Uncanny X-Men 131 page 18. Colossus in action.

I don't know the seller, but here's another very nice Uncanny X-Men 131 page from ultimate X-art team of John Byrne & Terry Austin. Classic representation of Colossus (in metal form and as Peter), Cyclops, Kitty Pryde, Dazzler, and of course Nightcrawler. Don't forget Wolverine is lurking in 2 panels. The art on this page jumps out and oozes with 80s charisma. Love the third (middle) pane drawn with the cool perspective.

As you can tell, I love the art and story from this time in Uncanny X-Men. Who doesn't like this art, although I know there are a few of you that loath the art and story (Uh don't email me about it, just add your own comments eh and step out of the shadows), although I'm not talking about liking the artist or not for their personality. That could be it's own discussion. Byrne/Austin, Dave Cockrum, Neal Adams, and maybe Lee/Williams, really did some of their best work on this cornerstone Marvel title years ago.

Which brings us back to today. Don't get me started on what I don't like about today's art. I'm really not a fan of the art from current comic books where it usually seems the artist will tailor their artwork towards selling the art after the fact (ie. splashier = $), rather than telling a great story in the book using art. With the exception of a few artists, such as Ethan Van Sciver, most current comic art lacks intricate background details, even details in how the character is drawn, hair, etc. EVS seems to put his heart into each page he draws and esp when he inks his own work. This is good stuff kids. Really outstanding. It's easy to see why he is so popular and in demand. I really started to take notice when he had his run on Green Lantern Rebirth couple years ago.

Back to the auction, 7 days and 18 hours remaining and it's at $4550.00. To refresh your memory, another page from this book featuring Dark Phoenix recently sold for more than $7k. I'll update this post at the conclusion of the auction with realized price and number of bidders.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: The auction has ended at a realized price of $8076.00 with 29 total bids. Seems like Byrne Uncanny X-Men pages are going up as not only they don't come out for sale often, but people are snatching them up when they do.