GLOUCESTER, MA Weist, Jerry Norton, science fiction and comic art expert, author, and collector, as well as artist, died January 7 at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital of multiple myeloma. He was 61. Born on September 16, 1949 in Wichita Kansas, Weist's interest in science fiction started at a young age with Nightmare, a 1950s late-night television show that aired in Wichita. His first permanent mark in the science fiction world came in 1967 when, at 17, he produced, along with childhood friends Roger Hill and Bob Barrett, the first edition of Squa Tront, an EC fanzine. After graduating in 1971 from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, Weist moved to New York City to launch a career in art, where he had many one-man shows for a Soho gallery. However, Weist's passion for science fiction and comic art led him to Harvard Square in Cambridge where he and fellow collector Chuck Wooley opened a specialty comic book store in 1974 called "The Million Year Picnic". Moving back to New York City in 1991, Weist launched the first major comic book and comic art auction at Sotheby's, selling more than a million dollars of rare comics and comic art and ultimately producing 10 auctions for Sotheby's. In 1993, Weist married Dana Hawkes, then the director of Sotheby's Collectibles Department, and in 1998, moved with his family to Gloucester where he continued to buy and sell science fiction and comic art and to write books on the subject. His price guides and books include the R. Crumb Price Guide, The Underground Comic Price Guide, Original Comic Art Identification and Price Guide; The 100 Greatest Comic Books; and From The Pen Of Paul: The Fantastic Images of Frank R. Paul, A Ray Bradbury enthusiast and ultimate friend, he wrote and produced Bradbury: An Illustrated Life: A Journey To Far Metaphor, featuring the art that had illustrated Bradbury's stories during his lengthy career. He is survived by his wife Dana Hawkes; two sons Ian, 15 and Eric, 13, all of Gloucester, his sister Lenore Leader of Wichita, Kansas and many nephews, nieces and cousins. A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 26, 11 a.m., at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church St., Gloucester.
Published in The Wichita Eagle on January 21, 2011
Mary Tillemans (Miller (Carroll))
Jerry Norton Weist
GLOUCESTER, MA Weist, Jerry Norton, science fiction and comic art expert, author, and collector, as well as artist, died January 7 at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital of multiple myeloma. He was 61. Born on September 16, 1949 in Wichita Kansas, Weist's interest in science fiction started at a young age with Nightmare, a 1950s late-night television show that aired in Wichita. His first permanent mark in the science fiction world came in 1967 when, at 17, he produced, along with childhood friends Roger Hill and Bob Barrett, the first edition of Squa Tront, an EC fanzine. After graduating in 1971 from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, Weist moved to New York City to launch a career in art, where he had many one-man shows for a Soho gallery. However, Weist's passion for science fiction and comic art led him to Harvard Square in Cambridge where he and fellow collector Chuck Wooley opened a specialty comic book store in 1974 called "The Million Year Picnic". Moving back to New York City in 1991, Weist launched the first major comic book and comic art auction at Sotheby's, selling more than a million dollars of rare comics and comic art and ultimately producing 10 auctions for Sotheby's. In 1993, Weist married Dana Hawkes, then the director of Sotheby's Collectibles Department, and in 1998, moved with his family to Gloucester where he continued to buy and sell science fiction and comic art and to write books on the subject. His price guides and books include the R. Crumb Price Guide, The Underground Comic Price Guide, Original Comic Art Identification and Price Guide; The 100 Greatest Comic Books; and From The Pen Of Paul: The Fantastic Images of Frank R. Paul, A Ray Bradbury enthusiast and ultimate friend, he wrote and produced Bradbury: An Illustrated Life: A Journey To Far Metaphor, featuring the art that had illustrated Bradbury's stories during his lengthy career. He is survived by his wife Dana Hawkes; two sons Ian, 15 and Eric, 13, all of Gloucester, his sister Lenore Leader of Wichita, Kansas and many nephews, nieces and cousins. A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 26, 11 a.m., at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church St., Gloucester.
Published in The Wichita Eagle on January 21, 2011
Jerry's Death was reported to me by Robb Maness.