Original Comic Art

Comic Book Showcase is a Gallery located in Redlands, California. This showcase is run by Travis Forester, and exhibits some of the best original comic book art from the most influential artist in the industry.

Comic Art Masterpieces

Title of Exhibition: Comic Art Masterpieces

List of Artist: Mark Bagley, Gregg Capullo, Tony Daniel, Jason Fabok, Dan Jurgens, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Alex Ross, Tim Sale, and Michael Turner.

 Comic Book Showcase wants to exhibit the greatest comic book art from the greatest comic book artists in the industry. Each one of the artist listed above has had a major impact on the comic book industry. All of the artist in the exhibition have won awards for their work, and transcended the industry in one form or another. These artists are connected because their work either led to record breaking sales in comics, led to production of action figures, or led to movie deals and collaborations. Some artists even had multiple deals. My process for selecting these artists was primarily based on the impact they had on the industry. Some of the works may be completely different in style, but all have had a major impact on the industry.

Mark Bagley

Mark Bagley was born on August 7,1957 in Frankfurt, West Germany. He attended the Ringling College of Art and Design, and worked for Lockheed Martin making technical drawings. In 1983, Marvel Comics held a contest to draw in new talent to the comic book industry. Bagly took first place in the contest which launched his comic book career. He eventually did the penciling for Amazing Spider-Man comics. Comic Book Resources ranked Bagley fourth on its list of the "50 Greatest Spider-Man Creators." Today, Bagley works on various comics like Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Avengers.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Bagley)

Artist: Mark Bagly
Title: Spider-Man vs. Juggernaut
Media: Pen and Ink on Comic Art Paper
Dimensions: 11" x 17"
Date: 2010
Comments:Spencer, a comic book dealer, said "Wow!!! this is some of Mark Bagly's best work."
Connection: to Theme This piece just makes you feel the action. The scale of the images really makes this selection special.
Price: NFS

Greg Capullo

Greg Capullo was born on March 30th, 1962 in Schenectady, New York. He is known for his work on Spawn (1992), The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys (2002), and Comic Book Men (2012). Capullo is a self-taught artist who began his artistic career in commercial advertising. Capullo was soon recognized for his talent as an inker and penciller. He published a small comic book series that was so successful, he was hired by Marvel Comics. Capullo worked for Marvel on and off for three years. After he left Marvel, he joined Image comics and started pencilling for Mcfarlane's comic, Spawn.
(gregcapullofanpage.blogspot.com/2011/01/teste.html)

Artist: Gregg Capullo
Title: Proving Ground
Media: Pen and ink on drawing paper
Dimensions: 11" x 13"
Date: 2013
Comments: Nathan Birch said, "Gregg Capullo's cover is some of the best work since Frank Miller's work in the 80s."
Connection: This piece shows amazing detail and depth. Notice the background and all the surroundings. Not many artist could pull off a piece like this one.
Price: $5,000

Jason Fabok

Jason Fabok was born in Ontario, Canada in 1985. Fabok got his big break when he was brought on to illustrate the final two issues of Batman: The Dark Knight. Shortly after that, Fabok signed an exclusive contract with DC Comics. Fabok drew various covers of The New 52 series as well as the Batman Annual. Fabok recently worked on the first three issues of the weekly series of Batman Eternal, and will continue on the series alongside a rotating group of artists. (dc.wiki.com/wiki/Catagory:Jason_Fabok/Penciler)

Artist: Jason Fabok
Title: Batman Annual#1 Original Art Cover
Media: Pencil on heavy Bristol paper
Dimensions: 11" x 17"
Date: 2012
Comments: David Pepose of Newsarama called this piece" a hidden gem."
Connection:This piece made the cut because it really shows Jason Fabok's ability to capture a character's emotions and his realism is undeniably good.
Price: Sold for $2,500

Dan Jurgens

Dan Jurgens was born June 27, 1959 in Ortonville, Minnesota. Dan Jurgens is an accomplished writer and artist, who not only writes, but also draws comic books. His storytelling, and art skills have breathed life into many DC and Marvel Characters. Jurgen has worked on the Superman character for 10 years. After he left DC Comics he worked on various titles such as Marvel Comics. A few of the works Jurgens has done at Marvel are Thor, Captain America, and Solar. In 2011, Jurgens was among the new creative talent of The New 52 relaunch. Today Jurgens is still working on The New 52 series. In 1994, Jurgens won the National Cartoonist Society Award for best comic book. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Jurgens)

Artist: Dan Jurgens
Title: Justice League of America
Media: Art paper, pencil and ink
Dimensions: 29" x 23"
Date: 1992
Artist Comments: "This was a seismic effort, this piece is about as good as it gets for the DC fan in the modern era."
Connection: This iconic poster was impressive enough to make its way into the movies and appears rather prominently in Pauly Shore's bedroom in the 1993 comedy "Son in Law." It also shows Dan Jurgens range and abilities in drawing multiple types of characters.
Current Bid: $2,950

Jim Lee

Jim Lee was born on August 11, 1964 in Seoul, Korea. Lee grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and attended Princeton University majoring in Psychology with the intention of becoming a medical doctor. An elective course in Fine Arts reawakened his love for drawing In 1886, he graduated, and put his medical career on hold to pursue a career in comic book illustration. He is known for his detailed and dynamic style, and is one of the more popular artists in American comics. Lee has received a great deal of recognition for his work in the industry, including the Harvey Award for New Talent in 1990. (dc.wikia.com/wiki/Jim_Lee)

Artist: Jim Lee
Title: "Snikt!"
Media: Illustration paper, pencil and ink
Dimensions: 10" x 15"
Date: 1991
Comments: Eric B. said "This is some of Jim Lee's Greatest work."
Connection: Jim Lee's work on X-Men in the early 90s is some of the most sought after work in all of modern comic art. This action page consists of five images of Wolverine done by Jim Lee.

Todd Mcfarlane

Todd Mcfarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, artist, writer, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his work in comic books, and most notably Spawn. In the early 1980s, Mcfarlane attended Eastern Washington University on a baseball scholarship and studied graphic art. After suffering a career-ending ankle injury, he focused his attention on drawing. In 1984, Mcfarlane got his first job as a comic book artist drawing for both DC and Marvel. Mcfarlane worked at Marvel until he left in 1991 because of creative differences with the editor. In 1992 Mcfarlane introduced his Spawn comic book series. on June 18th, 2011 ,Mcfarlane was inducted into the Canadian Comic Book Hall of Fame.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_McFarlane)

Artist: Todd McFarlane
Title: Spider-Man #1 Original Cover Art
Media: Art paper, pencil and ink
Dimensions: 9.75" x 15"
Date: 1990
Comments:Bob Overstreet commented that the excitement caused by this issue "spilled over the entire Marvel line and to DC and other publishers as well." Very few comics in the history of the medium have had that sort of impact.
Connection: This comic book was the biggest-selling comic book of all time to that point in terms of dollars generated. The initial press run was for 2.35 million copies; a number not seen in comics since the 1950s.
Price: Sold for $358,500

Frank Miller

Frank Miller was born on January 27th, 1957 in Olney, Maryland. As a small child, Miller moved to Montpelieir, Vermont. Frank Miller is a prolific American comic book artist, and writer whose works have had a profound impact on the comic book industry. He is best known for his dark, often-fantastical, stories that deal with themes of violence, death, destruction, and the "pointlessness of life and being." The culmination of work created throughout his legendary career has been able to transcend comic books and become a part of popular culture. (http://www.123helpme.com/frank-miller-view.asp?id=160140)

Artist: Frank Miller
Title: Dark Knight Returns #2
Media: Bristol board, pencil and ink
Dimensions: 12.75" x 17.76"
Date: 1986
Comments: Mark Seifert stated that "This is one of the greatest pieces of comic art to ever be offered at auction."
Connection: This original piece of American comic book art ranks as the 3rd highest priced sale in a public auction.
Sold For: $478,000

Alex Ross

Alex Ross was born January 22nd, 1970. Ross is an American comic book artist who is primarily known for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He has done a variety of projects for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Ross's style is said to exhibit "a Norman-Rockwell-meets-George-Perez vibe," and has been praised for its realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Ross has won the Will Eisner Award and the National Cartoonists Society award. Ross recently did the artwork for the main character of the Assassins Creed III video game.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Ross)

Artist: Alex Ross
Title: Astro city #24 Cover(Original Artwork)
Media: Watercolor on 4-ply Stathmore
Dimensions: 10" x 15"
Date: 2013
Comments: Kurt Busiek a Marvel collaborator said, "This is a dynamite cover. Ross is as good as ever!"
Connection: This work was added because it was some of Turners finest work, and since he left the world tragically his original art pieces are almost impossible to acquire.
Connection to Theme: This piece was chosen because its depth and detail, it really shows Ross at his finest.
Price: $4,000

Tim Sale

Tim Sale was born in Ithaca, New York on May 1st, 1980. He moved to Seattle, Washington shortly thereafter. Tim was educated at the University of Washington and then the John Buscema Workshop and SVA in NY. Tim has won awards for titles such as Batman: The Long Halloween, Superman for all Seasons, and Spider-Man Blue. Tim is currently working on finishing Captain White. (http://www.essentialsequential.com/Tim-Sale_c_31-1-4.html)

Artist: Tim Sale 
Title: Batman The Long Halloween 
Media: Pen and Ink on comic art paper 
Dimensions: 11" x 17" 
Date: 1998 
Comments: Marshall Rogers said, "When I was able to get this full splash from Long Halloween, I was excited beyond belief." 
Connection: This splash has such a powerful dramatic feeling. This piece shows how Tim Sale and the other artist on the list have changed comic books. 
Price:

NFS

Michael Turner

Michael Turner was born April 27th, 1971 in Crossville, Tennessee. Turner graduated from the International Performing Arts Academy. In 2004, He created a couple of covers for DC Comics before he signed with Marvel Comics on August 3rd, 2005. Turner also did work on the Wolverine: Origins series as well as the Ultimate Wolverine. Turner died June 27, 2008 from complications of bone cancer.

(www.comicvine.com) 

Artist: Michael Turner
Title: Spider- Man vs. Punisher
Media: Pencil on comic art paper
Dimensions: 11" x 15"
Date: 2006
Comments: Comic-link says, "This cover was one of Turners final and best works. It's a rare opportunity when a cover comes up of this quality."
Connection: This work was added because it was one of Turner's finest pieces, and since he left the world tragically, his original art pieces are almost impossible to acquire.
Price: Sold for $3,601

Conclusion

In creating this blog, I've learned that organizing works from comic book artist is quite a challenge, but also rewarding. I first had to choose a theme asking myself if it should it be the story line, artwork, best-sellers, or something else. This aspect of the gallery was the hardest. There are so many amazing comic book artists in the world, and narrowing the list down to 10 was a real challenge. I didn't want to take just any artwork; I chose work from the most influential artists in the business from a span of the past thirty years. After finding out who had the greatest impact on the industry, finding the art was the easy part; it was hard just picking one piece from each artist. They all had so many great pieces of work. Organizing works from these various artist has been a great  deal of fun. I hope that all the visitors of my blog have as much fun viewing the artwork as I had creating it.