Okay partners, we're moving on to another area of my comics and pop-culture sanctum today. We'll see super-heroes, monsters, aliens, and even Mickey Mouse! Sure it's eclectic, but variety is the spice of life and all that.
Here you see an assortment of posters, although 3 of them are all by the same artist, the amazing Alex Ross. The largest of them is a recent X-Men poster he did, which unfortunately is reflecting some light from outside. But it's a spectacular work with all the really worthwhile X-Men, although for some reason Gambit is there. I like how he depicts the original X-Men in their old 'school uniforms'.
Above and to the right of that is a print Ross did many years ago, probably around the time the "Marvels" series came out, called "Heroes" (there was a companion piece, called "Villains" of course, but I don't have that). It's a nice look at the Marvel heroes circa about 1964 -it kind of blows my mind when I realize how small the Marvel Universe was at one time.
The picture to the far right is really what I consider my gem: the Avengers, with Ross painting over the late great John Buscema's pencils. It's a truly gorgeous piece, and also signed by Ross.
Above the X-Men poster are 4 small posters, all recent acquisitions. I discovered these as part of a Marvel calendar for 2010. It was an 18 month calendar, so there were 18 classic covers! They are 11" X 17". I could easily quibble with some of the choices -and particularly over what was left out - but in general I'm very happy to have these. The calendar was perforated so the pages were easily removed. I have a few more of these around the Sanctum.
Below and to the right of the posters are my busts and statuettes. I have a good friend who started getting busts as gifts for me - the Namor and Dr. Doom ones were from him - and then I began to add to it slowly. My fiance also contributed a few.
We'll go shelf by shelf. First, the monsters.
We have some more Harryhausen critters here, including (from left to right) Talos from Jason and the Argonauts, a skeleton also from Jason, and the dragon and cyclops from Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Behind them are two great robots from the 1950s, Robby the Robot, and Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still. On the right side of the shelf are a set of busts that originally came in the "Universal Monsters Legacy DVD" box set. Besides these excellent busts, you got complete collections of the Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman films from Universal Studios. These busts are well-done, and I really wish they had put some out for the Mummy and Creature from the Black Lagoon too.
And now shelf 2: classic Marvel heroes:
On the far lest is a statuette of the Vision, one of my all-time favorite Avengers. Next to him is of course the Star-Spangled Avenger, Captain America himself, and his lunchbox rests behind him. The mighty god of thunder, Thor, completes this mini-Avengers section. Then we're on to another favorite, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing! An outstanding bust designed by Ross, and a very cool Thing vs. Hulk piece that recreates a scene from Marvel Feature #12.
Shelf number 3 is That 70s Shelf!
Ah yes, I love the 70s so much that I have a whole shelf devoted to it! We start with the super-cool Defenders mini-mates (including Namor in his black leather S&M threads), the Phoenix in full glory (this was from the Hero Clix game), and an X-Men tin from Nabisco (I think). Then we come to the cosmic coalition, with decidedly non-70s mini-mate versions of Gamora and Nova -but they were 70s characters, so it still counts - a genuine 70s Warlock Slurpee cup, another nice statuette of Warlock, a Thanos mini-mate (watch out, he has the Infinity Gauntlet!), and then my favorite zombie cyborg, Deathlok, in both a Ross-inspired bust and statuette.
Next stop: Disney.
My fiance collects Disney watches, and they often come in very decorative tins or containers. The one on the left is hard to see but has a silver colored Mickey head on it. Next is a wooden and glass case from Fantasia. Then there's the Aladdin tin, and the best of all, a cool semi-bust of Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice.
The last two shelves are a hodge podge.
The Doom bust is a classic and I absolutely love it. It has occupied the top shelf more than once! But for now, I gave it over to the monsters, and the good doctor will have to wait his turn. Next to him are the Invaders mini-mates. For this and the Civil War mini-mates to the right, I made copies of covers, in this case Invaders #1, to use as a backdrop for the mini-mates. An exquisite Barbara Gordon Bat-Girl is next. She is still the only Bat-Girl to me. A statuette of John Stewart (the Green Lantern, not the talk show host) from the Justice League cartoon is my only other DC representative here. I really need to see about getting a few more DC pieces. And then there is the afore-mentioned Civil War mini-mate set.
On the very bottom is a set of Iron Man armors - modern, Silver Centurion, and a cool retro version. Some Iron Man mini-mates are bouncing around the bases of the busts. Iron Man used to be a part of the Avengers set, but I decided to split them up - hey, just like the comics! The proud Sub-Mariner occupies the last spot.
These busts all get moved around a lot, and I have some Star Wars busts that are awaiting a new bookshelf before they can return to the sanctum. Our next stop will be where no man has gone before- with a detour to the Halls of Justice!
Here you see an assortment of posters, although 3 of them are all by the same artist, the amazing Alex Ross. The largest of them is a recent X-Men poster he did, which unfortunately is reflecting some light from outside. But it's a spectacular work with all the really worthwhile X-Men, although for some reason Gambit is there. I like how he depicts the original X-Men in their old 'school uniforms'.Above and to the right of that is a print Ross did many years ago, probably around the time the "Marvels" series came out, called "Heroes" (there was a companion piece, called "Villains" of course, but I don't have that). It's a nice look at the Marvel heroes circa about 1964 -it kind of blows my mind when I realize how small the Marvel Universe was at one time.
The picture to the far right is really what I consider my gem: the Avengers, with Ross painting over the late great John Buscema's pencils. It's a truly gorgeous piece, and also signed by Ross.
Above the X-Men poster are 4 small posters, all recent acquisitions. I discovered these as part of a Marvel calendar for 2010. It was an 18 month calendar, so there were 18 classic covers! They are 11" X 17". I could easily quibble with some of the choices -and particularly over what was left out - but in general I'm very happy to have these. The calendar was perforated so the pages were easily removed. I have a few more of these around the Sanctum.
Below and to the right of the posters are my busts and statuettes. I have a good friend who started getting busts as gifts for me - the Namor and Dr. Doom ones were from him - and then I began to add to it slowly. My fiance also contributed a few.
We'll go shelf by shelf. First, the monsters.
We have some more Harryhausen critters here, including (from left to right) Talos from Jason and the Argonauts, a skeleton also from Jason, and the dragon and cyclops from Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Behind them are two great robots from the 1950s, Robby the Robot, and Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still. On the right side of the shelf are a set of busts that originally came in the "Universal Monsters Legacy DVD" box set. Besides these excellent busts, you got complete collections of the Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman films from Universal Studios. These busts are well-done, and I really wish they had put some out for the Mummy and Creature from the Black Lagoon too.And now shelf 2: classic Marvel heroes:
On the far lest is a statuette of the Vision, one of my all-time favorite Avengers. Next to him is of course the Star-Spangled Avenger, Captain America himself, and his lunchbox rests behind him. The mighty god of thunder, Thor, completes this mini-Avengers section. Then we're on to another favorite, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing! An outstanding bust designed by Ross, and a very cool Thing vs. Hulk piece that recreates a scene from Marvel Feature #12.
Shelf number 3 is That 70s Shelf!
Ah yes, I love the 70s so much that I have a whole shelf devoted to it! We start with the super-cool Defenders mini-mates (including Namor in his black leather S&M threads), the Phoenix in full glory (this was from the Hero Clix game), and an X-Men tin from Nabisco (I think). Then we come to the cosmic coalition, with decidedly non-70s mini-mate versions of Gamora and Nova -but they were 70s characters, so it still counts - a genuine 70s Warlock Slurpee cup, another nice statuette of Warlock, a Thanos mini-mate (watch out, he has the Infinity Gauntlet!), and then my favorite zombie cyborg, Deathlok, in both a Ross-inspired bust and statuette.Next stop: Disney.
My fiance collects Disney watches, and they often come in very decorative tins or containers. The one on the left is hard to see but has a silver colored Mickey head on it. Next is a wooden and glass case from Fantasia. Then there's the Aladdin tin, and the best of all, a cool semi-bust of Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice.
The last two shelves are a hodge podge.
The Doom bust is a classic and I absolutely love it. It has occupied the top shelf more than once! But for now, I gave it over to the monsters, and the good doctor will have to wait his turn. Next to him are the Invaders mini-mates. For this and the Civil War mini-mates to the right, I made copies of covers, in this case Invaders #1, to use as a backdrop for the mini-mates. An exquisite Barbara Gordon Bat-Girl is next. She is still the only Bat-Girl to me. A statuette of John Stewart (the Green Lantern, not the talk show host) from the Justice League cartoon is my only other DC representative here. I really need to see about getting a few more DC pieces. And then there is the afore-mentioned Civil War mini-mate set.On the very bottom is a set of Iron Man armors - modern, Silver Centurion, and a cool retro version. Some Iron Man mini-mates are bouncing around the bases of the busts. Iron Man used to be a part of the Avengers set, but I decided to split them up - hey, just like the comics! The proud Sub-Mariner occupies the last spot.
These busts all get moved around a lot, and I have some Star Wars busts that are awaiting a new bookshelf before they can return to the sanctum. Our next stop will be where no man has gone before- with a detour to the Halls of Justice!
VERY envious! Wish you had a better pic of the Avengers poster.
ReplyDeleteHey Matthew, if you click on the picture you should get an enlarged pic. It's still a wee bit blurry though. Maybe I can get another shot of it for a later installment. I still think it's funny that Buscema drew the Wasp resting on the shoulder of the Clint Barton Goliath, and Yellowjacket is on the other side of the drawing!
ReplyDeleteI love it! Lots of great stuff! The thing that impressed me most, though, was the Warlock cup. It is sooo 70's! If you decide to get some more DC stuff, make sure you get some Legion stuff. Also, if you put up your Star Wars stuff, maybe you can have an updated "Welcome to the sanctum" post.
ReplyDeleteHi DButler, thanks for going back in time and checking out some older posts. Well, the Sanctum has changed tremendously since then! The Cap shield is still there, but I moved all the comics into another room, and there are many more sci fi and monster movie posters and figures up now. I've got all four autographed Star Wars photos up now, so that goal was achieved. I'll probably wait to take any new pictures until after I attend Phoenix Con at the end of may -they may have some nice posters or art I can pick up. But after that it might be time for a sanctum update.
ReplyDeleteKaren