MORE "Bigley Tire" Rarities! 1982 Albert Bigley Art and Pics!

You read right! More recently unearthed art, pictures, and ads from the early 80s heyday of Laurinburg's own BIGLEY TIRE! Click below to see more of my comics-styled artwork for ads in the local North Carolina newspaper (my first published work)! Plus: Rare ads spotlighting my dad, Don Bigley, and a young me (age 17) and my work from that period! What more can any Big Glee! fan ask for in this life?! Click here to read earlier posts about the tremendous "Tire Man" and his tireless (heh) mission!

1976 Albert Bigley Original Comic Art! Batman and Robin?! DC Comics?!

Wow. I just had to draw like Neal Adams if it killed me! Almost did. Here is a companion piece to this artwork, both drawn by me around 1976 (age 11)! I was so trying to catch that all-encompassing Neal vibe that dominated comic art then, so I ladled on tons of lines, scrapes, shading, and solid black areas to my figures and faces! But, what I got was a mess. What is Robin's problem, anyway? Is Batman goosing him? Why is Batman so darned happy? Maybe you can provide the answers, Big Glee-phile, so click to enlarge!

1979 Albert Bigley IRON MAN Portrait Painting?! Marvel Comics?!

Yep. Another one of my golden oldies! This time, it's one starring the "Golden Avenger" himself, Iron Man! At this time (1979, at age 14) I was experimenting with paints of all kinds, including oils, acrylics, tempera, and (as seen here), watercolors! I tried to get a real metallic sheen effect on ol' Shellhead's armor, and did OK...I was inspired by the tremendous then-current work of artists John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton, during their memorable run on the IM book for several years in the late 70s, and well into the 80s! Click to enlarge!

1973 Albert Bigley BATMAN and ROBIN Original Artwork! DC Comics?!

Hoo! Another early piece of art created by me, at age 8! Drawn (in red Flair marker?) in 1973, here is my moody version of the Dynamic Duo (in the Batcave?) in thoroughly thoughtful repose, before certainly leaping into mind-bending action! I was existing on a steady diet of afternoon reruns of the 1966 live-action BATMAN ABC-TV show, and you can see its influence in this piece! I sure had a loooooong way to go! And, what's so wrong with making your signature bigger than your subject matter in an illustration? I should bring that back! Click to enlarge!

The Hulk vs The Leader's Humanoid! 1979 Albert Bigley Original Comic Art! Marvel Comics?!

Another blast from my past, trotted out for your entertainment and mirth! Here is my full-color re-interpretation of the classic Silver Age 1964 slug-fest we all recall! That's right, its a hapless Hulk fighting the evil Humanoid robot! As any hardcore Marvel fan can remember, the Leader, that deadly high-hat super-genius, sent his indestructible (even Hulk can't put a dent in them) Humanoids to rob, plunder, and create general mayhem in his name! I was (at age 14 in 1979) digging such adventures on the afternoon MARVEL SUPERHEROES cartoon reruns, and, once the episodes were over, wanted to memorialize each mind-bending scene in my art, in those pre-VCR days! Seems like that summer I did nothing but draw inspiration from mid-60s HULK tales, as you can see here! Click to enlarge!

Below: Steve Ditko's actual depiction of the above scene (he did it a tad better), from a Silver Age TALES TO ASTONISH issue!

1976 Albert Bigley COMIC ACTION HEROES Art?! Joker vs Batman! DC Comics?!

I was such a fan of Neal Adams' art in the 70s, not only as seen in many Marvel (X-MEN, INHUMANS) and DC Comics (BATMAN, GREEN LANTERN), but also as used on tons of superhero products, such as record albums, book covers, puzzles, and toys! One such toy line making big use of Neal's art was the Mego-issued "Comic Action Heroes" offering of small all-plastic action figures. The actual toys left a lot to be desired, but the great Adams art seen on the packaging promised the world! I was so inspired by said illustrations, that here is my own attempt (at age 11) to capture some of that Adams' flare! Hey, I tried! Click to enlarge!

Below: My inspiration for the above masterpiece! The actual 1976 Neal Adams-drawn package art for this Batman action figure playset!

Albert Bigley 1977 IRON MAN # 100 Cover Art?! Jim Starlin? Marvel Comics?!

Hoo Boy! You can sorta tell I was inspired by the well-drawn cover (by Jim Starlin) to 1977's IRON MAN # 100, can't ya? Here, below, is my attempt at re-creating that once-in-a-lifetime (twice?) cover art, and, considering I was 12 that year, I guess it ain't so bad. Note that such a dynamic and simple cover was a rarity in those days, with its lack of captions, word balloons, and general hyperbolic ballyhoo announcing ol' Shellhead's anniversary issue! Nowadays, in a failed attempt to create the same kinda vibe, almost every cover looks like this one, with the same characters preening, posing, and grunting in an endless parade of costumes and muscles that blend into one big mush...Click to enlarge!