IDW will be releasing “The Complete Little Orphan Annie, Vol. 1″ this month (June 11). This first volume is a bit more than 1000 pages and starts at the beginning in 1924 and includes the first nine completed stories until the end of 1927.
Volume 1 is edited and designed by Dean Mullaney, who as founder of Eclipse Comics in 1977 became a leader of the 1980s indie comics movement. Since then, Mullaney has become a specialist in restoring and re-presenting classic American comic strips. His work on The Complete Terry and The Pirates has earned him a 2008 Eisner Award nomination.
The book also contains the first-ever detailed look at creator Harold Gray by noted comics scholar Jeet Heer. With unprecedented access to the Harold Gray Archives at Boston University, nearly every strip in the book has been reproduced from its original artwork or syndicate proof.
Has IDW re-confirmed this release recently? The Amazon link is to a page that suggests the book will not be available any time soon (not even for pre-order) and the IDW website doesn’t seem to list LOA anywhere as upcoming.
I e-mailed IDW a couple of weeks ago and asked whether they were going to meet this publication date, given that the original date in February came and went without any comment. They have not yet responded.
I just finally received the first volume of LOA from Amazon after many delays, and it is great. Can’t wait for more so I can replace all the various reprints over the years with a more complete and uniform set. So hope this is successful and continues.
I have an original cartoon panel from the artist and would like to sell it.
What do you suggest and for how much?
Thanks.
Like any collectable, the selling price would vary greatly depending on the specifics of the piece itself. For instance, how old is the piece? Was it penned by the creator of Little Orphan Annie, Harold Gray, or is it a later edition done by one of his successors after Mr. Gray passed?
If it is an original piece of art by Harold Gray, you might want to contact the Cartoon Research Library at Ohio State University. They would be a good source. If it’s a later edition, done after Harold Gray’s death, I wouldn’t think it’d be worth much. But I’m not an expert in such matters, so I could be wrong.