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On 9/27/2022 at 12:59 PM, Rick2you2 said:

Why do I have a feeling your desk is absolutely neat and organized?

If a disorganized desk is the sign of a disorganized mind, of what then is an empty desk the sign?

I will admit to tracking the squandering of my daughters’ inheritance accurately and completely. 

On 9/8/2022 at 3:43 PM, brownies8701 said:

Is it safe to assume that all pages they sell have been "altered" in some way...i know that is a huge generalization.

Altering panel pages isn’t cheap so it’s unlikely that they will make changes except to covers or things that they think can be made into “preliminary/unused” covers. 

On 9/8/2022 at 3:43 PM, brownies8701 said:

Thanks for putting this all together btw!

You are welcome. 

You might also like this thread: 

I’m always willing to add more. Just add a comment with the theme and a link to it.

This is a really good list  

I have a few themes

• Artists & Main Characters
• Arm Wrestling with Heroes
• Family Portraits
• Sugar and Spike #100 Covers
• Legion of Super-Heroes commissions
• Remarques
• Miscellaneous (non-theme pieces)

The primary one is the first listed. Artists that I like doing the characters that I most associate with them (published or commissions). 
 

I do have a sweet spot for Sheldon Mayer and his character’s especially Scribbly and, of course, Sugar and Spike. 

On 9/26/2022 at 12:12 PM, Dr. Balls said:

I’d never heard of that, but wow - what a cool story. It’s like Stand By Me for a newer generation. 

It’s really good. 

On 9/26/2022 at 6:44 AM, Dr. Balls said:

Invested. I like to use the term “invested”. 

Too many commissions and minor pieces by unknown artists to claim investment. Sigh…

One day, my Plutona first drawing ever will be worth a fortune. Just waiting on the movie from the rights sale. Gonna happen any day now. I’m going to be rich! LOL!

On 9/26/2022 at 4:28 AM, Buzzetta said:

Sounds like an interesting series and one I might check out. 

That’s my take. It’s got a different feel. 

On 9/21/2022 at 9:21 AM, BVladimirHarkonnen said:

Anyone have experience with these scanners?

I've been looking for a better at home solution and for the price points ($369 and $469 on Amazon) this seems like it'd fit the bill

Flat bed size is 12x17 

I do not, but I've seen my Epson All-in-One WF-7710/7720 for less than either and it prints, faxes, scans, makes soup. Yes, the scanning bed is A3 (bigger
16.5inch x 11.7inch)

https://thedroidguy.com/wf-7710-vs-7720-1134443

On 9/13/2022 at 2:09 PM, RBerman said:

I picked up a couple of commissions from another collector; one is by Michael Netzer, and one by Nate Pride. Both homage John Byrne's cover to X-Men #141.

I love both of those. Good job!

On 9/12/2022 at 6:42 PM, Rick2you2 said:

I originally hadn't planned to post this recent acquisition, but after seeing the results of the recent Heritage Signature auction, and how little a buck brings, I changed my mind. What follows cost all of $1,500. This is the art for the upcoming (main) cover for DC's new Halloween Special by John McCrea. DC is also coming out with at least one variant cover, but a certain character wasn't included in it, so I didn't pursue. Anyway, the package consisted of an original pencil cover, an original inked cover (over his pencil scan), a preliminary (which I am leaving out, and is on the back of the pencil page), and what I think had the most dynamic layout: John's original proposal for a cover to DC that was rejected. See what youi think. I am sorely tempted to ask for a commission of the thing.

When looking at the pencil version, you may notice that the Phantom Stranger and Deadman are on opposite sides of the page. I asked him why he mirror-imaged it for the inked version, and he said that it allowed him to catch errors in his pencil work. I never heard that before, so I thought I would pass it on.

By the way, this is what the final, published art will look like:

 

 And the prelim, which is slightly cut off at the edges:

Now, that's $1,500 well spent, in my opinion.

 

Excellent shopping and a terrific cover.

On 9/8/2022 at 2:46 PM, Dr. Balls said:

I am a former digital artist from the late 90's through the mid-2000s (not a comic artist) and would like to chime in here on Artist Proofs (APs).

Originally, APs were made on-press, meaning the artist was there during the actual printing to make sure the colors were what they wanted on their lithographs. They would make adjustments to color density, etc to get the colors they wanted. While they were doing this, they would pull out a sheet and look it over, the artist telling the pressman where to make an adjustment. The artist would set this print aside and repeat the process until he got to where he wanted to be. This stack of prints were the "artist proofs". He would sign them 1/5 or however many there were, and they had a slight variation from the final run.

Sometime in the 90's (I put the blame on Bev Doolittle and Thomas Kinkaide) artists realized they could get a premium for their APs and they would just sign a random stack of prints, calling them Artist Proofs. I saw examples of this several times in an art and framing gallery I worked at that dealt with Bev Doolittle prints in the mid-90s. Side by side, they were the exact same - even under a loupe inspection (CMYK rosettes being similar if not exact - as much as the human eye could perceive it).

Flash forward to the digital age: computer generated artwork that had no tangible "original". When I would make a lithograph of one of my pieces, I made appointments to be on press, so I could create a few APs - back in these days, color calibration was a lot more challenging - as your computer monitor may not be calibrated to the color space of the printing company, which could lead to problems with color variance on press. So, I always did press proofs and pulled the APs like everyone else.

When the technology advanced to digital printing, color calibration was much easier to manage and creating an AP didn't require a lot of coordination. I would simply order a proof print of my file, they would print one and I would make sure it was how I wanted it to look. If it wasn't, I'd make changes on my file on my end and reprint. This usually meant I only had 2 or 3 APs.

With modern technology (starting around 2010) color calibration and color spaces were really dialed in, and I could print something through a vendor and it would practically be exact to what I was seeing on screen. Starting around then, I don't think I ever had an AP because they weren't needed. I cant speak for modern comic artists, but I know that there is no realistic way they could make APs in quantities over 5 and have it be a "true" artist proof. Anyone selling APs numbered to 20-25 is padding the edition, in my opinion.

So....to my point: I would not pay a premium for an AP unless it had true variances from the rest of the edition, and I would ask questions regarding the AP process the artist undertook to create them. I believe that many artists selling APs are simply offering a sub-edition to their regular edition. Which may make it "valuable" to a collector - but if it's not created in the true fashion of what an artist proof is, it may A) hamper resale down the road or at worst B) just be a gimmicky way to sell prints. Bev Doolittle was one of the most popular artists of the late 80s and 90s, and she absolutely flooded the market with endless prints and "limited" editions of prints going up to 100,000 copies. This gimmicky approach killed the value of her art and left a lot of people misled about the value of her work, which went from high-end limited edition to the price of a poster at Wal-Mart.

I never created editions over 200 (and I probably wouldn't have sold many larger than that ). My over-arching goal was not to flood the market and cheapen my work in that way. If you are buying limited editions or APs, I would spend a little time researching the aftermarket, see how they hold value, etc. Just spend some time getting to know the marketing practices of the artists you buy from so that you not only buy the piece you want, but that you get to enjoy the pride of ownership that comes with having a truly "limited" piece of artwork.

This is just one Boardies opinion.

 

Really useful information. Thanks.

It's not just art.

Surgery

On 9/1/2022 at 9:45 PM, Caltex98 said:

Because of the Scandinavian Airlines pilot strike I had to cancel my participation in the San Diego Comic-con 2022 at the last minute. This was of course a big disappointment but recieving this artwork in the mail a month later almost made up for that mishap.

I had asked my friend (and fellow OA collector) Alan D. to get the Comic-con cover variant of Betty & Veronica Friends Forever Summer Surf Party by Dan Parent, celebrating Sabrina the Teenage Witch's 60th anniversary and in connection with that mentioned the fact that me and her are the same age. So unbeknownst to me he arranged for this special greeting card drawn by Scott Shaw! and signed by some of my favorite people in the industry which I always look forward to meet: Jimmy Palmiotti, Scott Eder, Amanda Conner, Terry Dodson and the aforementioned Scott and Dan. And Alan himself of course!
Me being surprised is an understatement! A big thank you to Alan for organizing this special treat!

What a great gift!

I made a few other edits including eliminating an art show that hasn't been held in a while.

I just read about this website - it's an index relating comic art names to their on-line presence used for selling their art. I've added it above.

https://www.buyfromcomicartists.com

I picked up a few pieces at Baytown, TX's Eastern Rim Funny Book and Vintage Con on Saturday, 27 Aug 2022. Here's the first one. The others will be posted as I get them in the CAF.

Thanks to my friend, Nick Pitarra, for allowing me to get a rejected panel from his new book on Zoop (Axe-Wielder Jon). As you can see, Jon is lovely. Buy the book. Give Jon a home! You know that you want it. Look at that face!

Order it here: https://zoop.gg/c/axwielderjon

There are some great add-ons, too.

Click on the image for a larger view and a description.

On 8/20/2022 at 7:55 PM, KirbyCollector said:

The area is poor and the hotel is very bad. I wish Veteri would hold this in a better location, at the very least to allow for the possibility of a fun weekend trip with the wife.

Kathy and flew to NYC for Friday and Saturday and went to the show on Sunday before returning home. She was quite happy with the arrangement. Just a suggestion.

On 8/20/2022 at 7:18 PM, Rick2you2 said:

Secaucus is lovely this time of year. You would be surrounded by a marsh called the Meadowlands, that was created when settlers first ground down the hills into gravel mines, and cut down the native cedars. Then, later generations filled in the holes with piles of garbage. On some of the covered up garbage piles, now grassy hills, there are waste gas collectors which gather up the methanol and recycle it as fuel. Throw in a giant sized shopping mall, with an indoor ski slope, that is slowly headed into bankruptcy, along with a town having lots of outlet stores, and a tourist has everything they could want. Now you know why we legalized pot.

Methane not methanol.

On 8/22/2022 at 9:31 AM, Nate Hartz said:

Calvin and Hobbes Commissions - Nathan Hartz's Original Comic Art Gallery at ComicArtFans.com

I have a collection of Calvin and Hobbes commissions.

Added! Thanks.