Show and Tell: Original Comic Art!

Redartz:  Welcome to the first edition of "Show and Tell", a place where we can all share stories AND images of our favorite hobby! For our initial presentation, we will look over some examples of original comic art . Original art is a fascinating area of specialization in the world of comics: it includes anything from the actual drawn page that was used to produce a comic, to personalized sketches and illustrations from a favored creator. And of course, one appeal to original art: each piece is unique. Hence the astronomical prices some pages bring at auction! 

And now, with no further delay,here are some artworks for your inspection and appraisal. Beginning with a few pieces from the collection of our esteemed co-host Martinex1:

Jack Kirby's Fourth World

Trio #3, p. 9

Martinex1:  (Left)  this page is by John Byrne from his run on Jack Kirby's Fourth World (DC). I liked the detail of this page - the horses, the classical period garb, and all of the details.  Sometimes Byrne can be a little leaner in the background details, but not here.   There is plenty to look at.

(Right)  John Byrne is more of a minimalist on his IDW series TRIO.  I like this page for different reasons.  It is a relatively simple layout, but it has a lot of Byrne's style in the machinery and the face of the character.   

Obviously I am a John Byrne fan, so below is another page from him; this time it is from his work on Justice League: Classified (Issue #54 to be exact). It is a great page in my opinion; the rubble and overall action with the monster is distracting at first, but if you look more closely at the bottom panel, all of the JLA headliners are lightly outlined and silhouetted. I really liked that.  None of these works were very expensive.   Byrne's material from the Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, and other work from earlier in his career can have astronomical prices.   But you can still get some nice pages from much of his later work at a reasonable price.   He does some beautiful commissions as well.

Justice League Classified #54, p. 19

Redartz:  Here we have Colin Bray's submission: a page by Dan Jurgens, inks by Rick Burchett. 

Colin Bray:  It's not a sought after page. In purchasing, I just wanted to see what OA looks like in the hand. Interesting to see the two editorial corrections- both to address speech balloon issues.

Justice League Vol. 2, #64, p. 12

 Redartz:  And now, a few pieces from my wall, starting with a Betty and Veronica page by Dan Parent. I'm not sure what comic this page is actually from, but hey, it's an original. Some faint dialogue is visible in pencil...

Next we have the first piece of original artwork I ever acquired: a page of the Guardians of the Galaxy by penciller Al Milgrom and inks by Terry Austin. I love the 'space frog', and the distorted images of the Guardians.

Marvel Presents #6, p.3

 

(Left)  An ink drawing of the Earth 2 Batman, by Joe Staton. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a convention years ago, and he did this marker sketch while I watched. 
(Right)  A pencil sketch of the Thing, by Ron Wilson. Another convention sketch (I try to get some piece of art at every con I attend).

Finally, a sketch of the Hulk by Walt Simonson. Walt did this sketch for me as payment for a purchase from my dealer's table at a convention waaaay back in 1975. The lined notebook paper is yellowing, but it still hangs proudly on the wall...

Hope you enjoyed this little walk through the BitBA "gallery". Look for more opportunities to "Show and Tell" in the future!

Feelin' Kinda Sunday!

Martinex1:  We are heading into some March madness, so today is a good day to kick back, relax, and enjoy some good company.  Believe it or not, we've got some great things coming this month!

THIS PAST WEEK:  We hopped on a bandwagon and spent most of our days discussing music.  Whether comic soundtracks, stage and screen musicals, Dr. Demento's silly songs, or secondary album efforts - we had it here this week.   We also conversed about pets, JLA teammates jumping to Marvel, and our comic storage systems.  Lots of great comments in the past few days, so check it out.

COMING SOON: Redartz rolls out the Show and Tell feature he has been promising these past few Sundays.   We will continue ranking and filing the top team superstars.   And we will pull some bronze age treasures from the past in our second outing of  Pulled from the Pack.   All that and more this week.

RECOMMENDATIONS: It's been a busy week, so let me share just a few photos of movies, books, and games you might want to check out.   Feel free to add your own recommendations for food, novels, films, biographies, blogs, or anything else you think is worthwhile.  Have a great week!

Bananagrams

Flannery O'Connor Stories

Unagi Maki  (Eel)

Year of the Dragon

Sound and the Fury: Not the Best Album, but...

Martinex1:  It seems to be turning out to be a rather "musical" week here at BITBA, and today will be no different.

There are spectacular bands and solo acts who occasionally make lesser-received albums. Not everything can be Who's Next, Led Zeppelin IV, Moving Pictures, or Aja.   The bar is set high, and then for whatever reason a particular work just does not quite reach the typical standard.  The critics may not like it as much as usual, or the selling numbers just don't peak, or it does not have a hit single, or the group itself went through some cataclysmic change.  Back in the day, some of these types of albums would end up in the cut-out rack at the record store for a discounted price.

No matter what the reason, I have found that some of these less played albums land amongst my favorites.   Not always, but sometimes the offbeat album can have some more experimental offerings that are fun to listen to.   And other times, it is unlistenable and sheer dreck. 

So today, let's talk about what you consider to be albums worth listening to (or at least great songs worth listening to) from some of the lesser known recordings from any great artist.   Or feel free to say, "No! That album was horrible!"   There are no limitations on your opinion here at BITBA. Take the conversation where you will and to whatever songwriter, band, or musical act you prefer.  Here are some records from the 70s, 80s, and 90s that you may want to consider as you ponder the question.  Have fun and cheers!

 

Two Questions: Team Switches and Pets!

Redartz:  Hello, greetings, welcome! Thanks for stopping by today. As your reward, here's a couple of quick queries  for you today: 

1.  Pick one member of the Justice League to cross over and join the Avengers, who would be the best fit? 



 

















 2.  Do you have a favorite childhood pet memory?

 

Adventures in Comics: Storage Stories

Redartz:  Greetings and salutations, everyone! It's storytime again at the ol' BitBA, and in this installment we are discussing storage issues (or issues that you stored, whatever). Collecting anything is a fun and rewarding hobby, but one challenge is finding a way to store and preserve your treasures. Comic books, particularly, can get rather bulky when you are talking about hundreds or even  thousands of individual items. Then there is the question of preserving them; paper memorabilia are notoriously vulnerable to light, moisture, insect damage, and other threats. So what can we do to keep our comics safe, sound, and convenient to read?

 
The first line of protection has traditionally been "bags and boards". An acid-free board inserted behind your comic, in a protective comic bag or sleeve helps keep the book flat and guards against dirt and moisture. And most comic aficionados are familiar with boxes, long and short, sized to fit comic books. You can generally fit between 100 ( in a short) to 250 (in a long) comics in such boxes. Here we have two kinds; the standard and the stackable pull-out box...

Of course, a full box of comics gets rather heavy. Also, the standard boxes (with a fitted top) become a nuisance when stacked, if you're trying to pull a particular comic to enjoy. And pull-out boxes, while nice, are a problem to stack as well, as you need to support the removable section.



 
For many years I avoided boxes; I stacked my books on a set of metal shelving. I kept it to stacks of about 50 books, and would periodically turn the stacks over to help prevent permanent curling and spine roll. In this photo, you get a glimpse inside my college apartment with those shelves visible. Those shelves were fairly sturdy, and inexpensive, but could wobble a bit. And at the time, I had close to 10,000 comics so turning those stacks could be time-consuming. By the time I got married, I had broken down and loaded those comics into standard boxes.








 

Nowadays, though, my collection is much smaller, about 1500 comics. And I got tired of hunting through boxes stacked in my small closet (you have to get down on all fours, pull out the top four boxes on top and then access the bottom boxes, if the comic you want is located there). So I picked up a set of wooden bookshelves at a local flea market, and added reinforcing hardware and supports on the shelves. Then I loaded most (but unfortunately not all) of my comics onto those shelves,  standing vertically. That way I don't have to flip stacks, and spine roll isn't a potential threat. The boards in the bags help keep them straight, and the solid ends keep the books upright. The comics are easily available; just reach and pull (an upcoming project is to create tabs so I can alphabetize the books and more readily search through them). An added benefit: this bookshelf is fairly deep, which allows me to prop some comics up at the front. So now it serves not only to store comics, it also becomes a display shelf: 

Through the years, I've been pretty lucky. These storage techniques have worked well at keeping my collection intact. I haven't had a shelf collapse or water leak; the worst I've dealt with have been cat attacks on the long boxes (and on the occasional loose book). Knock on wood...

What means have you used to store and display your comics? Any unique ideas that the rest of us might imitate? Perhaps you are one of those fortunate enough to have an acual 'spinner rack'. Have your books stayed safe, or have you had any 'storage issues' that caused problems? Let's hear your stories...

Short Cuts: The Dr. Demento Show!

Redartz:  Greetings, all! How many of you grew up demented? I sure did (as my wife and sons will attest to). Specifically, I spent countless Sunday nights in the 70's and 80's listening in the dark of my bedroom to the jolly madness of the Dr. Demento Show! The Good Doctor was my introduction to the inspired music of Stan Freberg, Weird Al, Allan Sherman and many others. I went "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" with Tom Lehrer, and got 'taken away, ha haaaa' with Napoleon XIV. You see, the same twisted sense of  humor that colors my comic book preferences also taints my musical tastes: I love a good novelty song (and I also love a bad one). 

Every week the Doctor would present two hours of tuneful fun, often including a few never-before heard recordings. And the show would conclude with the week's "Funny Five" countdown. All told, there was enough musical dementia to keep me chuckling for the remainder of the week. 

Any other citizens of the "Land of Dementia" out there? Favorite songs, performers? Unstrap the straightjacket and let's staaaaaaaay demented!!!!!

 

Two fantastic collections of the Dr. Demento Show's greatest hits...

Weird Al, who got a big helping hand early in his career from the Doctor Demento Show...