The Relentless Pursuit

The Relentless Pursuit
A Bart Sears Collector's Tale

Its frustrating being a big Bart Sears fan. Its even more frustrating being a Bart Sears collector. Sad but true. And this is why.

I’ve been collecting Bart’s huge body of work for over 15 years now. I have a gigantic collection of his various publications, by far the biggest in the world. But I’m still a long way from completing the collection and I doubt I ever will actually reach the point where I can say that I have everything that Bart has ever done. Which doesn’t particularly bother me, though there have been times when it has.

I’ve spent many a day on a wild goose chase, hoping against hope to discover some as yet unknown piece of Bart Sears magic. Most days I come away empty-handed. But there are those blissful, though albeit rare, occasions when I do manage to catch the goose, be it some cover I was completely unaware existed, or a trading card to go nicely with the collection.
And that is the thing about collecting Bart Sears work, and I suppose collecting in general; the thrill of the chase is half of the pleasure.

It all started in late 1991 for me. I had been living in Hong Kong with my family for a year and was desperately deprived of an even half decent comic store. I’d been satiating my addiction with whatever comic I could get my sensitive and lovely little hands on, be it Doom Patrol, Judge Dredd, or even, to my eternal shame, Marvel Comics Presents.

But a chance encounter after being back in Australia for a matter of days changed my life from then on. I had been a fan of several artists prior to this, mostly Erik Larsen and Dale Keown. But when I picked up a comic grab bag with Justice League Europe #’s 2 & 3 in it, I knew I had found my man.
I remember instantly being amazed at the anatomy this Bart Sears guy could render, far beyond anything I’d seen before. Needless to say I bought the grab bag and it was the greatest couple of dollars I ever spent……….or was it?
I started my voyage by collecting Bart’s Justice League Europe work, most of which I picked up for about $2 a pop at a local comic shop. That led to the Faith miniseries in Legends of the Dark Knight, then Justice League America and Eclipso. From there, I discovered his Turok and X-O and a few other odds and ends. Eventually I picked up a copy of Wizard magazine and came upon his Drawing Power tutorials held therein. Then came Ominous Press. I still remember that fateful day when I walked into that same local comic shop as the one where I picked up those JLE issues, but that story is for another article.

By the time Ominous Press and ‘It Begins’ were unleashed on an unsuspecting, and unprepared, public, I was a huge fan of Bart Sears. But the problem was, I’d pretty much exhausted all of the comic shops in Melbourne of their Bart Sears resources. I was almost entirely relying on Wizard and other trade magazines for any scrap of information concerning Bart; these, of course, being the days before the internet and email.

I endured this situation for several years, picking up what I could and amassing a sizeable collection. I spent a lot of time going to collector’s fairs and markets during this time, and managed to procure some fantastic things along the way, the most notable being the almost complete run of Wizard magazines featuring Bart’s tutorials for a $1 an issue. I also managed to obtain a car around about this time, and this opened up a much larger area for me to frequent.

Finally, the Internet became more popular and easily accessible, much to my joy. Here, for the first time, was a veritable goldmine of information for me to put to use in my collecting trips. But the Internet was as much a curse as it was a gift. Often I would come home from a hard days Sears hunting, happy that I’d found the piece I’d set out to find, only to discover yet another item I needed.

Then I discovered eBay, and boy did the money flow. In the years of 1999 and 2000, my collection of Bart Sears artwork seemed to multiply tenfold. Not only was eBay a great place to buy relatively hard to find items, it was also a great place for finding out information on any particular subject.

It was in about 2000 when I started buying Bart Sears original art. Though I bought only a few items to begin with, I really started going nuts in 2003 and 2004.

Today, I mostly just pick up the new pieces Bart does. I’ve reached a point where the things I still need are either incredibly rare, or I don’t even know of their existence at this stage. But I do have the joy of picking up something new every now and then. For instance, just last year, I managed to finally get my hands on Bart’s interview in Comic Book Collector #24, thanks to my good pal, Darrin Wiltshire. I also managed to procure another Bart Sears Conan T-shirt in the last few weeks.

So, can I pass on any pearls of wisdom on the subject of collecting Bart Sears art to any would-be hunters? Well, gather around children and let me teach you a few things.

1. First of all, always look at your local comic shop before buying something on the Internet, it’s quicker and quite often cheaper.
2. Only buy over the Internet if you can’t find the piece anywhere else close, or if you live in a cave, far away from humanity.
3. Always wear protection! If you’re going out Sears hunting, make sure you come prepared for any eventuality. That means having plenty of sleeves and backing boards ready, and always take more than you envision you’ll need. Have a card folder or even just sleeves and a box. But most importantly, have a bag that won’t damage your newly acquired Bart Sears paraphernalia. If that means taking a few pieces of cardboard to keep your comics flat, so be it. Believe me, there is nothing worse than coming home to find that not only are your new comics bent, but your bottle of apple juice has decided to spill on them too!
4. Discover the wonders of a laminating machine. There are plenty of Bart Sears posters out there, and you’ll obviously want to keep them in good condition. I’ve been laminating Bart Sears things for 10 years now, with no sign of fading or warping.
5. If there’s a new Bart Sears comic out that you think is the best thing since sliced bread, buy two copies. One for reading, one to keep in good condition. But make sure you label which one is which.
6. Bart has done a lot of covers in his time, without doing the interiors, and if you were to hang on to the rest of the comic, it would take up a great deal of space. Long ago I made the decision to remove the covers and get them laminated, a move I definitely recommend. Of course, there will be the odd one where you want to keep the comic as well, maybe something by Andy Smith with a cover by Bart Sears. I suggest buying two copies.
7. Storage is always a problem. For comics, I use a bookshelf, for laminated covers and pin-ups I use a solid folder with plastic sleeves. For cards I use a Pro-Gard binder, which is better than a ring file folder in my opinion.
8. Original art is expensive, but if there were a case where the saying ‘quality, not quantity’ applied, this would be it. Don’t be tempted to buy up every piece of Bart Sears original art that comes around. Pick pieces that really appeal to you. And don’t always go for the splash pages! They may be pretty, but they’re invariably more expensive. And let’s not forget, Bart is a master storyteller too, some of my most treasured original art pieces are just ordinary story pages.
9. Buy the full comics first! Bart has done some spectacular covers in his time, but you’re much better off getting the comics he’s done interiors on first, it’s all about value for money.

And last but not least. Enjoy yourself!


I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t seen that comic grab bag all those years ago. One thing’s for sure, I’d be a whole lot wealthier. I’d probably have more friends, and my house would be a lot tidier.

But do I regret picking up that grab bag? Not for a heartbeat! Sure, I have nothing in the way of savings and I almost have a whole room dedicated to Bart, much to my wife’s chagrin. But there are far more positives than negatives; being able to consider Bart a friend is top of the list, even higher than being his #1 fan.

When I look back at all the time and money spent on Bart and his work, I see a collection of the coolest artwork by the coolest artist I have ever come across. And that’s when I know that I don’t need to obsessively track down every single piece of art Bart has ever done. I used to look at my collection of Bart’s work and only see the things that were missing, even though I was immensely proud of what I had. But with time and maturity comes a certain amount of perspective. I used to fight ferociously for peoples acknowledgment that I was Bart’s biggest fan. But that isn’t why I collect Bart’s work at all, and I see that now. I collect Bart’s work because he is my favourite artist, and I like looking at his stuff. Sure, I have responsibilities as Bart’s #1 fan, which includes me buying everything new that comes out by him, but I know that there is a trap that is very easy to fall into when you start collecting something you like. I fell for it, hard. I spent so much time running around looking for new Bart Sears work, that I almost forgot why I even wanted the stuff. It had become a case of simply needing to possess the things, to covet.
Now, when I pull out something from my collection, I look at it with a fresh perspective. I am no longer the rabid collector I once was; it may have taken me a very long time to get to this point, and the journey was a lot of fun upon reflection, but I’m glad I’ve reached the point where I can sit back, relax and enjoy Bart’s work as an appreciator and admirer.