Mighty World of Marvel poster by John Buscema
Currently in auction at Heritage Auctions is an original poster created for Marvel UK in 1972 – drawn by John Buscema (possibly inked by Frank Giacoia) – alongside some other great items including some amazing comic art by a wide variety of artists, a 1970 Marvelmania poster by Jim Steranko – and a page of Space:1999 art by John Byrne. and Star Trek: The Animated Series film cels.
The Mighty World of Marvel poster was given to readers in exchange for vouchers from from the first ten issues of the company’s first weekly comic, Mighty World of Marvel.
Stan Lee announced in a special message that each of the first 10 issues of the title would include a coupon and a clue for a mystery gift. Billed as “The World’s Greatest Free Gift Offer”, the gift turned out to be a Fan-tastic poster by John Buscema.
Fans only need to collect eight of the weekly coupons to be able to redeem them for the free gift.
The 20″ x 26.5″ poster came folded and in an envelope (which is included in the lot).
The poster on offer is described as in Very Good condition, with some handing and a couple of intersection pinholes at the fold lines.
Alongside amazing original art on offer in the auction, there’s a Marvelmania poster from 1970s on offer, too, featuring Captain America drawn by Jim Steranko, featuring the Sentinel of Liberty, Bucky and the Red Skull – an iconic image for Marvel fans. This poster measures 22.5″ x 33.25″, which may indicate that the bottom was trimmed to remove the copyright text.
Jim Steranko – Captain America Marvelmania Poster (Marvel, 1970)
The auction takes place online this Sunday, 16th December 2018 and also includes Flash Gordon newspaper strip art and artwork by creators such as Charlie Adlard, Charlton Comics Space: 1999 art by John Byrne, Gene Colan, Alan Davis and Paul Neary, Will Eisner, a complete GI Combat story by Sam Glanzman, Russ Heath, Star Hawks newspaper strip art by Gil Kane, Walt Kelly, Pablo Marcos, an unpublished Nightmare cover by Alex Nino, a 1985 “Superman Re-imagined” artwork by George Perez, Frank Robbins, Marshall Rogers, a Manhunter sketch by Walt Simonson, Curt Swan and Dave Hunt Superman art, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, Wally Wood and many more.
Also on offer are a host of comics, as usual, plus other items such as art prints by the likes of Milton Caniff and Wally Wood, a rare copy of the first ever licensed Mickey Mouse Book published in 1931, and some Star Trek: The Animated Series film cels, including some, perhaps, from an unmade episode. View all the auction items here.
Art from #6 of Space: 1999 #6 by John Byrne, published by Charlton in 1976
Art by Alan Davis and Paul Neary for Excalibur #15 (1989)
Alex Niño Nightmare #2 Unpublished Cover Original Art (Innovation, 1989). This series was so terrifying, it only lasted one issue! Here is the blood-chilling cover slated for the unpublished second issue
An original Manhunter Sketch Illustration by Walt Simonson (1973)
A 1944 Dragon Lady Signed Colour Print by Milton Caniff
As a “Thank you” gesture to his fans, Wally Wood would often send sketches of a Sally Forth character. Here’s Snorky, the cute little googly-eyed alien who was one of the regular characters in the adult-oriented comic strip
Star Trek: The Animated Series Lt. Uhura Production Cel (Filmation, 1974). The notation “ST-23” appears in the lower right; since there were only 22 episodes of this series made, this could mean the cel was prepared for an additional, unfinished episode.
• Check out the Mighty World of Marvel poster Marvel UK rarity and bid here on the Heritage Auctions web site | View all the auction items
(With thanks to David Roach)
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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.
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