Holy Investment, Batman!: Thoughts on Classic Comic Sales Records

As a kid, I loved my oversized reproduction of Action Comics #1, the June 1938 issue in which Superman, the first true superhero, burst onto the scene and changed the course of art and literature (seriously) forever. Considering the latest craze of collecting, that oversized reproduction, long ago read to smithereens, may be the closest I’ll ever get to the real thing. When someone is willing to pay $1.5 million for a pristine copy, as someone did on the auction website ComicConnect.com last week, it says to me that there’s more than simple collecting going on. In a modern art world in which the latest flavor seems to go sour overnight, perhaps the new Old Masters are the makers of the modern mythology of the superhero. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Holy Investment, Batman!"

Summer Blockbusters

For the May Art Poll By Bob, I went floral in honor of those great post-April showers May flowers and asked, “Which of these beautiful bouquets would you pick for your garden of earthly delights?” In an Art Poll by Bob first, Gustav Klimt’s Country Garden with Sunflowers (1905-1906) beat out Vincent van Gogh’s Irises, Sait-Rémy (1889) 24 to 21, marking the first time that Vincent's not come out on top. Monet’s Monet's Garden, the Irises (1900) came in third with 16 votes and Frida Kahlo’s Flower of Life (1944) came in fourth with 9. Emil Nolde’s Flower Garden (1908) finished fifth with 7 votes, while Paul Gauguin’s Sunflowers (1901), Paul Klee’s Heroic Roses (1938), and Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Roses (1890) all tied for sixth with 5 votes each. Eugène Delacroix’s Bouquet of Flowers (1849-1850) brought up the rear with 3 votes. Thanks to all 95 people who stopped to smell the flowers and voted.

With June’s arrival, I can’t help but think of Summer, and Summer Blockbusters. In recent years, there’s been no source of blockbuster material as reliable as comic book superheroes such as Batman, fighting a villain named, of course, Blockbuster (created by Carmine Infantino, but the Detective Comics #349 of March 1966 cover art above is by Joe Kubert). I admit that I still haven’t “outgrown” my fascination with superheroes. Part of me is still that little boy coloring in his Batman coloring book, which included Blockbuster smashing through walls, etc., and wishing I could draw like those incredible artists. So, for the June 2009 Art Poll By Bob, I ask, “Which of these great comic artist’s work would you want to see on the big screen?”:

Neal Adams. Batman versus Ra’s al Ghul (1971).

Dave Cockrum. X-Men (1975).

Jack Cole. Plastic Man (1941).

Steve Ditko. Doctor Strange (1960s).

Frank Frazetta. Conan the Barbarian (1970s).

Jack Kirby. Captain America (1976).

Joe Kubert. Hawkman.

Todd McFarlane. Spider-Man (1990).

John Romita, Sr. Spider-Man (1967).

Joe Shuster. Superman (1938).

I know that not everyone in my audience is a comic book fan such as myself, but I hope that everyone can take a second look at recognize just what kind of draftsmanship and creativity went into these images. Jack Cole’s Plasticman is a study in abstract art all by himself! I could go on and on about each of these artists and what memories they stir up inside me, but I’ll let the works speak for themselves. So, don your capes, put on your masks, get some popcorn, and vote for these blockbusters of the imagination!