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Dick Calkins - Original Comic Strip Art for Buc

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Comics Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
Dick Calkins - Original Comic Strip Art for Buc
Dick Calkins - Original Comic Strip Art for Buck Rogers Daily dated 1941 (John Dille Co., 1941). John Flint Dille, president of the National Newspaper Syndicate, believed that the comic strip reading public was ready for something different. With that in mind, he contacted Philip Nowlan, whose novella Armageddon 2149 A.D. had recently appeared in the pulp magazine Amazing Stories, and pitched the idea of a science-fiction comic strip. Intrigued with the idea, Nowlan loosely adapted his novella about a young World War I pilot who enters a bizarre state of suspended animation and awakens 500 years in the future. Dick Calkins, who had been lobbying to create his own strip about cavemen and dinosaurs, was convinced to illustrate Nowlan's script -- and a legend was born. Buck Rogers and his companions, the beautiful Wilma Deering and the genius Dr. Huer, battled an assortment of bad guys in the 25th century, including Killer Kane and his moll, Ardala, as well as the space pirate Black Bart. It seems that evil hadn't changed much in 500 years. Calkin's hyper-kinetic, over-rendered style was perfect for the strip, which was high-octane fun from beginning to end. Looked at through 21st century eyes, it's all rather quaint and charming, but the excitement and imagination inherent in every panel cannot be denied. A seminal work of science-fiction, Buck Rogers had a good, long run and boasted art by some of the greatest names in comics, including Murphy Anderson and George Tuska, in its almost four decade run. Still a popular character, Buck continues to fight the brave fight in the future, showing up on TV or on the big screen when he's most needed. The strip offered here, featuring Buck and Wilma, is an excellent example of Calkins' work. With an image area of approximately 18" x 4.25", and in excellent condition, this is a rare opportunity to acquire one of the landmarks of modern science-fiction. Important notice: Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 20% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid.