Set Description
Just a fun collection, where I try to get the CGC 9.8 book whenever I own the original art cover. This may seem like an easy task, because there are many books compared to the one of a kind original art cover. Unfortunately I found out it's extremely hard to find the CGC 9.8 books.
For many of my covers, there're very few CGC 9.8 books. For example there's only 1 CGC 9.8 book for Unexpected #210 and Nightwing Variant #33. For many covers there're less than 5 CGC 9.8 books. Took me more than 4 years to get the CGC 9.8 books for Punisher #95 and She-Hulk (2005) #33.
But I love searching, and I never give up :-) Thus at some point I did consider naming this set for "The Impossible Collection".
Set Goals
Finding the matching CGC 9.8 book for all my covers - but no an easy goal, because for some of my covers no CGC 9.8 has yet been found.
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| Indestructible Hulk #6 original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Indestructible Hulk 6
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9.8
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Only bought this book to see the final and published cover.
The book cover was originally made by Dale Keown, see the scan. It is a stunning full bleed cover pencilled and inked by Dale Keown. It features a dominant image of the Hulk front and center trading blows with Iron Man (in his amazing Hulkbuster armor). This is an extremly dynamic cover - it easily springs to life allowing the viewer to imagine the movements unfolding and to hear the deafening, roaring and thundering noises from this giant battle.
Keown is best known for his work on his self-created Pitt series but learned how to draw enormous, hulking man-beasts by teaming up with Peter David as the creative team on Incredible Hulk. He is now back full circle, once again rendering hard hitting images of Hulk! This Hulk cover is about as good as it gets by the modern master. The art has an image area of approximately 11" x 17" and is signed by Keown at the upper right.
Note this cover is Keown's version, later it was lightboxed by inker Mark Morales for the published cover - unfortunately it seems that Morales made a great number of modifications, more or less ruining much of Keown's amazing work, so it's a real pleasure to see Keown's original cover.
Furthermore this cover has absolutely nothing to do with the story inside the book Indestructible Hulk #6, because Hulk does not battle Iron Man at all in the book, and Hulk does not look like shown on the cover inside the book (actually Hulk wears metal armor and battles Thor in the book). So this original art cover simply shows an impressive battle scene, Hulk vs. Hulkbuster Iron Man. Thus the art should be seen for what it is in itself - that is without any direct association to the story within the Indestructible Hulk #6 book.
Should anyone think - "what is all that stuff flying off the Hulk, sweat or saliva?". But no, it is pure Hulk blood as shown on the published cover, probably also explaining the Teen+ rating! ;-)
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| Savage Tales Annual #1 original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Savage Tales Annual 1 Universal
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9.8
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I also own the original Ken Barr cover painting to this magazine, you can see it here in better quality:
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=1252534
- and I've got Don Rosa's copy too in 9.6:
http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/ComicView.aspx?PeopleSetComicID=860133
This magazine contains all reprints: "A Day of Tigers" (art by Gil Kane; from Astonishing Tales 11), "Dragonseed" (script by Len Wein, art by Steve Gan; from Savage Tales 6), "Back to the Savage Land" (art by Barry Windsor-Smith; from Astonishing Tales 3), "The Sun God" (art by Windsor-Smith; from Astonishing Tales 4), "Rampage" (art by Windsor-Smith; from Astonighing Tales 5), and "Dark Tomorrow" (script by Gerry Conway, art by Gray Morrow; from Savage Tales 2). Ken Barr cover painting. Cover price $1.25.
The story Back to the Savage Land illustrated by Barry Smith is my favorite Ka-Zar story of all time, and for the first time in this magazine it was printed in full length - and in black & white, thus you won't get much closer to seeing the inked pages ;-)
I'm quite into the Savage Tales magazines (vol. 1), and finally I found a cover that fulfilled several criteria:
1. It represents my Savage Tales CGC magazine collection. My magazine collection can be seen here: http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=34657
2. It represents Ka-Zar in my limited original art collection (have been looking for a great Ka-Zar piece for some time).
3. It's a tribute to Barry Smith's "Back to the Savage Land" from the early 1970s - and thus it's closely linked to the early Barry Smith Conan stories. Probably as close as I'll ever get to original art directly associated with a Barry Smith story from the early 1970s, sigh... I do have the CGC books too: http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=39574
4. It's quite large - 19" x 25", in color, and should work perfectly as a centerpiece.
So it's Ken Barr's Ka-Zar cover to Savage Tales Annual #1 (summer 1975), which contains Barry Windsor-Smith's "Back to the Savage Land" story, for the first time (I think) printed as the complete 30-page story and in black/white. In the early 1970s "Back to the Savage Land" was published in Astonishing Tales #3-5 (published from Dec 1970 to April 1971, when Conan the Barbarian issues 2 to 5 also were published, so maybe Barry Smith drew both in these months - at least Ka-Zar looks a lot like Conan), and it's my favorite Ka-Zar story.
In other words, to me this is a grail piece. And I do like that this is not another man-saves-woman-from-monster cover ;-)
More info about Ken Barr here:
"Born in Scotland in 1933, Kenneth John Barr was the son of a Glasgow-based sign-painter to whom he was apprenticed from the age of 15. A reader of adventure, horror and war stories, Ken Barr found post-War Glasgow full of the machinery and drama of war he enjoyed painting. His first covers appeared on Nebula science fiction magazine in the 1950s.
After his National Service—which he served with the Army in Egypt—and several years working in London, Barr moved to the USA in 1968 where he became a regular penciller/inker and occasionally writer of strips for DC's various war comics, including Our Army At War, Our Fighting Forces, Battle Album and Star Spangled War Stories in 1969-74. He also produced covers and back-up features for the Warren magazines Eerie, Creepy and Vampirella (1970-72) before becoming a regular cover artist for Marvel, working on Doc Savage, Incredible Hulk and The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (1975-78). In the mid-1970s, he found more lucrative work producing books covers (Avon, Random House) and as a movie poster artist, primarily in the fields of fantasy and science fiction, although he returned to comics in the mid-1980s as the writer of Windfall, Geo-Force and Metamorpho in around 1986 (and the merged Geo-Force and Metamorpho in 1987)."
Source: http://illustrationartgallery.blogspot.dk/2011/03/ken-barr.html
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| Green Lantern #16 original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Green Lantern 16
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9.8
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Got the CGC 9.8 book - and the original art cover :-)
This 2013 Doug Mahnke Green Lantern cover art features Green Lantern Simon Baz surrounded by the forces of the Third Army. Created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke, Baz is the latest in a roster of Earth's Green Lanterns that has included Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner over the years. This is a highly detailed image of the hero by his co-creator dating from very early in the character's career. This cover art has an image area of approximately 10" x 15".
Fun thing, I bought this cover to illustrate the emotion courage - and I later found out that that's exactly the meaning of Baz' forearm tattoo! - It simply reads “courage” in Arabic. So Mahnke really nailed that one :-)
More info about Baz: "Simon Baz was a Lebanese-American child living in Dearborn, Michigan during the events of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Growing up, Simon and his sister Sira were both persecuted due to their ethnicity. As a young adult, Simon got involved in street racing, and eventually car theft; the former put his brother-in-law in a coma in the hospital. Simon is fired from his job and, in a moment of desperation, he steals a car. While trying to evade the police in the stolen vehicle, Simon finds out that there is a bomb in it. Simon drives the van into the abandoned car factory he was laid off from, knowing that no one would be hurt in the explosion. The resulting explosion is seen as an act of terrorism by the authorities, and Simon is brought in for questioning. As Simon is being interrogated, Hal Jordan and Sinestro's fused and malfunctioning Green Lantern Power Ring finds Simon, and selects him as the new wielder, flying him away from captivity. With their suspect gone, the federal agents interrogating Simon contact Amanda Waller about the situation, a transmission Cyborg of the Justice League picks up. Cyborg relays the transmission to Batman and asks if anyone has spoken to Hal Jordan since he quit the League. Meanwhile, Simon lays on the ground, knocked out, while elsewhere, the Third Army begins to spread..."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Baz
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| Fantastic Four #556 original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Fantastic Four 556 Modern
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9.8
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I've got the original art cover - and now also the book in CGC 9.8 :-)
This stunning cover by Bryan Hitch features a very dark image of the Fantastic Four's rock monster, the Thing, seemingly holding the dead and bloody bodies of his fallen friends and colleagues, Reed and Sue Richards (Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman). The city has apparently been obliterated and the 3 members are resting on top of thousands of human remains; very creepy indeed. This detailed piece makes a huge impression, not just from a content and emotional standpoint but from a size standpoint. The art is larger in size than most vintage large art pieces. This oversized cover has an image area of approximately 13" x 19.5".
I have read the complete story behind this amazing cover (FF #554-557). It turns out that this cover really has nothing to do with the story. The printed cover has been softened by making the Thing say: "CAP, please! Don't kill us! Ya already done enough!" (CAP is a giant robot), implying that Reed and Sue are not dead.
But reading the books, Sue is never harmed and CAP never harms Reed. Especially not Reed, because CAP has a build-in safety that makes it impossible for CAP to harm Reed. And CAP does not kill by making giant bullet holes in victims, CAP uses some sort of energy beam that evaporates all meat leaving just bones behind. Sue’s and Reed’s twisted and bloody bodies clearly show that they are truly dead – and CAP has nothing to do with this scenario.
So to the best of my knowledge, Hitch' OA is simply a picture of Ben's emotional despair and profound grief after losing Reed and Sue. The art should be viewed for what it is in itself - that is, without any association to the story in #556.
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| DC Comics Presents #69 original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
DC Comics Presents 69 Modern
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9.8
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Only bought this book to show the final and published cover.
But do check out this awesome battle cover as Superman and all of the Blackhawks charge ahead to battle the Nazis! On the original art cover, the big head in back ground is Professor Einstein on an acetate overlay with an extra inked drawing of the Einstein figure again on a large piece of vellum. So this entire cover is all drawn artwork with 2 Einstein heads.
"At the height of his popularity in the early-1940s, Blackhawk titles routinely outsold every other comic book but Superman. Blackhawk also shares the unique distinction of being just one of four comic book characters to be published continuously from the 1940s through the 1960s (the others being Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman)" (Wikipedia).
Thus at least for historical reasons, having both Blackhawk and Superman on the same cover is very special (and as a scientist, seeing Einstein's face is always inspiring ;-)
Also, note the 3D-like "pop-out" effect on this cover by the thrown grenade and Superman's left fist - really making this cover come alive!
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| Unexpected #210 original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Unexpected 210 Modern
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9.8
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Got the original art cover and then the single highest graded CGC book :-)
Info about the book:
Cover pencils by Rich Buckler, inks by Dick Giordano.
36 pgs. Cover price $0.50, published May 1981.
Stories in the book:
1. Vampire of the Apes, script by George Kashdan, art by Jess Jodloman.
2. The Choice, script by George Kashdan, art by Vicatan.
3. Things that Go Thump, script by Laurie Sutton, pencils by Joe Brozowski, inks by Steve Mitchell.
4. Flight to the Temple of Death starring Johnny Peril, script by Mike W. Barr, pencils by Trevor Von Eeden, inks by Brett Breeding.
More info about the cover by Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano: The Unexpected #210 Cover Original Art (DC, 1981). Is he savior or savage? A group of vampire killers find themselves in a very "hairy" situation in this cover penciled by Rich Buckler and inked by Dick Giordano. The art has an image area of 10" x 15" and includes the original title and type paste-ups. Aside from some light paper tanning and glue staining, the art is in Very Good condition. Signed by Rich Buckler at the bottom right.
(Buckler, Rich:Rich Buckler (American, b. 1949): is an American comic book artist, perhaps best known for his work on Marvel's Fantastic Four in the mid-seventies, and for co-creating the character Deathlok (with writer Doug Moench) in Astonishing Tales #25. Buckler has drawn nearly every major character at Marvel and DC, often as a cover artist.)
It's definitely the Vampire Ape cover I've always been dreaming of!
To me, this is a fun cover and it works on several levels:
1. It represents Rich Buckler in my collection - and horror comics. Sadly Rich Buckler died May 19 2017 (age 68).
2. It's a reminder that comic books are fun to read - can't think of something much more fun than a giant vampire ape! And the cover perfectly fits the Unexpected book title - I mean nobody expects a giant vampire ape, right? ;-)
3. It's a reminder that comic books are exciting - like when these men are finding the empty coffins (and illustrates the great escapism for readers who love to submerge themselves in such stories - like myself).
4. The cover tells a dynamic story in one picture - which is great art - viewing the cover we all have an idea what went before (the journey to the vampire coffins) - and what might happen in the near future ;-)
5. It’s a great illustration of the emotion dread - i.e. what the men may be feeling when finding the empty coffins and hearing something big making noises behind them...
- and my son complained that I did not have a monster cover, and he loves this one.
BTW, should someone wonder if there's some smudge in the lower left quadrant, then of course there's no such thing - although the Ape may have spilled a few drops of blood here and there...
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| Nightwing #28 original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Nightwing 28 Modern
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9.8
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Love this Steampunk cover, and later I was lucky to find the CGC 9.8 book.
Tommy Lee Edwards rendered this mysterious and stunning cover illustration of the former Robin for his 2014 DC self titled, Nightwing #28. The piece was published as the "Steampunk" Variant. The art has an image area of approximately 10" x 15" and is signed at the lower right margin by Edwards.
According to Wikipedia, Nightwing is "a superhero identity assumed by numerous fictional characters in the DC Comics universe [...] Post-Crisis, the name is attributed to a historic Kryptonian crimefighter; this hero serves as an inspiration for Dick Grayson when he sheds his Robin identity and assumes the name and a new costume. Grayson was featured in an ongoing Nightwing series between 1996 and 2009, before Grayson took on the identity of Batman. After Grayson's return to the Nightwing identity during DC's 2011 event The New 52, a new Nightwing series was also established [...] In 2013, Nightwing placed 5th on IGN's Top 25 Heroes of DC Comics."
Personally, this cover brings a lot of thoughts to me about Steampunk works - like the Bioshock PC game series, Studio Ghibli anime movies, William Gibson's The Difference Engine and the world of Hellboy to name a few.
So this piece works on many levels, reminding me of Batman, Robin, Steampunk, and maybe just how to adjust to an insane world or to become a product of an abnormal world...
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| Nighthawk #3 Variant original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Nighthawk 3 Modern
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9.8
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After buying the original art cover made by Keron Grant I was lucky to find the single highest graded book.
Nighthawk of the Squadron Supreme is featured on this variant cover from the third issue of his own 2016 series drawn by artist Keron Grant.
The Squadron Supreme began life as a tribute to DC's Justice League of America back in 1971's Avengers #85. Nighthawk is the Squadron's Superman analog. Considering their roots, Marvel has done...and continues to do... quite a bit with these characters.
Keron Grant is a Jamaican artist who has worked for both DC and Marvel over the past several years. According to Wikipedia: "Keron Grant (born August 23, 1976, in Montego Bay) is a Jamaican-American comic book artist, who has worked mostly for Marvel Comics. His first published work was a pinup in the back of one of the final issues of Dale Keown's Pitt. His first steady comics work was drawing three issues of the unpublished Century comic from Rob Liefeld's Awesome Comics. His job drawing online comics for the Matrix series led to a short stint on Iron Man when Matrix comics inker Rob Stull brought Grant to the attention of Marvel editors."
The art has an approximate image area of 13" X 18", ink on Vellum, published July 20 2016. The overlay with the Marvel and title logos was made by James Pascoe and is completely removeable.
I greatly appreciate the impressionistic use of light and shadows in this piece, which enhance the atmosphere and the foreboding anticipation. I try to find new pieces illustrating different emotions, and this piece is one of the best I've found to show (foreboding) anticipation - or simply the calm before the storm.
Even my wife likes this piece - that doesn't happen often! Actually she said that this piece looks more like real art than comic art, and I'm still trying to understand what she possibly could have meant by that strange remark... ;-)
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| Jonah Hex #73 original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Jonah Hex 73 Modern
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9.8
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Jonah Hex (1977 1st Series) #73. Published June 1983 by DC. Cover by Ross Andru (pencils) and Dick Giordano (ink). Jonah Hex stars in the story "The Wheelchair Bounty Hunter" written by Michael Fleisher. The original art cover art measures 11" x 17". I bought the original art cover first and then spent several months trying to find a CGC 9.8 book, and finally I succeeded! :-)
I've always loved the Jonah Hex covers, and this cover in particular. Personally I think it's one of the funniest Jonah Hex covers, showing Hex being in another and extremely distressful situation. - If this cover was given a title I think it should be: "A perfect farewell to an enemy" :-)
A short introduction to Jonah Hex: "Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional character, a western comic book antihero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is horribly scarred on the right side. Despite his poor reputation and personality, Hex is bound by a personal code of honor to protect and avenge the innocent."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah_Hex
BTW did you know that Hex has defeated both Batman and Superman?
"In Superman/Batman #16, when Batman & Superman have ended up being catapulted through various earths after a conflict with Darkseid, they ended up meeting Hex and other Western superheroes. While Superman was attending to Batman's wounds, Jonah ambushed him and manages to kill Superman using Kryptonite bullets, and blowing his brains out. Although Superman wasn't really killed, it was heavily implied because in that story arc, the only way for Superman and Batman to be transported to another dimension is for them to be killed.
Jonah Hex has, in many timelines, met and fought Batman. In Superman/Batman #16, Hex overpowered Batman in hand-to-hand combat (albeit Batman had been heavily wounded). In Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, Hex and Batman face off in a showdown. Even though being skilled in throwing batarangs and disarming gunmen, Batman was still outdrawn by Hex, and Hex shoots him in the stomach."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah_Hex
Last but not least, a short introduction to Ross Andru: "Ross Andru (born Rossolav Andruskevitch, June 15, 1927 – November 9, 1993) was an American comic book artist and editor. He is best known for his work on The Amazing Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Flash and Metal Men. His most frequent collaborator was inker Mike Esposito, with whom he worked on projects over a span of four decades. The two founded three short-lived comic books companies: Mr. Publications (1951), MikeRoss (1953) and Klevart Enterprises (1970).
Andru was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2007."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Andru
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| Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #14 original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man 14 Modern
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9.8
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Got the original art cover and then spent more than 3 years finding a 9.8 copy of the book. Some info about the cover - and more:
Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate Captain America appear together - at Times Square in New York - on this Jorge Molina cover. This is the first-ever Ultimates/Ultimate Spider-Man team up! With the nation at war, Spider-Man decides to become a member of the Ultimates and he will do anything it takes to earn the right.
In 2000, Marvel launched the Ultimate Universe, an alternative reality for a new century where its heroes were young and just starting their careers but in contemporary times with strong creators. The initial book was Ultimate Spider-Man starring a young Peter Parker. It was so successful, it virtually saved Marvel during the period they were coming out of bankruptcy. In 2002, Ultimate Captain America was introduced in Ultimates #1, and that too was incredibly successful, basically establishing the style and tone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe a decade later. In 2011, the decision was made to kill off Ultimate Peter Parker and replace him with a young character named Miles Morales, first introduced in Ultimate Comics Fallout #4 (2011). Miles proved popular and even survived the end of the Ultimate Universe in 2015's Secret Wars. He's now part of the traditional Marvel Universe, operating as a second Spider-Man along with "our" Peter Parker.
Jorge Molina has been a star artist at Marvel over the past decade, working on such titles as X-Force, Superior Spider-Man, Thor, and A-Force. Molina is the co-creator of A-Force. Recently, he's the the lead artist in Marvel's significant Star Wars line.
Born in 1984 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, Jorge Molina showed a big passion in comics since an early age and dreamed of working on anything related to drawing super heroes. As he got older he started to realize it was just a kid’s dream and that he should probably do something more "reliable", but then he had the chance to study animation and from there he ended up in comics. Molina started working in the industry in 2006.
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| Punisher #95 original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Punisher 95 Modern
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9.8
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Bought the cover in 2016, and it only took me 4 years to find the book in 9.8, lol.
This intense and gruesome cover from the first on-going Punisher series features everyone's favorite vigilante, Frank Castle, the Punisher, drawn by another Frank - Frank Teran.
The Punisher first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #129, one of the most famous comic books of the Bronze Age. In the 80s, the character really took off after being used in Frank Miller's historic first run on Daredevil. and appearing in his first hit solo mini-series and by the 90s was the star of multiple on-going solo titles. The Punisher has appeared in three solo movies and as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the second season of Marvel's Daredevil on Netflix.
Frank Teran worked in comic books in the 90s, starting with Marvel's Punisher. He also worked for Dark Horse Comics on titles such as as Aliens and G.I. Joe and for DC on various Batman titles during the Batman: No Man's Land crossover.
The art has an approximate image area of 10" X 15". The book was published October 1 1994 (Release date August 1994).
Furthermore this cover gives me many thought associations - for example the art directly addresses the full consequence of the Punisher, namely a lot of "bad guys" ending up dead. It may make you wonder if the Punisher is right in killing persons (he does not seem too happy on the cover), or if Spidey is right in trying to stop such killings. I guess the Punisher is showing signs of remorse, regret and/or simply disgust on this cover...
With its giant skull symbol and the scenery this cover reminds me of Chris Kyle and the Navy’s SEAL Team 3 paintings of The Punisher’s skull symbol on its military gear (in Iraq), this was also shown in the movie "American Sniper" directed by Clint Eastwood. Picturing such a large number of dead bodies, the cover looks like a war zone.
The cover is associated with the content of the book, but it's a rather weak association and the cover may be viewed on its own merits (never judge a cover by its book! ;-) If there's any sound coming from this cover, it must be a deep roaring thunder!
Thus this cover works in many different ways, and I'm close to ecstatic to have this dark gem in my collection. I did try to buy it a year ago, but the seller had just sold it - I never expected to get a second chance!
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| Venom #154 (2017) original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
Venom 154 Universal
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9.8
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I bought the 9.8 book because I own the original art cover. Maybe not my brightest idea buying this cover right after the Venom 2 trailer was released, this cover did cost more than I was hoping for, but no regrets - I love this awesome Venom cover by artist Gerardo Sandoval. Although far from Van Gogh, this semi-impressionistic style looks really incredible - showing the massive dynamic energy release. Furthermore Venom being all teeth and Brock being abused as a host into such a painful transformation does provide some great contrast. Note that Stan Lee signed the cover in the bottom right corner. This is in fact my only signature from Stan Lee, making me appreciate the cover even more!
Gerardo Sandoval drew this elaborate cover to Venom #154 in 2017. The cover is featuring a frightening image of Eddie Brock transforming into Venom. Sandoval is an in-demand talent who has worked on such popular titles as Amazing Spider-Man, Venom, Wolverine, Guardians 3000 and Cable and X-Force.
About Venom
Venom is a result of the alien symbiote first introduced as Spider-Man's black costume in Amazing Spider-Man #252 (1984) bonding with a human being. In Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars #8 we learned the origin of the costume, showing how it was an alien that bonded with Spider-Man (Peter Parker), who didn't realize its evil nature. Eventually Peter is able to shed himself of the symbiote, who later goes on to bond with reporter Eddie Brock. We first see Venom briefly in Amazing Spider-Man #298 (hands only) and #299 (cliffhanger splash with complete image), and then in #300 he makes his famous first full appearance. Venom would go on to become one of the biggest new Marvel characters of the 1990s and beyond.
The first Venom movie, with actor Tom Hardy in the lead role, came out in 2019 and was a big hit - and a favorite movie of mine. Seems like Venom's popularity is continuing to skyrocket - at least for now - with the second movie, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, scheduled to open in September 24 2021.
The story in the Venom #154 book was written by Mike Costa with art by Paulo Siqueira. My original art cover was made by Gerardo Sandoval. Content of the book: A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND TALE TOLD IN THE MIGHTY MARVEL MANNER!! You've seen things from Eddie Brock's perspective; now see how things look from the other side - in this, a whole issue from the perspective of the Venom Symbiote!
The book is 28 pages, full color. Rated T+ Cover price $3.99.
More about the original art cover here:
https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1732747
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| She-Hulk #33 (2008) original art cover and CGC 9.8 book |
She-Hulk 33 Modern
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9.8
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It took me 5 years to find the book - in July 2021 only 4 books were found in 9.8 grade according to the Census.
The books contains the following stories:
Secret Invasion tie-in, written by PETER DAVID and penciled by GG STUDIO'S VINCENZO CUCCA. A SECRET INVASION TIE-IN! He may have helped Nova and the Guardians save the universe twice, but now the Super-Skrull is out for blood...the blood of his own daughter! Can She-Hulk prevent the murder of her partner, or will Jazinda's infamous father use this summer's alien invasion to do his dirty work?
Cover by MIKE DEODATO JR.
32 PGS./Rated T+ Cover price $2.99.
Mike Deodato created this 2008 cover for She-Hulk #33 featuring She-Hulk vs. the Super-Skrull. It was part of the "Secret Invasion" event that ran through Marvel's titles that year when it was revealed that members of the Skrull race had been posing as some of Marvel's well-known characters for years.
She-Hulk was created in 1979 due to the popularity of the Hulk TV series. Marvel wanted to make sure that TV producers did not introduce a female version of the character first, thus owning the rights. While She-Hulk's own title ended after a couple of years, she would go on to great success as a member of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, and would be revived in her own title multiple times over the decades.
Super-Skrull made his first appearance in 1963's Fantastic Four #18. He has the combined powers of the members of the Fantastic Four. He's a member of the alien race, the Skrulls, who first appeared back in 1962's Fantastic Four #2.
After breaking into the industry in the 90s with a well-regarded run on Wonder Woman, Deodato moved to Marvel and has had stints as the regular artist on Amazing Spider-Man and various Avengers titles.
The art has an approximate image area of 10" X 15".
More info about Super-Skrull [Kl'rt]:
"Kl'rt—more commonly known as the Super-Skrull—hails from the Skrull capital world of Tarnax IV (in the Tarnax System in the Andromeda Galaxy) which has since been destroyed by Galactus. The Skrull Emperor Dorrek VII wanted revenge against the Fantastic Four, who thwarted the Empire's attempt to invade Earth. Dorrek handpicked the mighty warrior Kl'rt, who was artificially augmented and given the combined abilities of the Fantastic Four. Kl'rt's power levels exceeded the originals—stronger than the Thing; superior flight and greater pyrokinetic ability than the Human Torch; better control of invisibility and telekinesis than the Invisible Woman; and an ability to stretch beyond that of Mr. Fantastic. The newly named "Super-Skrull" also retained his innate Skrull shapeshifting abilities and strong hypnotic skills. He was then dispatched to Earth to defeat the Fantastic Four and pave the way for a renewed invasion by the Skrull Empire."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super-Skrull
And She-Hulk:
"Jennifer Walters, the cousin of Bruce Banner (Hulk), is the small and somewhat shy daughter of Los Angeles County Sheriff William Morris Walters and Elaine (née Banner) Walters (who died in a car crash when Jennifer was seventeen). Operatives of Nicholas Trask, a crime boss who had crossed paths with her father, shot and seriously wounded her on a day that Bruce Banner happened to be in town for a visit. Since no other donors with her blood type were available, Banner provided his own blood for a transfusion; as they already shared the same blood type and DNA, his radioactive blood, combined with her anger transformed Jennifer into the green-skinned She-Hulk when the mobsters tried to finish her off at the hospital.
As She-Hulk, Jennifer possessed powers similar to those of her cousin, though at a reduced level. She also possessed a less monstrous, more amazonian appearance."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She-Hulk
More info about the cover here:
https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1318930
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