Market-watchers pounced on rare comic art & action figures at Hake’s $2.7M auction

One of six lots of Al Williamson (1931-2020) original, unpublished concept art that preceded the ‘Star Wars’ daily newspaper comic strip (which was ultimately written and drawn by Russ Manning and ran from 1979-1984). Of 12 proposal strips created by Williamson, the first six were gifted to George Lucas; the other six were given to Star Wars marketing genius Charles Lippincott, whose widow has consigned them to Hake’s. Sold for $46,730

YORK, Pa. – Original comic strip art continues to solidify its position alongside fine art in the collector marketplace, with the latest proof coming on day two of Hake’s July 26-27 auction of pop culture rarities. Amongst the highlights of the $2.7 million sale was a selection of six consecutive lots of original concept art created in the late 1970s for a proposed Star Wars daily newspaper comic strip. Drawn by legendary comic strip artist Al Williamson (1931-2020) as part of a series of twelve strips, the artworks never saw publication.

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Exhibits honor Peanuts creator Charles Schulz’s centenary

Charles M. Schulz, Self-caricature. © Schulz Family Intellectual Property Trust. Mark J. Cohen and Rose Marie McDaniel Collection, The Ohio State University, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum
Charles M. Schulz, Self-caricature. © Schulz Family Intellectual Property Trust. Mark J. Cohen and Rose Marie McDaniel Collection, The Ohio State University, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – In a series of Peanuts comic strips that ran in mid-April of 1956, Charlie Brown grasps the string of his kite, which was stuck in what came to be known in the long-running strip as the “kite-eating tree.” In one episode that week, a frustrated Charlie Brown declines an offer from nemesis Lucy for her to yell at the tree. “If I had a kite caught up in a tree, I’d yell at it,” Lucy responds in the last panel.

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