DGLib 600: Turok 27 Original Comic Book Cover Art/Painting by George Wilson(?)

$

2,825

I promised something special for my DGLib 600 listing! Took me a while to prepare this.

Here is the original cover art (see first photo) for the comic book Turok, Son of Stone #27 (Dell Comics, March–May 1962, see second photo; also used on the cover of Turok Archives #5 by Dark Horse, see third photo; note: these two books are for display only and are not part of this sale). My camera is a cheapie, so the photo is not all that great; sorry about that. But you can at least see the painting, the mattes, and part of the frame. I picked it up about 40 years ago from New York City/Brooklyn dealer Phil Seuling at a comic-book convention in Toronto, Canada, and had it double-matted and framed under glass about 20 years ago to protect and display the beautiful artwork. The visible area measures about 10"x13" within the inner matte; the total area of the painting measures about 13"x17" within the frame. The artwork (acrylics or oil on art board, if I remember correctly—it is not just paper) is probably by George Wilson—who is not Dennis the Menace’s next-door neighbor!—and it was reproduced on the comic book at almost 100% of its original size (cropped: there’s more to the painting than appears on the comic). Issue #27 was the third-last Dell Comics issue of Turok, which subsequently continued under the publishers Gold Key and Whitman. Wilson was a prolific cover artist for Dell and Gold Key during the 1950s through the 1970s, having painted covers for most issues of Tarzan and Turok comic books of that period. Original Dell Turok cover art is rarely offered at auction; I am unable to find any eBay listings for it. I cannot, however, confirm 100% that Wilson was the artist. The artist might have been someone else working for Dell whose art resembled Wilson's. There is no signature and nothing on the painting, front or back, to identify the artist. I had to research that myself, and it was not easy.

Just over 50 years old, this painting, a sterling piece of comic-book history, features a more-or-less anatomically correct mosasaur—swiped from paleontological and natural-history artist Zdenek Burian, incidentally—confronting our heroes Turok and Andar. It is a piece of original art, not a print. It was used as cover art for at least two different Turok publications, so someone out there must like it. As an adjunct to my complete Dell/Gold Key/Whitman Turok collection, it has looked great on my wall for the past couple of decades, and now that I’ve retired, I’d like to pass it along to someone else who’ll appreciate owning it. It is neither restored nor retouched anywhere; it is in the same nice condition that I bought it in back in the 1970s, no cracks, tears, water spots, or other flaws, nothing trimmed away in framing. I had the painting appraised by two different comic-book-art auction houses at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, and the starting bid reflects their appraisal.

Two further things to consider concerning the purchase of this painting. First, there is a live-action Turok movie in the works. If it is completed and shown in theaters worldwide, the value of this and other Turok cover paintings and original page art could well skyrocket. And second, original art is a classic hedge against inflation and currency devaluation. We could be in for some of that in a few years. Seriously: take your shrinking dollars out of the volatile stock market and put them into an art object of lasting intrinsic value. Diversify your retirement/investment portfolio to include this (or any other) piece of original comic-book cover art. In particular, this happens to be one of just 29 cover paintings for Dell Turok comics (the later Gold Key/Whitman Turok cover art is garish and not as good, in my humble opinion). Most of these are either lost or locked up in private collections and are not for sale.

Terms: When I was collecting comic books 30-odd years ago, I sometimes took advantage of dealers’ layaway plans to spread out payments for high-value books. I can offer an interest-free layaway plan of 50% down at time of sale, the rest over the next 30–60 days, for this painting. I’ll ship the painting when it is completely paid for. This would have to be set up in correspondence between purchaser and me, outside PayPal, which has no provision for layaway plans (I have inquired). If you believe the initial bid price is too high, email me and, if the painting does not sell, I’ll consider relisting it at a suitably lowered starting bid. All payments (money orders, personal checks, etc.) must clear my bank, or be held in escrow by PayPal, before I can ship the painting.

Shipping: Shipping costs (and eBay’s commission) are taken into account in the starting bid of the painting, so there’s no extra shipping charge if the painting is purchased in the United States. If you’ll be in the southern California area, up to a couple of hours’ drive from San Diego, I could deliver the painting in person. However, a painting framed under glass may not survive the kind of handling that the post office or FedEx/UPS will give it. I cannot take the chance that the painting will be damaged by broken glass in transit. So I may have to unframe it to crate it for shipment. I’ll need several days to prepare the shipment, if I have to crate the painting. Purchaser and I can discuss such shipping details in correspondence.

Foreign purchase: If this painting is purchased outside the United States, purchaser assumes all responsibility for insurance and clearing customs, and must add $100 to the purchase price to cover my extra shipping, crating, and handling charges. If the painting is damaged through mishandling by customs agents or other authorities while en route, recovering costs must be the purchaser’s responsibility. The logistics of shipping a valuable painting out of the country and/or overseas is a bureaucratic nightmare; I would prefer not to do foreign orders. Nothing against foreigners, you understand, just against the bureaucrats who create those lunatic regulations. Again, purchaser and I can discuss such shipping details in correspondence.

Returns: If I deliver the painting in person, that’s when you must decide whether or not you will keep it. If I have to unframe and ship you the painting and then you want to return it, we will have to negotiate some nonrefundable compensation for my time and trouble and for possible wear and tear on the painting. I hate to be a curmudgeon about this. All I ask is that you be very sure you want the painting and have the means to purchase it before you enter the bidding. Email me with any questions.

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THIS BLURB APPEARS WITH ALL MY LOT DESCRIPTIONS----------

Over the past fifty-plus years I’ve accumulated a huge hoard of interesting books, papers, and periodicals, on topics ranging from dinosaurs and paleontology to astronomy and space, to mathematics and the hard sciences, to comic books, strips and fanzines, to science fiction and philately, among others(!). These items have clogged my garage and office for years, and as I enter retirement, it is time for some major housecleaning. Ninety percent or more of my library—literally hundreds of big boxes of stuff—will be going up for sale over the next few years.

Every week, time permitting, I will devote a few hours to picking things out of my library as I come to them that I find I can live without, and listing them for sale right here on eBay. Anything that’s in junky condition or deteriorated in storage I will simply discard; only neat stuff in nice condition will appear here. Many lots will start at a mere $0.99 plus a $4.75 Flat Rate Priority Mail shipping charge—more for collectibles or items/lots too heavy or bulky to ship for $4.75, or for stuff to be sent to foreign destinations (about $12.85 for anything that fits into a Flat Rate Priority Mail Envelope). Note: These prices frequently change at the whim of the Post Office. Lots purchased for $50 or more that fit into Flat Rate Priority Mail Envelopes or Boxes ship FREE. Flat Rate Priority allows me to forgo sticking the buyer with additional "handling" charges; what you’re charged here goes right to the Post Office. Some lots eBay arbitrarily will not allow me to charge my preferred Flat Rate Priority shipping fee for. So for those lots I will simply factor the shipping cost into the initial bid. I will always combine lots shipped to the same address so as to keep your costs as low as possible. You may bid with confidence; you will get your money’s worth!

To make it easy to find my stuff, I’ll make sure the letters "DGLib" (for Dinogeorge’s Library) will appear in the heading of every lot. That way you can simply set an eBay search to look for "DGLib" to find everything unsold I have to offer. I’m well known among my peers for the depth of my library (just Google "Dinogeorge"), so you may find stuff here that you’ve never been able to find anywhere else. Be sure to look in every week.