SUPERMAN ARTISTS - COLLECTION WITH CURT SWAN, MIKE ESPOSITO, JACK ADLER - HFSID 271016

SUPERMAN ARTISTS: JACK ADLER, CURT SWAN and MIKE ESPOSITO
Comprises: (1) Color Proof, unsigned. Color, 7x10¼. Hand colored guide for "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen", DC Comics #116, December 1968. Titled: "The Gorilla Reporter". Ink notation, "Fix", with arrow (unknown hand) redirects the point of origin of a dialogue balloon. With Certificate of Authenticity explaining that "These are unique one of a kind original paintings that were used to show the printer what exact color shades would be needed to print the final comic cover. The Adler collection features hundreds of these, most hand colored by Mr. Adler, with others colored by the original artist. Most of these were done in water color and contain some printer color codes that were used to set the finished colors." Slightly creased. Fine condition. (2) Printed Art, unsigned. Color, 7x10¼. Approval Cover for the same comic book. With Certificate of Authenticity explaining an approval cover. In part: "An approval cover is a limited printing of the comic book cover that was given to a D.C. Comics executive prior to the printing of the comic. The executive would review and give final recommendations about color changes, spelling corrections, missing logos, incorrect issue #'s, and more. Once final approval was given, the comic would then go to press. Prior to the 1980's, almost all approval covers were either thrown away or destroyed." Slightly creased. Chipped at lower left corner. Fine condition. The story, "The Gorilla Reporter", originally appeared with a different cover, drawn by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye, in October 1957. It was republished with the new artwork shown here in 1968. Both of these unique items are from the Jack Adler Collection. Award-winning colorist JACK ADLER (1918-2011) worked for DC comics from 1951 to 1981, rising to the office of Vice-President of Production. Adler amassed a rare collection of hand colored original comic art and approval covers, including these pieces, over the period of 1967-1974. CURT SWAN (1920-1996) worked for the army newspaper "Stars and Stripes" during WWII, moving to cartoon art after his military discharge. Swan drew his first Superman artwork in 1948 and his first Jimmy Olsen in 1954. From 1958 until his retirement from DC Comics in 1975, Swan, who drew primarily in pencil, was the artist most closely identified with Superman. MIKE ESPOSITO (1927-2010), who had begun drawing comics and posters for the armed forces, also moved to professional comic art after leaving the service. Working at Marvel and DC Comics, Esposito contributed artwork for such favorite comic characters as Wonder Woman, Spiderman and the Hulk. He also inked Superman stories drawn by Swan from 1968 to 1976. Despite Adler's preservation efforts, few hand-colored original pieces and approval covers from this era of comic art survive! Four items.