorite of Byrne himself as he has stated repeatedly in interviews. Nonetheless, I loved it simply because it was Byrne. The book may not have been Byrne's personal favorite, but it did have a strong fan following. Byrne only ended up doing the first 28 issues, but some might argue that his initial run climaxed with issue 12 - the death of Guardian. Fans were shocked and devastated. If most fans were like me, they were probably thinking "he'll be back". Surely it was just some stunt or trick to boost sales? But, unlike today's superhero comics, he was dead. Really dead. Forever.

When I got introduced to the world of original comic art, my first thought was to obtain some nice Byrne Fantastic Four art. It turned out that that wouldn't be so easy (as chronicled in my CFA-APA article for issue 62 link HERE). So in conjunction with my search for Fantastic Four pages, I happily added Alpha Flight pages to my collection. And not just any Alpha Flight pages, but pages from the famed issue 12! Here is the first one I obtained. I've posted it on this blog before, but always in a group with the other two pages in the sequence (see them together HERE). I thought these pages deserved their own post, so here is the first. (Pencils and inks by John Byrne. Click for larger image.)

Daredevil 233, Pages 03 and 04

Here's a great sequence from possibly the best Daredevil story ever written - Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Born Again (originally published in Daredevil 226-233). This was a favorite of mine from back in the 80's, and still holds up very well all these years later. I've owned page 4 for years, and knew the whereabouts of page 3 for almost as long. I don't know why I put off obtaining it for so long. I'm glad it was still available once I finally decided to do something about it. I always enjoy having pairs of pages since comics are a sequential medium and it really helps relay the impact of the story. (click for larger image)

Rip Kirby 1954-01-25

I had a small strip art collection some years ago (chronicled in CFA-APA issue 65), but sold most of it off. I was trying to condense my collection down to the bare essentials, which meant retaining only the stuff I was most nostalgic for (i.e., 1980's comic book art). I do have a real soft-spot for the photo-realistic strip art of the 1940's-1960's however. There were some tremendously talented guys producing the most beautiful art on a daily basis. Among the best were Alex Raymond, Leonard Starr, Jose-Luis Salinas, and Frank Godwin. I own or owned strips by all of them, but I did sell my only Raymond a while back.

My interest in these strips has been rekindled lately, and I was lucky enough to find this excellent Alex Raymond Rip Kirby at what I thought was a bargain price. Raymond is considered by many to be the best strip artist of all time. I won't pick favorites, but I'm glad to have another Raymond in my collection. (click for larger image)

Here's a close up of panel one showcasing Raymond's great brush and pen work. (click for larger image)

Fantastic Four 253, Page 20

UPDATE: SOLD IN 2012!

I had nearly the entire issue of this book, but never planned to keep it. I sold all but this page. For years I had hunted down Byrne FF art, and I especially wanted a nice early page featuring inks done using "traditional" inking tools (i.e., pen and brush - all the later stuff was done with magic marker). I was finally able to buy an example, but had to buy all the pages together. That shows you how rare this stuff is. Ironically, after I purchased the near-complete book, early pages began hitting the market after all. Go figure. Anyway, great inking on this page - very detailed. Compare this to the later pages I have from the 260's and you'll see the difference. (click for larger image)

You can read about my hunt for John Byrne Fantastic Four art in some of my CFA-APA articles (click for link)

Karl Steinhauser (1880-1954)

Here's a nice beach scene by the California artist Karl Steinhauser. He was born in Germany on March 29, 1880 (I purchased this painting exactly on what would have been his 132nd Birthday!). By 1915 Steinhauser had moved to Pasadena. He died in San Diego California on March 18, 1954. This painting has a very nice impressionistic style. The sky is delicately painted, and I like how he incorporated tones of pink in the sand. (click for larger image)

1930's Cubism Part II

The second of the two 1930's cubist pieces I picked up from a dealer in Russia. This one is really nice and is an image of a seated woman. I was told the artist's name is Azbuka, and it is signed K.A. I could not find any information about the artist. Medium appears to be colored pencil. Size is approximately 11 x 14 in. (click for larger image)

1930's Cubism

Picked up two great cubist pieces dating from the 1930's from Russia. I am told the artist's name is Azbuka, but could not find any information on this person. The piece is signed with the initials K.A. Medium appears to be colored pencil. The piece is approximately 11 x 14 in. (click for larger image)

Varyanska Vira

Here's the second of the two paintings I picked up from the Ukraine. Very nicely rendered portrait of an elderly gentleman. The artist was born in 1983 and studied at the Kiev Academy of Art. She also exhibited at the Kracow Academy of Art in Poland. This is fairly large at 35" x 21". (click to enlarge)

Here's a detailed image of the face. (click for larger image)

Pereta Vyacheslav

Just acquired some nice art from the Ukraine, including this lovely figure study. I love the contrasting reds and greens. The artist was born in 1977 in Dubno, and studied at the National Fine Art Academy in Kiev. This piece is fairly large at about 27" x 35" unframed. (click for larger image)

Here's a detailed image of the face. (click for larger image)

Fantastic Four 253, Page 10

UPDATE: SOLD IN 2012!

Here's another great page from FF 253 featuring Mr. Fantastic. This page dates to just around the time when John Byrne switched from traditional inking tools (pen and brush), to magic marker. These earlier pen and brush pages have much crisper inking. (click for larger image)