original art
Comics A.M. | Farewell, United Media; comic-book twist in murder case
United Media
Comic strips | After outsourcing all editorial, production, sales, marketing and distribution functions for its 150 comics and other features to Universal Uclick earlier this year, United Media closed the doors on its Madison Avenue office in New York on Friday. [Comic Riffs]
Comic Books | A copy of Detective Comics #27 owned by multimillionaire hotel heir Ben Novack Jr., who was murdered in 2009, could go up for auction and end up paying to defend his widow Narcy Novack. Narcy is facing charges that she had the comic fan and his mother murdered, plundered his bank accounts, then tried to pin the crimes on her own daughter. Narcy’s daughter, May Abad, has persuaded a Broward County judge to hold off on the auction and give her at least 14 days to find suitable storage and insurance for Novack’s massive collection. [Miami Herald]
- July 5, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Paul Pope original art sale explosion
Renowned Canadian comics retailer and art dealer the Beguiling has just made a massive selection of original art from Paul Pope available for purchase. Virtually everything that the cartoonist has touched over the past ten years is represented here in some form: THB, Batman Year 100, Spider-Man: Tangled Web, Strange Tales, Fantastic Four, the Star Trek comic he did with J.J. Abrams for Wired, illustration work for Diesel and DKNY, posters for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, unseen and unused sketches and pinups…Best of all, there’s something for buyers of nearly every budget, as the prices range from a princely three grand all the way down to a measly $50.
“I remember how it felt to be a kid in school and have no money but a passion for art so Beguiling always prices out some inexpensive art,” Pope tweeted, complete with a smiley-face emoticon. Even if you’re only just looking, this stuff’ll put a smile on your face, too. But if you are in the buying mood, better hurry, as it looks like stuff’s going fast.
- June 15, 2011 @ 05:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Saturday Shelf Porn
Welcome once again to Shelf Porn, where we help fans show off their stuff. Today’s submission comes from Harold Yoingco from the Philippines.
If you’d like to have your collection featured here, email me a write-up and some pictures at jkparkin@yahoo.com.
And now here’s Harold …
- June 4, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Donate $25 to liver research, get a free Chris Giarrusso sketch!
Giarrusso's sketch for an Image Comics banner
Chris Giarrusso, creator of the whimsical all-ages comic G-Man, is doing something nice for liver research: He has pledged to do a free sketch for anyone who donates $25 to the American Liver Association’s current fund-raiser. You have to donate through a particular page, which Chris links to on his site, and you can make your request during the donation process or separately; Chris will do a full-figure, black and white sketch of the character of your choice.
(If you’re not familiar with Chris’s work, check out the first chapter of G-Man: Cape Crisis. Good times!)
- May 17, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comico production artwork up for auction
Grendel cover proof
Late last year a huge batch of production art, proofs and other items from defunct comics publisher Comico was listed on eBay. Comico co-founder Gerry Giovinco, now with CO2 Comics, questioned whether the seller, Coyote Surplus, had the right to sell it.
“It always was Comico policy to return all art to the creators. If there is art that was not returned, we are in total agreement that it should be returned to the rightful owners of the work. If you are a creator that believes your work could be among this lot, we would suggest you fight to get it back,” he said on the CO2 blog in December.
So whatever happened to the big batch of Comico production art? In a post titled “Finder Keepers,” Giovinco offers an update on the art and other items — they’ve been purchased by Collector Haven in Arizona. Photos of many of the items can be seen at comicoart.com.
According to a post on the site, Collector Haven bought more than 2,500 pounds of production artwork:
- May 16, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by JK Parkin
Heritage expects to get $100,000+ for The Dark Knight Returns page
from The Dark Knight Returns
Billed as “one of the most important pieces of original comic book art Heritage has ever offered,” Heritage Auctions expects to bring in $100,000 or more for page 10 of The Dark Knight Returns #3 , drawn by Frank Miller.
The iconic shot, arguably one of the most recognizable images from the series besides the covers (and maybe even including the covers), features Batman and the Carrie Kelley Robin leaping through the night.
“Artwork from this famed series is much scarcer than anything else from the period, as demonstrated by the fact that Heritage has only offered two Dark Knight panel pages previously, along with the fact that any splash page – much less a such an undeniably classic image – has never been offered at auction,” Heritage reported in a press release. “This gem has been locked away in a single collection since being purchased upon the series’ original publication. Unlike many pages from the series, where differences between the original art and the published version are evident, no changes were made to this artwork for publication, and the original contains no paste-ups or stats – it’s pure art, just the way it appeared in print.”
Heritage will begin taking bids on April 16, with the final auction running May 5-6. More details on the auction can be found in the press release after the jump.
- March 30, 2011 @ 11:30 AM by JK Parkin
LA anime and art communities join in We Heart Japan benefit
Comics artist, designer and photographer Pinguino Kolb, and voice actress, director, writer and producer Stephanie Sheh have pulled together an art auction, under the name We Heart Japan, to benefit the victims of last week’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
The event will take place at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood on Thursday. Yes, this Thursday: In less than a week, the two have pulled together donations from a number of local artists as well as the anime companies Bandai and Geneon, the anime streaming site Crunchyroll and the anime convention AM2. They are still looking for donations, though; if you are a Los Angeles-area artist and want to contribute framed sketches, paintings or digital art, contact information is on their website (or direct-message them via Twitter). Anime actors and cosplayers will also be there to mingle and sign autographs; check the Facebook page to see who’s coming.
“Japan has always been a huge inspiration for those working in anime and comics, and we’re doing this show as a way to give back to the community there,” Kolb said in an e-mail to Robot 6.
Proceeds will go to the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund, which will work with Japan’s Give One initiative to relay the money directly to local charities that are helping with the relief efforts. And more events are in the offing; follow them on Twitter to get the latest news.
- March 15, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Gift suggestions for every taste | Vintage X-Men game, Brown’s cat cards
Wolverine by Dan Panosian
Brigid did a round-up yesterday of various holiday gift-giving suggestions, so I thought I’d follow suit with some that I’ve seen lately.
• The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is auctioning off original art by Paul Pope, Eric Powell, Gabriel Hardman, Tom Fowler, Dan Paosian and many more, as well as lunch with Chew writer John Layman in New York next week.
• I remember shoveling a whole bunch of quarters into the X-Men arcade game back in the day; my friend Mike and I beat the game as Nightcrawler and Wolverine. If you have an Xbox fan in your life, they too can fight the Blob, Magneto and more in side-scrolling action, as the game will be available on Xbox Live Arcade Dec. 15. The PlayStation Network, unfortunately, won’t get it until February, so you’ll have to find something else this holiday season for the PS3 fan in your life. Joy to the world! The game will hit the PlayStation Network Dec. 14!
• Khepri Comics is selling Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon’s Atelier, a comic they created to sell at conventions.
• Comics creator Ben Towle has a 20 percent off sale going in his web store, where you can purchase original art from books like Midnight Sun, signed copies of Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean and superhero commissions.
- December 9, 2010 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
Welcome to Shelf Porn, our weekly peep into somebody’s comic collection. This week Shawn Borbandy shares a huge number of pictures of his collection of comics, toys, statues and more. Also, I’m trying out a different layout for Shelf Porn this week, so let me know what you think.
If you’d like to share your collection, hit me up! Email pictures and a write-up to jkparkin@yahoo.com. Also, if you’re decorating for the holidays and using any sort of comic book theme on your tree or around the house, we want to see those, too! So take some photos of your ornaments and send them to me as well.
And now let’s hear from Shawn …
- December 8, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
No new comics in the United States today? Well, that’s ok … because we still have some Shelf Porn for you. Today’s Shelf Porn comes from Graham Apperly, who lives in England and shows us his library of graphic novels and collection of wargame miniatures.
If you’d like to contribute to Shelf Porn, it’s easy — just send your photos and write-up to jkparkin@yahoo.com. Also, if you’re decorating for the holidays and using any sort of comic book theme on your tree or around the house, we want to see those too! So take some photos and send them to me.
And now here’s Graham …
- December 1, 2010 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
Welcome once again to Shelf Porn! This week’s shelves were submitted by Richard John Marcej, a toymaker who shares his collection of some of his creations (as well as his comics and other stuff).
If you’d like to contribute to Shelf Porn, it’s easy — just send your photos and write-up to jkparkin@yahoo.com.
And now here is Richard …
- November 3, 2010 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
Welcome once again to Shelf Porn! This week’s shelves were submitted by Rey Taira from San Francisco, who shares his collection of comics, original art, Gundams and more.
If you’d like to contribute to Shelf Porn, it’s easy — just send your photos and write-up to jkparkin@yahoo.com.
And now let’s hear from Rey …
- October 27, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
Welcome to Shelf Porn, your weekly invitation to check out someone’s collection. Today’s Shelf Porn comes from Jason Wood, co-host of the 11 O’Clock Comics podcast and a columnist for iFanboy. Jason shows us his terrific comic room, including his comics, graphic novels and lots of original art.
Jason’s pictures were the last ones I had in the queue, so unless you want to see reruns next week or (shudder) my badly organized shelves, please send your write-up and pictures to jkparkin@yahoo.com as soon as you can. Our readers thank you in advance.
And now here is Jason …
- October 20, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
Help out Derek Kirk Kim by buying some of his original art
The Eternal Smile
In the comments section of one of our posts last week, someone pointed out that comics creator Derek Kirk Kim is selling off some of his original art from The Eternal Smile, the Eisner-winning book he did with Gene Yang, in order to pay for an unexpected bandwidth fee for his website.
“I’m in a financial crunch right now, so I would really, really appreciate the support,” he wrote on his LiveJournal. “Besides everything else, I got linked on reddit last month and got hit with a fat bandwidth fee which I can’t afford.”
You can check out all the auctions here.
- October 18, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
by Jack Davis
Welcome once again to Shelf Porn! Today’s shelves comes from Chad Maupin, a freelance artist who lives in Arkansas. He shares his collection of artwork, prints and more.
If you’d like to contribute to Shelf Porn, it’s easy — just send your photos and write-up to jkparkin@yahoo.com.
And now let’s hear from Chad …
- October 13, 2010 @ 12:29 PM by JK Parkin