The Jack Adler Collection Of DC Cover Art! COMBAT #153 Original Hand-Colored Cover Art. THE ORIGINAL COVER PAINTING FROM 1972. NOT SOMETHING USED TO MAKE SOME GRAPHIC NOVEL OR TPB OR ANY OTHER SUCH REPRINTING OR REPRODUCTION! A CLASSIC IMAGE WITH THE HAUNTED TANK ABOUT TO BACK OVER A POOR DOG THAT IS TIED TO A FALLEN LIGHT POLE! Also, original Received Date is written by hand on the reverse. CLASSIC HAUNTED TANK COVER! Of course, many fans remember the’bigger and better’ comics, that packed 52 pages for just a quarter-dollar, and this amazing’Jeb Stuart and Haunted Tank about to crush a helpless canine’ depiction was certainly an auspicious start for this hot silver-age issue. This is by the living legend, JOE KUBERT, who handled such artwork often, and is perhaps best known as artist of the big five war titles of the era. This stunner would be ideal to frame and hang on a wall, shelf, or desk; A conversation piece of the highest order. The size is 7″ x 10.5″ and the incredible attention to detail in the paint work becomes apparent when it’s viewed in person. The color contrasts and eye-popping layout really make this piece stand out! Awesome attention to detail. Often times a color guide would just have enough of the color, splashed in a haphazard fashion in a particular area, to show the printer what color to use where. This has paint work that looks as if it belongs in a museum! Check out the various hues, plus the logo and all the shocked heroes expressions, all attentively and meticulously kept within the intricate lines, which makes the published version look bland and flat, by comparison. This cover was lavishly colored by Jack Adler, as part of the original production process during his long tenure at DC, creating this impressive painting. This actual item was submitted by D. Comics to the printer (Sparta) in 1972 to produce the front cover to the popular comic-book. I included a picture of Mr. Adler admiring his paint work on another cover of the day. This gorgeous painting looks even more awesome than the famous comic cover that it produced… It is quite striking! This would be a great addition to any collection of comic-art or love ephemera or the DC Comic fan’s collection… Many of you have read about this significant find in C. We are secure packagers and prompt shippers so expect to be pleased. Jack Adler worked in the industry since the first big boom, even coloring the plates used to print Action #1 in 1938, introducing Superman to the hobby and kicking off the fabled Golden-Age of Comics. He was on-staff as DC Comics’ premiere colorist from the early’50’s through the mid’80’s, and was head of the art department for much of his tenure. He graduated from high school at the age of fifteen, and quickly got a degree in fine art. He became proficient at sculpting, pencilling, inking, painting, and photography. He pioneered the washtone/graytone effect, which became so popular on the DC “Big 5″ war titles. In addition, he inked hundreds of covers over several decades as well; such as dozens of G. Combat covers and the entire run of Sea Devils, for but a couple examples… You’ll also see his name on the front cover of Plop #18, which he did with Basil Wolverton. Moreover, he also developed the “3-D” process used on the Batman 3-D and Superman 3-D comics in 1953; –so we’re talking about a major contributor to DC history. During the summer of 2004, the living legend himself, Jack Adler, (thought by some to have passed away years before), at the urgings of his kind family, made his very first and only public appearance, at the San Diego Comic-Con. He was honored Thursday afternoon at the popular convention with the Inkpot Award For Excellence for Outstanding Achievement In Comic Art, and a rousing standing ovation from the many onlookers at the panel of Golden-Age and Silver-Age Greats, hosted by Mark Evanier of course! Adler, other noteworthy members on the entertaining and informative panel were Tom Gill (who passed away recently, RIP), Sid Jacobson, Gene Colan, Frank Springer, Harry Harrison, and Frank Bolle. On Friday at the Comic Con, there was a one-on-one panel, with just Mark Evanier and Jack Adler, titled “Spotlight On Jack Adler”, and many questions were answered for the crowd of audience members, who were kept entertained by the charismatic and respected living legend. It is amazing how many great names were hired on or got their start in the industry by him. He also explained how he invented the 3-D image technology popularly used in Viewmasters, but was unable to get the deserved patent, as the film itself had been patented, but not in a similar 3D format, so he got burned, as viewmaster was able to capitalize on his invention freely! Plus, the method that made integrating photo cover and line-drawn cover art easily into a single cover image was also pioneered by this influential innovator. The technology was supposed to be kept a secret, but was leaked immediately by a DC exec! Julius Shwartz had told him “don’t tell me about it, just do it”, and when it worked, it worked, and was immediately utilized, as the articulate and charming Adler related. As an accomplished photographer, he created covers using photographs he had taken of his own grandchildren, producing his own copies of Shazam #2 and #6, which were displayed on an overhead projector to the glee of many enthralled listeners. The picture of Captain Marvel, sitting reading to the innocent youths, was actually of Jack Adler reading to his grandkids. These same grandkids were present at the panel, and turned out to be pleasant, gracious, and kind adults. Moreover, he highly touted the art skills of good friends Neal Adams and Joe Kubert, relating entertaining stories, of course. He helped Kubert set up his now legendary School Of Comic Book Art. Once the school was set up in 1976, he was supposed to head the school, but had to back out, as he couldn’t bring himself to move to New Jersey! You could write a book on the contributions Mr. Adler made to the medium many of us know and love. Back in the “good ole days”, DC normally burned or discarded such production art once the comic went to print. However, during the period of 1967 to 1974, (with some exceptions dating earlier/later), this award-winning artist pulled aside many prime examples of production art, representing each step of the comic-making process. Nevertheless, there’s an extremely small amount of these that were saved, considering the volume that was produced in those days. It is estimated that out of 840,000 pieces created for the production process over that time period, only about 4,000 or so survived, thanks to Jack Adler; A miniscule percentage of less than one half of one percent! This is the actual Hand-Colored Cover Art for the fan-favorite comic. It was painted in mixed media, using what appears to be mainly watercolors with perhaps some acrylic paint; This was of course done under contract for DC back in the early seventies by the talented Mr. Carmine Infantino and/or other influential talents of the DC editorial and art staff reviewed & approved it, and then a Four-color Separation and/or Approval Cover were produced, for additional revisions, if necessary, before the actual book went to print. Only one such showpiece was created per cover. Then, years later, it changed hands again, with the vast bulk of the load still untouched… Eventually, after lengthy negotiations, a longtime friend and I were able to acquire the whole load (less the horror material) from the Southern California art collector who possessed this landmark find since 1997. I was eventually able to obtain the horror genre after years of additional wrangling. A signed & embossed cardstock Certificate Of Authenticity is included, forever guaranteeing the provenance of this important piece from this major historic discovery. Hand-colored Silver-age & Early-Bronze DC Covers are exceedingly rare in the market, and very impressive, as you can see brushstrokes and color variations, in some cases desired by the creator, which never make it to the final product… Because they were part of the original raw artistic process, they can include tack-holes, pasteovers, tape, indentations from a paper clip, staple-holes, creases, white-out, and/or edge wear. However, this one somehow avoided the significant problems, just some light horzontal bends towards the bottom, nothing color-breaking. Really, this beauty must be seen in person to be appreciated. For more information, please see the informative color feature article on this historic pedigree collection in the September issue of Comic Book Marketplace magazine from 2001; Plus, articles in Alter-Ego #56 include more recent interviews with Jack, as well as Howard Stern (his cousin), along with contemporaries Joe Kubert and Neal Adams; But I digress! Fabulous eye-appeal: High-quality thin paper was used. Bone-white whites and nice rich colors! This is a must-have piece for any fan of ultra-rare DC original art, or for the pedigree comic & art collector, or the serious DC war memorabilia buff, or just the Haunted Tank buff or Kubert or Adler fan who enjoys owning true rarities to keep himself satisfied visually, while keeping his portfolio diversified in a most dramatic fashion! As Usual: LOW ASKING PRICE AND NO RESERVE! SATISFACTION GUARANTEED 14-day return privilege. KEY COMICS IS ALWAYS DEALING IN COMICS & ART! For more samples from our diverse inventory, including original comic line-art and CGC-Graded Collector’s Comics, plus more DC COVER ART from the historic Jack Adler Collection that we listed in assorted categories, please see our other auctions. Good Luck and Happy Collecting! The free listing tool. The item “G. I. Combat #153 COVER ART HAND PAINTED Haunted Tank JOE KUBERT 1972 Color Guide” is in sale since Sunday, July 13, 2014. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Comics\Original Comic Art\Paintings”. The seller is “keycomics” and is located in Mesa, Arizona. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Type: Hand-Colored Comic Cover-Art
- Product Type: Original Art
- Age: Silver-Age
- Jack Adler Collection: DC Comics Cover Art