Fantagraphics Books
WOMAN WITH FIFTY FACES HC MARIA LANI & THE GREATEST ART HEIST THAT NEVER WAS (MR)
On April 7, 1928, Maria Lani blew into Paris claiming to be a famous German actress and proceeded to seduce the cultural elite with her undeniable charisma and strangely enticing enigmatic aura. She persuaded fifty artists —Pierre Bonnard, Marc Chagall, André Derain, Henri Matisse, Georges-Henri Rouault, Fernand Léger and Suzanne Valadon among them— to immortalize her in paintings and sculptures, which would appear as an important plot device in a forthcoming film. Unveiled as an exhibition in New York, the art works traveled to Chicago, London, Berlin, Rotterdam, and Paris. But, in 1931, as legend eventually had it, she and her husband Max Abramowicz vanished without a trace, and so did the art. The film was never made.The Woman With Fifty Faces is about uncovering as much of the truth about Maria Lani as possible. The images that cascade through the book are stunningly beautiful, deeply compassionate, and farcically grotesque, capturing the essence of Lani’s life. From Poland’s antisemitic pogroms to the vulgar glamour and decadence of 1920s Paris to the Nazi occupation of France in the ‘40s, the tumultuous Europe Lani traverses becomes nearly as much of a character as Lani herself. Jonathan Lackman spent two decades researching Lani's life and Zachary J. Pinson spent 5,000 hours putting pen to paper. The result is a masterful collaboration about identity and the power and limits of reinvention.
UPC/ISBN: 9798875001116
SKU: 0425FB530
FOC Date: 06/16/2025
Release Date: 07/23/2025
Product Information
Due to the nature of collectible items and ever changing market demand, we are unable to cancel pre-orders on ratio variants and select other items (1 per store variants, exclusive covers, ect) for a refund.For preorders on regular open order comics (the majority of which are normally cover price), we can cancel preorders and refund with a store credit that can be used in our brick and mortar stores or at thirdeyecomics.com
If you have any shipping questions check out our Shipping FAQs here
You can contact us through our contact page! We will be happy to assist you.
Cover art for Comics on our website is provided to us at the time of solicit. While we do our best to keep these images up to date; some covers may be subject to change!
At Third Eye, we ship thousands of comics every week, and we know condition matters. Whether you're reading, collecting, or grading, we want you to feel confident when a Third Eye package arrives.
This policy outlines our standard for new release and shipped comics, and the industry-standard guidelines we follow.
OUR STANDARD
Books without a stated grade will be offered as Near Mint 9.4 or better. We do not guarantee 9.8 condition on any book unless specifically noted.
We use industry-standard grading guidelines from:
- CBCS Comic Grading Scale
- Overstreet Comic Grading Standards
- CGC grading standards
If you're new to comic grading, the resources above are a great place to start.
WHY WE DON'T GUARANTEE 9.8
Modern comic printing is an imperfect process. Books are printed in massive
runs, bound at high speed, and shipped in bulk to retailers. Even brand
new books off the truck will exhibit minor production characteristics,
and that's normal, and consistent with industry standards across every
retailer.
A 9.8 grade represents near-perfection, and the reality is that not every printed book qualifies for that grade no matter where you buy it from.
We can absolutely commit to NM 9.4 or better. We cannot commit to 9.8 on every book, because that's not how comics are made.
WHAT QUALIFIES AS NM 9.4
Per industry standards, a book may exhibit the following minor characteristics and still grade as Near Mint 9.4, as long as there's no accumulation of defects:
Bindery characteristics:
- Minor to moderate corner tears
- White edges along the spine (common on most modern printings)
- Covers slightly offset from interior pages (common on cardstock covers)
Printing characteristics:
- Slight color rub on back covers
- Small paper wrinkles present from the paper roll prior to printing
- Wavy paper texture from the printing process
Spine characteristics:
- 2-3 small color-breaking spine ticks
- Minor non-color-breaking spine dings
These are normal modern production characteristics, not damage from handling or shipping. They are present on books across the industry, regardless
of retailer.
OUR RETURN & EXCHANGE POLICY
We do not accept returns or exchanges on books that meet our NM 9.4 or better standard.
We will replace or refund:
- Books damaged during shipping (clear shipping damage, not pre-existing print characteristics)
- Books that fall below NM 9.4 standard (significant spine damage, major creasing, tears, etc.)
- Wrong cover or wrong issue shipped
For premium variants (1:25, 1:50, 1:100, 1:250, 1:500 incentive covers, signed editions, exclusive variants), we apply enhanced QC during pull and packing. If a premium variant arrives outside our standard, contact us within 7 days of delivery and we will work with you on a replacement.
QUESTIONS?
If you have questions about a specific book or want to learn more about comic grading, our team is happy to help. Reach out to service@thirdeyecomics.com.
We appreciate your trust in Third Eye Comics, and we're committed to delivering books that meet the standards both you and we expect.