stinkininkin

My first SDCC was in 1980, and it was magic. Not the same beast it is now, and twice the charm. I've only missed one year since (1983), and consider it an annual must do. Of course, I'm behind the tables now as the local professional, but still manage to sneak out from my booth and geek out a bit. I too would recommend everyone hit the show up at least once in their life. As Felix said, make it a bucket list item. To those attending, come see me at my new booth location, 4505, and say hi. Or buy some art. Or do both! Either way, see (some of you) soon!

I feel like I didn't get the memo. Is something happening in the next few years specifically that is going to put the world in a zombie-apocalypse level recession? There is a sense of certainty about some of these prognostications that I would like to know about so I know what to prepare for (outside the normal fiscal gyrations we're all familiar with).

OK, I guess now I better understand the context of a "softening" market in that period. As someone who has bought art off and on since 1980 and only sold very rarely, these 6-12 month blips on the upside or the downside just don't resonate with me. I've got a long term approach to this hobby, so I look at it differently than some others I guess.

I actually don't remember the OA market crashing/softening in 2007. Maybe it did in the entry level art which I don't really follow, but on the blue chip good stuff? No crash that I can remember!

Do you or anyone here know if the prices listed here include the 15% buyers premium?

I forgot about the Ploog Werewolf by Night #5 page, or I might have bid on it. Not nearly as good a page as the previous WWBN 5 page in their last auction, but it was still a nice example from one of the absolute best Ploog pencilled and inked issues! Also, I think someone got a pretty good deal on the Wolverine #1 cover I drew at $7245. If I still had that cover and was selling it now, I'd be looking for considerably more. I realize this is a self serving statement, so take that for what it's worth. Just an observation.

I had discussions with a few collectors about inking the Wolverine #50 art that Jim is now restoring, had that person or collector bought it. I would have considered doing it, and it would have made sense in a lot of ways. Would have been very expensive as well. That said, I'm glad Jim, the original inker on the piece, is doing it instead of me. I think that's the best possible outcome.

I guess. The old collector me, the "get off my lawn" me just laments that comic art by pretty solid but frankly journeyman artists have become valued on the basis of the IP that they illustrated and when that IP was produced, and not on true artistic merit. I get it. I'm coming at this from an artists perspective. Collectors should be able to fan however they want. I'm just here howling at the moon.

Sure, I get it's the first appearance of Punisher, but is it ok to observe that the art really doesn't look great IMHO? The seller will clearly do well with this sale, and nothing I say can change that, but man, I got into this hobby for the art (with a sprinkling of nostalgia), and this stuff, the actual art, just leaves me saying "meh".

If I remember correctly, Walt sold a small number of Thor covers maybe 15-20 years ago? I want to say there were about 5 covers that he selected to part with. Some of you guys probably remember this? I think the covers were about 10k each, a large number at the time, but certainly not insane, especially considering their rarity. To be clear, my recollections on this are pretty fuzzy, so feel free to tighten up the info. Bottom line, he has kept almost his complete body of work, which is really amazing!

Interesting. Gotta admit, if I had known the #190 cover was on two separate boards, I have since forgotten. And I never looked closely at the auction details that clearly point this out. It does complicate things a bit. Taking this into account, the final hammer seems pretty rock solid, and a win for the seller (and perhaps the buyer as well). Thanks for the background on it Gene!

Don't think anyone mentioned the Miller DD 174 page at $144k. Excellent page, and a pretty big number. With that in mind, makes me wonder if the seller is disappointed with DD 190 cover sale price, especially since it features both DD and Electra. Either way, I continue to be impressed with the strength of the Miller DD market!

I don't really know this market, but wouldn't the seller have done even better if he had broken up the issue?

I think Bill (William) Woo was the last person I know for sure owned it. It was never a secret, and was or still is on his CAF gallery. It's a cool cover, but is somewhat odd in composition. I used to own a killer half splash from FF 55 (where the Thing punches Silver Surfer out of Alicia's house). Traded it away unfortunately.

Just speaking for myself and some of my like minded collector friends, those early Moon Knight stories aren't very good art wise. Poor Neal Adams riffs. It's not until you get into the later Moon Knight run before I would consider opening my wallet to add to my collection. YMMV.

Exactly. I'm at a loss how missing these Clink auctions is even possible. Clink is far from perfect, but reminders are NOT one of their problems!

I don't get this. I get so many email reminders about their auctions, it drives me crazy! It's so continuous that I have considered opting out of the notifications, but then I'd get nothing. Wish I could opt for a happy medium. That said, if you are signed up for email reminders, how are you not seeing them?

Yeah, speaking just of value, the prices on these better BWS Weapon X pages have taken off only in the last 5 or 6 years. As for the art, there are indeed better individual pages from this series that are better than this one, but as a placeholder? Man, it's a hell of a placeholder!!! All that said, I used to do trades and there are definitely a few which in hindsight seemed both wise and fair at the time, but which eventually turned out to be neither. Oh well, that's the hobby!

Wow, the artistry and the inking is so much better on this version than the printed poster one being shown. The printed one looks amateurish to my eyes (both the contours and the inking), while this one is so much more professional (although that mouth and nose looks kind of off brand, but still a legitimate choice).

A great example of why BWS is one of the finest comic book artists to ever put pen to paper.

RIP to another artist from my collecting past. By the way, is it common knowledge regarding Delbo's NFT success? I was approached by the same promoter to market my work just like Jose, but being an old guy, I didn't understand any of it or why digital art could have any value, perceived or otherwise. I never responded to the multiple offers! LOL Glad Jose got to enjoy some monetary success before passing on.

That's only happened to me once in my 40 years of collecting (a collector offered me a Neal Adams Dracula page, gave me a price, I said yes, and then backed out). I was FURIOUS!!! You give me a price that I accept and then just say "never mind"??? Not cool. Not cool at all.

Glad folks had a good time. Wasn't there, but looking at the various pics I've seen posted, it appears that the crowds seemed a little bit sparse. Perhaps that's a feature and not a bug for a show like this? Maybe attendees could comment on the crowd/attendance?

Not a market I follow, but shouldn't Perez always be priced higher than Lim, all other things being equal? I mean, come on. Perez>Lim, right?

Hey Byrne Xmen experts! Might the Xmen 137 page have underperformed a bit? I don't know that market as well as some, but the 81k price seems a tad light? Also thinking about it next to the DD 181 page at 156k--nice pages from big time key issues--but about half the price for the Xmen page with all the main characters, and the DD page that's Bullseye only. I know, kinda apples and oranges in some regards, but the comparison interests me.