John D. Coyle has been collecting original Promethea artwork almost since it was first published. I asked him a few questions about his interest in Promethea in early July 2003

When did you start collecting original comic book art and why? How many pieces have you collected over the years? Do you still keep everything you buy or do you resell some of them like a business enterprise?

I actually started collecting original art about 10 years back. One of my friends was working as an inker at Marvel and I remember coming by one day and seeing a huge pile of pages in the corner! Actually seeing them for the first time, it was like seeing the secrets behind movies or something like that. It sounds cheesy, but I had read comics since I was a small kid, but this really brought home that these were pieces of art that a team of people worked on. Didn't just appear as a comic.
Since then I have bought and sold quite a number of pages. I do not buy and sell art like a business but have sold some pieces off here and there, always as part of an effort to buy another piece. I found that as I go hooked on the beautiful Promethea covers, I did not have a problem making room and raising funds by selling some of the earlier pages I bought. I tend to save up for bigger ticket pieces and keep a reserve on hand in case anything materializes. If I need more than that, I will sell off some pages, or trade them. To me, it would seem cheap to just sell a piece I had on my wall to pay the phone bill. I would say that my current collection is about 100 pages, counting Promethea.

What was the first piece of Promethea art you bought?

The first page I bought was a double splash page from issue 2 where the demons reveal themselves for the first time. I bought this directly from JH and it set off what can only be termed an addiction. I then purchased the cover to #5.

I was fortunate to get a crack at JH and Mick before everyone else jumped on and realized how great their work is.

What was the most expensive piece of Promethea art you've bought?

I would say that this was the painted cover to #19.

I am a huge Van Gogh fan and this was one that I could not pass up. It is really stunning. The colors for the printed cover came out much darker than the original and I feel that it lost some of the depth of the blues. This piece also was the breakthrough piece in my family-- my wife is not a comics fan and was not too thrilled by the idea of me hanging comic art all over. Once she saw this cover she was blown away by the painting. It was not a COMIC but was ART. A great cross-over piece for me.

What are some of your favorite Promethea images?

I think the double splash in #5 with the four horsemen is one of my favorites. I also liked nearly everything from #17 and #19. If I had to pick a few pages, I would say that my favorite piece is the one with the entire fairy tale menagerie, Where the Wild Things Roam and all.

How many pieces of Promethea artwork do you own?

I have 7 covers including some of the hardcover ones and the double page spread from 2 that I just mentioned. I have been really fortunate to get these directly from JH and Wendy who runs a tight ship, giving JH more time to draw. I am a right coast person and have never made it out to see them in SanDiego. And if I lived in California I might not make it out to the East coast that often either. I have my sights on some other pages as well..

Could you describe what you like so much about Williams artwork?

I would have to say that I was immediately blown away by both the detail and the contrast with the inks. With so many comic books, the backgrounds seem to be a throw away. With Promethea, the backgrounds bring the whole piece to life like nothing else. On the page from #2, there is a purple mist in the background (in the comic). On the original page the background is one of the most dominant parts, with detail that is just amazing, and is unfortunately, lost to a degree with the printed page. Everyone who has seen this page just gets sucked into the background.
I also think that with so many artist they either draw splash pages which are essentially the characters posing unrealistically with some word balloons or are afraid to let the picture some out. With Promethea, you have a larger percentage of double pages than I have seen anywhere else. But these are not just opportunities for Promethea to pout and pose; these really tell the story with every last detail. I guess a description might be cinematic where the image really makes the story. I also think the huge splashes seem to swallow the reader, just assault you with so much. But, that goes well with the story where there is just so much mystery and magic that it still blows away people in the book whose lives are magic.
I don't want to miss out and shortchange Mick's inks. Inking seems to me to be the one thing that you don't notice unless it is bad. Sort of like an (American) football offensive line. You see the mistakes, but when things run smoothly, it lets everyone else shine. If you've ever seen a book that looks like it was inked with magic markers, you immediately know it. I think the two of them working together all the time has allowed them to just synch up and really bring a depth to the pictures that is more than just outlines.
I think it is notable that you do not seem to see much Promethea work available on the secondary market. The people who buy the pages love them and treasure them. I keep regular tabs on Ebay and from time to time have seen some of the same pages from other books come up again and again. I know some of the other collectors of these pages. Most have made it clear that cannot imagine parting with any of the pages. I feel the same way.

Do you have any special ones that haven't been published in the comic books?

I have very few commission pieces. I prefer to collect published pages, but keep an eye out for layouts from time to time.

Have you actually framed any of the art and put it up on your walls at home?

I have the covers to 5, 19 and 22 framed.

cover #22

I rotate them around and sometimes bring one in to work. That way I can actually see it.... I hope to chip away at some of the other pieces soon.

What did you think of the artwork in the latest issue #26?

I loved it. It seemed to me to be a continuation of the homage themes from previous issues, with this having a traditional indie layout and feel. The panel breakdowns were more straightforward and actually worked for the story. I saw it as a parallel with Sophie stepping out of her role as Promethea. Possibly some Hernandez bros reflections?

Are there any Promethea images that I haven't already placed in my annotations that you'd like to share with us?

I will send you over what I have scanned. It is not much and I will try to do more with a camera. Anyone have any ideas how to best scan a 17" page? I have not seen any of the larger scanners that I was happy with (or could afford the ones I liked)... any ideas out there?

Apart from JH Williams III who are your favorite artists? Which other titles do you have a lot of artwork from?

I try to buy a page or two from all the books that I like and read. So I have stuff from many Vertigo titles, all the ABC books and tons of Spiderman. I have had a lifelong Spiderman Jones. I have not been able to get my hands on any really old Spidey pages, but have a few nice ones. My favorite comic from the 80's was the Spiderman-Wolverine one shot. A great classic book with just enough Cold War spy drama to really nail the time period. I have been working to try and get the whole book (64 pages) and I see that as a life long quest, although I am making great headway. I managed to run into the artist Mark Bright. He is a great guy who really likes his work. I cleaned him out of all the pages from this book that he had sitting around. I love the Gene Ha pages from Top 10 and Chris Sprouse. I have pieces from Preacher, Sandman, a bunch of Invisibles pages, miscellaneous Clive Barker adaptations and a pile of assorted Spideys.

Do you own any other JHWilliams artwork other than from Promethea?

No. I love some of the work with Batman, but have not gotten any yet.

Thank you John for your informative answers