Comics and Animation News: Spider-Man and Conan Comic Art Selling This Week

Comics and Animation News [Read this newsletter online]( [Heritage Auctions]( [Comics and Animation News]( In This Issue: • [Sunday Internet Auction](#spotlight) • [Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide - Mass-Market, or "Bookstore" Softcover Editions (Sixth Article in a Series)](#collector-b) • [Around Heritage Auctions](#around-1) • [Cover of the Week: Barbershops of 1951](#week) • [Current Auctions](#current) April 17, 2019 []Sunday Internet Auction [Sunday Internet Comics Auction]( Auction Ends: April 21, 2019 Live Session at 6:00 PM CT Highlights of this week's auction include: [Ross Andru, Mike Esposito, and Dave Hunt Amazing Spider-Man #161 Page 11 Original Art (Marvel, 1976)]( Ross Andru, Mike Esposito, and Dave Hunt Amazing Spider-Man #161 Page 11 Original Art (Marvel, 1976) Spider-Man's feet make a guest appearance on this Nightcrawler-centric page from the issue that introduced the Punisher's nemesis, Jigsaw. Andru provided the breakdowns, Esposito finished and inked the figures, and Hunt finished and inked the backgrounds. Ink over graphite on Bristol board with an image area of 10" x 15". In Excellent condition with tape residue at the top and bottom edges. [View]( [The Dognapper Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Color Model Drawing (Walt Disney, 1934)]( The Dognapper Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Color Model Drawing (Walt Disney, 1934) Police officers Mickey and Donald ride a motorcycle and sidecar (with a long extension) in this original 12 field 2-peghole color model drawing. Dave Hand directed the short, which was first shown on 11/17/34; this was the second teaming of Mickey and Donald (who had been introduced five months earlier in The Wise Little Hen). The art is in graphite with green and red pencil highlights, and an overall image size of 3.75" x 3.25". In Very Good condition with paper toning. [View]( [Crackajack Funnies #39 (Dell, 1941) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white pages]( Crackajack Funnies #39 (Dell, 1941) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white pages First appearance of Andy Panda, by Walter Lantz. Owl cover. Frank Thomas story, cover, and art. Overstreet 2018 VF/NM 9.0 value = $777; NM- 9.2 value = $1,100. CGC census 4/19: 2 in 9.0, 1 higher. [View]( [Jungle Comics #82 (Fiction House, 1946) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white pages]( Jungle Comics #82 (Fiction House, 1946) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white pages "Good Girl" cover by Joe Doolin. Overstreet 2018 VF/NM 9.0 value = $230; NM- 9.2 value = $320. CGC census 4/19: 2 in 9.0, 4 higher. [View]( [Melody Time Pecos Bill and Widowmaker Production Cel and Master Production Background (Walt Disney, 1947)]( Melody Time Pecos Bill and Widowmaker Production Cel and Master Production Background (Walt Disney, 1947) Rip-roarin' cowboy Pecos Bill, star of the final segment in Melody Time, gets the start spotlight in this beautiful hand-inked, hand-painted production cel. He's showing off in this scene featuring his horse Widowmaker, from the finale of the "Pecos Bill" song. Amazing image of both characters, measuring 6". Please note Bill has a cigarette in his mouth — this was airbrushed out in all images of the character in later years. The cel is placed on a trimmed pan production background of one of the Texas plains scenes in the film. Matted with a mat opening of 8" x 10", and overall mat size of 11" x 14". Fantastic! Fine condition. [View]( [Fighting American #3 (Prize, 1954) Condition: FN]( Fighting American #3 (Prize, 1954) Condition: FN Joe Simon and Jack Kirby stories, cover, and art. Poison Ivan, Hotsky Trotski, and Square-Hair Malloy appearances. Contains a 2-page Speedboy backup story. Overstreet 2018 FN 6.0 value = $252. [View]( [All Star Western #102 (DC, 1958) CGC VF+ 8.5 Off-white to white pages]( All Star Western #102 (DC, 1958) CGC VF+ 8.5 Off-white to white pages Gil Kane grey tone cover and art. Carmine Infantino art. CGC notes, "From the Collection of Kevin Michael McFadden." Overstreet 2018 VF 8.0 value = $80; VF/NM 9.0 value = $115. CGC census 4/19: 1 in 8.5, none higher. From the Kevin Michael McFadden Collection. [View]( [The Sub-Mariner #1 (Marvel, 1968) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages]( The Sub-Mariner #1 (Marvel, 1968) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages Origin of the Sub-Mariner retold. Story is continued from Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1. John Buscema cover and art. Overstreet 2018 NM- 9.2 value = $560. CGC census 4/19: 145 in 9.6, 59 higher. [View]( [The Incredible Hulk #180 (Marvel, 1974) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white to white pages]( The Incredible Hulk #180 (Marvel, 1974) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white to white pages Cameo first appearance of Wolverine. Hulk vs. Wendigo. Herb Trimpe cover and art. Overstreet 2018 NM- 9.2 value = $725. CGC census 4/19: 41 in 9.8, none higher. [View]( [Ernie Chan Conan the Barbarian Daily Comic Strip Original Art dated 6-12-79 (Register and Tribune Syndicate Inc., 1979)]( Ernie Chan Conan the Barbarian Daily Comic Strip Original Art dated 6-12-79 (Register and Tribune Syndicate Inc., 1979) Belit appears in a flashback, in this nicely drawn daily. Produced in ink and Zipatone over graphite on Bristol board, with an image area of 14.25" x 4.25". The strip is moderately toned, with some soiling. In Very Good condition. Signed and inscribed by writer Roy Thomas, in the top margin, to Glenn Lord, Robert E. Howard's estate agent, who agreed to sell Marvel the rights to do a Conan comic book! From the Estate of Glenn Lord. [View]( [Ed Hannigan and Al Milgrom Spectacular Spider-Man #67 Page 18 Original Art (Marvel, 1982)]( Ed Hannigan and Al Milgrom Spectacular Spider-Man #67 Page 18 Original Art (Marvel, 1982) Aerodynamic weaponry and one-liners fly as Spidey is ambushed by Boomerang. Ink and Zipatone over graphite on Bristol board with an image area of 10" x 15". Signed by Jim Mooney in the lower margin (as "Jim ?-E"), although he is not credited with working on this issue. In Excellent condition. [View]( [Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES, Acclaim, 1990) Wata 9.6 A+ (Seal Rating)]( Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES, Acclaim, 1990) Wata 9.6 A+ (Seal Rating) Indiana Collection. Second game in the Double Dragon series for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Designed by Yoshihisa Kishimoto. Music composed by Kazunaka Yamane. [View]( Our MyHeritage: [MyBids]( feature makes tracking your favorite items easier than ever. Just a reminder...our Sunday Internet Comics, Animation, and Art Auctions end with a Live Session at 6:00 PM CT. [Browse the entire auction here](. [Back to Top](#top) []Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide - Mass-Market, or "Bookstore" Softcover Editions (Sixth Article in a Series) By David Stone, Heritage Auctions Bob Overstreet published and distributed the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide privately through the first five editions, handling all the advertising and mailing operations with just the help of his family and friends. With the sixth edition (print run of 40,000 copies), the OPG had become big enough to warrant national distribution to mass-market outlets, like book stores and newsstands. A contract was signed with Crown Publishing to handle the domestic and international distribution of the OPG. Crown ordered copies directly from the printer, stored them in their warehouse, and distributed them through their outlets in the U.S. and Canada. Overstreet continued to distribute copies to the small, but growing, direct market of comic book specialty shops, as well as to individual collectors, himself (see the previous article in this series for information on the direct-market editions). There was no discernible difference in the cover design of the mass-market and direct-market editions while Crown was the distributor. Crown acted as the official distributor of the OPG for editions 6 through 16 (1976-1986). Things changed when Avon Books became the distributor of the OPG for editions 17 through 30 (1987-2000). Avon followed similar ordering and storage procedures to Crown, but they insisted on certain trade branding and dressage for the mass-market editions, which make them easily distinguishable from their direct-market counterparts. For the 17th edition, the largest letters on the cover and spine of the mass-market edition are yellow, with smaller letters in red. The direct-market edition reverses this color scheme, with the large letters in red and secondary lettering in yellow (see images below). [Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide] Also, the mass-market edition of OPG #17 has a bar-code on the back cover, while the direct-market edition does not. Avon continued the practice of using a slightly varied color scheme on the front cover of the mass-market editions for most of their tenure as distributor, but sometimes the differences were subtle. The differences often went unnoticed by customers during the Avon era, who usually bought one book per year, from one source, and had no opportunity to compare cover designs. Knowledge of the different mass-market editions has never been widespread in the collecting community, and it has caused much confusion in recent times, as collectors encounter multiple offerings of the same edition, with different color schemes, on venues like eBay. For the 17th edition, both the mass-market and direct-market editions featured paid advertising from Gladstone publishing on the back cover. On all other Avon editions, the back cover of the mass-market version included printed information about the contents and purpose of the book. The direct-market editions usually featured paid pictorial advertising from various sources, making it easy to differentiate between versions (see images below). [Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 2] Mass-Market #20 (Rear Cover) [Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 3] Direct-Market #20 (Rear Cover) The 22nd edition is an important exception, as the back cover of both versions features the descriptive text of the contents, usually only seen on the mass-market format. Fortunately, the back cover of the mass-market edition has a red background, while the direct-market version has a blue background. The front covers also use different color schemes on the banner and lettering, making identification relatively easy. [Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 4] Mass-Market #22 [Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 5] Direct-Market #22 Another exception is the 30th edition, where both mass-market and direct-market versions use the same design, content, and color scheme for both covers. The only difference is at the bottom of the back cover, which identifies the direct-market edition specifically on the bar-code as DIRECT SALES and has Direct Market Edition in the final line of text at the bottom (see images below). [Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 6] Mass-Market #30 [Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 7] Direct-Market #30 Because Avon ordered and stored the mass-market books separately, it seems that unsold copies remained with them. None of the Avon mass-market editions were included in the stock of back issues Gemstone Publishing inherited when they purchased the OPG from Bob Overstreet in 1994. This had some unintended consequences later. Random House took over as distributor with the 31st edition and continued through the 39th. According to Mike Wilbur, Director of Operations at Gemstone Publishing, Random House required: "...we adhere to the ‘house style' for their ‘House of Collectibles' line of books. This affected spine design, as well as boxing in the covers with the standardized text blocks above and below the cover art. No embellishment or fancy logos. This also necessitated use of horizontal, rather than vertical, art orientation. For #31, we used one of the direct market covers from the same year, but with different spine and trade dress branding. Numbers 32 thru 38 used the same cover art (though reformatted) as the Big Big books [the oversized editions] from the same years (it was already horizontally oriented). Number 39 used its own unshared cover art." [Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 8] Random House Bookstore Edition #37 Apparently, the storage of unsold copies was handled differently with Random House as distributor, as Gemstone does have copies of most of these issues in their back-issue stock, as well as the direct market versions (see the Overstreet Price Guide Back Issues in the back of the current OPG for images of the Random House Bookstore Editions #'s 31 through 39). [Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 9] First Page of the 2018 Overstreet Price Guide Back Issues The OPG has been distributed by Diamond Book Distributors (a subsidiary of the Diamond group, like Gemstone) since 2010. As Mike Wilbur notes: "The 39th edition ended the use of outside publishers for book market distribution. At that point, Diamond Book Distributors was up and running, so we were able from #40 on to just overprint and use one of our regular covers for mass market release, with no special markings or formatting required." Most collectors depend on the Overstreet Price Guide Back Issues feature that appears in the back of the current Guide every year for information on collecting the OPG. Unfortunately, when the Gemstone staff began compiling this feature in issue #27, they had little information on earlier issues, and only a short institutional memory, since they had only been publishing the OPG for three years. They relied heavily on the inventory of back issues they inherited from Overstreet's ownership period to compile their listing. As noted above, none of the Avon mass-market editions were included in the stockpile, so the Gemstone staff did not list them in their Overstreet Price Guide Back Issues , and most collectors are unaware of their existence, despite frequent public offerings. We believe this article offers the first in-depth information available to collectors on the Avon mass-market editions. None of the mass-market, or bookstore, editions are rare in an absolute sense, but some issues are condition rarities in high grade. For some reason, the mass-market #24 (X-Men cover) seems especially elusive in NM, although lower grade copies are not difficult to locate, and the direct-market edition is plentiful. Sources 1. Olshevsky, George, "Conversation with Bob Overstreet", The Collector's Dream vol. 1, #4 (1978), pp 12-22, 26. 2. Wilbur, Mike, Director of Operations at Gemstone Publishing, emails on various topics over the last two years. To be continued in a future newsletter. To read the previous article in the series (and find links to earlier ones) [just click here](. [Back to Top](#top) []Around Heritage Auctions [José Arpa (Spanish American, 1858-1952) Flagstaff, Arizona, circa 1925 Heritage Auctions]( En Plein Air Landscape Artist José Arpa y Parea Among Featured Talent in Heritage Auctions' Texas Art Auction Four paintings by Spanish-born artist José Arpa y Parea are expected to vie for top-lot honors in Heritage Auctions' [Texas Art Auction]( May 18 in Dallas, Texas, and on HA.com. Arpa's [Flagstaff, Arizona, circa 1925]( (estimate: $60,000-80,000) is one of his signature landscapes of the American Southwest. A strong proponent of painting en plein air - leaving the confinement of a studio in favor of immersion in the landscape being painted - Arpa excelled at playing with different aspects of light, as in this painting, in which the sun glances off higher land, with lower areas in the background shielded with shade. The painting is signed and titled lower right: "Flagstaff Ariz. / J. Arpa" and inscribed on the stretcher: "Canyon Flagstaff". Other works in the sale by Arpa include [Atascosa Bluebonnets, circa 1925]( (estimate: $50,000-70,000), [Grand Canyon, Arizona, circa 1925]( (estimate: $40,000-60,000) and [Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon, circa 1925]( (estimate: $30,000-50,000). A [1934 Mural study of Sam Houston by renowned muralist John McQuarrie]( (estimate: $10,000-15,000) was created during a resurrection of muralists in the mid-1930s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" included four major art programs - the Public Works of Art Project, the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture, the Treasury Relief Art Project and the Works Progress (later Projects) Administration's Federal Art Project - that focused extensively on mural painting. A sculptor and muralist based in San Francisco, McQuarrie painted murals in Union Pacific, Central Pacific and Southern Pacific railroad depots in California cities, including Sacramento, San Jose, Palo Alto and Salinas; Mesa, Arizona, and throughout the Southwest. In 1934, he was commissioned by Southern Pacific to paint a 17-by-16-foot mural for Houston's now-demolished Grand Central Depot. All that remains of the monument to the city of Houston and its namesake, Sam Houston, is this compositional sketch, which shows construction in the fledgling city in the foreground, in front of clouds that form the shapes of skyscrapers, railroads and shipyards. Velox Benjamin Ward's [Proud Stetson Owner]( (estimate: $5,000-7,000) was received by the consignor directly from Ward, a self-taught painter who didn't even begin painting until he was 59 years old, and even then only did so at the request of his family. Like many great artists, Ward relied heavily on early memories when painting; in his case, that meant recollections of growing up in rural East Texas during the early part of the 20th century. But unlike many other artists, he refused to fall back on romanticized versions of his memories, striving instead to fill his paintings with realistic images. [More information about Fine Art Auctions]( [Back to Top](#top) [American Art Illustration Art Heritage Auctions]( N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell Among Top Artists Featured in Heritage Auctions' American Art Auction A pair of paintings by the patriarch of arguably the greatest family of American artists could produce seven-figure results in Heritage Auctions' [American Art auction]( May 3 in Dallas, Texas. Known initially for his depictions of cowboys, pioneers and Native Americans from the Old West, Newell Convers Wyeth started imaging medieval tales of romance and adventure in the 1910s. In 1917, he executed 17 works for the latest edition of Sidney Lanier's The Boy's King Arthur. This version printed with Wyeth's illustrations became an instant classic and led to numerous other commissions for the artist, including Robinson Crusoe, Last of the Mohicans, and Robin Hood. "This auction may be considered a syllabus on the history of Golden Age Illustration," Heritage Auctions Vice President and American Art Director Aviva Lehmann said. "Alongside masterworks by blue-chip artists N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish and Joseph Christian Leyendecker, we also offer prime examples by lesser-known geniuses from this watershed moment of American Art--John Falter, Francis Xavier Leyendecker, Amos Sewell and more. This auction gives both seasoned and new collectors a rare opportunity to acquire fabulous examples of American Illustration at virtually every price point." [Newell Convers Wyeth "I am Sir Launcelot du Lake, King Ban's son of Benwick, and knight of the Round Table," The Boy's King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory's History of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table interior book illustration, 1917]( (estimate: $800,000-1,200,000) is a magnificent illustration depicting the pivotal moment at which, after hours of battle, Sir Launcelot reveals his identity to Sir Turquine, thereby necessitating a fight to the death. Wyeth, who studied in the early 1900s with Howard Pyle, sought historical authenticity and collected props and costumes like the medieval armor seen here. This particular illustration, with its heightened emotion and Neo-Impressionist palette and brushwork, is a true star of the Andrew J. Sordoni Collection, 12 highlights of which are featured in this auction. The Sordoni Collection, one of the finest of Illustration Art, comes the Sordoni family and their beloved Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Also from the Sordoni Collection is a second masterwork from Newell Convers Wyeth. ["Mr. Cassidy ... Saw a Crimson Rider Sweep Down Upon Him ... Heralded by a Blazing .41," Bar-20 Range Yards, Part VII - Cassidy at Cactus, The Outing Magazine interior illustration, December 1906]( (estimate: $700,000-1,000,000) harkens back to Wyeth's roots painting cowboys and Western pioneers and is significant as one of the earliest illustrations of the story of Hopalong Cassidy, the fictional cowboy created in 1904 by author Clarence E. Mulford. Here, vigilante Slim Travennes, having been caught horse rustling, desperately wields his .41-caliber pistol and flees town on horseback as Cassidy and his Bar-20 gang pursue not far behind. A 20th-century cultural icon, Hopalong Cassidy is one of collector Andrew Sordoni's favorite subjects, variously appearing in this auction in paintings by Maynard Dixon, Frank Schoonover, and George Gross. [Norman Rockwell paintings offered at Heritage Auctions]( [Norman Rockwell The Night Before Christmas (Santa Peering over Chair at Sleeping Child), Literary Digest magazine cover, December 22, 1923]( (estimate $500,000-700,000) is one of 16 Rockwell works in the auction, 11 of which are from the Collection of Jack and Martha Campbell of Houston, Texas. Capturing in dramatic lighting a sleeping child and dog on Christmas Eve, with a jubilant Santa Claus peeping out from the shadows, this evocative and tender scene was featured on the cover of the Dec. 23, 1923 issue of Literary Digest and was Rockwell's fifth and final cover illustration for the magazine. Executed between 1923 and 1968, the Rockwell works from the Campbell Collection represent a microcosm of the artist's career and include important magazine covers, interior stories, book illustrations, and advertisements. [Frederic Remington The Broncho Buster #73, March 25, 1908]( (estimate: $250,000-350,000) is the artist's first and most popular bronze sculpture, which evolved into a symbol of the spirit of the American West. Revered for his two-dimensional narrative scenes of cowboys on the Western plain, Remington here focuses on the vigorous, muscular movements of the rider and horse without any extraneous background setting. The Rough Riders (a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry) gave one of the casts to Theodore Roosevelt in 1898; a different cast, presented to Jimmy Carter during his presidency, has remained in the White House ever since. [Maxfield Parrish A Man of Letters [The Mudball], Life Magazine cover, January 5, 1921]( (estimate: $200,000-300,000) from the Sordoni Collection, exemplifies the artist's winning combination of precise draftsmanship, strong graphic design, and amusing characters, making him one of the most celebrated early 20th-century magazine illustrators. Spotlighting Parrish's whimsical self-portrait character of the artist or "seer," the illustration shows a sign painter sitting precariously on a board, meticulously rendering the title letters on the Life magazine cover as he is assaulted by a mudball wrecking his craftsmanship. [Joseph Christian Leyendecker New Year's Baby 1919, The Saturday Evening Post cover, December 28, 1918]( ($100,000-150,000) resonates exactly 100 years after it appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post commemorating the Nov. 11, 1918 Armistice ending World War I. A twinkly-eyed, towheaded cherub, symbol of fresh beginnings, releases a dove of peace. This lot ranks among Leyendecker's most famous Post covers, not merely by referencing a momentous historical event, but also by featuring his most iconic magazine character, the New Year's baby. [More information about Fine Art Auctions]( [Back to Top](#top) []Cover of the Week: Barbershops of 1951 Apparently, in 1951 barbers wore a suit and tie and employed assistants! [Pictorial Romances #8 (St. John, 1951) CGC FN 6.0 Off-white pages]( This is Pictorial Romances #8, and no doubt you recognize the cover art of Matt Baker. [You can take a closer look and bid here](. 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