Coming up for sale from Heritage Auctions at the end of this month is this terrific art by Dave Gibbons – used as a giant poster presented over 2000AD Progs 200 – 205 back in 1981. There are a few other British comic gems in the auction, too.
Six pull-out posters by Dave Gibbons were included one-per-issue in the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic. Once assembled, the poster shows the title’s host, Tharg, letting readers know what was in store for them… because “the year 2000 draws closer with every Prog!”
His warnings include Future War, Space Travel, Robots, Mutants, and changes in Cities and Cultures. Oh Tharg, if you only knew.
The image features Judge Dredd, Judge Death, Walter the Wobot, Robo-Hunter, the A.B.C. Warriors, Strontium Dog, Tweak, many many more!
This huge, behemoth of a piece, signed by Dave, was rendered in ink over graphite on oversized illustration board. All text and logos, as well as the border text, are stat paste-ups.
Although Heritage Auctions quotes the size at an image area of 32.75″ x 26.5″, Dave Gibbons tells us “It’s much bigger than the size they quote. It was the largest size of CS10 illo board available. I’d say A0, 33.1 x 46.8 inches”
Where the art overlaps the border text, it has been trimmed around the art edges, pried up, and the text slid under (a low-tech solution used since the Golden Age of comics).
The auction also includes comic art and illustration work by Neal Adams, Murphy Anderson, Frank Brunner, Howard Chaykin, Steve Ditko, Will Eisner, Glenn Fabry, Virgil Finlay, Chris Foss, Frank Frazetta, Michael Golden, Tim and Greg Hildebrandt, Al Jaffee, Mike Kaluta, Jack Kirby, Winsor McCay, Frank Miller, a rare Arnaldo Putzu Look-in cover, Mike Ploog, Sanjulian, Bill Sienkiewicz, Wally Wood and many, many more.
• View this 2000AD poster by Dave Gibbons here on Heritage Auctions
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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: 2000AD, Art and Illustration, British Comics, Comic Art, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
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