1973 Albert Bigley BATMAN Drawing! "To The Batpoles!" Batman Shakes His Money-Maker! Bronze Age Madness!

Another big one from my checkered past! This scribbling (complete with my huge signature) features mighty Batman shimmying down the Batpole, as if he's moonlighting as a cast member of "Showgirls!" Drawn by me (when I still lived in Jersey) at age 8, and based on the then-ubiquitous BATMAN TV show afternoon reruns (hence the clear and obvious label for the Batpole), this is certainly one oddball image! Click to enlarge!

Albert Bigley 1976 FANTASTIC FOUR "Playing Card!?" Marvel Comics! Human Torch!

Another blast from my past! Here is the pencil art to some sorta FANTASTIC FOUR "Super-Heroes" game I (age 11) had made up one Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, no other cards exist from this project, one that probably sprang from the handy availability of these odd shirt cardboard pieces. "Invisibe Girl?!" Sheesh! Click to enlarge!

MORE 1974 Albert Bigley SPIDER-MAN Comics! Green Goblin Remembers! Marvel Comics?

Found! Two more senses-shattering pages from my own 1974 Spidey epic! Drawn by me (age 9), this is the start of a tense tale of suspense, as Spider-Man faces his most fearsome foe of all! Gasp in awe, as I attempt to ape the writing style of "Merry" Gerry Conway (then-current SM writer), and the terrific art of Ross Andru (artist on the book at that time)! They had little to worry about. Be sure to click here to take in the rest of this sensational saga! Click to enlarge images!

The Return of the Hulk (Paintings)! 1979 Albert Bigley Original Art! Marvel Comics?!

FOUND! The "missing" Hulk painting by me (age 14), from 1979! Created the summer before starting high school, here is ol' Jade Jaws doing his community bit by helping endangered kids across a busy school intersection! But wait-some rude hot rodder thinks he can barrel thru at unsafe speeds, in a car that looks more like a melted and warped shoe-box than a Chevy! Our hero readies himself to deliver a firm message on traffic and pedestrian safety! I based this on the then-ubiquitous magazine paintings by Bob Larkin (click here for more), and wanted to force myself to have to paint more "real' subjects such as kids, cars, trees, etc., as an exercise. This may have been my first stab at acrylic painting, too, so go easy on me, real frantic one! Click to enlarge, if you're that sort of type!

1977 Davy Jones Portrait by Albert Bigley! The Monkees!?

Hoo Boy! Who says I never tried my hand at caricature or portraits back then? Here is my (age 12) attempt to depict the diminutive darling, Davy Jones, from 1977! Swiped directly from the '76 cheapie cash-in MONKEES RCA 2-LP set cover (one of only a handful of LPs I owned then), here is the "Manchester Cowboy" as he's never been seen before! And hopefully, never will again! Click images to enlarge, Daydream Believer!

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!

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 Ken 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!