1983 Byrne Wolverine and Sasquatch pencil sketch

Was just watching this auction end and it sold for about what I thought it would, although it did more than double in the last 10 seconds. :)

Here's a great Wolverine and Sasquatch (of Alpha Flight) pencil sketch from John Byrne done up around 1983 time frame. If my memory serves me right, this is around the time Byrne was working on the Alpha Flight title. This sketch looks highly detailed and in decent shape for a piece of art from that many years ago. Wolverine in the front is 3/4 full-body sketch and with his claws out. Sasquatch takes up all of the background, and looks great. The detail on his hair looks sweet.

Seems like higher quality pieces like this are slowly coming out of the closet and being offered for sale. The realized price seems quite healthy considering we are still in an economic downtime. Don't tell that to the winner of the auction though. Congrats on a stellar piece of original art.

This sold for $2313.88.

1978 Byrne Austin Uncanny X-Men original art

One more to share. I love this stuff. :)

Super cool 1978 Byrne/Austin Uncanny X-Men 116 page 14 which sold for a tad more than $4100 recently. Wolverine, Nightcrawler (Dig it when Wolvie calls him Elf heh) and Storm, all done up in vintage and classic (now timeless) John Byrne and Terry Austin X-art team style. Maybe the best X-art team!

I miss the stories and art from that time. They just made the characters feel more human and less super "tough-guy" mutants, but somehow it was easier to related to them too, like the back and forth dialog back then was as if maybe you or me were talking to them. Maybe it was the late 70s and 80s period, where life maybe was simpler with less sophistication. Today's stuff is more formulated, more defined and less about the reader experience, less about what super hero said. Heck, most books nowadays have at least one, maybe multiple splash or 2/3 splash pages where someone will sell it off for a buck. Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words. But somehow, a picture back then was worth more visually and much more of a treat to the senses. I'm not talking about value of the original art itself. You just got more from the story and books back then... background details were killer sophisticated and elaborate.

If you have any Byrne/Austin Uncanny X-Men pages or splashes for sale, anything Wolverine, Colossus, Cyclops, Phoenix, Marvel Girl, etc.. ping me (email addy on the sidebar). I'd love to throw a cash offer your way. :)

Post-San Diego Comic Con news and Byrne/Austin Uncanny X-Men

Hello original comic book art collectors!! Sorry for the lapse, had a fun-filled early 2009 so far with lots going on in my personal life but hopefully most of that is now sorted out and I can try to share more of what I'm seeing in the market.

For those of you that attended San Diego Comic-Con several weeks ago, hope it was a great show for you. I've seen tons of photos and read many stories. But I'd love to hear more of your own personal stories and your own experiences. Were there any great original comic book art pieces for sale?? Notice any trends for what is selling or being marketed to sell?? Shoot me an email when you get a chance.

As a side note, I do know that Jim Lee X-pages are clearly increasing in value. I'm aware of a couple deals that concluded within the past year of nice pages moving. I'm not going to bother giving specifics but they were really *really* nice splash pages. Is now the time to shell out and upgrade that piece you have sitting at home? Can't answer that, but you can always try to see what you can get for it and if it works, move the piece.

If you have any Lee/Williams X-Men or Uncanny X-Men pages for sale, please do contact me. Would love to throw an offer your way!! :D

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Wanted to share a great looking page from Uncanny X-Men 137 that moved. This was from the Heritage Auction that recently concluded this weekend. Uncanny X-Men 137 page 43. This page features Wolverine and Colossus in a (Reverse) Fastball Special move against Phoenix on the moon. It was the all or nothing move. The layout is pretty sweet on this page and it's a key action sequence. Funny how the pages from this time were not as "splashy" as those in the current books you read. No doubt this is a great historic page!!

This gem sold for $16,132.50 including the gravy.

Byrne Austin Uncanny X-Men 132 page 12

Byrne Austin Uncanny X-Men 132 page 12. I can imagine this one will get at least 3-5k with current valuation of Byrne Austin Uncanny X-Men art. Nice Storm splash in the center panel to boot. :)

Is it just me, or does it seem like there have been many many high ticket items on ebay the past year+ ? With the San Diego Comic-Con just around the corner, maybe this is a sign of the quality of this year's show. I can only imagine the number of gems that will become uncovered there.

If anyone is seeking any other Byrne Austin Uncanny X-Men artwork, I'm aware of a couple other pages that were offered to me from other collectors last month. Lemme know if you might be interested and I can put you in touch with them.

NOTE Image recreated from auction details.

FOLLOW-UP $5,600 and reserve not met.

Uncanny X-Men 137 page 10

Here's a great looking page from one of the most significant comics in the Marvel Universe. Uncanny X-Men 137 page 10 featuring Nightcrawler throughout in the Danger Room, and Angel in the last 2 panels.

These pages don't come up for sale often. If I were to offer a guess on value, I'd put this one at between $4500.00-$6500.00, maybe more for art from this issue.

1) Nightcrawler feature prominently throughout the page.
2) Art from a highly sought after issue (story and art).
3) Classic classic 80s Uncanny X-Men artwork.
4) Byrne, Austin, Claremont. Nuff said.

Get ready to see some all-out bidding in the coming days. Or last 2 minutes.

The cover to Uncanny X-Men 138

Google'd more Byrne/Austin original comic book artwork and noticed that the original cover artwork to Uncanny X-Men 138 sold for $37,375.00 October 14, 2005.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), the Toy's R Us advertisement at the top of the cover really is part of my memory when I think about that cover, other than of course the image of Cyclops walking away from the X-Men with a bag slung over his shoulder. So when I see this original artwork with the banner ad at the top, it looks to me like something is missing. Regardless, this is a classic cover image. Easily one of the best and or most memorable covers in comic book history. Ok, maybe the cover to Uncanny X-Men 137 is more memorable with Phoenix and Cyclops battling on the moon. And then there is the Incredible Hulk 340 cover.. Or the cover to Daredevil 181.. Or the cover to The New Teen Titans 1... Or any number of Neal Adams Green Lantern covers... Animal Man covers stick in my head too... The Wolverine mini-series covers by Frank Miller... I also have a couple Batman covers that stick in my head too.

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.

Uncanny X-Men 131 page 3 sells for $7211.00

This is a great page of original artwork from Uncanny X-Men 131 featuring classic 80s Byrne/Austin X-Men in action, including Dark Phoenix, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and even an early appearance by Dazzler. This auction ended November 7, 2007.

Please see my Byrne/Austin Uncanny X-Men pages for sale and on display at http://www.11by17.com