Recently I’ve taken to trawling through the back-issue boxes at my local comic shop, or at some of the smaller marts held around Illinois, to find interesting comics that I somehow missed the first time around, or had ignored back in the seventies because they weren’t part of my core collection, and my purchases back then were somewhat limited by available pocket-money.
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Anyway, this past Saturday I picked up a copy of issue #1 of The Masterworks Series of Great Comic Book Artists, a book printed on Baxter paper, and published jointly by DC and Phil Seuling’s Sea Gate distribution company. I have now read that this was the first of an intended series of high-quality comics highlighting the best work of various artists.
The book came out in Spring 1983, right at the point where I was selling my comic collection, so it passed me by. Anyway, issue #1 is dedicated to the work of Frank Frazetta on Shining Knight from years past. It’s a lovely book, as you can see from the interiors.
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| ©DC. Page from issue #1 |
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I’ll track down some decent copies of #2 (more Frazetta) and #3 (Berni Wrightson) as they don’t seem too expensive, although digital copies can be easily located with help from Mr Google. The back of issue #3 trails the next two issues as being devoted to Neal Adams, but those issues never surfaced, and the comic died a death after three issues.
The indicia of the books doesn't mention a specific editor, although Junior Woodchuck Allan Asherman wrote some well-researched material on the inside cover on the background to Frazetta's comic book career. Presumably Phil Seuling was involved in the story selection.
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| ©DC. Back page of issue #3, trailing the next two unpublished issues |
I can find no information on the web about why the comic stopped being published, but I surmise that Phil Seuling’s declining health from a rare liver disease (he died in 1984) was a factor in the termination of the deal between Sea Gate and DC to publish these special editions.
Did any of our readers buy these comics first time around?
Incidentally, I see that Heritage Auctions has a special auction upcoming selling Frazetta’s original painted artwork for the Conan books. Those were amazing covers, and got me to hand over my dosh for the Sphere paperbacks back in January 1974.
Yup, I bought them at the time and still have them in my collection. In fact, I did a post on my blog about them back in 2017. How time flies, eh?
ReplyDeleteJust read your old blog......very similar content indeed! It would be interesting to find our more about the background to how the book came to be published. As far as I know, at this time, Phil Seuling's Sea Gate distribution business was facing major financial challenges, having first enjoyed great success in kick-starting the Direct Market. Perhaps this co-production with DC was a play to create a comic in the market that the up-and-coming other distributors had no access?
ReplyDeleteIt's always possible, B, but I have to be honest and say I have absolutely no clue as to the circumstances behind the mags.
DeleteJust read that Frazetta’s Conan painting of Conan fighting the Man-Ape (as shown in the blog) sold at auction for $13.5m! Thanks an incredible price for a commercial artist.
ReplyDeleteI bought the Bernie Wrightson issue but not the 2 Frazetta issues . I was gutted at the time that the Neal Adams editions never came to pass.
ReplyDeleteI’ve ordered a copy of the Berni issue #3 from eBay for the princely sum of $3.99. I find it interesting that he pretty much exclusively drew horror-related stories to the exclusion of any other genre. He was certainly a master storyteller.
DeleteI expect that the Adams stories that never made it into print have been reprinted elsewhere, but it would have been great to see them in this series. Makes me wonder if there are any Adams stories that have never been reprinted.