Please collect the short-lived Bronze Age series, Rima The Jungle Girl, featuring gorgeous art from Nestor Redondo* in his prime. It might not be a best-seller, but fans in the know will thank you profusely will their support.
Trust me on this.
Your pal,
Greg
(No scan or photo will do real justice to this dazzling splash page featuring dozens of exotic and detailed tropical birds.
Captain Marvel fighting alongside… Captain Marvel? Only on this great battle page by the legendary George Perez from the Justice League / Avengers crossover that took more than 20 years to make happen.
And, appropriately, 2024 is the 20th anniversary of its publication. Twenty years ago? How on Earth (1,2, or 616) did that happen?
(Thanks to pal and super collector Michael Lovitz for parting with this one.)
Darwyn Cooke welcomes The Spirit into the DC Universe with this outstanding cover featuring Will Eisner’s legendary creation, facing off against… well another pretty well-known comic book legend.
Cooke’s take on The Spirit is one of my favorites, and this entire double issue, with inks by J Bone and colors by Dave Stewart is simply wonderful. It definitely deserved its Eisner award (so appropriate) for best single issue of 2007.
This cover is the only Spirit art that Darwyn penciled and inked himself, since this issue, and the subsequent ongoing, was inked on separate blue-line by Bone.
Fun fact: The cover was solicited for sale in its original version, and then ultimately flipped for actual publication. Makes sense, since the title is Batman/The Spirit, not the other way around.
Michael Golden draws a terrific Superman here — likely with the most detailed and beautiful cityscape to ever appear on a comics page.
First it was commissioned as a cover — then it went into inventory — then it came back out as a pin-up in the 600th issue of Superman.
And look, I know it was just after 9/11, and the “American Way” theme made sense. But… when you look at the printed cover, and compare it at this amazing Golden piece, you simply shake your head at the missed opportunity.
(Side note: As noted previously, I am a sucker for “happy” Superman art. If you had those powers, wouldn’t you be happy — at least some of the time?)
Nearly everyone I spent some time with at NYCC 2023 ended up with Covid-19. I indeed returned from the show feeling a bit under the weather, but when I tested negative, I assumed I had a case of the more common “con-crud” and went about my business.
Next day, I stopped at a local fast-food taco joint for a seasonal lobster burrito and COULD NOT TASTE IT. So, I went home and took the test again, tested negative, and napped. Woke up, ate dinner, still couldn’t taste a thing, and went back to sleep.
Next morning, tested again. Third time a “charm?” Nope, still negative. Did some homework, and learned the home kits have about a 15 percent false negative result. Called the doctor’s office, and the nurse told me to check back in if I felt worse. I could practically see her shrug through the phone.
Fortunately, I didn’t get worse, and my taste buds returned to normal in a few days. Covid? Maybe. Maybe not. Welcome to the 2020s.
Which makes this great Paul Smith specialty art even greater. In my case, The Joker could have burned the test, and it wouldn’t have mattered.
Oh, and the punchline: Where did I acquire this art?
NYCC 2023.
Kismet, no?
Some additional Paul Smith takes on the Batman family…
Opinions on Bernie Wrightson’s rare inks on Neal Adams pencils range from “dream team” to “dueling styles.”
Personally, I enjoy the combo, But Neal himself is said to have told Bernie he was better off going his own way. And that, I think, we can all agree upon.
As for this great Green Lantern page from Adams legendary run? The top panel feels more Adams dominant to me, and in the cool final panel I see more of Bernie’s efforts.
Your mileage may vary.
(Pictured below the published Green Lantern comic are a few more examples of the Adams/ Wrightson combo: A terrific Batman cover and the splash page to an El Diablo story from Weird Western #12.)
Seriously, each 2-page spread in Promethea is somewhere between great… and stunning. And yet, when pages sell at auction, the realized prices rarely reflect the quality of the work.
A definite head-scratcher, certainly. But a boon for collectors who want a terrific piece of art — from an Alan Moore project, no less — at a ludicrously low price.
And a lunar realm like this one seems like a good place to wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year.
This is obviously a cool splash page from John Byrne’s (story, pencils and inks) run on Wonder Woman. Tremendous detail apparent here.
Less obvious without the published page nearby of course is the terrific coloring here by Patricia Mulvihill. She creates a clear background and foreground with minimal tone, adding depth and clarity to the art.
If you’re curious about plot, Darkseid and his legions have killed quite a few of Diana’s fellow warriors and wrecked Themyscira, but didn’t get what they wanted, so they split.
Remember when DC had some space for some comics that were fun, even playful?
How about Plastic Man, written by Marty Pasko and drawn by the talented and versatile Joe Staton. (Also, he and his wife Hillary are two of the loveliest people you will ever meet. Trust me on this.)
DC will bring back ol’ Plas someday — although, given the current state of the editorial mindset in the industry, there is always a chance he will come back as a schizophrenic who only thinks he can stretch.
Trust me on this, too.
(Fun footnote. Someone at DC must have liked this story as much as I do — it was reprinted just a few years later in 1983’s Adventure #503, the final issue of the series.
