stinkininkin

Still workin' on it! So much to learn!

I had meant to relay my amazement and yes, even amusement at this result. I bought this DD 184 page at San Diego in about 1982 or 83 for $35-75 ( can't remember for sure). I loved Miller Janson DD, but I bought this page strictly to study Janson's inks in hopes of figuring out the mysteries of quality inking. Even then, I thought it was a nothing-burger of a page, but I was making an investment in my art education so to speak. Decades later, I had much better examples of Miller and Janson in my collection to study and enjoy, and this page seemed completely unnecessary to my collection, and while I don't remember the details, I sold it within the last 10 years for several hundreds of dollars. Not thousands. Hundreds. What's the point of this story? I got to enjoy this art for many years, sold it for what seemed like a nice profit, then watch in disbelief that this same page get's auctioned for an astronomical $50k plus. If you've been collecting art for as long as I have, this story will sound pretty familiar. No sour grapes here, just noting a little addendum in a larger chapter of the story of a life long art collector. Happy collecting!

A lot of love for Frank Miller in this auction. I'll have something to say about that DD 184 page with The Punisher selling for over 50k later today.

Agreed. I think I've mentioned it before, but I do not display my C&H daily, even thought my wife and family love it. It's only the lettering that is unstable due to the markers used, so I keep it in a portfolio (will frame an enlarged hi resolution print eventually). That said, the hammer price on this Heritage lot is not a surprise. Condition for OA is not nearly as big a factor as condition in comics. By all means, protect the art from the elements as best you can, but at the end of the day, a one of a kind piece of art trumps condition considerations, especially for super rare and coveted art like Calvin and Hobbes.

Biggest surprise of today? Has to be the Golden What If cover, yes? (terrific piece by the way)

Well, today answers my question. Sheesh!

God, if I could find anything...A N Y T H I N G...that I truly wanted for 2k or less, I would be the happiest boy in the world.

Either this auction heralds the price correction on OA that some folks have been waiting for, or there is going to last second fireworks when the live bidding starts. Prices are still extremely low.

And both of these pages were bought by Rob Liefeld (not a secret, he's posted it on social media).

72k.

I guess Watterson used an unstable marker for his lettering and border panels. All the fading I've seen on C&H originals is confined to these two elements, and thankfully, not any of the actual art. That said, the lettering (words!) matter a LOT in a C&H original, so preservation of these treasures is important. The fading on my C&H original is pretty minimal at this point, but I've decided to keep the piece out of the light, unframed, and stored in the dark. It kinda sucks, but I don't want to risk any further damage, and UV resistant museum glass is NOT sufficient. It is what it is.

When you say 10th ever available daily, is that confirmable? I was not aware that there is a census of C & H dailies that are out in the wild and not part of the Ohio collection. If so, is there a census for Sundays too?

Such a weird, cool piece.

Both the Steranko and the Ditko page are insanely good. A+ examples.

Yup.

On average, how many pages per month do you ink? And how many years exactly have you been inking for? I've been working professionally since 1985. Still love what I do, but sometimes I feel the mileage. I'v chosen to slow down a bit so I only ink about 20 covers a year, I pencil and ink 6-10 covers a year and then take on an odd number of at home and convention commissions.

Yup. And that's a good thing.

That 10 splash is sweet! Price aside, I'd MUCH rather have this 10 splash than the Chic Stone inked one with Mephisto. No contest (for me). Speaking purely about the art, the layout and Shalla Bal in particular.

25k for that last Jason Todd piece. Not bad. Not bad at all.

The only trash art I have in my collection is...stuff I worked on. I didn't have to pay money for it, and it's not worth enough to bother selling. So I own some real dogs.

Yeah, Chic Stone on John Buscema was...not good. Total deal breaker for me, but I have stupidly strong opinions on inks in general and inks on John Buscema in particular.

Um, ok. Maybe that word doesn't sit well with you. How about "less accomplished", particularly in relation and compared to what came over the course of the next several years. Fair? The artistry from even a late 1935 Raymond and beyond compared to this January 1934 debut showing is pretty night and day to me. But I never argue against loving what you love. You do you.

This is one of the reasons why I will never be a "first appearance" collector. Those really early Raymon Flash strips are so primitive, they hold zero interest for me. Give me some of his stuff from just a year or two into the strip, well NOW your talking! Everyone should collect what they like and for any reason they like it, but for me, I am an ART FIRST collector (I think I'm a bit of snob in this regard, but at least I'm a friendly snob ). Most other considerations fall by the wayside, but YMMV.

Probably slightly controversial, but I would probably put the cover to Silver Surfer 4 in the mix. And I think the cover to 4 trumps the cover to SS 1, but fair minded people might disagree.

Totally agree Dino.