Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Jack Kirby — The Marvel Age Of Monsters

Original Art and The Artists

“Sserpo,” Amazing Adventures #6, November 1961

Jack Kirby would have turned 109 this month, which seems like the perfect excuse to celebrate one of his wonderfully ridiculous pre-Marvel monsters.

Meet Sserpo: a big, dumb creature with an even dumber spelling, brought to you by Kirby and Stan Lee in the first week of August 1961.

And what a great Kirby page this is.

Scientists shouting. Jets firing uselessly. Sserpo stomping across Canada. And then that enormous final panel, with Kirby pushing the monster so far into the foreground that he practically takes over the page.

Big, bold, absurd—and completely irresistible.

But Sserpo is more than just another giant monster.

Because one week later, Stan and Jack would unleash another one. Only this time, they brought along the Fantastic Four to fight him.

And just like that, everything changed.

One week separated the fading days of Marvel’s monster era from the beginning of the Marvel Universe—and, ultimately, the rebirth of an entire industry.

Of course, no one knew it at the time.

Not Stan. Not Jack. And certainly not the thousands of readers who had been happily gobbling up these stories for the previous four years.

To them, Sserpo was just another monster at the newsstand.

A week later, it was a whole new ballgame.

Sserpo seems to have changed his look from Part One to Part Two.
If you want to see evrything Marvel produced in August 1961, grab a copy of this omnibus. Its a snapshot of the comic book world just priorate the “Marvel Age of Comics. ” That appears to be SSerpo in the top left.

SDCC 2026 — Once More Unto The Breach…

Original Art and The Artists

July 22-July 26, 2026

Pro tip: If you want a few decent photos before falling into the inevitable pattern of no sleep and endless hoofing across concrete floors, take them before the convention actually begins.

And yes, the first one—with Bill Cox and Steve Kriozere—is a bit of a cheat. It’s from the Sunday before the show, at a “pre-show” convention in Los Angeles. 

But the more “resort-style” photo—with Dirk Wood and Tim Lenaghan—was taken at the Marriott, just moments before the madness began next door at the San Diego Convention Center.

If the entire convention had actually been like that, I would have come home much less tired, with a nice tan—and a few more dollars in my checkbook.

As always, much more to come.

L-R: With Pete Koch, Art Adams, Jane Mitchell (& Other-Worldly Friend), Scott Eder, Ash Wood, Eric Powell, Whilce Portacio and Scott Dunbier.

Dave Johnson — Spider-Bonus

Original Art and The Artists

Spider-Man DVD Special Edition, Bonus Art Gallery, 2002

With Great DVDs Come Great Bonus Features:

Remember when DVDs tried really hard?

Okay, so maybe you don’t remember DVDs at all. Sadly, in the age of streaming, that’s entirely possible.

The 2002 Spider-Man Special Edition included the usual commentaries, documentaries and deleted material—but it also featured a gallery of original Spider-Man artwork by 19 different comic artists.

And it’s an impressive group: Chris Bachalo, Jae Lee, David Mack, John Cassaday, Kevin Nowlan, Sean Phillips and plenty more. There’s a complete checklist below.

This piece by Dave Johnson is one of my favorites. Interestingly, when an artist supplied a piece in black and white, the DVD left it that way—so for original-art fans, that’s a bonus on top of a bonus. The coloring shown here was created this year by the very talented Frank Cuonzo.

Did the casual movie fan have any idea what they were looking at? That’s pretty much a rhetorical question.

These pieces were commissioned exclusively for the DVD, which means somebody had to contact the artists, negotiate fees, collect the artwork, scan everything—and then hide it several menus deep on the second disc.

That’s a lot of effort for something many viewers probably clicked through once, if at all.

Still, I love that they did it.

The feature connected the movie back to the comics and gave a wonderfully eclectic group of artists a chance to interpret Spider-Man in their own way.

Wasteful? Possibly.

But compared with today’s nearly bonus-free streaming releases, it also feels pretty terrific.

Color by Frank Cuonzo — it’s Black and White in the DVD.

I couldn’t find a checklist of all the DVD “Bonus” Comic Art Images, so I created one. (It’s an all-star list, in order of how they appear when you click through the gallery):

Note: “Color” denotes the only pieces presented in color in the DVD gallery.

Spider-Man DVD Comic Art Gallery

ArtistFeatured Character(s)Format
Michael DavisGreen Goblin—
Denys CowanSpider-Man—
Chris BachaloSpider-Man & Green GoblinColor
Jae LeeSpider-Man—
Mike AllredSpider-ManColor
David MackSpider-ManColor
Duncan FegredoSpider-Man & Green GoblinColor
J. G. JonesSpider-Man & Green Goblin—
Dave JohnsonSpider-Man—
Frank QuitelySpider-Man—
Terry DodsonSpider-Man—
John CassadaySpider-Man—
Sam KiethSpider-ManColor
Sean PhillipsSpider-ManColor
Michael Avon OemingSpider-Man—
Paul ChadwickSpider-ManColor
Alex MaleevSpider-Man—
Kevin NowlanSpider-Man—
Kevin MaguireSpider-Man & Mary Jane—

Samplings of some of the other DVD art pieces

Sean Chen — Into The Spider-Verse

Original Art and The Artists

FCBD Regional Specaility Print, 2023

Here is a great Spider-Man original from my pal Sean Chen, featuring Miles Morales front and center, with Spider-Gwen—Ghost-Spider—right behind him.

Peter Parker gets a more casual nod through the classic Spidey image on the side of the building, and “Peter Porker” makes an appearance the same way, just for good measure.

It’s a terrific composition—and whenever Sean draws buildings, the level of detail is outstanding.

Sean originally created the piece for a regional Free Comic Book Day print in 2023, and he also brings a version with him to conventions.

Fun, somewhat tangential fact: Someone started a rumor—at least locally here in California—that the first comic-book team-up of Miles, Gwen and Peter may have appeared in our Marvel Action: Spider-Man series from IDW Publishing.

I have no idea whether that is actually true.

I did see speculators buying copies in bulk at a local show around the time the last Spider-Verse animated film was released, but I don’t think they succeeded in cornering the market. You can still find the books pretty readily at cover price or just slightly higher.

I’m not crazy about the coloring on the published print. It obscures too much of Sean’s terrific detail, and while the palette might seem appropriate for the animated film series it doesn’t feel especially “Spider-Verse” here.
But hey—everyone’s a critic, right?

Steve Rude — Spider-Man ‘s Fireworks (Part 2)

Original Art and The Artists

Speciality Piece, 2001

Steve Rude takes on a classic John Romita Spider-Man cover here, and gives it just enough of his own “spin” to make it interesting.

I really like it.

But… I still prefer Romita’s original. His Spidey is more prominent — and, hey, it is Spidey’s book. Torch also gets a little more room to breathe on the published cover.

Plus — nostalgia.

That said, I think Rude’s Torch pose feels more in the moment, especially reacting to Spidey’s webbing — which is fireproof now?

Handy.

Rude also has some fun with the dock setting. The crates, pylons, broken boards, and extra bits make the action feel more like an actual waterfront brawl.

But Romita still wins.

Still, I could afford the Rude reinterpretation. If the Romita ever comes up for sale, I don’t exactly have an extra $250K–$500K lying around.

Which, naturally, is a pity — although I’d probably use that kind of cash for something else.

Unless, of course, I win one of those mega-jackpots with eight figures or more.

In that case, all bets are off.

Pat Olliffe — Spider-Man’s Fireworks (Part 1)

Original Art and The Artists

Untold Tales of Spider-Man #6, February 1996

The Human Torch and Spider-Man: peanut butter and chocolate? Or oil and water?

Maybe both.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the pairing of Marvel’s two original teenage superheroes. Peter Parker and Johnny Storm should probably understand each other better than anyone else in the Marvel Universe.

Naturally, they mostly annoy the hell out of each other.

Which is why I enjoy it.

This terrific Pat Olliffe / Al Vey cover comes from Untold Tales of Spider-Man, a modern retro gem of a series that filled in the gaps between Spidey’s earliest Lee/Ditko adventures. The Kurt Busiek-penned book had the tricky job of feeling new without stepping on sacred ground, and typically it pulled it off.

This cover does the same thing.

It feels classic without being phony-retro — just a clean, punchy Marvel image with Spidey and Torch doing what they do best: racing straight into trouble.

And that’s the fun of them together. Torch is all swagger, Spidey is all wisecracks, and they’re usually over their heads before the story even has a chance to get warmed up.

Pun intended.

Fun fact: It’s a “modern” series only if you’re an old-timer. It’s about 30 years old now, which means it’s roughly as far from us as the original Ditko stories were from it.

Sigh.

Ian Churchill & Norm Rapmund — Supergirl’s Schizophrenia

Original Art and The Artists

Supergirl # 4 (2005 Series), February 2006

This was one of my earliest blog posts (2019), but with the new Supergirl film arriving in a few days, it felt worth revisiting.

This Ian Churchill and Norm Rapmund splash is a personal favorite—and it comes with a good collecting story.

I had to pry it away from my pal Norm. He quoted me a price so high that I was sure he didn’t really want to sell it.

And he was sure I wouldn’t buy it.

Heh.

Years later, I still love the piece. And after seeing the movie trailers, I can easily imagine the current cinematic version of Supergirl doing exactly this to Lex Luthor—without having to split into two personalities first.

The setup is straightforward enough. Black Kryptonite—making one of its earliest comic-book appearances after debuting on Smallville—splits Kara into separate personalities. Her darker half has little interest in restraint. Here she gleefully tears apart the weaponized arm of Luthor’s war suit, sending shards flying in every direction.

Churchill and Rapmund really sell the moment. The exploding machinery is great, but Luthor’s expression may be the best part. It’s a wonderful mix of shock, panic, and the sudden realization that things are not going according to plan.

The new Supergirl movie opens wide in a few days. Whether it turns out to be a hit, who knows?

But I’ll happily wager this original art that it won’t age quite as badly as the 1984 version.

Sorry, Helen Slater. We adore you, but oof… that film.

From Supegirl’s first appearance in Action #252 (May 1959) to the contemporary “Woman of Tomorrow” series (2021), which helps provide the storyline for the upcoming film.


Jack Kirby & Mike Royer — Superman, Embellished

Original Art and The Artists

Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #147, March 1972

Every so often in Jack Kirby’s offbeat Jimmy Olsen run, you run across something extra special.

In this case, it’s a ’70s Kirby Superman, refined by Mike Royer, rather than jarringly redrawn by Al Plastino or Murphy Anderson.

And a rare combination at that. This was Royer’s only inking assignment on Jimmy Olsen, coming in Kirby’s second-to-last issue on the title.

DC’s editors famously insisted that Superman conform to the company’s house style. Looking back, it seems short-sighted and cautious. If you’re hiring Jack Kirby, shouldn’t part of the appeal be seeing what his Superman looked like?

Fortunately, Royer’s refinements didn’t cross the line (no pun intended) into a wholesale redraw, leaving us with perhaps the closest thing to Kirby’s unfiltered Superman published during his original DC run.

And what a book Jimmy Olsen was.

Kirby used a struggling Superman spinoff to launch the Fourth World.

Darkseid. New Genesis. Apokolips…

Then there’s the Newsboy Legion. The Guardian…

And somehow, Don Rickles.

Only Jack could make that seem perfectly logical.