Joe Shuster Superman Original Art Auction!

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Collecting, Editorials, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,

If you’ve ever dreamed about owning an original piece of Superman artwork by co-creator and artist Joe Shuster, now’s your chance.

Longtime original art dealer Larry Shell is offering a rare piece of American comics history this week in a fast-paced auction.

It’s a full color Joe Shuster recreation to the cover of Action Comics #16 (the original issue went on sale in 1938). According to Shell, this recreation was drawn in 1983 and “is one of only a very few cover recreations that Shuster did and is 100% his work.” It was originally owned by Wendy and Richard Pini (Elfquest).

The original measures a large 15” x 20” in size and is rendered in lead and colored pencils, which gives the image the soft quality of pastels.

You can see a photo of Joe Shuster with the original piece here.

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Steve Rude Could Use Some Help

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Independent,

Steve Rude has been having some financial difficulties. His story has been all over the internets, but in the event that some of you people (gasp) don’t read Tom Spurgeon’s The Comics Reporter or Heidi MacDonald’s The Beat or Robot 6, I’m directing you to Tom’s story.

The Dude’s been auctioning off some of his sweet, sweet Nexus original art on eBay to cover his debt and give him a shot at keeping his home from foreclosure. The prices are nice, but more importantly, this is going to a good cause. Nexus, written by Mike Baron and illustrated by The Dude, was one of the big independent creator-owned comic books to succeed in the growing direct market of the 1980s, and owning a piece of Steve’s fantastic art is like owning a piece of history.

Years ago, at the request of First Comics’ Rick Oliver, I once gave The Dude a ride from the San Diego Comic Con to LAX. We should all live so long to have a 2-hour ride with him in the car. Heidi MacDonald was also with us. Good times!

If you can spare the cash, if you like original art, if you like Nexus, help out the Dude.

[Artwork: Nexus, © Mike Baron and Steve Rude]

Comic Book Jobs: Who’s Hiring? Marvel, Full Moon and Lego (Sort of)

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics,

Everyone loves a good job, and people without a job would just like one. I can’t guarantee that any of these jobs are good, bad or fun, but I can see one thing for certain: they are jobs. Let the hunt begin!

Marvel Comics: If you can tell the difference between the Fantastic Four and the Howling Commandos and you’ve got some mad Adobe software skills as well (not just your free Acrobat Reader), then Marvel Comics’ New York office could be the place for you. Their digital production department is looking for a graphic designer with experience in comic book or traditional book production. The downside is that it’s a temp spot and it only pays $15 an hour, but hey, you’ll still be a part of the comic book industry.

Full Moon: Charles Band and the crew behind Full Moon Entertainment’s movies like Puppet Master, Demonic Toys, Dollman, and Trancers are looking for an eBay consultant to help them sell off their tons of warehoused material. It’s a 1000-piece collection “of rare and valuable items, many of them one of a kind. At this time, the intention is 20 pieces per week. They include giant film posters, original concept and production drawings, paintings, pen and ink comic book art, prototypes for figurines, and autographed items.” I worked on some of those Full Moon comics back in the 1990s and if some of the art they’re offering is from that era, there are some nice pieces in that collection including early J. H. Williams.

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Meet Stan Lee at Pittsburgh Comicon

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Conventions,

Comic book god Stan Lee is joining forces with Hero Initiative, agreeing to meet and greet six winners at the Pittsburgh Comicon.

In order to nab one of the coveted six slots, you’ve got to sharpen your eBay skills and bid on them at the Hero Initiative‘s account. Currently at $157 a pop, the 2 days that you have left will most likely see an exponential increase in price; however, what does money matter when you get to meet Stan Lee?

If you get past that hurdle, the event will take place on Saturday, September 12; once there, you will be escorted to the VIP room by personnel and receive pictures with Stan and two autographs on items of your choice, on top of gracing his presence.

All proceeds of the auction benefit Hero Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to aiding comic book creators in financial and medical support. In other words, you’ll be doing charity while meeting The Man!

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Comics and the Economy

Posted by Jonas Hinckley Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics,

With all the rumblings about the economy going on recently, I asked a retailer friend the other day how that was affecting his shop. And he gave me the following anecdote, which I’ll paraphrase:

The other day, one of my box customers came into the shop and asked to see his pull list. After crossing off about half the titles on the sheet, he handed it back to me and then asked with a straight face: “So, how’s this economy treating you?”

My friend, good retailer that he is, didn’t actually react as I might have, which probably would have been to leap over the counter and try to strangle the guy.

With maybe the exception of the recent Obama issue of Amazing Spider-Man, which looks to be selling for ridiculous amounts on ebay, it’s tough to see how comics retailers wouldn’t be affected just like everybody else by the economic downturn. But it’s one more reason to support your local comic shops right now to help keep folks in business for the long haul.

While I haven’t cut back much yet, I’m definitely not making as many spur-of-the-moment purchases as I might otherwise do. Of course, it would certainly help if the prices would stop going up.

Read More | Bridge City Comics