Death Comic Anniversary- One Year of José Delbo!

*Post written in collaboration with Apollo NFT Studios

One year ago, on July 23rd 2020 the NFT art space as we knew it was completely transformed with the release of “Death… No Escape” by legendary silver and bronze age comic artist José Delbo. This release marked many important firsts – The first NFT to be released by José Delbo after a decades in the comic art industry working on classics like Wonder Woman, Batman and The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine comic; the first comic book conceptualized, written and illustrated by José Delbo; one of the first artists from the mainstream comic world to enter the NFT space and very likely the first original, full-length comic book to be released on the blockchain.

The release made waves in the the blockchain community, as it signaled a new era for NFT comic art with a heavyweight artist Delbo like entering the space for the first time ever. 250 editions of the comic book were created and after just a couple months of releasing the comics in small batches, they were sold out, with the final 20 comics selling out in a day for 1 ETH each. These digital comic books now serve as an important emblem representing the growth and evolution of the NFT art space, particularly for comic artists.

Now, Delbo, in collaboration with Apollo NFT Studios, will be releasing a whole new NFT collection titled “Death … Reanimated”. The collection will be an eight-piece NFT series that will bring the “Death … No Escape” comic book to life in a whole new way. “Death… Reanimated” will be released on two drop dates starting with the launch on July 23, 2021. The drop will be unlike anything Delbo has done before and will feature three limited edition pieces, as well as a special edition of 250 NFT bringing “Death … No Escape” to life in a unique comic short film format, and an edition of one piece featuring the inked art used to create the original “Death… No Escape” cover. The drop will also feature various rewards for past Jose Delbo collectors.

Death: An Origin Story

A WH1SPER OF DEATH by José Delbo x Pr1mal Cypher

The release of “Death… Reanimated” comes one year after the Argentinian born artist made a life changing decision. Delbo, who started his career at 16 and illustrated comic books for DC and Marvel such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, The Transformers, The Thundercats, as well as other classics like Disney’s 101 Dalmatians and the Yellow Submarine comic book for The Beatles, just to name a few, had a conversation with his grandson at the beginning of 2020, where Delbo learned all about the blockchain and how NFTs might be the future of art.

At that moment, Delbo, who had always dreamt of creating his own comic book, had finished creating what would become his first original comic book, “Death … No Escape.” The comic was unique in that there was very little text and the story was told almost entirely through the art. But when the comic was finally completed, Delbo faced a problem. He had never self published before and was unsure of the best way to do so so that his comic would be enjoyed by readers everywhere.

However, after his discovery of NFTs, Delbo decided that this was the perfect way of publishing his new comic and he decided to create his first NFTs. Delbo teamed up with MakersPlace to do just that and on July 23, 2020, he released the first editions of his comic. This release was one of the first, if not the first time, an original comic book was premiered on the blockchain. Unlike most comics which have hundreds of thousands of editions, Delbo decided to release the “Death … No Escape” comic as an edition of 250 to keep it scarce.

The release was incredibly well received by the blockchain community and after just a couple months of releasing the comics in small batches, they were sold out, with the final 20 comics selling out in a day for 1 ETH each. To Delbo, this NFT release would be his most significant as it would allow him to finally realize a lifelong dream. But no one, including Delbo, could have imagined what would happen in the next several months. NFTs became the focus of the digital and traditional art world and with that, Delbo became one of the most well-known artists in the space.

Celebrating a Year of José Delbo and his Impact on NFTs

Delbo’s success ushered in a new wave of traditional comic artists joining the space, bringing with them many of the heroes we know and love. Soon the entire comic community was paying attention as comics became a staple of the NFT space. The major studios began to enter the space bringing NFTs to the mainstream comic book community. And Delbo became one of the hottest comic artists in the world at the ripe age of 87.

In the year that would follow, Delbo continued to break NFT and comic art records and introduce innovative ways to interact with his artwork. Delbo proceeded to develop the Death character, bringing him into various scenes and exploring new ways to present his story often times through collaborations with other top artists within the space such as Pr1mal Cypher, Mark McKenna, Vúho Studios, and Anna Zhilyaeva. Death became a staple in the comic NFT community.

Genesis by Trevor Jones x José Delbo

Apart from Death, Delbo proceeded to bring the comic universe onto the blockchain through a revolutionary new light. One stand out example of this is his collaboration with Trevor Jones, another prolific NFT artist and pioneer, on the iconic collection Who is the Creator? In this series, two very different, yet equally captivating, styles combined through an innovative, and somewhat controversial approach. The result was an iconic collection that brought to a new dimension of life to one of the world’s most beloved characters while exploring important themes of inspiration, collaboration, and delegation. The collection caught the attention of collectors and art lovers across the space, and a number of pieces within the collection became the center of historic bidding wars. Genesis, in particular, broke numerous NFT sales records at the time with a final purchase price of 302.5 ETH to MaxStealth. This collection as a whole served as a reminder of the great possibilities within the NFT space, in terms of both creative expression and the communities growth and evolution.

Into The Future with “Death … Reanimated”

For the last several months, Delbo has been working closely with his grandson’s company, Apollo NFT Studios, to create the next chapter in the Death saga. With Delbo’s original concept and a team of top 3D modelers and animators, Delbo and Apollo NFT Studios have aimed to reimagine the Death comic for the digital age.

Through this new style, viewers and fans are able to experience the stories behind the Death comic and José Delbo’s artwork in an entirely new way which highlights the exciting potential of comic art and stories in the virtual world. For those who do not currently own a Death comic, this release will reveal for the first time the treasure trove of powerful stories that reside within the Death comic and for current owners of Death, a chance to experience the classic story through a new modern lens. Action, emotion and the inevitability of Death come together in this unique retelling of José Delbo’s riveting recount of the grim adventures of the Death character.

The end result will be sure to amaze and Delbo has described the new series “Death… Reanimated” as one of his most significant given that he was able to work directly with his grandson on it and the fact that it takes his Death concept into what he believes is the future of comic art.

Learn more

José Delbo in the News

Notable Sales

Death … Reanimated Editions 1-150 sold out within minutes! Only 15 editions available for this drop.

Heroines — Weight Of The World (José Delbo x Hackatao) : Sold March 6, 2021 for 148.888 ETH (~$228,372)

Genesis (José Delbo x Trevor Jones) : Sold October 17, 2020 for 302.5 ETH (~$111,377)

Death Comic (Edition of 250) : Final edition sold November 22, 2020 for 1.75 ETH (~$962), up 1066.67% from the first 50 editions which sold at 0.15ETH (~$41.42) each

Death – Original Cover Art

Editions: One
Pricing: Accepting Offers Only

*Auction will last for two weeks, ending August 6th at 6:30 PM PST

*Artwork will come with a physical artist proof comic book which is framed, signed and numbered by José Delbo

Death … Reanimated – Comic Edition

Editions: One
Pricing: Free

*Awarded to the first collector to purchase an edition of all six artworks in Jose Delbo’s Death…Reanimated collection. Wanted, Detour, Railroad Crossing, Compassion, Hanging and Flight4590

Compassion

Editions: 5
Pricing: $4000 / Edition

*50% prerelease discount only for owners of Detour or Wanted. Offer limited to 1 edition / collector

*Owners will receive a signed and numbered AR-enabled 18.25″ x 28″ physical high grade print of this artwork and an edition of Compassion – Comic Edition (Edition of 10)