Legal Steps To Prevent Al Platino Superman-JFK Art Auction Initiated

by Armand Vaquer

Above, artist Al Plastino with the 'splash page' of the artwork in contention.  Photo: Facebook.

It was good news that Heritage Auctions pulled the Al Plastino original artwork of "Superman's Mission For President Kennedy" and will investigate how it ended up in private hands instead of being at the John F. Kennedy Library, where it was intended.

But this is just a temporary withdrawal. However, steps are being taken to keep the artwork from going on the auction block permanently.

According to the New York Post:

But advocates for comic book artists say that since the art was never given to the museum, Plastino remains the rightful owner. Comic book publishers, they claim, only buy the publishing rights to an artist’s work, not the work itself. Publishers generally dispute this, and it’s an issue that’s been debated for decades. 

“He never gave up ownership of the art because DC never purchased it from him or paid sales tax,” asserted Kris Adams Stone, daughter of comic book legend Neal Adams. She added that legal papers are being prepared to halt the auction for good.

To read the full story, go here.