Posted in: Comics, Comics, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Marvel Comics, Sponsored | Tagged: auction, daredevil, dark horse, dc comics, frank miller, heritage, marvel, Ronin, sin city, sponsored

Frank Miller's Daredevil, Ronin, Sin City Original Artwork At Auction

Published Tue, 30 Mar 2021 10:30:49 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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The aforementioned Heritage Auction 2021 April 1 – 4 Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction – Dallas #7242 has a lot of gems to pour through. But these Frank Miller pieces of original artwork are some of the highlights, running through his career from Daredevil with Klaus Janson, Ronin, and the final chapter of Sin City: From Hell And Back.

Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Daredevil #180 Story Page 2 Original Art (Marvel, 1982). Miller supplies the breakdowns showing the Man Without Fear preparing to bust in on some crooks. Longtime inker Klaus Janson finishes the shadowed art, definitive of the pair's run on Daredevil. Ink and Zipatone over graphite on Bristol board with an image area of 10" x 15". Toned, production trimmed edges, production mark paste-ups, stat art paste-ups in Panels 5 and 6, red key lines in Panel 1, with whiteout corrections. In Very Good condition. Current bids are at $8250, with the auction ending at 1:30 PM Central Time, Friday, April 2, 2021.

Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Daredevil #177 Story Page 13 Original Art (Marvel, 1981). Matt Murdock battles his own inner demons on this incredible page from the height of the Miller-Daredevil run! This demon just happens to be his father — boxer Jack Murdoch. Miller supplied the breakdowns for Janson's finishes in this powerful page rendered in ink and Zipatone over graphite on Duo-Shade board with an image size of 10" x 15". Slight toning, unevenly trimmed right edge, tape abrasions on the top and bottom edges, with light handling wear, in Very Good condition. Current bids are at $14,500, with the auction ending at 1:30 PM Central Time, Friday, April 2, 2021.

Frank Miller Ronin #5 Story Page 21 Original Art (DC, 1983). This page was wordless in the comic, relying on the incredible art to tell the story. And the page is quite a find! Not only had we never seen art from an issue other than #1 before, we were pleasantly surprised to find the original art is slightly larger than Miller's work on #1. Frank Miller's Ronin changed the direction of comics with its prestige mini-series format, combined with the fact that it was the first modern feature where DC allowed the creator to retain the rights to the character. Ronin has since been celebrated as among the most important and influential stories ever published. Miller is arguably the greatest superhero writer/artist to work during this period, and Ronin helped launch a much-needed comics revolution — many feel that there would be no Sandman, Watchmen, or Dark Knight, without this visionary work leading the way. And just as Frank Miller drew some inspiration in part from the various works of Moebius, and from Goseki Kojima's work on Lone Wolf and Cub, so too has Miller's Ronin inspired countless other creators, among them Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fame. And unlike many pages from Miller's other '80s works, the art here is pure Frank Miller, making this a rare treat indeed. Crafted in ink over graphite on DC Bristol board with an image area of 11.75" by 17.75". Slight toning. The second panel is pieced in and held by tape on the back. Light smudging and handling wear. Very Good condition. Current bids are at $11,500, with the auction ending at 1:30 PM Central Time, Friday, April 2, 2021.

Frank Miller Ronin #5 Story Page 20 Original Art (DC, 1983). Ultra-Rare myth-busting page here! This page, and the other one offered in this same sale, are the only original art pages from this ground-breaking series other than from Issue #1 that we have ever seen come to market! And they are some of the very few pages from this series we have ever offered at all, owing to the comic industry lore that only pages from this first issue had ever left Miller's possession. We had previously thought that there were potentially only 48 pages of the 296 pages from this six-issue series "out in the wild." It is unknown if any other pages from Issue #5 are "out there," other than the two in this sale. Also, an unexpected treat was that the originals from issue 5 have a larger image area than the ones from #1.
This page was wordless in the comic, relying entirely on Miller's visual storytelling. It features a flashback of the titular samurai in feudal Japan battling a band of basket-headed Ninjas. The piece is signed by Miller and inscribed "For Peter 9/85." Crafted in ink over graphite on DC Bristol board with an image area of 11.75" by 17.75". There's a stain on the left side. Light smudging and handling wear. Very Good condition. Current bids are at $11,500, with the auction ending at 1:30 PM Central Time, Friday, April 2, 2021.

Frank Miller Sin City: Hell and Back #6 Story Page 6 Original Art (Dark Horse, 1999). Hell and Back was Frank Miller's final entry in his anthological series of neo-noir tales following the gritty characters of Basin city. This shadow-filled page features Wallace, accompanied by Delia, turning to his old buddy Captain for some new wheels to help with their getaway. This page was created in ink over graphite and blue pencil on Dark Horse Bristol board with an image area of 9" x 13.25". In Excellent condition. Current bids are at $8250, with the auction ending at 11:00 AM Central Time, Saturday, April 3, 2021.

Frank Miller Sin City: Hell and Back #7 Story Page 22 Original Art (Dark Horse, 2000). Frank Miller pushes the surrealistic envelope through a pop culture lens during this issue of the Sin City limited series. On this particular page, Wallace's hallucinations transform his ally, Captain, into Hagar the Horrible, a dinosaur, and Hellboy. Ink over blue pencil and graphite on Bristol board with an image size of 10" x 15". Signed by Mike Mignola in the lower margin. In Excellent condition. Current bids are at $2,100, with the auction ending at 11:00 AM Central Time, Saturday, April 3, 2021.