ARMAND'S RANCHO DEL CIELO PAGES

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Mini-Debate On Plastino's Superman-JFK Art Controversy


Yesterday, I had a brief, minor debate with comics writer Mark Waid over the matter of the Al Plastino-JFK original art that turned up at an auction house.

Here's how the conversation went:



I still don't see how anyone can confuse whose "original art" was to go to the Kennedy Library when it was plainly said on the last panel of Plastino's art that it would be donated to the Kennedy Library. I think Waid is indulging in a Clintonesque parsing of words in trying to say it meant the earlier Curt Swan art.  That is a separate issue. Superman editor Mort Weisinger at the time said that the Swan art would go to Jacqueline Kennedy. Then it was decided to have the story published (at LBJ's request) and it was re-drawn by Plastino. Why tell readers on the last panel of the story that the pages would be donated if the intent was to donate another's artist's work? The panel does say "this story." It doesn't make sense.

It would be more meaningful to the Kennedy Library to have possession of actual published work anyway, which is what Plastino's was, not Swan's.

Sorry, Mark. It says "original art", not "original version." Yes, we agree to disagree.

UPDATE:  I forwarded this blog post to Al Plastino and he sent me this reply:


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