Comic Art

Another great sketch from the one day Fan Expo.  Francis was providing free sketches, making a great reason to attend the one day shows.

Attended the one day Fan Expo show in Toronto this past weekend.  Guy Davis was doing free sketches and was kind enough to provide the sketch below.

Waited patiently for three hours on Saturday for Dale to show up.  I had always seen him at shows but the lines were long and I didn’t want to wait.  This time around I wanted to get something, but I was in for a surprise.  When he arrived at the show he was told by Fan Expo staff that he had to charge for sketches, so this went from free to $100.  I had waited and knew his work was great so I went ahead and asked for the Hulk.  Judging from the finished product I’m very happy with my purchase.

Another great Fan Expo 2009 piece; this show was a real hit for me.  I missed out on Van Sciver and Dodson but what can you do.  I get something from Cooke every chance I have and this time asked for the Spirit with a logo somewhere: I’m very happy with the result below.

One of the highlights of Fan Expo 2009 was having Olivier Coipel at the show.  He didn’t for several hours after the show opened Friday but myself and a lady where the only two waiting for him: we took turns standing.  I happened to get his first sketch of the show and I am extremely happy with the piece.

Attended Fan Expo 2009 in Toronto last month and picked up some wonderful art.  First up is a Galactus piece from Michael Cho: he took pre-orders so you could get what you want without waiting in line: a great idea that allows the artist to take the time they need to get you a great product.  As always Michael pencils and then uses a light box to ink and apply his signature single colour.

Attended the 2009 Chicago Comicon in August and came back with a few pieces. Overall it didn’t seem to be an art buyers market. I did get to meet Mike Allred who wasn’t doing sketches but did have a bunch of art for sale. He had a bunch of pages from the Hourman story in his Solo book but this piece jumped out at me. I forgot to ask him the backstory but it’s the same pose as the cover and back cover for the Solo book so I’m guessing it was one DC didn’t want to use.

Last item from the Comic Expo Fan appreciation event.  Chris Sprouse had no one at his table so I of course asked for a Doctor Strange sketch since I already had a Doctor Fate from him.  I watched him complete the piece and I was shocked at the level of pencil detail he put in, then inked it and erased all the pencil work.  His inks are fairly clean and simple but it’s unbelievable how much you don’t see when the pencils are gone.  If you ever get a sketch from Chris ask him to leave the pencil in!

Another great piece from the Fan appreciation event.  I had circled Alex Maleev’s table a few times during the day but I had a great piece from him already and wanted to see how far my limited budget would take me.  Towards the end of the day I went by again and he chatted me up and we talked about prices and a sketch.  I told him I only had $80 left and didn’t want to insult him by offering it, but he said it was slow at the end of the day and would see what he came up with.  Looking at what I received it was an incredible bargain.  Looks a lot more like Silver Surfer than Daredevil but I appreciate the detail.

Attended the Comic Expo Fan Appreciation even in April and picked up some nice items.  Pages have gone through the roof, to the extent that I’m seeing prices 500-1000% higher than five years ago.  This applies across the board for brand new pages and classics.  Shows are becoming the only moderate bargain to pick up comic art as a sketch or piece direct from the artist.

Paul Rivoche was attending and brought some pieces along.  I was immediately drawn to this stunning Mister X piece: I’m a product of the 80’s through and through including indie characters.  Mister X is great and has made some excellent appearances over the years: my favourite was the Black Label poster.