Chris Ryall – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

John Byrne — “Gronk” (Jurassic Park Rerelease)

June 11, 2022 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Jurassic Park: The Devils in the Desert #1, January 2011

NYCC, about six years ago: I had previously heard a lot about John Byrne’s house and all the various art and collectibles that made up some of the décor, but hadn’t had a chance to get up to the wilds of Connecticut to check it out.

This time I was determined.

So, one rainy day at the end of convention hours Chris Ryall and I trudged our way through monsoon-like rain (seriously, no exaggeration) to Grand Central Station, and headed up north.

After one missed connection (rain again), we eventually made it up to Byrne’s town.

We dried off during a nice meal with John at a local Chinese restaurant, and headed back to his house.

It was everything as described. Great collectibles and memorabilia, and some great art hanging in his studio by comic book legends John admired. (No surprise, lots of Jack Kirby.)

Chris had already a working relationship with John, and in fact had been to his house previously. But I had actually not seen Byrne since the early 90s, and he had no memory of our meeting, nor should he.

As many colleagues can share, John can be reserved at times. Regardless, he was gracious, and he definitely warmed up a bit as we discussed art in detail while I enjoyed the tour. (Or, he was just being polite to his publisher. Ha.)

At the end of the night, he pointed us to his flat files of art and told us to each take something. These files were a potpourri of recent projects, pieces he had yet to give to his art representative to sell for him.

Chris found a page from DC’s OMAC series that John was especially proud of. I was a bit more interested in something that we had published at IDW, and after some deep digging, I came up with this great Jurassic Park double-page spread from the mini-series John created for us.

He was delighted that I admired it, and I, of course, was delighted with his generosity. It is a great piece, and to date, I walk past it every day and smile.

Permanent collection, for certain.

Getting it back to California from New York wasn’t easy, but that’s a story for another day.

Thanks again, JB!

*I love the way the covers link up, especially issues #1 and #2.*

Gabriel Rodriguez — Supernatural Talent

October 28, 2021 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Locke and Key: Keys To The Kingdom #1, August 2010

Locke and Key has returned with a second season on Netflix this past week, and I’m looking forward to catching up to it shortly. As we wrote about previously, it was a long and tortuous road to get here, and I’m glad that the show performed well enough to get picked up for additional seasons.

Regardless, in this case at least, the graphic novel will never be improved upon by another medium and it remains one of IDW Publishing’s greatest achievements.

This cool page has Bode dealing with his transformation into a character that looks a bit like Calvin from the classic Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. Too much like Calvin in the original pencils, if I recall correctly.

But I digress.

Some of the page was created and edited digitally (see below) so the original art is clean and lean — and captures Gabe’s terrific storytelling and draftsmanship that makes the story so compelling.

John Byrne — No Shrinking Violet

August 31, 2021 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

The All New Atom #3, November 2006

John Byrne pretty much wrapped up his 21^st century run at DC with the launch of The All New Atom in 2006. Great art and storytelling, but John only drew the first three issues in the series (with nice finishes by Trevor Scott) before departing.

This might have been bad news for DC’s Byrne fans, of course, but, selfishly, it was good news for us at IDW Publishing. Byrne’s Next Men ultimately returned, and John found time for some additional Star Trek series and a fun Jurassic Park mini, among many others.

Gail Simone created the character and wrote this Atom series, and like all of Gail’s work, it was a fun take, with Ryan Choi as the Atom’s alter ego, replacing Ray Palmer.

Also, Gail is one of the liveliest and funniest (and prolific) comics creators on Twitter.

Trust me on this.

See you back here next Tuesday. Have a safe and fun Holiday weekend!

Alex Toth — Toys For The Holidays (Part 1)

December 27, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Hot Wheels #2, June1970

Mattel’s introduction of Hot Wheels in 1968 brought the 60s Cultural Revolution into miniature toy cars.

I had casually collected matchbox cars previously, and enjoyed them, but Hot Wheels’ souped up designs and colors were game changers. I couldn’t get enough.

And those crazy bright orange track sets and accessories? Near the top of my list for Hanukah 1969 and 1970, if I recall correctly.

DC jumped into the Hot Wheels business with a short-lived (six issues) licensed comic book series based on the animated TV series. Alex Toth, who knew both comics and cars well, and had developed the look and feel of the TV series, drew many of the stories.

I’ve tried for years to collect those six issues into a deluxe hardcover. In fact, I’ve had multiple meetings with senior execs at Mattel who all agree that it absolutely should be collected. Then, when push comes to shove, a contract never appears. My theory, and it’s based on similar situations, is that no one wants to take responsibility for the legal time and money spent on a project that ultimately doesn’t have much revenue potential in the scheme of things.

Sigh. Alex Toth’s art should never, ever remain in limbo.