Schomburg, Alex - ALL-NEW COMICS (1943-47) #8 Cover
VF: 8.0
(Stock Image)
SOLD ON: Monday, 06/12/2017 12:37 PM
$64,000
Sold For
59
Bids
PUBLISHER: Harvey
COMMENTS: Alex Schomburg pencils and inks; 1944; matted 17.5" x 23"
Featuring Captain Red Blazer and Sparky battling Nazis
Jon Berk Collection
Read Description ▼
Featuring Captain Red Blazer and Sparky battling Nazis
Jon Berk Collection
DESCRIPTION
Alex Schomburg pencils and inks; 1944; matted 17.5" x 23"
Featuring Captain Red Blazer and Sparky battling Nazis
Jon Berk CollectionRepresented from an article by Jon Berk from a classic issue of Comic Book Marketplace...
"The last issue of CBM spotlighted the run of Suspense Comics, and particularly the third issue with the classic Schomburg cover. Other than the postage size reproduction in the Gerber Photo-Journal and occasionally viewing the book from afar at infrequently attended comicbook conventions, I had never had an opportunity to view the third issue with any degree of care until it was reproduced in the color gallery of CBM 30. After looking at it a bit, it seemed oddly familiar, as if I had seen it in some other form.
"I pulled out a copy of All-New Comics 8. There it was. Another Schomburg cover. As viewed, there was a bound blond threatened by an upturned sword. Both issues have the woman surrounded by monstrous Nazis, some hooded in Klu Klux Klan fashion. Both impending executions are set in a tropical locale surrounded by raised walls or land with desperate rescues in sight. In one, a Nazi shoots a revolver from the lower right to the upper left while in the other the shot starts from the lower left and goes to the upper right. Instead of the spear set to be flung from up above in Suspense 3, there is a machine gun firing down into the scene of impending mayhem. Of course, the All-New cover prominently features the Red Blazer and the Boy Heroes, the title's resident heroes. However, the overall composition and feel of each cover are obviously similar. Mere coincidence?
"Suspense 3 has an April 1944 cover date while All-New 8 has a cover date of May 1944- only one month apart! Logic would dictate that Schomburg had to have created these covers in close temporal proximity to one another. Commencing with issue 6, All-New's prior sporadic output went on an every other month schedule. One could hypothesize that the owner of the title would want to insure a regular schedule by having several issues already prepared. The first Schomburg cover was with the seventh issue. Could Schomburg have created the cover for issue 8 well in advance of its scheduled release? Is it possible that the cover to number 8 was the prototype/inspiration for one of the classic comicbook covers of all time? Is it possible that the cover to issue 8 was created before Suspense 3?
"All-New Comics contained a text feature that was entitled 'The Story Behind the Cover'. The text would then relate a short story. The cover to a particular issue illustrated a dramatic moment from that story. Obviously the text piece and cover in issue 8 involved the comic characters of that title. The story in All-New 8 involved the abduction and planned execution by Nazis of the daughter of the French commander in North Africa. However, these plot elements apply with equal force to the cover of Suspense 3 as demonstrated by the following abbreviated excerpt from All-New 8:
"'Marianna Le Clair was of that startling beauty which made all stop to stare... Yes, she was a famous general's daughter. [As she strolled through a bazaar] ...on a hot sultry day... a dirty rough hand... went across her mouth... a sharp blow struck her temple... and she lost all consciousness. A shrill woman's cry stabbed the sultry air. ...[T]russed by heavy rope, lying limp and helpless was pretty Marianna... Over her hovered devilishly fantastic creatures, garbed in weird costumes. To a side, a fiendish-face Nazi squatted. In the center of the piazza a ...man stood raising a wicked short sword...'
"The cover to Suspense 3 had no relationship to the content of that comicbook. While this cover represents the ultimate refinement of the cover/concept of All-New 8, it is, nonetheless, a refinement. Clearly, the text piece of All-New 8 easily reflects the scene depicted on Suspense 3. Is the cover to All-New 8 the prototype for the cover to Suspense 3? Is the text piece of All-New 8 the inspiration for the cover of Suspense 3?
"You be the judge."
-- Jon Berk
Click here to view the cover of Suspense Comics #3!
If you are a new customer planning to make a first-time purchase over $25,000, please contact us 24 hours in advance of the item closing at 212.895.3999 or support@comicconnect.com so that we may approve your account for bidding. (This policy was instituted to protect consignors and bidders against bids from fraudulent accounts, and to ensure the integrity of the bidding process.) Once approved, please log out of your account and then log in, for the approval to take effect.
We realize many of you would like to bid on this auction lot, so for this listing, ComicConnect.com offers a 6 month, interest free, time payment plan with a 20% non-refundable deposit. Time Payments invoices can only be paid by cash, check, money order or wire transfer. LEARN MORE
Artist Information
Known for his dizzying, bustling war covers, bondage covers and airbrush Sci-Fi covers! Truly one of the most highly collected artists of the Golden Age. Alex Schomburg was born on May 10, 1905, in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Schomburg freelanced primarily for Timely Comics, the 1940s forerunner of Marvel, displaying his talent for action tableaux in covers featuring Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, and other superheroes. He also provided covers for Pines Publications, for titles including Exciting Comics and America's Best Comics, featuring such superheroes as the Black Terror and the Fighting Yank, as well as for Harvey Comics. Stan Lee said the following about Schomburg "I've always felt that Alex Schomburg was to comic books what Norman Rockwell was to The Saturday Evening Post. He was totally unique, with an amazing distinctive style. You could never mistake a Schomburg cover for any other artist's. ... I remember hearing Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman tell me time and again how great a cover illustrator Alex was, and how he wished we had more like him. Despite the quantity of work we gave him, despite the care and effort that went into every Schomburg cover, I cannot remember Alex ever being late with any illustration."
Featuring Captain Red Blazer and Sparky battling Nazis
Jon Berk CollectionRepresented from an article by Jon Berk from a classic issue of Comic Book Marketplace...
"The last issue of CBM spotlighted the run of Suspense Comics, and particularly the third issue with the classic Schomburg cover. Other than the postage size reproduction in the Gerber Photo-Journal and occasionally viewing the book from afar at infrequently attended comicbook conventions, I had never had an opportunity to view the third issue with any degree of care until it was reproduced in the color gallery of CBM 30. After looking at it a bit, it seemed oddly familiar, as if I had seen it in some other form.
"I pulled out a copy of All-New Comics 8. There it was. Another Schomburg cover. As viewed, there was a bound blond threatened by an upturned sword. Both issues have the woman surrounded by monstrous Nazis, some hooded in Klu Klux Klan fashion. Both impending executions are set in a tropical locale surrounded by raised walls or land with desperate rescues in sight. In one, a Nazi shoots a revolver from the lower right to the upper left while in the other the shot starts from the lower left and goes to the upper right. Instead of the spear set to be flung from up above in Suspense 3, there is a machine gun firing down into the scene of impending mayhem. Of course, the All-New cover prominently features the Red Blazer and the Boy Heroes, the title's resident heroes. However, the overall composition and feel of each cover are obviously similar. Mere coincidence?
"Suspense 3 has an April 1944 cover date while All-New 8 has a cover date of May 1944- only one month apart! Logic would dictate that Schomburg had to have created these covers in close temporal proximity to one another. Commencing with issue 6, All-New's prior sporadic output went on an every other month schedule. One could hypothesize that the owner of the title would want to insure a regular schedule by having several issues already prepared. The first Schomburg cover was with the seventh issue. Could Schomburg have created the cover for issue 8 well in advance of its scheduled release? Is it possible that the cover to number 8 was the prototype/inspiration for one of the classic comicbook covers of all time? Is it possible that the cover to issue 8 was created before Suspense 3?
"All-New Comics contained a text feature that was entitled 'The Story Behind the Cover'. The text would then relate a short story. The cover to a particular issue illustrated a dramatic moment from that story. Obviously the text piece and cover in issue 8 involved the comic characters of that title. The story in All-New 8 involved the abduction and planned execution by Nazis of the daughter of the French commander in North Africa. However, these plot elements apply with equal force to the cover of Suspense 3 as demonstrated by the following abbreviated excerpt from All-New 8:
"'Marianna Le Clair was of that startling beauty which made all stop to stare... Yes, she was a famous general's daughter. [As she strolled through a bazaar] ...on a hot sultry day... a dirty rough hand... went across her mouth... a sharp blow struck her temple... and she lost all consciousness. A shrill woman's cry stabbed the sultry air. ...[T]russed by heavy rope, lying limp and helpless was pretty Marianna... Over her hovered devilishly fantastic creatures, garbed in weird costumes. To a side, a fiendish-face Nazi squatted. In the center of the piazza a ...man stood raising a wicked short sword...'
"The cover to Suspense 3 had no relationship to the content of that comicbook. While this cover represents the ultimate refinement of the cover/concept of All-New 8, it is, nonetheless, a refinement. Clearly, the text piece of All-New 8 easily reflects the scene depicted on Suspense 3. Is the cover to All-New 8 the prototype for the cover to Suspense 3? Is the text piece of All-New 8 the inspiration for the cover of Suspense 3?
"You be the judge."
-- Jon Berk
Click here to view the cover of Suspense Comics #3!
If you are a new customer planning to make a first-time purchase over $25,000, please contact us 24 hours in advance of the item closing at 212.895.3999 or support@comicconnect.com so that we may approve your account for bidding. (This policy was instituted to protect consignors and bidders against bids from fraudulent accounts, and to ensure the integrity of the bidding process.) Once approved, please log out of your account and then log in, for the approval to take effect.
We realize many of you would like to bid on this auction lot, so for this listing, ComicConnect.com offers a 6 month, interest free, time payment plan with a 20% non-refundable deposit. Time Payments invoices can only be paid by cash, check, money order or wire transfer. LEARN MORE
Artist Information
Known for his dizzying, bustling war covers, bondage covers and airbrush Sci-Fi covers! Truly one of the most highly collected artists of the Golden Age. Alex Schomburg was born on May 10, 1905, in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Schomburg freelanced primarily for Timely Comics, the 1940s forerunner of Marvel, displaying his talent for action tableaux in covers featuring Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, and other superheroes. He also provided covers for Pines Publications, for titles including Exciting Comics and America's Best Comics, featuring such superheroes as the Black Terror and the Fighting Yank, as well as for Harvey Comics. Stan Lee said the following about Schomburg "I've always felt that Alex Schomburg was to comic books what Norman Rockwell was to The Saturday Evening Post. He was totally unique, with an amazing distinctive style. You could never mistake a Schomburg cover for any other artist's. ... I remember hearing Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman tell me time and again how great a cover illustrator Alex was, and how he wished we had more like him. Despite the quantity of work we gave him, despite the care and effort that went into every Schomburg cover, I cannot remember Alex ever being late with any illustration."