Above: the cover of the Report. Looks like Kirby pencils for a Fantastic Four comic book.
Here is a blast from the past: a 1968 International Convention of Comic Art Progress Report for "all members, and only to members of the International Convention of Comic Art, which will be held at the Statler Hilton Hotel, Thirty-third street and Eighth Avenue, New York City from July 4th through July 7th, 1968, under the auspices of the Society for Comic Art Research and Preservation, Incorporated." The Report is copyright 1968 by John Benson. The front cover is copyright Marvel Comics Group 1968.
Highlights include a 1 pager by Seuling and Steranko starring for the first (and last) time Dick Tracy and Nick Fury, "The Conventioneers."
And a centerfold finished pencil drawing of Marvel's greatest heroes by ... one of the Buscemas is my guess. It's unsigned.
This is a pre-Convention report written by convention organizer Phil Seuling. Phil Seuling is, not to overstate it, the guy who invented comics conventions.
The list of comics legends, in order of appearance in the booklet, who were scheduled to be part of this are stunning:
Stan Lee
Dick Giordano
Al Williamson
Archie Goodwin
Steranko
Neal Adams
Nelson Bridwell
Joe Orlando
Jerry Robinson
Sal Trapani
Lee Falk
Milton Caniff
Will Eisner
Burne Hogarth
Mike Kaluta (I think)
The Statler-Hilton's rate was $11 single; $16 for a double.
In addition to the the presence of Marvel and DC, the back section showcases ads for from Wally Wood (for his self-published "Witzend"), Alter Ego magazine, Kaluta & Hickman's "Graphic Showcase" mag, and dealers like the Passaic Book Center, Howard Rogofsky, and Mr. Seuling himself.
Here's the rest of the booklet, in its entirety:
Big hat tip to Don Orehek for this rare find! Thanks, Don!
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5 comments:
Great find. Yeah, that centerfold was by John Buscema at his best, and it was published (maybe after this report was printed) in a Giant-Sized Avengers.
However, shame on you for posting it and me for reading it. After all, it was sent "only to members of the International Convention of Comic Art," and not meant for the likes of you and me.
Mike, thanks for the blast from the past! The '68 Seuling Con was the very first one I attended and it introduced me to the world of comics fandom.
It was covered on the evening news, and the very next day I got on a train and went in for one day.
Then in '69 I won first place in the fan art contest. I still have that medal hanging on my studio wall.
THE CONVENTIONEERS was actually a four pager. Looks like only one ended up in this progress report. I think the rest was in the program book itself.
Here are the final two pages as seen in a 1972 CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN reprint.
http://booksteveslibrary.blogspot.com/2006/01/more-rare-steranko.html
As booksteve says, The Conventioneers was a 4-page story. Page 1 was in Progress Report #1, page 2 [shown here] in Progress Report #2, and pages 3 & 4 were supposed to be in the actual program. However, John Benson forgot to make room for it, so it was hurriedly printed and inserted loose into the program books, which is why most people lost them before even leaving the convention! I still have mine, and all three booklets...
Here are all four pages in sequence.
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