Laszlo the Mudjar

So, given all the turmoil in the equity markets of late, anyone come across big drops in heretofore untouched GAs, keys, or other supposedly more secure books?

On 4/22/2022 at 5:13 PM, New School Fool said:

The best advice I received when collecting art is 'buy what you love, and you can't go wrong'. There's another thread in this forum where someone argued that all buyers of comic art at today's prices are speculators whether they like it or not.

I don't necessarily agree with that statement but using your proposed 'screening method' puts you smack bang into the 'speculator' corner and quite distinct from a comic art collector.

I would agree and disagree with that idea or more succinctly I would refine the idea.  I agree that looking for "popular" modern artists puts one into the spec camp, however, I would argue that there are literally thousands of artists from which to choose so why not find one that a) you like personally AND b) is popular.  Going for only a) is not without merit but I would argue has less chance of holding value.  I would never buy art with the intention of flipping, but I would prefer to buy art that I like AND is from a popular artist.  Not sure if I explained that well, but I tried  

On 4/22/2022 at 5:31 AM, Rick2you2 said:

As a follow-up, I think good art is easy to find. The question you should also ask is whether you want good art that is more likely to appreciate in value or not. If so, your safest bets are to stick to popular characters and books, using them as a screening device for your taste.

Looking thru the amazing pencil work above that was my thought exactly.  How popular is Dave Johnson?  I really like this cover:

Hey - no one said getting old is easy. At least my poor 'ole brain remembered it had something to do with "blue".  Blueish cover blueish name.  The cape is blue   !!

Hah . . . found it in "Have prices eased up"

Thanks for playing everyone

On 4/21/2022 at 12:51 PM, Cat said:

Could It have been an Adam Strange cover? For example:

 

Really really similar to that but the colors and art jumped out as different . . . more neon like.  Too funny . . . it's driving me bananas.  I'm gonna have to go thru every thread I ever perused and look for the picture

On 4/21/2022 at 11:00 AM, Cat said:

Wild guess I'm throwing out here. 

That certainly fits all my criteria and is definitely cool, but not what I was thinking about.  As I recall their was one main spacesuit guy or super hero guy with a helmet.  I think the helmet had a mohawk, but I could be totally making that up.

I saw a cover on the board here that I really liked, and now I'd like to go look around and see if it's stupid high priced or in my "maybe" range, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.  I'm thinking many folks here are so knowledgeable about individual books that if I describe the cover someone might actually know what I'm talking about.  Anyways, this is only if one is bored.

So . . . what I remember was it was in space, I think it had a guy shooting a laser and either had a space creature or a spaceship, and the cover was kinda blueish and very attractive and someone here had been after it for a while.  I can't remember if it was Golden Age or Silver, but it was older for sure.  Anyways, that's all I got.  Any guesses.

Thanks!

On 4/20/2022 at 1:36 PM, CGC Mike said:

Done!

Thanks!

And, to everyone else "WOW"  lot's to look at now.  I guess it truly does come down to personal taste, but at least I've got some place to start looking.  Thanks again everyone.  Keep posting!

On 4/20/2022 at 9:50 AM, jjonahjameson11 said:

Perhaps this should be moved out of the marketplace section?

Duh!!

I hate getting old.  Yes, if at all possible I intended to post in the OA general forum not the Marketplace.  I suppose if it doesn't get moved I could just repost the question.

Having all of 3 modern comics in my collection, I am woefully lacking in knowledge as regards modern day comic artists so I was wondering if there is/are standout favs amongst boardees here??

I have a personal method that applies to many items including comics.  If you had to buy right now at the presumed price, would you?  To me if the answer is no I wouldn't pay $100k for a restored Detective Comics 1 then I would have my answer.  We all live within our spending limits set by our circumstances.  The question is how do YOU want to spend your resources.  Me I like spending money on cars and comics.  Fancy wine, vacations, homes, clothes, etc. . . . not so much.

@DC# You need to start a patreon account so we can send a tip your way for all your hard work.  Really great to see the numbers presented like that.  I really thought 2022 would see a substantial pullback given the movement in the stock market, but such is not the case for the most coveted comics.

As to the topic at hand I'm all in favor of restoration.  We do it to cars, furniture, paintings, etc. with no thought to altering the value.  I like to present my favorite comics on a wall in a frame so I and others can enjoy the art and reminisce about the "good 'ole days".  Restoration makes for better presentation and in the case of this hobby lower prices.  In fact, I'm hoping one big restored GA book stays available long enough for me to save the moola.  It's a fraction of the price of a Blue label.

On 4/14/2022 at 3:26 PM, Bird said:

it is very helpful, I agree

glad you're happy with the sales...what did you buy?

Nothin' yet   Waiting 'til I get my C&P books sold then I should have a decent pile of cash to go after a GA Captain America Comic.  Although a recent thread I started made me think about starting a collection of New Gods and that might be a better use of the money.  We'll see . . . 

Decided last year to focus my collection in specific areas and so sell those parts of my tiny collection that didn't "fit in".  I am inherently lazy so the thought of dealing with the process of selling was causing me stress just thinking about it.  Granted once I consider my cost of grading and the commission involved I'm probably close to 50 cents on the dollar but, I think it's still worth it to me given the complete ease of the transaction.  One mailing to CGC and one mailing to MCS and badda-bing badda-boom I get a nice check in my PayPal account and can now go shopping for something I actually want.  Tried to price everything 10% under "market" and that seemed to work well as most everything I had sold within days.  Don't know if anyone mentioned this in the thread yet, but the data MCS provides regarding sales of the comic you are listing is truly worth the 10% commission itself.  It really lets one set a "fair" price pretty easily.

Excellent service and GREAT product.  Kudos to MCS for their consignment process!!

Now if I could just get back the books I sent for cleaning and pressing sometime this century it sure would be nice

Do I become a creepy old man if I admit Barda in uniform does more for me than bikini Barda???

On 4/6/2022 at 3:41 PM, davidtere said:

The OP asked:  Is Mister Miracle worth a Kirby collectors notice? My answer would be yes although, I agree with @KirbyJack on  both his 4th World preferences in  that order (New Gods, Mister Miracle). Quite frankly Mister Miracle could be a future show or movie someday (if that's your jam).  Having full runs of all the fourth world stuff is cool and honestly still affordable on many levels. Twomorrows Publishings recent book, Old Gods and New provides incredible detail on what was going on with the series, Kirby and DC when it was being published. It is a must read for every Kirby-phile that really wants to delve into possibly Kirby's greatest 70's creation. 

That being said, there is not much Kirby that I don't like, although I have my preferences, so I may have a strong bias. My avatar may be an indication of that. Below is a recreation of Big Barda I had Mike Royer do for me in the early 2000's. 

Yeah this thread brought up an excellent point for me.  I own zero New Gods and they are definitely in my collecting range and there's only a handful.  I think barring that big Golden Age Captain America Comics buy getting in the way, I think collecting the Kirby New Gods might be fun in '22.  Glad I asked the question!

On 4/6/2022 at 3:37 PM, kav said:

thor is my favorite

You can't have 2 favs.  You already put dibs on this guy I thought??

If I'm honest I have never been a fan of comics signed on the cover, but to be even more honest I'm a bit put off by how many Stan Lee signed books are out there.  I feel like the guy spent his last 20 years signing away, and that, to me, cheapens it.  Don't get me wrong I think Stan Lee was a comic book genius, love his work, and think the world is better for it.  I just think the guy went a little crazy handing out signatures.  Anyways, that's just one old dude's thoughts so don't nobody get their panties in a wad please.

Obviously I'm seriously behind because I don't have any Golden Age Kirby.  I think I need to rectify that soon   Too bad I'm not one of those Bitcoin billionaires so I could go grab me an early Captain America Comic.  Great stuff guys!