LOT #48304 |
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William Stout Comix Book #3 Unused Cover Preliminary Original Art (Marvel, 1975)....
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Sold on Apr 15, 2026 for:
$1,375.00
Bid Source: HA.com/Live bidder
Description
William Stout Comix Book #3 Unused Cover Preliminary Original Art (Marvel, 1975). Now this is how you sell an underground comic. Denis Kitchen tapped William Stout for the cover, and Stout came back with a doozy, cramming the image with exactly the sort of lurid excess that ought to move copies, from a statuesque nude beauty to a writhing assortment of ghouls, aliens, terrorists, tentacled tyrants, and drug-dealing lowlifes at her feet.Comix Book was Marvel's unlikely attempt to package underground creators for a mainstream audience. Backed by Stan Lee and edited by Kitchen, it became Marvel's first creator-owned title, all without the Comics Code seal. But this cover apparently crossed a line Marvel still was not willing to step over. Even after Stout submitted a second attempt with an edit to the figure's nether regions, a second attempt was rejected. Kitchen ultimately drew the published cover himself, satirizing the whole affair and lampooning the tension between salesmanship and corporate scruples. In it, a stand-in for Kitchen presents rough cover concepts, one strikingly similar to this, to a stern executive beneath a sign reading "Integrity before Profit." It is a perfect snapshot of the project's built-in tug-of-war, and an early clue to why Marvel's run ended with Issue #3, with the final two issues moving to Kitchen Sink. Kitchen later repurposed one of Stout's rejected covers for a European collection of Bizarre Sex comix, though it remains unclear which version was used.
Rendered in blue pencil on vellum with an image area of 8.25" x 11". Signed and dated by Stout in the lower right image area, and signed again in the bottom margin with a note to editor Denis Kitchen. In Very Good condition.
More information about William Stout. See also: Stout, William, Bill Stout, Stout Comic Artist.
Auction Info
Wednesday Comic Art & Illustration Select Auction #322615 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
April, 2026
15th
Wednesday
Internet/Mail Bids: 19
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 491
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% of the successful bid per lot.
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