Posted

I can confidently say in this past month Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers has taken in the largest and most important comic and toy collection on consignment to date in company history. The collection includes thousands of 1960’s through 1990’s American and Japanese toys and model kits, comic books, trading cards, and anything and everything pop culture related. What was once packed in a three-level Brooklyn, New York home with basement and 600sqft garage now resides on 19 pallets in our gallery. But only after two days and two 20ft box trucks and four panel vans worth of work. Furthermore, the collection was neatly organized and boxed with everything identified. You might ask who could keep that large of a collection so well organized and maintained. Well, let me tell you.

Andy Yanchus was a highly regarded hobbyist and professional in the toy and comic book industry. Since his early childhood Andy was enthralled with building plastic model kits. Modeling inspired him to attend the Pratt School of Industrial Design where after graduation he combined his education and passion for models to become the Project Manager for Aurora Plastics in Brooklyn, New York. Aurora, a powerhouse of toy production was responsible for some of the most iconic model kits including Godzilla, King Kong, Dracula, Frankenstein, and all those cool prehistoric dinosaur and cavemen sets.

After 11 years with Aurora Andy took his love of pop culture to Marvel Comics where he became a staff colorist launching a 17-year career. His resume includes working on Amazing Spider-Man, Alpha Flight, and Uncanny X-Men amongst other titles. During his time at Marvel, he sparked a friendship with fellow artist Dave Cockrum, to which an original drawn birthday card to Andy from Dave is included in the collection. There is so much to say and express that I can’t fit in this one column. The summary though is that Andy Yanchus was an extraordinary gentleman who made a large impact on the collecting community. That is for certain. The first portion of Andy’s collection will be featured at auction on September 17th, with several auctions to follow. It’s not every day you get to handle the collection of a legend, certainly an opportunity I will never forget.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here