Scott Hanna – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Walter Simonson, Scott Hanna & Brian Bendis — Red Hulk, Frequent Flyer

September 22, 2023 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Avengers #28, September 2012

Ten years ago, I purchased this terrific Avengers double page spread by Walter Simonson and Scott Hanna from Scott’s art representative at New York Comic-Con. Scott was at the convention, but I never managed to track him down. Walter was there, so he signed it before I returned to California, but since it was inks over blue-line printed pencils, it definitely needed Scott’s signature as well.

Problem was, I kept forgetting about it during my convention travels.

Finally, coming out of the pandemic two years ago, I see that Scott will be at Baltimore Comic-Con, so I pack it up, fly back East and… he needs to cancel. That’s not on him — a lot of creators cancelled in 2021, many because Covid had started raging again and travel stunk.

Flash forward to a few weeks ago, he’s an announced guest at BCC, so I bring it again, and voila, I catch up to him. Signature acquired.

And as a bonus, when I remind Walter about the piece, writer Brian Bendis happens to stop by, so I end up with a cool bonus signature as well. (He was genuinely delighted to see the original art — writers often don’t see the originals before they make their way back to the artists and/or disappear into the collectors’ market.)

If you’re counting, that’s 12,500 miles of travel for that piece of art.

I should have signed it up for a frequent flyer account.

Scott Hanna with his original art from Avengers #28.(2012). Page and photo from the collection of Greg Goldstein.

Walter Simonson with Brian Bendis and original art from Avengers #28.(2012). Page and photo from the collection of Greg Goldstein.

Baltimore 2022 — Back To The Future (Part 1 Of 3)

November 2, 2022 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

October 28-30, 2022

Big thanks and congrats to all the folks who made this past weekend’s Baltimore Comic Con just as perfect an event could be.

It’s easily one of my favorite conventions — an absolute delight to attend. I exhausted myself catching up with old friends and colleagues, making some new acquaintance, and trying (ultimately not quite succeeding) to see all the great comics-related material in the room.

I miss all of you already.

Walter Simonson — 12 Days of Hulk

December 4, 2021 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Rampaging Hulk Magazine #3, June 1977 and Avengers #28, September 2012

If December makes you think of red and green, then, wow do we have a month for you. (Well, to be fair, mostly green, some red, and a little gray thrown in for good measure.)

It’s “12 days of Hulk” this month — 12 all new art posts devoted to everyone’s favorite rampaging hero, who turns 60 in early 2022.

But first a flashback to the ghost of Christmas past (two years ago, to be exact) with two great Hulk pages by the legendary Walter Simonson. (With help from Alfredo Alcala on the first and Scott Hanna on the second.)

See you back here on Tuesday with a double feature courtesy of Mark Bagley.

John Romita Jr. — Stan’s Fantastic Farewell

January 21, 2021 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

The Last Fantastic Four Story #1, October 2007

Stan Lee, nearly 85 years old at the time, returns to the Fantastic Four for one last tale.

It’s not a groundbreaking story by any means. And it’s not meant to be. Is the dialogue corny in places? Certainly. Is the plot surprising? Nope. An all-powerful big bad (The “Adjudicator”) comes to destroy Earth and pretty much everyone is helpless to stop him. Its up to Reed Richards to figure something out, which ultimately involves the previous almost all-powerful big bad, Galactus.

The entire issue could definitely be an unused story from Lee and Kirby’s FF heyday in the 60s.

Who cares? Not me. Great art from John Romita Jr. (inks by Scott Hanna) make this a fun tribute to the “old days.” Stan works in most of the great supporting characters from the original run, including Doctor Doom and the Silver Surfer.

This page of course features both of them, along with the entire FF. Plus, it’s signed by the entire creative team, because, for once, I had the presence of mind to remember to get that done.

Definitely a keeper.

Graham Nolan — Widescreen

September 17, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Detective Comics #0, October 1994

Graham Nolan delivers an action-packed three-panel page from the peak period of the his and Chuck Dixon’ Batman run in the early 90s. This is of course the same dynamic duo that brought us the supervillain Bane a year earlier.

(I still break into a cold sweat from that page where Bane breaks Batman’s back. But I digress.)

I’m fascinated that 100 percent horizontal panel layouts took such a long time to become more commonplace, especially given the frequent storytelling relationship between comic books and film. Although Hollywood introduced widescreen in the 50s (a marketing ploy primarily to lure audiences away from their TV sets) the square format panel was standard for many years.

Now of course the horizontal panel layout is ubiquitous, but even in 1993 it stood out among the crowd. And this one specifically is a dynamic example of how it can enhance the action.

(All The Batman books had “Zero” issues as part of the broader Zero Hour DC crossover event.)

Fun fact #1:

The first bar I ever (illegally) hung out at as a kid in my Long Island hometown was built by Graham’s grandfather — who had sold it by then. (Pub still there, by the way, hopefully it will survive Covid.)

Fun fact #2:

My pal Joey Cavalieri and I both had an English HS teacher who was a classic barfly at said bar. (Good teacher though).

But these are stories for another day.

David Finch — Iconic

August 6, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Wonder Woman #48, March 2016

Continuing our celebration of Wonder Woman for the next few weeks — no matter when the new film finally releases.

David Finch provides us with a beautifully illustrated, classic splash page of Wonder Woman in flight. An iconic pose, it could easily be used in a DC licensing style guide.

She’s wearing her “2011” costume, which disappeared with much fanfare in issue #41 — and then mysteriously reappeared, without explanation, a few issues later. (The interim issues had featured a brand new costume design by Finch and his writing partner and wife, Meredith.)

Finch’s detailed and lush artwork speaks for itself, of course. He is easily one of the most well regarded artists of the 21^stcentury.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing quite a few of his originals from his inkers (this piece is inked by the terrific Scott Hanna) and their art reps.

All great.

*Wonder Woman media costumes through the ages.*

Walter Simonson with Scott Hanna — Hulk Naughty…

December 22, 2019 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Avengers #28, September 2012

It’s a Red Hulk / Green Hulk Walter Simonson-themed Christmas, with Red Hulk stepping up first.

Red Hulk appears very angry — that’s no way to behave during the Holiday Season! — in this marvelous double page spread by Walter Simonson.

The notorious deadline crunch has come calling — this is blue-line inked original art (the pencils exist separately) with inks by the talented Scott Hanna, who embellishes Walter’s pencils pretty faithfully on this spread.

Walter of course does not part with pages that he both pencils and inks, which means this is one of only a few scenarios where one can own a Simonson published page.

And even though his actual pencils never touched the paper, its a great Simonson example to have. Storytelling on a DPS can often be tricky, but Walter develops this one with a combination of clarity and creativity. (Note the panel size variety and “camera angles.” )

As for Red Hulk? Nothing good usually comes from picking a fight with the X-Men, no matter what the time of year.