You're familiar with the page, yes? Staring a the legendary smiley face button from the Comedian's lapel, we back up further and further to the high-rise balcony where the detective watches over the spot where Edward Blake fell. An unknown Rorschach proclaims the end is nigh, and so begins the tale.
Stephen "Krusher" Joule, a heavy metal fixture, designer, DJ, and musician tells his story:
“Sometime in late 1987 I was walking off an absolutely horrendous hangover on my way to work at Kerrang!, which meant that I was stumbling, mumbling and tumbling through Covent Garden,” said Joule. “As I was passing the shop where I had originally bought my Watchmen comics, I saw a poster proclaiming ‘ORIGINAL WATCHMEN ARTWORK FOR SALE.’ My hangover cure was immediate. This was the moment that I’d been waiting for all my life.”
Striding up to the door like a man on a mission, Joule asked “Where’s the Watchmen pages?”
The owner pointed to a person at the back of the shop who was picking up a portfolio.
“That man down there is looking at them,” Joule recalls being told. “I was like a greyhound out of a trap, followed closely by the owner, who was asking me ‘Is there any particular page you’re interested in?’ No sooner than the words were out of his mouth, and the man with the portfolio had just finished unzipping it, did I see a vision of beauty, the Holy Grail, Page #1, issue #1. I pointed to it and said, ‘Yes! That one!”
Now, Heritage Auctions has put it up for sale to the highest bidder, because Joule needs the cash to get a new place to live. The current bid is around $14,000, with a day to go. Got some extra dosh? Make it happen! This is the big one, after all.
The page is signed by both Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore. Joule told the story about showing Gibbons the page.
“When I asked (Gibbons) to sign this page he was more than willing,” said Joule, “but when he saw that it was Page #1, Issue #1, he said, ‘Bloody hell, I told the wife not to sell that one!’ Sadly for him, it was a little too late.”
Oh, and if anyone has been worried about what to get me for Christmas this year… you know… I mean, you could all go in together, or something like that. Cool? Just putting it out there.
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Some rights reserved.
Josh, if I had the money it would be yours. But sense I am a college student living off of ramen noodles….. I guess it is the thought that counts right?
That story about Gibbons signing the page is great. Similar thing happened to one of my comics.
That page should be in the Smithsonian.
I wonder what he paid for it originally?
Looks like $150 heh. Not a bad return on investment.
If you go to the heritage site and snoop around you can see a super high res image of the page, as well as the included color guide. Really fascinating stuff.
Can I get a loan application processed in one day at my bank?
nice
Damn, thats intense.
Page#1, Issue #1 .wow.
According to the backstory he’s selling it to move closer to his aging parents. Here’s to hoping it EXCEEDS all expectations!
He should try to sell it back to Gibbons, seeing as how he didn’t want his wife to sell it in the first place.
Gibbons does have that movie money…
wouldn’t "The Apotheosis of Original Art" be a better title?