Simon Bisley's original Lobo No. 1 cover heads to auction for the first time
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, October 12, 2024


Simon Bisley's original Lobo No. 1 cover heads to auction for the first time
Simon Bisley Lobo #1 Cover Original Art (DC, 1990).



DALLAS, TX.- Lobo, DC Comics' bounty hunter from outer space, is the joke who was quickly taken very seriously.

The snarling, cigar-chomping Main Man riding his Spacehog 'round the galaxy was introduced in 1983, in a comic book that wasn't exactly setting newsstands on fire, Omega Men No. 3, written by Roger Slifer and drawn by Keith Giffen. Lobo was just one bad guy among several, a killer and kidnapper whose attitude and appearance was intended "as an indictment of the Punisher, Wolverine bad-ass hero prototype," Giffen later told Newsarama.

Which people adored. Admired. Loved.

"Somehow he caught on as the high-violence poster boy," Giffen said of The Last Czarnian. "Go figure."

Twenty-eight years later, he's nearly as much a DC mainstay as the holy Trinity or any other member of the Justice League. He's carried several titles of his own, from a mini-series to specials and spinoffs to a decent run under his own banner to countless guest shots in best-selling books. Only months ago he was a key player in Dark Nights: Death Metal, the universe-resetting series that yet again made over the DC multiverse. And for years there has even been talk of a Lobo movie.

In large part, the character's enduring popularity can be credited to the artist who made Lobo the beloved bastich he is today: Simon Bisley, the self-taught British artist who got his start rocking heavy-metal magazines, made his case drawing Judge Dredd, scored a Doom Patrol cover for DC and wound up owning the intergalactic mercenary who bounced around a few other titles until scoring his own eponymous mini-series in 1990.

And it's that very first cover to that very first issue that now heads to auction for the very first time.




Bisley's painted cover for Lobo No. 1 is a centerpiece in Heritage Auctions' April 1-4 Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction event. For a generation of readers and artists, Bisley's work in—and on—this book changed everything.

In a 2019 interview with the webzine DC in the 80s, Eisner Award-winning illustrator Jim Rugg said that when he first saw Bisley's cover to the 99-cent book, his initial reaction was a simple, "WTF?"

Said Rugg, "Simon Bisley's Lobo was radically different than what I was familiar with. I bought it and read it immediately. Reading just ratcheted up the weirdness. The unusual art and the strange story combined for a very memorable experience. Shocking -- not because of the violence per se, but the overall tone of the book was unlike any comic I had encountered up to that point. It was disturbing but also funny. Unique and weird and looked amazing. It represents what I like in a comic book and nailing story/art is very rare.

"When I read it, it blew my mind. Simon Bisley's art was a revelation. This was 1990. I was reading Mark Bagley's New Warriors, Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man, Rob Liefeld's New Mutants, Jim Lee's Uncanny X-Men. This was an era of dark, violent superheroes, but I had never seen anything that looked like Lobo or read like Lobo. I wanted more. It was so different and wild. It felt like anything could happen. Lobo was a maniac. I liked the Punisher and Wolverine, but Lobo was a whole other level of madness."

Bisley's cover to Lobo No. 1 serves as perfect introduction and quintessential portrait—a drop of blood drawn by the psychotic grin beneath a maniac's mane, that half-stare-half-squint with eyes red as the devil, and the rock-and-roll get up more mental than metal.

There's no doubt Bisley's Lobo is beloved—and highly coveted. Earlier this year, Heritage offered his original painted cover to the 1991 trade paperback Lobo: The Last Czarnian, which collected the four-issue mini-series, and it realized more than $50,000 after heated bidding. Now comes the very first Lobo. The main attraction featuring The Main Man.

In a 2019 interview, Bisley said of all the characters he's ever drawn, of course Lobo is "my ultimate favorite, because I reinvented him and made him my own."

Soon, it will be someone else's.










Today's News

March 13, 2021

The secret stunt doubles of the art world

Garrett Bradley reminds us that Black joy always existed

David Zwirner opens an exhibition of works by William Eggleston and John McCracken

Exhibition at TAI Modern pairs works of Japanese bamboo art with flowers

British PM rules out return of Parthenon Marbles to Greece

The First 5000 Days, sold for $69,346,250 to Metakovan, founder of Metapurse

First NFT work registered to the Vastari exhibition platform

The Rubin Museum of Art opens 'Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment'

Joy and anger in balance: The art of Lorraine O'Grady

Simon Bisley's original Lobo No. 1 cover heads to auction for the first time

Time stands still at historic Cairo watch shop

Holt/Smithson Foundation announces representation of Nancy Holt by Sprüth Magers

A rift over art and activism ripples through the performance world

New exhibition, Making Space, opens at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

Vast 'Indian Land' sign draws visitors to Desert X art festival

Targeted in protests, Chile removes general's statue

Museum of Russian Icons reopens with "Painted Poetry: Alexander Gassel"

Lyndon B. Johnson signed official printing of a landmark Civil Rights bill sold for more than $85,000

Book owned by Ada Lovelace is for sale, in honor of Women's History Month

Richard Saltoun Gallery opens an exhibition of works by Peter Kennard

James Cohan opens an exhibition of new works by Michelle Grabner

The captivating delight of birds is explored in new exhibition

Rare early Charlie Chaplin poster from 1913 to be offered at auction

London Art Week announces an impressive line-up of insightful and lively talks

What is Lintel? Types and Benefits of Lintel in Construction

How Artists Can Attract Audiences to Their New Music on Spotify

Meet the Artist-Photographer Who Brings Vivid Narratives into Existence

Incredible Facts About Instant Loans Finding the Best Instant Loans




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful