Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Gil Kane & George Perez — Dinos, Bigger And Better

Original Art and The Artists

Jurassic Park #4, August 1993

Here are two great pages from the final issue of the 1993’s Jurassic Park adaptation, penciled by Gil Kane and inked by the George Perez. As I noted previously, the key Dino action takes place in issue #4 which covers half (or more) of the film. (Thanks a lot, Universal.)

Fun fact: Universal had a giant launch party for the JP licensing and marketing program at New York City’s Museum of Natural History in February 1993 (at the annual Toy fair event) and Topps received several invites. So what happens when I hop out of the Subway to walk to the museum? I run into George Perez, and we make our way in together. I had a great time, but George was even more thrilled. It was clear he was absolutely delighted to be a part of this.

Fun fact #2: Topps also had a few invites to the NY premiere of Jurassic Park at the Ziegfeld Theater and Walter and Louise Simonson were able to accompany us to the theater, and a swell time was had by all. But, apparently, the final version of the shooting script had not made it from Universal / Amblin to Topps to Walter, so naturally he immediately noticed that his script and the Final Cut differed in a few places. (Fortunately, only a few.)

Oh well…

Gil Kane & George Perez — 30 Years of Jurassic

Original Art and The Artists

Jurassic Park #3, July 1993

Jurassic Park opened thirty years ago June 11, so it seems like an ideal time to present some more great Jurassic Park pages from 1993’s adaptation drawn by Gil Kane and George Perez this week. (I still can’t believe it’s been thirty years.)

Here’s a terrific splash from issue three, with George’s telltale detailed inking mostly only evident in the original art; the color obscures many of those fine details in the published page.

Fun fact: Because of licensing restrictions (including embargo dates) and publishing schedules, the film’s script and the four-issue comic breakdown are somewhat uneven. Not that much happens in Issues #1 and #2. Issue #3 has this cool opening, and some cool T-Rex action in the second part, but most of the exciting Dino action happens in issue #4. (Writer Walter Simonson did a terrific job balancing the script under those challenging restrictions.)

For more on that, check back in on Friday.

Al McWilliams — Reborn In Battle

Original Art and The Artists

Savage Combat #1, February 1975

Alden (“Al”) McWilliams might have drawn this beautiful splash page form Atlas’ 1975 Savage Combat Tales partially (or entirely) from personal memory. He served in WWII and won the bronze star for his actions during the D-Day invasion in 1944.

He of course is among many comic book artists and cartoonists who went from depicting battles with pen and ink to participating in them with actual flesh and blood.

(Story by Archie Godwin, who had previously edited the brilliant Blazing Combat mag from Warren.)

As noted previously, The Atlas/ Seaboard books have never been reprinted, and that will likely remain that way because of rights issues. I’m hearing of late that demand is now much greater than supply on many of these short-lived and mostly obscure titles.

Al Williamson — Return Of… Return Of The Jedi

Original Art and The Artists

Return of the Jedi, #2, October 1983

Forty years ago, today — 

On a warm sunny day in NYC, my friends and I restlessly stood on a movie theater line, a line like many others that day, that wrapped around the proverbial city block. But did it matter that much? We had waited three years for this. What’s another three hours? (For the record, the theater, now gone, was the Loew’s 34th Street Showplace, near Second Ave.)

Return of the Jedi was opening that day, and we figured the Star Wars saga would reach its dramatic — and inevitable — conclusion. End of the story. (How naïve — but we were young and foolish.)

Somehow, I had the discipline and willpower to avoid opening Marvel’s ROTJ magazine adaptation which I owned for about two weeks prior to the film’s release date. (I did not have that same willpower three years prior for ESB, but that’s a story for another day.)

An original piece of art from that graphic novel adaptation, by the legendary Al Williamson, is a prized possession. Here’s my original 2019 post about the art:

Lush brushwork. Clear storytelling. Impeccable detail. Accurate anatomy and likenesses.  Al Williamson’s page from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi adaption speaks volumes about realizing potential in adapting other mediums to comics.

George Lucas had the power to choose the artist to draw the Marvel Empire Strikes Back adaption and he had the good sense to choose Al Williamson.

Al’s gorgeous art on classic EC science Fiction stories as well as Flash Gordon had clearly made an impression.

Fortunately for us, Williamson agreed to also illustrate the Star Wars newspaper strip (after Russ Manning’s untimely passing), and he ultimately came back for Return of the Jedi adaption as well.

On all three projects — plus a handful of stories in the regular comics — Al delivered. It’s some of his finest work.

Williamson kept much of his Star Wars related art, and his estate now owns it.  Nearly all the originals that have come on the market are those once owned by his assistants or inkers.

This great page from ROTJ has a more interesting provenance. Superstar inker Mike Royer received it from Al (see inscription) shortly after publication. It remained in his collection for many years.

So, it’s not only a great piece of original art, but it also has a great story behind it as well.

And it’s a cornerstone of my collection.

Yes, we waited in line. (That’s me, Star Wars sartorial in a bootleg “REVENGE” of the Jedi t-shirt.) I have a feeling the line on the other side of town was more interesting.

Jim Starlin — Cosmic Schizophrenia

Original Art and The Artists

Infinity Abyss #4, September 2002

“We are considering turning the universe inside out.”

Jim Starlin delivers a classic and trippy page from his Infinite (figuratively, and sometimes literally) cosmic series featuring Adam Warlock, Gamora, Thanos, et al.

Starlin. Cosmic. Trippy. Nuff said.

Well, almost…

If you told me when I was a kid that we’d have Warlock Happy Meal toys someday, I would have called the drug overdose hotline on your behalf. Trippy indeed.

The Art Of The Library

Original Art and The Artists

Columbia University, April 2023

Happiness is a terrific graphic novel library.

Pictured is just one tiny part of the incredible collection at Columbia University curated by my pal, Karen Green, part librarian, part force of nature. From three books a few years ago — to three full rooms(!) of some of the best material published in the medium thanks to her tireless efforts. (Not to mention the acquisitions of personal papers and ephemera from some of the best-known names in the industry.)

Here we can see some of the shelves dedicated to the oversized material, including many of the original art “Artist Editions” titles I was fortunate enough to publish during the halcyon days at IDW Publishing. These of course were edited and curated by another pal, editor par excellence Scott Dunbier.

I cannot tell you how pleased I was to see the scope of this collection at my Alma Mater. 

(Illustration of Karen below from Columbia Magazine by Nick Sousanis)

Bill Morrison — Lives In A Yellow Submarine, Too (2)

Original Art and The Artists

The Beatles Yellow Submarine Graphic Novel, 2018

At IDW, we made an enthusiastic and energetic effort to publish this Beatles Yellow Submarine Graphic Novel.  Gave it the “college try” as the old cliché goes. Or “full court press” to employ another common phrase.

But it wasn’t meant to be. Titan picked up the rights (Maybe it was the British connection) and ended up with a fun graphic novel, brilliantly and lovingly penciled by Bill Morrison and inked by Andrew Pepoy and Tone Rodriguez.

This page features all four Beatles, the sub itself (multiple times), and key protagonist “Old Fred.” Minus a blue meanie or two, what’s not to like?

Jose Delbo — Lives In A Yellow Submarine

Original Art and The Artists

Commission, based on artwork from The Yellow Submarine, (originally February 1969)

Coming up faster than I would like to acknowledge is the 55th anniversary of the (1968) release of the wild and wonderful Beatles’ Yellow Submarine animated feature film.

Gold Key (Western Publishing) published the adaptation of the film and charged 35 cents(!) for a copy, partly due to size (64 pages), and partly due (I assume) to steep licensing fees. It was the most I ever paid for a new issue of a comic book at the time. (Marvel and DC annuals were 25 cents.)

Jose Delbo nailed the film’s psychedelic aesthetic perfectly; I’ve never seen an actual original page from the adaptation, so I assume the pages were either destroyed or ended up in a Beatles archive somewhere, waiting to be rediscovered.

In the meantime, Jose’s great commission (undated, probably early 2000s) will do quite nicely.

Kevin Maguire — Mary Marvel Gets VERY Angry

Original Art and The Artists

Formerly Known As The Justice League #3, November 2003

Mary Marvel beats the nuclear daylights out of Captain Atom in this innovative, and terrific action page, by Kevin Maguire.

Everything about this page works for me: Storytelling, composition, movement, and the absolute rage on Mary’s face.

She’s pissed.

Of course, since it’s comics, and we know Mary is an otherwise lovely person, she’s clearly under some sort of mind control. Everything will eventually be fine, yes? Well, in this reunion of the classic 80s JLA creative team (Writers J.M. Dematteis and Keith Giffen, Maguire, and inker Joe Rubenstein) who can say?

Or maybe she’s just upset that the collection of this Eisner-winning series is unavailable. That annoys me, too.

Marvel Cut-Ups

Original Art and The Artists

Marvel Value Stamps: A Visual History, by Roy Thomas, 2023

Marvel Value Stamps: A Visual History took me by surprise as one of the most intriguing books on the history of comics publishing this year.

I never clipped out the 1970s stamps; I was savvy about collectible value at that point, and I certainly didn’t have the budget or inclination to buy two copies of every comic, especially titles I would have never collected in the first place. (Just for the record — A few years earlier, I had made a DIY scrapbook of Marvel covers by cutting up the house ads for new issues. So, I wasn’t always “savvy.”)

The book offers a comprehensive history of the program’s evolution, which originated from a similar gimmick in the UK. Roy Thomas, the author, walks us through Stan Lee’s “seat-of-the-pants “approach to developing and executing the program, which was typical of Marvel.

For me, the book’s most compelling aspect is how it focuses on art and its transformation and re-purposing. The book is detailed and captivating, presenting the original source art for each stamp alongside the full letters page, which is where the published stamp appeared.

On some of my favorite pages, we see art for the original covers as well as the altered reprints. 

My only quibble? I wish the trim size was the same as an actual comic book. (It’s smaller.) Makes it hard on the eyes in places, especially the letters pages. And let’s face it: The prime audience for this title is well into the reading glasses phase.

Priced at $29.95, the book itself is a bargain, regardless of whether you collected the stamps – or not.