Walt Simonson Original Art – Charity Auctions and Commission List

It’s no secret between Original Comic Art collectors that published pages drawn by Walt Simonson are almost impossible to find on the market. All of the original art returned to Mr. Simonson are still with him, the few pages in private collections are usually part of the quota given to inkers. Art both penciled and inked by him, for this reason, is even more difficult to find.

Last May, Walt opened the first commission list in decades, then realized three Thor pinups for different charities, and gifted a published illustration and a cover to another charity, I think grouping them in this post will be useful as a price reference in the future.

Commissions

This is what Walt posted on his Facebook page: “A Commission Announcement – Gerry posted an announcement from Spencer Beck that I’m doing some commissions. This is true. I still have some work but not a lot, and thought I would try a different direction as an experiment. I haven’t really done commissions seriously in decades. And I’m already doing a half dozen drawings for friends or for benefits. So I’m not sure how this will work out; I really do prefer drawing stories. However, with companies shut down, I decided to spread my time doing some work for charities/benefits of different sorts and also doing some work for me. We’ll just have to see how it goes. The current slots are filled. I may or may not continue to do commissions after I finish this batch. I’ll post them as I finish them. And I’ll revisit this whole subject somewhere down the road.”

The list was for 10 single figure commissions on 11″x17″ paper with no background, priced at $2,000, and it was filled very quickly.

Here’s the original art posted on Facebook until November 2020 (I’ll update this post when other images will be available, last checked on February, 1 2021):

Walt Simonson Original Art Auctioned for Charity

Walt Simonson: Thor and Asgard illustration, 9″x12″ – Sold on June, 16 2020 for $5,877

A drawing given to a publisher in need of money and auctioned on eBay, full illustration on a smaller than regular size.

Walt Simonson: Thor, Beta Ray Bill, Throng illustration, 11″x17″ – Sold on June, 24 2020 for $21,099

Similar in composition to the first one but with three characters, much more detail and on standard size, it can be considered cover quality. Sold by Jim Lee in his continued effort to help comic book stores in need. An incredible price for an incredible piece. Imagine what a published Thor cover could make in an auction.

Walt Simonson: Thor pinup, 9″x12″ – Sold on July, 02 2020 for $2,601

This one was sold on eBay by Scott Dunbier, editor of the Artist’s Edition books at IDW to help families in need during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Similar to what was offered in the commission list but smaller in size, and it went for a higher price.

Walt Simonson: Star Wars #70 variant cover 23″x14,5″ – Sold on June, 12 2020 for $8,000

Sold on Twitter as part of Comic Writers Challenge. Compared to the (unpublished) Thor drawings, $8k for a published Star Wars cover looks like a steal. And it’s huge.

Walt Simonson: Martha Washington illustration, 14″x17″ – Sold on June, 27 2020 for $5,000

Recently rediscovered set of published pinups of Martha Washington by top artists. They all decided to offer the original art for charity. the auction was held on the Brit Comics Art website.

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