Justice League of America 71 Approval Cover Art BATMAN SUPERMAN FLASH Proof 1969

$

150

Justice League of America #71 Original Approval Cover

THIS COVER HAS EPIC DEPICTIONS OF BATMAN and SUPERMAN, along with FLASH, GREEN ARROW, ATOM, MARTIAN MANHUNTER, GREEN LANTERN, AND HAWKMAN!  

The Caped Crusader and Man Of Steel Were In Another Hit Big-Budget Film Recently; Expect such material to continue the upward pricing trend!

Courtesy of Mike Sekowsky (A prolific DC cover artist of the era, if ever there was one!)   This great image is classic, and it possesses bright colors that will have you reaching for sunglasses! 

 This Actual Piece Was Reviewed And Approved By D.C. Comics In 1969.

Superman and Batman are the archetypical superheroes, and Batman is credited with helping to kick off the Golden-Age of comics when he debuted in Detective Comics #27.  He was the inspiration for (and was outright copied by) myriad superheroes by many publishers, and is already a cult classic character to millions around the globe.  A hit in major radio, movie and TV shows for generations, plus the cartoons, games, statues, clothing, and all the other licensed merchandise, beginning way back in the 1930's, and much much more, --ensuring that Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, will forever be THE quintessential superhero for all time.  These days, the hit films are creating legions of additional fans for the costumed detective.  In addition, the latest major big-budget films with Superman and the Dark Knight garnered much acclaim from the fans, bringing the love of the top pop-culture icon to countless more fans around the world, while Batman appearances in upcoming superhero films are already confirmed. It doesn't get any more "Blue Chip" than this!  

 Extremely bright colors and superb gloss. Snow-white whites and colors so brilliant you'll think they're still wet!  This is a must-have piece of DC history for any fan of vintage comic-books and/or unique superhero ephemera, or of original production art to Superman and/or Batman and/or Green Lantern and/or Flash and/or Arrow comics, or just the serious art fan who likes having true rarities but cannot afford to shell out five-figure$ for the black & white line art of the era!

NOTE: We also have other cover production art from this renowned pedigree, running on ebay now!

Many of you have read about this significant find in C.B.M. and C.B.G. and Alter Ego
(Comic Book Marketplace #85 and Comics Buyer's Guide #'s 1399, 1402, 1414, etc.)
We are secure packagers and prompt shippers so expect to be pleased.

ARTIST BIO:  Jack Adler was a comic artist from the golden-age to the "copper age", and was 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. (Adler has a long history with the "Man Of Steel", as he colored the plates for Action Comics #1, in 1938!)  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 Five" war titles. Plus, he inked many '50's, '60's, and '70's comic covers as well. 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 reclusive legend himself, Jack Adler, (thought by some to have passed away years prior), at the urgings of his kind family, made his very first public appearance, at the San Diego Comic-Con.  He was honored Thursday afternoon at the ever-popular annual convention with and 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!)  Besides just Mr. Adler, other noteworthy members on the entertaining and informative panel were Tom Gill (RIP), plus Jacobson, Colan, Springer, Harrison, and 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 large 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 by him!  I also found out that 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 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, 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 has made to the medium many of us know and love.  Sadly, Mr. Adler passed away in September of 2011, at the age of 93.

 Back in the "good ole days", DC normally burned or discarded such production art once the comic went to print.  Mr. Adler painfully remembers himself and fellow DC artist Jerry Serpi cutting up thousands of pages of original comic line art and production art.  He said it broke his heart to destroy all that beautiful artwork;  But back then, nobody foresaw the future value of such exclusive pieces of comic-book history.  Fortunately, during the period of 1967 to 1974, this award-winning artist pulled aside many prime examples, 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 pecentage of less than one half of one percent.

This is the actual Approval Cover, blank on the reverse, (besides the check mark of approval) unlike cover proofs, for this comic. The editorial and creative staff reviewed it and approved it for use, to make sure there were no errors or needed improvements, before the actual book hit the press. 

Provenance:  Back in the late eighties, in Texas, Mr. Adler and his grandson sold his entire collection, comprised of the DC Archives of cover production art, in one fell swoop. 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, except for the horror, from the Southern California art collector who possessed this landmark find since 1997. The horror genre took me an additional three and a half years of wrangling, but now they too are finding their way into the hands of the true fans, who will preserve and cherish them the right way. For additional information regarding this popular pedigree, check out the lengthy color article on the Adler Collection in the September 2001 issue of Comic Book Marketplace (which is still available in our ebay store) as well as the more recent Alter-Ego #56, which has a long interview with Adler, as well as interviews with a few of the many legendary talents he influenced: Neal Adams, Howard Stern, and Joe Kubert.  Additional cover art can now be found by checking the other Key Comics ebay items (user ID: keycomics). Buy aggressively, as such items are typically one-of-a-kind, and pre-1978 DC production pieces as a whole are notoriously rare.

A signed & embossed cardstock Certificate Of Authenticity is included, forever guaranteeing the provenance of each piece from this major historic discovery. Approval Covers are brilliant and glossy, (obviously very well preserved), and they are blank on the reverse side, and are slightly larger than comic size; since they were part of the editorial process they can include tack-holes, indentations from a paper clip, staple-holes, chips, pencil notations, tape, and/or edge wear. This one somehow avoided these detractors, as it's in stellar shape. (See the big scan!)  

As Usual: LOW ASKING PRICE AND NO RESERVE!

KEY COMICS is a Power(GOLD)Seller and CBM Market Report Contributor and CGC Member Dealer that has specialized in Mail-Order Comics for a quarter-century;
Buy with confidence.

* * SATISFACTION GUARANTEED * *

International Customers Welcome.
Please add $8.00 for Securely-Boxed Tracked Priority-Mail. Win extra items and save on shipping, as extra pieces of production art only add .50 apiece.

KEY COMICS IS ALWAYS DEALING IN COMICS & ART!
('30's to '70's)
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For more samples from our diverse inventory, including rare Original Comic Line Art, plus superb CGC-Graded Comics, and more DC COVER ART from the historic Jack Adler Collection that is listed in assorted categories, please see our other items:

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