Original cover art for Wyatt Earp #14, published by Marvel as part of their Atlas Comics line in 1957, the work of John Severin, goes under the hammer at Heritage Auctions next week.
Part of their latest Comic Art & Animation Select Auction taking place next, Wednesday, 18th September 2024, this classic cover by Severin, was published when Western comics were at their height, interest boosted by TV shows. It’s has attracted attention of several comic artists, including David Roach, who notes how few pages from the Atlas era of Marvel have survived.
The cover – a masterclass in composition and storytelling – offers a tense showdown scene, and is offered without the title logo, which was added for publication from typeset/stat elements. There are noticeable paste-up seams and patches of retouching on the art, but it’s a great example of John Severin’s work.
“Severin was an absolute Giant,” artist Rod Whigham, whose own credits include G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and draws the newspaper strip, “Gil Thorp”, for Tribune Media Syndicate, enthused of John’s work on Facebook.
“Mastery of technique, composition, figure drawing, lighting, portraying complex emotions, etc… an artist that directed every aspect of his work to serve the single most important part of drawing comics – storytelling. And as an inker, he elevated everyone whose work he finished.
“I idolise Severin. He had a profound effect on my childhood and deeply influenced my thinking as an artist.”
In their lot description, Heritage Auctions notes Editor Stan Lee waffled as to whether frontier hero Wyatt Earp should wear a moustache, or appear clean-shaven. Earp had it both ways in this issue — moustachioed on the interior pages, moustache-free on the cover.
The clean-shaven aspect probably was a bid to resemble Hugh O’Brien’s portrayal on ABC-TV’s The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp, which first ran on US television between 1955 and 1961). There was no formal tie-in, since Earp was in the public domain as a real-life historical figure.
The upcoming auction also includes art by Alfredo Alcala, Sergio Aragonés, Jordi Bernet, Simon Bisley, Dave Gibbons, Bruce Timm and Alex Toth, some 270 artworks in all, mostly comic strip art or covers, but there are Pulp SciFi covers by artists such as Gene Fawcette and Edmund “Emsh” Emshwiller, too.
From a start in 1947 at the Joe Simon and Jack Kirby shop, John Severin (26th December 1921 – 12th February 2012) was one of the most prolific creators in the history of American comics. He co-created the legendary Western strip American Eagle, and became an EC Comics mainstay, working with Harvey Kurtzman on MAD and Two-Fisted Tales.
In addition to a 40-plus year association with Cracked magazine, his pivotal Marvel Comics work included an extended run inking Herb Trimpe on The Incredible Hulk, and teaming with sister Marie Severin to create the definitive comics version of King Kull. Throughout a storied, awkward-winning career, he freelanced for virtually every major publisher, and remained a workhorse up until his final Dark Horse mini-series at age 89.
If you’d like to know more about John Severin, you might want to grab a copy of John Severin: Two-Fisted Comic Book Artist, published by TwoMorrows Publishing in 2022.
This is a spirited 160-page hardcover biography of one of the most prolific creators in the history of American comics, published to celebrate the centennial of the artist’s birth.
Profusely illustrated, it’s written by Greg Biga and multiple Eisner Award-winner Jon B. Cooke, with an introduction by Howard Chaykin, foreword by Mort Todd, and afterword by Chuck Dixon.
Included in John Severin: Two-Fisted Comic Book Artist is a special “American Eagle” section, an eye-popping art gallery, and extensive personal photos and artifacts (including World War Two “Victory Mail” cartoons and handmade greeting cards for his family).
Also featured are commentary from over 25 peers gathered just for this book, including Neal Adams, Richard Corben, John Byrne, Russ Heath, Walter Simonson, and many others.
Atlas comics in focus at Fantagraphics
Those of you intrigued by the wider history of Atlas might also be interested in the Fantagraphics Presents the Marvel Atlas Comics Library, a series of hardcover volumes reprinting comics from Marvel’s 1950s Atlas Comics line in both facsimile editions of individual titles and compilations of a single artist.
Three volumes have been published so far. The fourth, The Atlas Comics Library No. 4: War Comics Vol. 1, featuring work by Gene Colan and Russ Heath, is released in November.
Fantagraphics began publishing this series last year, the collections representing stories from the Atlas horror, suspense, and supernatural titles through to their surprisingly gritty war titles, to Westerns, and lighter funny animal comics and romance comics. Alongside John Severin, these stories were created by such Marvel legends as Gene Colan, Russ Heath, Jack Kirby, Carl Burgos, Stan Lee, Bill Everett, Joe Maneely, Steve Ditko, Basil Wolverton, John Severin and many others.
• Heritage Auctions Comic Art & Animation Select Auction #322438 Wednesday 18th September 2024 | Full Catalogue Here | You must be registered to bid
• John Severin: Two-Fisted Comic Book Artist | ISBN-13: 978-1605491066 | Diamond Comic Distributors Order Code: SEP211853 | Available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) or direct from Twomorrows here
• Fantagraphics Presents the Marvel Atlas Comics Library (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
With thanks to David Roach for highlighting the Wyatt Earp cover on Facebook
- About the Author
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Art and Illustration, Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, US Comics
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