Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns original art sketch

Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" original artwork doesn't come on the market very often, if ever. I think the last public transaction for a page from that book was more than $35,000.00. So when this sketch hit eBay, it was difficult to figure out true value. While on one hand it is clearly era accurate and from Frank Miller, this sketch wasn't published and wasn't as detailed as his inked pieces. But it sure is a BIG 11by17 large piece of art, and features Batman and Robin from the mini series.

Regardless, this selling for a tad North of $10k seems like a good price for whoever was lucky enough to win the auction.

From the auction:

Important ... there is a bend ( maybe an inch or less) in the lower left hand corner (non live art area) ... and there is also a stain on the upper left hand border ( also non live art area) of what appears to be possibly rubber cement or another yellowish type substance... there is a bit of pencil smudging in places and on the back of the paper! see pics above please.. i do not want to mislead anyone of the condition... And only serious bidders please! thank you

Frank Miller original artwork ...drawn on dc cover stock paper (measuring 12 x17 inches) in 1990 as a special 75th birthday gift to former DC comics editor Julius "julie" Schwartz.... this is a fully penciled and inked illustration of Batman and Robin from Millers Dark Knight 4 issue comic series. It also has a signed inscription from miller on it to Julius. I had asked Julius to sign the artwork in the border area (non live area of the art work) ... and after much debate he agreed to sign the artwork ... my argument was a simple one... this type of museum quality piece has a great deal of historical significance to it and thus it would make perfect sense that Julius should sign it. After all it was the mans 75th birthday ( that's significant enough in it's own right.. a milestone indeed), but to be honored in such a way because he was so beloved by the artistic community , both comics and sci-fi! Julius was a no nonsense kind of a guy... he was the first one to tell you " to always be on time with the work " ... yet he was also the first guy to tell a dirty joke! He was a character all right... he will never be replaced! I miss the days of having dinner and hearing the best stories about the hay day of DC ... about Carmine Infantino...about the greats... the ins and outs of the business. Even after Julius retired from DC he was always welcomed back in the offices... in fact everyone was always excited to see him... this goes way back to the 666 address or the devil building as everyone called it ( dc has moved twice since ) .. and frankly without people like Julie ... the heart and soul of the industry no longer feels the same. Comics aren't comics these days... Thats why pieces of this magnitude are so vital to the legacy of comics ! Frankly i know i didn't even have to mention all this... most will look at this artwork... and the true connoisseurs of this medium will immediately recognize just how amazing this piece is. For one it was a period in Miller's life when he was about to do Sin City... his style ...his technique would soon blossom into what we old timers see as the Steranko-Eisener- Wood style. Yet Miller made it his own..that's what true masters of the medium often do, they transform, they morph... they emerge as front runners of evolution. This art is still inspired by Millers 1980's look yet it is a hint of what's to come on Sin City. Julie was still editor when Miller was doing Ronin--- his ode to Moebius and slew of other artists ... than he decided to simplify his look... once again... and so Dark Knight was born... This artwork is simply gorgeous . This is a holy grail piece in any collection... if it was published it would command way over $150,000 easily! But this is a different type of treasure. It was a gift made to a friend... and the work shows... it is a labor of love... it is a master piece ( just look at the detail in the work, wow.. that my friends takes skill, effort and lots of time). Like i said i didn't have to say any of this... but the old sales man in me just can't help himself. Just imagine trying to find something of this quality ...guess what ...an average dark knight page sells for $40,000.... try finding a splash or a cover ... over $100, 000 easily each one...maybe more ( what am i saying a cover would fetch more like $200,000)! and you can't even find them, no one wants to part with them! now try to get a sketch... good luck since miller hardly ever even does a doodle these days and if he does... it's just that a doodle... And lets play devil's advocate and say that somehow you convince Miller to draw you a piece... ( lets say you are a millionaire and it's for a good cause... and for the sake of argument he agrees... trouble is... miller no longer draws in this manner. This is a bygone era stylistically ... so unless you have a time machine you can no longer ask miller to draw in the same iconic style as his days of the Dark Knight! Simply put the odds of getting something classical like this are well... 1 in a million. Imagine being able to say to someone "oh yeah i own a dark knight miller piece circa 1990" than watch the jawdrop... now picture having this piece in your home... i mean it humor me .... close your eyes than pick out a wall in your home and picture this artwork hanging up in a beautiful lustrous thick jet black ( pure ebony) frame, with professional archival matting ( trust me don't cheap out .. a good framing job is worth it..around $500 to $600, after all this is an investment in art , in history, and for the real collector... the love of comics). What more can i say... i mean i can go on and on and never shut up... but it's late and i am tired and i have other auctions to put up... segway into... please check out my other auctions.. i have a drew struzan ...sent from drew to me personally ...we actually traded artwork! And from the master Jose Luis Garcia Lopez a beautiful illustration done for me... the images were used for DC Products.. lunch boxes.. etc... and there is a JC leyendecker painting and an Andrew Loomis painting! What can i say my life's collection... well its time to pass it to others... no no don't get me wrong this old war horse is not dropping dead anytime soon... i am just looking to acquire bigger and better things ( of course beauty is all in the eye of the beholder) Good day my dear readers! god bless..happy bidding! Cheers

James Jean REBUS opening reception - Martha Otero Gallery LA

Just got back from a weekend in LA which included attending the public opening night reception for James Jean's REBUS art show at the Martha Otero gallery. If you are a fan of his work already, you will be blown away when you see these pieces in person and up-close. From the large scale to the minute details, to the exquisite palette color range, to the depth of the pieces, just a magnificent showcase of his work.

The gallery was full and lots of excitement in the air. I got there shortly after it opened at 6p but within 30 minutes it was filled up where your photos of the art include shadows, heads, arms or random people in them. The standing room only crowd was very pleased with what they saw including a dozen or so large wall sized painted pieces as well as pieces from his sketchbook, and smaller painted pieces. His new scarf is much more impressive when viewed in person. I just learned that proceeds from the sale of it will go to the Red Cross towards assisting those affected by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear fallout problems in Japan.

UPDATE See the Michelle Phan narrated YouTube video of how you or your girlfriend can fashionable wear it. I'm gonna guess they weren't selling well previously...until this video came out and or the change to donate funds. I heard only the black/white variation remains. The scarf looks pretty nice framed though, and it's different. 9 Different Scarf Ideas

James Jean arrived by 7:00p and hung out towards the garden patio, greeting guests and chatting with friends. After moving inside, crowds started forming around him and then a modest line to chat and or get photos and autographs.

He had a limited number of invitations printed and available on the table at the show. Beautiful heavy card stock with the REBUS logo in silver on black, and the backside had information on the event on white. He signed these for guests and was as always very gracious in meeting his young and old fans. A very small number of large digital prints of selected pieces were available for sale from the gallery as well, from what I could tell quickly sold-out.

If you attended the event, feel free to post links to your photos in the comment section if you want to share with others. Nice meeting some of you at the reception. Nice to finally put a face to the email address. :)

Here is a link to the gallery which has some nice images of the final REBUS installation.
Martha Otero Gallery

This installation will be there through April 30, 2011.

Awesome Byrne Uncanny X-Men, Perez Sinnot FF, Pollard Thor, Starlin Dreadstar and JRJR Ironman 80s art jam

Here's a sweet Byrne Uncanny X-Men, Perez/Sinnot Fantastic Four, Pollard Thor, Starlin Dreadstar, and Romita Jr Ironman jam piece. Current going for $11,000.00 ($13,145.00 with premiums). This one will go up more.

I'll update this after the auction ends in about 10 hours.

Miller Daredevil 172 page 15 original comic book art

Here's a sweet Miller Daredevil 172 page of original comic book art that featured Bullseye and Kingpin from that classic run. This was the last issue that Miller fully penciled.

This fits the definition of an interior page in every way. Smaller individual artwork from the "middle" of the story. There is no splash element to this page. If anything, this page is extra dark with the (moody but great) Klaus Janson inks from that period.

But what makes this page so great is the awesome layouts, fascination storytelling (layouts) by Frank Miller, wonderful inks by Klaus Janson, and the uniqueness of the long elongated panels. This won't be the last time you hear me say this (or write it in this case) but boy do I miss the way comic books were drawn from back in the day! Most everything nowadays is splashy and storytelling is usually the afterthought. Publishers and artists are now so intent on making the book "look" pretty that they miss out by only using larger images. And artists also will tend to be able to sell more of their pages at a higher price if they are splashier, which may or may not be a coincidence. Whatever happened to creating a mood on the page by using blacks or different film-esque camera angles for the panes. Telling the story like you are watching a movie. That might also be why I enjoyed watching Watchmen the movie. If you watch it again, compare it to the graphic novel and the panels in the GN are almost identical to the way the movie was shot (camera layout). Eerie but done the way it should have been done.

21 bids @ $7800.00

Super Rare Omega Speedmaster Missions Moon watch set and briefcase

Just came across this very awesome ensemble of Omega Speedmaster Missions Moon watches up for sale. I didn't know this collector's set was available but when you see it, you'll shake your head in disbelief at how unbelievable this collection of watches would be for your trophy room. haha.

There is a buy-it-now of only $145,000.00 which I think is down from the original post of $175,000.00. Considering another same set sold for upwards of $368,900.00 (!!!)

If you are into watches, this is a very bad-ass and rare collection of timepieces.

There are many other close-up images of this collection here.

From the auction:

First of all I want to thank GIZMODO.COM, THEAWESOMER.COM, HODINKEE.COM, and TIMETOCLOCK.COM for their efforts on helping me sell these watches. I didn't even know you guys had made a special blog until a couple of people let me know and for that I thank you. I also would like to thank everybody who's showed their appreciation for these watches. Now for those fraudulent bidders who keep bidding and disrupting this post please don't bother with any of your scams as I will only accept a bankwire so don't waste my time. This is the 5th time I've had to post the watches due to fraudulent bidders and thanks to you, all the links from my friends up above are broken.

DESCRIPTION

I have set a buy it now at $175,000.00 but I do consider every offer when a good one is made, so please don't be discourage on the price. As you may already know the set before this one which was #33/40 sold in a European auction for $368,900.00 http://www.antiquorum.com/eng/brandindex/pages/catalog_action=load&lotid=235&auctionid=158.html

This is a rare collection that will not lose it's value even in this economy if anything through the years it will go up in price.

The watches were made in 1997 and bought in 1998 when they were released. I am the original owner and have had them stored away all these years. They were released as a tribute to 40th anniversary of the Omega Speedmaster Professionals. A collection of 23 Speedmaster watches presented in a case fitted with a an Omega briefcase, that doubles up as a display case, fitted with genuine NASA Apollo-Space suit. Each watch in the collection is adorned with a different NASA mission patch on it's dial at the 9 o'clock position: Starting with the 1965 Gemini V to the 1973 Skylab SL-4. It also contains areplica of the original 1957 Speedmaster. This comes comeplete with all certificates and booklets.

You can find more info on these sites;

http://theawesomer.com/tag/watches/page/6/

http://timetotock.blogspot.com/2008/11/omega-speedmaster-missions-watch-set.html

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/11/23_nasa_missions_omega_watches_for_ijusti_125000-2/

http://www.antiquorum.com/eng/brandindex/pages/catalog_action=load&lotid=235&auctionid=158.html

http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/2008/11/7/from-the-earth-to-the-moon-23-limited-edition-speedmasters.html

23 watches total:

Gemini V, Gemini VI, Gemini VII, Gemini VIII, Gemini IX, Gemini X, Gemini XI, Gemini XII, Apollo 7, Apollo 8, Apollo 9 “Gumdrop & Spider”, Apollo 10 “Snoopy and Charlie Brown”, Apollo 11 “Columbia and Eagle”, Apollo 12 “Intrepid and Yankee Clipper”, Apollo 13 “Odyssey and Aquarius”, Apollo 14 “Kitty Hawk and Antares”, Apollo 15 “Endeavour and Falcon”, Apollo 16 “Casper and Orion”, Apollo 17 “America and Challenger”, Skylab 1, Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and the 1957 Speedmaster.

Zatanna color cover study by AH!

I'm a fan of Zatanna. Here's a beauty done-up by none-other than Adam "AH!" Hughes. Looks to be like a cover warm-up but looks very finished all in all. Nice use of color markers on drawing paper.

From the auction:

"Up for auction is a sketch study by Adam Hughes of Zatanna. Adam is the new cover artist for the DC Comics Zatanna comic book (starting with issue 11), and this was a piece he did as a warm up before starting work on a cover. The piece is rendered in warm Copic markers on drawing paper. Piece measures 11 inches wide and 13 inches tall, and the image fills most of the paper. "

28 bids @ $3,270.51

1981 Byrne Storm and Nightcrawler pencil sketch

Was watching this sweet John Byrne "Storm and Nightcrawler" pencil sketch from 1981 ending in the last few minutes earlier today and boy was there some serious bidding. Auction had been parked at around 300 bucks for the longest time, then up to around 700 mid day. Then in the waning last 10 minutes, it kept going up. Last minute probably went from $1500ish to $5,500.00 (53 bids in all).

Makes me think the Wolverine and Sasquatch sketch from late last year may have been a bargain, although this was no slouch in any way. I've got the image and some notes if you look at my post from that time by clicking here.

Personally I would have stopped at a little under $4k. Then again, this is a full figured sketch of 2 characters, Uncanny X-Men no less, and from one of the greats on that book, drawn back in the period when his work was King, great details. Art was on 10 3/4" x 14" sketchbook paper. So maybe you value it as $2500 per character and throw in $500 to have them both on the same page, have Storm in her birthday suit, have a great pose with great detailed expressions, have period accurate drawings from Byrne, have the art in great (clean) condition, and have some art that has not been shopped previously (fresh art). Hmmm, maybe this one was a bargain after all.

Must be getting close to comic con season. Feels like this year will have a turn-around in original art valuation and people will be buying up everything and anything again.