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Joe Simon and Jack Kirby - Original Art for Boy Explorers #1, Complete 12-page Story, "Talent for Tr

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:25,000.00 - 46,750.00 USD
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby - Original Art for Boy Explorers #1, Complete 12-page Story,  Talent for Tr
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby - Original Art for Boy Explorers #1, Complete 12-page Story, "Talent for Trouble" (Harvey, 1946). Every great medium produces exceptional teams, creators whose work together transcends what either was capable of individually. In film, such great collaborations as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, John Ford and John Wayne, and Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, set a high-water mark. Similarly, musical pairings like William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, and John Lennon and Paul McCartney, were able to achieve more together than they were separately. Comics have proven no different, with legendary collaborations between Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Frank Miller and Klaus Jansen, and, of course, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Easily conquering any genre they tackled, the team of Simon and Kirby led the field for decades, until finally dissolving their partnership in the 1950s, much to the regret of their legion of fans. By the time they developed The Boy Explorers, S&K were already adept at the "kid gang" genre of comics, having revitalized and refreshed the concept over the years with such proven winners as The Young Allies, The Boy Commandos, and The Newsboy Legion. Surprisingly, The Boy Explorers was something less than a success, with only one released issue (a second issue was distributed to mail-order subscribers only and is considered exceptionally scarce today). The story revolved around Commodore Sindbad, the last of the Yankee Clipper captains who, wealthy and retired, adopts four orphan boys (Gashouse, Gadget, Smiley, and the pint-sized Mr. Zero) and embarks on a series of globe-trotting adventures. At least, that's what would have happened had the strip survived. Offered here is the original art for the first twelve-page story in that landmark first issue. Fully rendered by Simon and Kirby in pen and ink on heavy illustration board, this is a rare treasure for the collector of classic comic art. Measuring approximately 15" x 20" overall, the pages are in excellent condition, with some discoloration and/or soiling at the edges, and there is a glue stain at the top of page one, presumably where a stat was pasted up at one time. None of these flaws affect the art in anyway, however, giving the entire story a high degree of appeal. Finding Simon and Kirby pages from this era is always difficult. Finding complete stories is nearly impossible. Don't miss out on this fabulous find. Important notice: We expect to be auctioning lots at the rate of 200-250 per hour. Sometimes eBay Premier live bid software cannot keep up with that pace, so we strongly recommend that you place a realistic proxy bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Also please note that all Heritage/CAA lots purchased through eBay Premier carry a 20% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions.