Bart Sears Rare Finds #1

As a sister to the 'Guess what the Postman delivered today' entries, I thought I'd pull out of my vast Bart Sears collection the items that are perhaps a little bit more difficult to come upon than your average comic. So here is the first entry into a new series titled, simply, 'Rare Finds.'

And why not start off with a piece of Bart Sears memorabilia that is so incredibly rare, that I have only seen it come up for sale two times, one of which I purchased, though I may have missed the odd sale, however unlikely.

Guessed what I'm talking about yet?

Of course you did!

I was well pleased when I received this in the mail some time in the year 2000 (somehow I forgot to mark down when I received it, strange for me). I'd been looking for it ever since I'd known of it's existence, some years previous, and when it came up on eBay, I bid way high, there was absolutely no way I was going to let somebody else win this, no way!

The Wizard Comic Book Binder was manufactured in 1993 by both the Wizard magazine gang and Pro Gard, an association that spawned several fine comic protection and storage products.

The image, obviously by Bart, is taken from his tutorial in Wizard #16. It features the first incarnation of everybody's favourite metalloid, Brute. He's the first incarnation because, as you can see, he's sporting his original hair style, the Kirby-esque black spots. This would be his hair-do of choice for several years until Ominous Press came into reality and he changed his style to the more recognisable energy burst.

The binder itself is a 3-ring binder, there are no other features to it really, no pockets, no sleeves, nada.

Bart has a copy of the binder himself, and he also had a production sheet of the material used to cover the binder, image and all. Bart very generously signed it and gave it to me in 2004 when I was visiting him for the first time. I've never seen it in this form before or since and it is doubtful it exists anywhere else.

So there you have it, the Wizard binder, a rare find indeed.

Stay tuned for more rare finds from my Bart Sears collection in the form of the Eclipso Shelf Card, Comic Shell backing board and so much more.

Tell your friends.

Batman: Going Sane TPB update

I finally managed to get my hands on a copy of the new Batman: Going Sane TPB, and I'm happy to say that, yes, it does reprint Bart's work from LOTDK #200, and not #100, as stated in the DC promotional text.
Your welcome.

Guess what the Postman delivered today? #4

You know, there are times when, as a Bart Sears collector, I receive something in the mail that is that little bit more special than your average piece of Bart Sears memorabilia. Something that makes me really proud to be the #1 fan of Bart Sears. I mean, who else would see this item and realize he must have it!

Don't ask me what it's from, I have absolutely no idea, I couldn't even tell you what year it was taken. It looks like early '90's to me, but I could be wrong. My best guess is it may have something to do with the Kubert School. I can almost imagine walking down those hallowed halls and seeing this picture among the other greats that have taught there. Or maybe it's a convention photo. Who knows? Well, if anybody does know, I'd very much appreciate any information that can be given.

Did I mention this is probably the rarest piece of Bart Sears memorabilia I have ever seen. As far as I know, it's a one-of-a-kind deal. Which, excluding original art, makes it one of the only pieces that is such.

I really should stop bragging so much on this blog.....

Postcards from Scotland

I was in Scotland last week, thanks to my wife giving me the trip as a birthday present. As I was planning what to bring with me (binoculars, etc.), I had the genius idea that I should take along a few small Bart Sears items and get my picture taken holding them in front of famous places. Genius, I tell you!


So here they are -

This first one is taken on the waters of the mighty Loch Ness, home of the beastie himself. I'm holding a signed and laminated Brute Postcard, a favourite of mine because I own the original sketch and final art for it.

This second photo shows me standing in front of the imposing Edinburgh Castle holding a copy of the B&B Infinity mini-comic, another favourite of mine because I own so many of the original art pages from that comic, tee-hee.

Inking over Bart Sears = shaky hands Jay

Most of you Bart Sears fans out there will be familiar with the name Darrin Wiltshire. For those that aren't, Darrin is a big fan, and like myself, takes his fanaticism beyond just collecting, he does something with it. Darrin has had many commissions done by Bart, which can be seen over at his gallery at ComicArtFans (whilst you're there, check mine out too).

Either Bart or Darrin normally email me scans of these commissions, which are usually in pencil, and I often get the urge to ink them. A few people have inked some of them over the years, most notably Andy Smith, but I thought I'd give it a go myself. So here they are, shown for the first time, as far as I know.

Enjoy.

Guess what the Postman delivered today? #3

A few weeks ago, I found a cool site called Trading Card Central. TCC is basically a trading card site, with message boards where people can list the cards they have or want to trade or sell.

I was on a hunt for the few Marvel Overpower cards Bart did that I still needed and came across a member that had a whole stack of Overpower cards.

I contacted the member in the hope that they both had any of them, and would be willing to sell them to me. The member, Rogue, got back to me and said that she did have a few of the cards I needed. I said "Great! How much do you want for them?" She replied that she couldn't accept any money for them and would be happy to send them out to me. Can you believe that!?!?

So, a week later, on the 15th of August, I got the envelope in the mail and there they were, in crazy mint condition, Deadpool and Thor.

And for those of you that don't believe Bart did the art for those cards, here are his pencils, the Thor one owned by me, tee-hee.

Guess what the Postman delivered today? #2

Lots and lots of Wizard magazines!
I got these badboys yesterday, and I've put them to work already. I got issues #4, 8, 16, 17, 20, 21, 26, 29, 39, 50 and 75 from a dealer in the UK for about $40 odd.
I mostly got these magazines for Bart's Brute & Babe tutorials, which are featured in 16, 17, 20, 21, 26, 29 and 39, but there are plenty of other things in there relating to Bart. The first issue, #4, has an interview with Bart and several of Bart's illustrations for columns and departments, which are all in the shape of the Wizard mascot that Bart produced 10 different versions of. There are also plenty of advertisements featuring Bart's art, and of course the Wizard Top 10 Artists list, featuring Bart who seemed to hover around the #7 position for a long time.

Now I'm sure I can hear you ask 'Don't you already have all of this stuff?'
Well, the short answer is: Of course!
I have all of the B&B tutorials, have so for many years, but hindsight is a bitch, and I didn't hang onto all of the other stuff, like the articles that mention Bart's name, or the credits pages that have Bart listed, so...
This also gives me the chance to re-laminate the things I already have, now on the A4 sheets so they are uniform and just flat out pretty.
I managed to cut out a total of 74 pages with something or other to do with Bart, which will get the laminating treatment early next week. If I get a chance too, I'll list what appeared in each issue, for those interested parties, or is it just me...?