The Crimson Comet: Rare Australian Comic Art Printer’s Plates for Sale

Original pieces of Australian comic-book art from the 1940s-1960s era are unusually hard to come by. Publishers rarely returned artwork once they received it from the illustrator and, more often than not, these original illustrated pages were sent to the rubbish tip, tossed into furnaces or simply lost and misplaced. Sometimes this was done purely for commercial expediency, but usually it was just done out of sheer thoughtlessness. After all, they're only comics, aren't they? No one would ever want to keep this stuff - right?

Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. Today, research into Australia's comic-book art history is greatly hindered by the dearth of original artwork, with only a few examples to be found in state libraries, or occasionally surfacing for sale at auction houses or online.

Which is why I was particularly excited to receive an email from local artist Robert Goretzki, who has recently acquired the most remarkable collection of Australian comic-book artefacts I've ever seen. He currently owns a collection of original printer's plates featuring near-complete stories from some of the best Australian-drawn comic books of the post-war era.

But how exactly were these plates used to produce comic books? In the years before digital pre-press technology, Robert explains it was quite a lengthy process to go from the drawing board, to the printing press and onwards to the final product - the printed comic book.

'The artist would send his proof over to the printers who, in the 1940s, were craftsmen in their own right; it was their job to make the plate in order to print the many copies required for a comic magazine.

Each printing plate has been cast and milled to around three levels of depth to achieve the right tones. It was quite painstaking and done on a mechanical typeset printer. Each plate had to be mounted perfectly on a block; then a test-print was done. If it didn't have the (bite) spread evenly, they had to raise the plate in that area with a piece of paper, so that it was perfectly "true" (flat) before the actual printing could take place - this was a process that could take hundreds of hours.

Once good and flat, the mass-printing of the comics would start; one plate equals one page of that particular comic and it would be used to print hundreds and thousands of comic pages - with all copies being made from that single plate. At the end of each issue's print-run, the plates were destroyed in order to prevent reprints - but, as you can see, some of them were saved.'

Let's start with a random pick from Robert's collection - John Dixon's classic 1940s superhero, the Crimson Comet. Robert has printer's plates for pages 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 from The Crimson Comet No.6, published circa 1950. (In case you're wondering how I've verified these details, the plates depict a turbaned character called 'Patali', who appears on the cover of The Crimson Comet No.6, which was reproduced in the book, Bonzer: Australian Comics 1900-1990s)

As you can see from the photos in the accompanying blog post, the plate for page 8 has been framed, while the plate for page 10 is still in its original paper wrapping. Each lead zinc plate weighs approximately 350 grams, and measures 250mm X 172mm (approx.) These 'master plates', stored in pristine condition for decades, are incredibly detailed and are stunning visual records of John Dixon's early comic-book artwork.

And they could be yours - for a price.

Robert is looking to sell this first batch of printer's plates, featuring the Crimson Comet, either to individual collectors, or to public institutions, such as art galleries, museums or libraries. He'd also consider part cash sale/part trade for old Australian comics. If you want to make Robert an offer, or have any further questions about these items, you can email him at: goretzki[AT]hotmail[DOT]com.