Here we review original, pro, comic book art that has recently traded hands. These images are high resolution photos of the original artwork, not prints.

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

Manbat by Arthur Adams

Manbat changes hands, and leads the way this month. This is not a man that dresses up like a bat, rather this is a giant bat, in men's jeans. Another spectacular creature from the mind of Adams that is completely unique. Even I get tired of drawing the same old A List characters but it can be hard to design new and interesting stuff. However, Adams makes it seem like pure fun and I really get the feeling he is enjoying himself here.

Adams line quality is second to none, and I really love how the glorious cross hatching fills a black rectangle in the background used to break up the composition and add more interest.

The new owner if this piece says that it did not come cheap. Based on the other pieces we will review here today, I would say this piece cost at least 9k.

Spiderman vs. Venom by Jamie Biggs

Anyone looking to start trading and collecting original art should start here. Jamie Biggs is a fantastic artist with a great deal of style that he can send off into nearly any direction. Here Biggs achieves a remarkable throwback to the glory days of Todd McFarlane's insanely popular Spiderman book from the 90's.

This is a truly amazing piece of art and the original is currently being auctioned right now, ending on Feb. 2, 2018 (2 days). The current bid is at $170, making this piece extremely reachable for many of us as long as there is no reserve.

As a huge fan of McFarlane's Spiderman from the 90's, I see many resemblances and it really brings me back in a good way.

This is a great example of how I like to look at style...

Style is not accidental, it is an intentional, conscious decision... And Biggs really nailed it here!

Justice League of America 60 Cover Re-Creation by Arthur Adams

This is just an update on the re-creation by Adams first covered here about six months ago, back in 2017. This piece is ready to change hands again, currently up for sale listed at 11k!

While I am not a professional curator or estimator, data like this allows us to better estimate the value of other Adams pieces like Manbat above.

We will continue to watch these and many more pieces changing hands so stay tuned folks!

Dark Reign: Sinister Spider-Man #1 Cover by Chris Bachalo and Tim Townsend

Something about Venom brings out the real nut jobs! Venom is treated like some sort of contest in the Comic Book Art world...

Who can draw the most psychotic, and dastardly evil version of Venom possible?

Artists continue to top one another in this game every day it seems, and this rendition from Bucky and Townsend is a top contender. Very little cross hatching, no real shades of gray. This piece is done in either solid black, or pure white to a rather beautiful degree of bliss, in pure negative space.

The energy and brutality in this piece is very powerful, like Venom is about to step on me with that crazy look in his eyes. This is going to hurt! Ouch!

Prophet #4 Cover by Stephen Platt

I have my favorites today but back in 1996 when this piece was created, Stephen Platt was my number one favorite artist in the world. Platt was a huge fan favorite of the time but not long thereafter, Platt seemed to move on. I believe he is working as an Art Director for movies and games and such in Hollywood now. I looked it up a while ago because it had been so long since we have seen any of his work in comics.

The energy and tiny details that Platt put into his pieces was impossible to match.

This piece will go up for Auction soon, and I really doubt it will be easy to get your hands on it.

The Maxx: Maxximized #29 by Sam Keith

Keith's art many times seems too deep for comic books, but he makes it work and no one can do abstract comic book art quite like he can. Keith's style is very distinct and often reminds me of fine art. Keith seems to understand the spacial needs of minimalism so he concentrates his time time into tiny details, like all of those wrinkles and folds of skin near the eyes of The Maxx, in the very center of the image.

The composition of this image is well balanced with a less abstract, but ghostly version of Julie, whose pain and turmoil leads us into the dreamy haze between fantasy, and reality. Keith uses this marbling effect throughout the image. The marble effect is so smooth, it nearly seems computer generated but it is not. If you look closely, you can see that marbling effect was hand drawn by Keith using pencil.

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