Paul Gillon - 13 rue del' Espoir daily |
| My good friend Guy Mills turned me onto this strip a
couple of years ago. I looked around a bit to see
if any original art or English reprints were
available. I couldn't find either so I asked
Jean André Macchini, a Parisian collector I
correspond with occasionally, about Gillon's
original art and about the strip. He told me
that Gillon's art was both very uncommon
in the market and expensive when it did turn
up, but he'd look around for reprints. A few weeks
later one of the French "telephone book" reprints
appeared in my mailbox! My French is less than
rudimentary, but the book is still a delight.
I continued scouting for the art, but a bit
half-heartedly since Jean André had set my
expectations. I saw a couple of comic book pages,
but they were both very expensive and not what
I wanted. Then out of the blue months later
Jean André emailed me that Bernard Mahe had
a daily for sale on his website. I contacted
Bernard and arranged to buy it. Bernard held
onto it for several months and brought it to
San Diego this year where I picked it up.
To me, this little story says everything that's
so much fun about this hobby- growing my knowledge
and appreciation, getting help from wonderful people,
and ending up with a great piece! Thanks Guy,
Jean André, and Bernard!
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