Here we review original, pro, comic book art that has recently traded hands among art dealers. These images are high resolution photos of the original artwork, not prints. Soak it up now, this stuff is very rare and much of it gets locked away for many years after purchase.

Click on the header link to learn more about each piece.

Warlord of Mars Series

A rather large number of original art pieces from the new Warlord of Mars comic books were sold over the past few weeks. Wikipedia indicates that Warlord of Mars was a science fiction fantasy novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1919. The story was again re-published as a comic book in 1977 by Marvel and Dynamite has brought it back once again in 2014. There were a huge assortment of alternate covers but all of these illustrations below are from Jonathan Lau, who I think did a really fantastic job and has earned a entire post in the Comic Book Art Traffic Review dedicated to his work.

Warlord of Mars issue 14 cover by Jonathan Lau

I love to see the blue pencil lines under the real lines, that is how you know this is real. Many artists will do their rough sketches in very light blue, then go over that with pencil. SOlid black pencil strokes fill in the edges forcing the eye into the center strip. I love the way the stalagtites are depicted with very light horizontal strokes standing out against pure white paper. The water fall is a nice touch dripping down the walls and over many of the dino bones. This is a very magestic piece of art.

Warlord of Mars issue 13 cover by Jonathan Lau

5 Mars monsters closing in quickly from behind while one climbs up in front. The hero seems to be a little dazed and confused and this does not seem like the right time to be in dreamland. More blue pencil lines underneath, lots of motion and furious action. The story this piece tells seems like it might be all over. It leads me to truely wonder if he will escape such desperate times.

Warlord of Mars issue 7 cover by Jonathan Lau

Here we see that there was nothing to worry about all along. A fantastic, triumphant piece that uses solid black strokes in the darkness of that doorway to keep the eye immersed in this foreign world. I will mention the blue pencils underneath one last time for all of you young artists out there. This is a very powerful technique that should be studied and practiced regularly.