Coach

2 hours ago, comix4fun said:

Was this pic taken at SDCC? I could have sworn it had a $5k tag on it preview night. I remember the $5k price because I felt a rush of flames on my face upon witnessing the sheer optimism in asking for that much. 

Isn't this a close up of one of Gene's pictures from preview night?

The signature looks odd to me.

23 minutes ago, wurstisart said:

What is the sales tax percentage and as mentioned earlier is it before or after bp

The sales tax percentage varies by state.  I believe Heritage charges sales tax on everything (bid, BP, and shipping). 

Enjoyed the show very much.  It seems like prices have outpaced my budget but I saw some really fantastic art.  I hope this becomes an annual event, I'll be sure to budget for next year (fingers crossed).  I did buy a NM #98 so I left happy!

5 minutes ago, Logan510 said:

I think this is a special thing because he's doing these appearances with Shatner as opposed to just going to a con. The last two he did were the Star Trek anniversary in Vegas and the Kirby anniversary at NYCC. It's pretty easy to find out, just go to his forum and ask him.

That's true, these are special appearances.  I believe someone did ask about signings/photos but Byrne didn't respond to it.  I guess we'll see what happens.

12 hours ago, Logan510 said:

Have you read his thoughts on slabbed books on his forum? What would be the incentive for him to change his stance on this?

Didn't he also say he doesn't do conventions?  If he changed his stance on that, couldn't he change his stance on slabbed books?  Personally, I don't think he will, but you never know.

After giving the issue some thought, I believe there are valid points on both sides.  I don’t pretend to know all, but for me, it boils down to value.  If you take two books: same title, same condition, and same signature, it’s obvious that a CGC SS one will maintain a higher value than a raw uncertified one.

If a creator recognizes this and opts to charge a higher price for a signature going towards a book getting CGC SS certification, I don’t begrudge them asking a higher price.  I also don’t begrudge them for other conditions that I have seen such as personalizing or, in Byrne’s case, not wanting CGC SS certification.  Now this is my opinion and I have no problem if people disagree with me.

To clarify, I’m not saying revat or RockMyAmadeus are wrong, our positions on this issue may not align, but I recognize and respect their opinions.  I sincerely hope that common ground can be found on this issue with any creators with which there is a divide.    

I agree that why collectors prefer CGC SS books is none of the creator’s business.  But revat seems to be trying to facilitate understanding and change from creators.  You yourself hoped to make a point with a creator with your polite challenge.  I believe asking about the CGC SS preference is a genuine question and it seems like answering that you like it and the rest is none of their business is contrary to facilitating any sort of understanding or change from creators.

5 hours ago, revat said:

My new thing is to pull the books out that I want to get signed, talk about them with the creator to show I know whats up, then pull out the cash.  Ask kindly about their CGC upcharge and ask if it can be waived, and then put the book and cash away right in front of them if they decline.  "I appreciate your work, but I don't understand why you'd charge more for the CGC sig.  I choose not get this book signed, thanks for your time."  No need to need to be combative or mean.  Just let them know how you feel, let them think about it, be polite, but let them know that they've disappointed a fan an possibly cost themselves money.  Otherwise they won't know if no one ever goes up to them and tells them.  When they realize they are disappointing REAL fans AND losing out on real MONEY, maybe things will change.  Until then, why would they change? 

We have millions of people in this country who don't understand the most basic economic concepts, and even when faced with reasonable explanations, they act against logic and their own self interests.  There's no reason to think that a comic creator will change his/her mind WITHOUT the benefit of someone laying out the logic for them.

Just curious, how would you respond if the creator asked "You're obviously a real fan, why is my autograph on a CGC SS book preferred over a raw ungraded book"?

Edited for a typo

16 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Of course it's fine for Byrne to say how he wants to sign books. It's not ok for him to say what should happen with those books after he signed them.

I would agree with your statement if Byrne wasn’t involved in any way, but he is.  He is involved because he is signing the book, and therefore it appears that he is putting conditions on his involvement.  I don’t believe this is uncommon in business.  My understanding is it’s called a covenant.

From Wikipedia: A covenant is a type of contract in which the covenantor makes a promise to a covenantee to do (affirmative covenant) or not do some action (negative covenant).

Obviously, this isn’t a legal agreement we’re dealing with here, but what I believe Byrne’s position is “I’ll sign your item as long as it doesn’t get CGC SS certified”.  In this case, he’s bypassing the fan and going straight to CGC with his “covenant”.

That said, I would love to add a John Byrne CGC SS book to my collection but I guess that won’t be happening anytime soon.

Apparently McFarlane's webbing was inspired by Michael Golden:

http://www.cbr.com/comic-legends-the-secret-origin-of-spider-mans-spaghetti-webbing/

Not sure if this was mentioned before but it appears that Warner Bros. owned Rotten Tomatoes (through Flixster) until February 2016 when Flixster was sold to Fandango. Warner Bros. currently owns a minority interest in the merged entities.

How do you get on the magazine list? I get stuff for guitar auctions (not sure why) but nothing original art related

I don't know about anyone else, but I didn't do anything specific to get the magazine (Intelligent Collector) other than to bid and win some auctions (more bidding than winning lately, since Heritage opened an office in CA the addition of sales tax seems to price me out of many lots). They include a postcard to send in to renew the subscription but I never send it in (I prefer not to send a postcard where they want personal information and my signature for anyone to see) but the magazine keeps coming.

I'm confused. There was no splash page with Wolverine from issue 180 but a panel on the last page. Is it that or the page 1 splash from issue 182 that one of the Donnellys own?

 

Yes, you are correct, it is not a splash. In my haste I called it a splash but it is a very nice over-sized panel. A great image and I can't wait to see the scan.

I mean an over-sized panel image of Wolverine.

I'm confused. There was no splash page with Wolverine from issue 180 but a panel on the last page. Is it that or the page 1 splash from issue 182 that one of the Donnellys own?

Yes, you are correct, it is not a splash. In my haste I called it a splash but it is a very nice over-sized panel. A great image and I can't wait to see the scan.

From Heritage's magazine, it looks like the Wolverine splash from Hulk 180 is coming to auction. Should be interesting to see how high it goes.

My experience was being quoted a price which was 15% higher than the buy-it-now price of the exact same page from their Ebay listing (which I subsequently found through a link on their website). I don't even look at their stuff now.

I just received my John Romita Artist’s Edition today and I am blown away. It is just incredible to look at. And the MJ sketch is perfect! Many thanks to Scott and Mike for helping me out with the book.

Darren

I went to WonderCon on Friday and spoke to Scott Dunbier about exchanging my John Romita Artist’s Edition for one with a Mary Jane sketch. He immediately called over the shipping manager, Mike, to make it happen. Mike gave me his e-mail address and we will arrange shipping the replacement this week. They both went out of their way to accommodate my request, which is greatly appreciated. Excellent fan friendly customer service.

I also got some Locke & Key books and a copy of Horns signed by Joe Hill at the IDW booth. Many thanks to Scott, Mike and the IDW staff for helping make WonderCon a teriffic experience!

Darren