Rare 1968 Monkees HEAD Movie Clippings, Articles and Pics! Michael Nesmith! Davy Jones!

Click below to enlarge these rare items from the 1968 Monkees' movie HEAD! Set pics! Clippings! Newspaper ads! Billboards! Wow!

The 1974 SPIDER-MAN/GREEN GOBLIN Saga! Original Comic Art by Albert Bigley!

Harry Osborn is the new Green Goblin?! Sure, I was inspired by the then-current SPIDER-MAN storyline (today, they call them "story arcs") running in Marvel Comics in 1974, but here are 4 pages from my OWN (age 9) original take on the ever-present Spidey/Goblin entanglement! Even at that young age, I had many of the "Marvel method" tropes down. Spidey's patter. The pacing and cliff-hangers. The over-dramatic story titles. The details, such as Spidey running out of web fluid. Heh. I had fun, in this dry run for my future as a comics artist! Click to enlarge!

Super Seventies SPIDER-MAN Strip! The Man Called LOOMIS Looms! Marvel Comics!

In this 1979 newspaper strip installment, Spidey's life is as complicated as ever, as his path begins to cross with that of the man called--LOOMIS! Who he?! Read on, true believer! Click to enlarge!

BATMAN! 1969 Brave and The Bold Cover! Original Mike Sekowsky Art! DC Comics!

From the pulse-pounding period which gave us the de-powered "Emma Peel" version of Wonder Woman, here is the terrific cover art for 1969's BRAVE AND THE BOLD #87! Penciled by then-current WONDER WOMAN artist Mike Sekowsky (see his pic, with "model," below), with peerless inks by the ever-present Dick Giordano, this has to be one of the most action-packed DC covers of the Silver Age! This is also a rare glimpse of the art without the logos, blurbs, and text additions! Click to enlarge and enjoy!

Rare JUSTICE LEAGUE Original Art Piece by Infantino and Anderson! Batman! Superman! JSA! DC Comics!

A great fan commission of not only the Silver Age line-up of the Justice League of America but also their Golden Age predecessors, the Justice Society? No, you're eyes aren't playing tricks on you, this is a beautiful specialty piece of art by famed 60s artist Carmine Infantino, with inker Murphy Anderson! Murphy was the main inker for such stalwart pencillers of the day like Gil Kane, Dick Dillin, as well as Carmine and many others, and it's always a rare treat to see any artwork using his detailed inks! Great rendering! Click to enlarge!

Unpublished 1972 SUPERBOY Cover Art by Nick Cardy! DC Comics!

Another fantastic cover image by DC Comics mainstay artist, Nick Cardy! This (below left) is the unused cover art to SUPERBOY #187, from 1972, by Cardy, compared to the published version (below right)! Why the switch? Was the figure of Superboy deemed too dominant in the composition? Was it not clear as to what was occurring in the scene? Not enough room for captions, blurbs, and word balloons? YOU decide! Click image to enlarge!

Gene Colan CAPTAIN AMERICA Original Pencil Sketch! Marvel Comics!

Not much to say about this beauty. Gorgeous pencils by Gene "The Dean" Colan! As you can see, inkers have always had a rough time inking Gene's shaded pencils, struggling to find ways to convert those gray gradations to inked line hatching....Another Colan masterpiece! Click to enlarge!

The Early Painted Art of Albert Bigley! Hulk! Captain America! Marvel Comics!

At long last! I was finally able to photograph these over-sized (around 2 by 3 feet) masterpieces for the panting public to view! That first Hulk "origin" image was painted by me in late 1978, with tempera paints, based on and inspired by the ubiquitous HULK magazine covers painted by Kenn Barr, Bob Larkin, and others! Done simply on drug store poster board (then fully framed under glass yet!), I spent weeks studying shading, cast light, rim lighting, even Bill Bixby's caricature from a recent issue of MAD! Don't laugh too much now--this won not only first place in my 8th grade school-wide art show, but GRAND PRIZE as well! Heh. Click each image to enlarge!

Below is the follow-up painting. Based on a 60s TALES TO ASTONISH tale  (I saw the MARVEL SUPERHEROES cartoon adaptation rerun, not the original comic at the time), I included all the players from that comic! The Leader, Watcher (lifted from the cover of SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS)...A big improvement over the debut painting (same media, all bought from the local Revco. I can still smell that pungent egg-based tempera paint!), this baby won awards and acclaim at the local "Arts in the Park" 1979 spring event! It was a small town.

I've skipped ahead here, as I could not locate a few paintings, but this Captain America image was done in early 1980, using acrylics this time, still, alas, on cheap poster board (my discovering canvas was right around the corner)! Based on then-recent Captain America comics, I recall struggling to get more "pop" and realism into that mountain range in the background. Didn't work. You can even see the slathered-on layers used in this one, as I made constant "improvements" over and over...Never entered in any contests, but seen widely in my 9th grade "Art 1" class, this piece still made the rounds!

It's fun to look back at my early attempts to be like the painted cover superstars of the day, but now I marvel at the amount of time I could put into these pieces, and still make good grades in school, draw other things, read, enjoy hobbies, experiment with other art mediums, etc...None of it ever felt like work or making time for each discipline...Now it seems hard to multi task for only TWO projects running concurrently!

Spectacular Sunday 70s SPIDER-MAN Strip Installment! Peter vs Flash! Marvel Comics!

Another fantabulous episode from the little-seen 1979 run of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Sunday newspaper strip! By the peerless Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., we see the heated dust-up between Flash Thompson and Peter Parker! Plus--The coming of the man called Loomis! Who? Stay tuned! Click to enlarge!

INVADERS 18! 1977 Gil Kane Original Cover Art! Captain America! Marvel Comics!

Another look at the great Gil Kane, and his ubiquitous Marvel cover art from the 70s! This time, we examine the cover to 1977's INVADERS #18! Gil's trademark action, composition, and figure work are all evident here, in one of his many iconic covers! INVADERS was a comic that spotlighted the "lost" Golden Age tales of Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Human Torch, and other characters from that era! Fun Fact: That's comics fan and fandom founder Biljo White, as the captive cartoonist who is admonishing Cap to speed up the rescue! How does HE figure into this comic's story? You'll have to read it to find out! Click to enlarge image!

Rare 1979 SUPERHEROES Comic Strip! George Tuska! Green Lantern! DC Comics!

Here's a rare look at the original art for a 1979 WORLD'S GREATEST SUPERHEROES comic strip installment! Drawn by George Tuska, this long-running strip features all the DC Comics Justice League characters, including Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Woman, and all the others! Both Marvel and DC were making a real effort at this time to expand visibility by spotlighting their superheroes in comics strips that were seen in newspapers across the country! Little seen today (no real book collections of the strips were ever issued), it's fun to see anything from this comics project! Click to enlarge!

DAREDEVIL 158! Rare 1979 Dave Cockrum Cover Sketch! Frank Miller! Marvel Comics!

Dig this great Bronze Age find! The rough sketch design for the cover to DAREDEVIL #158! Drawn by dynamic Dave Cockrum (best known for his artistic run on the "new" X-MEN, as well as much more), this served as direction for then-newcomer Frank Miller to use in his creation of the finished cover art (below right)! Frank was just starting his 1979 DD run, and even then garnering tons of fan and critical fame...Another peek into the past! Click images to enlarge!

Albert Bigley 1976 "Neal Adams" Batman Artwork! DC Comics!?

Inspired by Neal Adams and his artwork done for the Power Records line of superhero LPS, here is my (age 11) illustration of B&R, in the best Neal-like style I could muster, mister! Not too bad for an illo that was not a direct lift from existing art! Click to enlarge!

Rare INCREDIBLE HULK Newspaper Strips! Larry Lieber! Marvel Comics!

Sure, we all know of Marvel's  success with their long-running SPIDER-MAN comic strip (1977-present), but didja know they made a stab at giving old Jade-Jaws his own newspaper run at glory? Written by Stan Lee, and drawn by Stan's brother Larry Lieber (who now draws the current syndicated run of the Spidey strip), here are two examples of this little-known production, from the early 80s! The stories evoked the famous CBS-TV series of the day, as opposed to the more fantastic comic book version. The strip only ran for a couple of years, and faded away roughly the same time the TV series did..Today, you can find a few paperback reprints of a portion of the strips, but little else, so now would be a great time for a nice inclusive reprint volume! Click images to enlarge!

Above: The awesome ad announcing the arrival of the
Green Goliath to a Massachusetts paper! Art by dandy
Dave Cockrum! Does that powerful pose seem
familiar? Click here! Thanks to Jerry Hillegas
for this one!

SILVER SURFER #7! The Unpublished Cover! 1969 John Buscema Comic Art! Marvel Comics!

Another great find! Below left is the original, but never published, cover to Marvel's SILVER SURFER #7! To the right is the cover as it appeared on the actual published comic, both by master artist John Buscema! Why the change to the terrific art? Was the Surfer pushed too far back into the scene? Not enough action? Click to enlarge and decide for yourself!

Spectacular Sunday 70s SPIDER-MAN Strip! Spidey In Love?! Marvel Comics!

You read right! Our ever-burdened wall-crawler has finally found love! Can the Parker luck be turning around? Or, will the shadow of Spider-Man once again come between Peter and any hope of real happiness? Click to enlarge and enjoy this slice of 1979 Stan Lee/John Romita Sr. Marvel newspaper strip madness!

1966 BATMAN TV Show Rarities and Pics! Adam West! Burt Ward! "Batwoman?!"

Here we go again with another zany and crazy collection of images and rarities from the 1966 BATMAN TV show! Odd ads and articles! Candid pics! Set visitors! Batmania! Click each image to enlarge and enjoy!

Rare Candid Pic from SUPERMAN-THE MOVIE! Chris Reeve and Margot Kidder! DC Comics!

Direct from the Aint' It Cool website comes this great candid shot of Christopher Reeve ("Superman") and Margot Kidder ("Lois Lane") during filming of 1978's SUPERMAN-THE MOVIE! Reeve's well-known good-natured attitude comes through as he smiles his way through yet another grueling flying scene, even gladly holding the clap-board! Click to enlarge!

X-MEN #95! Rare 1975 Gil Kane Pencil Layout! Marvel Comics!

Here it is, direct from the early days of the "new" X-Men! This is Gil Kane's layout rough sketch for X-MEN #95, from 1975! All of Gil's expert mastery of anatomy, staging, composition, and action are on display here! A rare look into the making of a classic cover scene! This is within the exciting period of the mid-70s re-launch of the failed X-MEN book, with new characters (such as Wolverine) added to the mix, as well as a starling new direction! Click image to enlarge!

Batman Original Pastel Art! Special Guest Artist: Don Bigley! DC Comics!

You heard right! Not only did I get my Mom involved in my comics hi-jinks, but my own father, Don Bigley, illustrated this master pastel image of the Caped Crusader! Done in 1976, I was there as my Pop threw done the colored chalk sticks to impress an 11-year-old me! He understood how to capture mood and drama, but reversed Batman's famed chest insignia, as he also did on the Aurora Batman model kit he assembled for me years earlier! Dad had some interest and training in art, and it really shows! Click to enlarge this rare piece of Batman memorabilia!

AVENGERS! 1968 Original Cover Art by John Buscema! Masters of Evil Attack!

A terrific example of some of the pulse-pounding 60s art of John Buscema! John became one of Stan Lee's "go-to guys" for not only drama-drenched cover scenes, but also interiors, on such books as AVENGERS, SILVER SURFER, and many others, all to lead to his great 70s stint on CONAN! Be sure to check the differences in the original art (left), as opposed to it's final published version on the right! Click to enlarge!

Super Sunday SPIDER-MAN Seventies Strip! Guest Starring: The Hulk! Sorta...Marvel Comics!

Peter Parker takes center stage this time around, as he TRIES to make a possible life-changing decision! In typical Parker fashion, it doesn't go quite the way he planned! Another 1979 Stan Lee/John Romita Sr. classic newspaper strip seen again! Click to enlarge!

Uncanny X-MEN Original Comic Art Pin-Up by Terry Austin! Marvel Comics!

Another terrific Terry Austin pin-up from his recent sketchbook! Terry returns to his X-MEN roots, for this powerful image of the "new" X-folks, even Beast and Wolverine! Click to enlarge and enjoy!