rsonenthal

And...... they're off!

I've got DV pages and they're not affixed to anything.

I think Tom has a focus of his collection, and has had it for some time. I haven't heard any "masses" saying anything about Tom. Hopefully, the auction (the subject of this thread) opens this week, and we can start discussing that. Ron

I think (other than Mitch) all of the dealers from the last SDCC were there. Near as I could tell, all had sales and I’ll bet they’ll be back next year. Mitch you were missed. Conrad hasn’t been there for years.

Many dealers? Mitch didn’t show. Who else of the regulars were missing?

Knowing the size of those, that's a pretty impressive wall. Thanks for sharing!!

I don't think that's what was said during the podcast. Rather, the point was made that there is a difference between a collector and a rep or a dealer. And I think it's wrong to put all new collectors in a single group. There are always new collectors coming in, and in my experience, it's a fairly differentiated bunch of people. There are an almost infinite number of choices. Some seem to focus on first appearances (or something close to first appearances), some like specific characters or specific books, and some like Garfield (lucky for them, there's a lot of choices out there). People like what they like. I'm not placing blame on anyone. But, I think it's an odd choice to take a shot at an artist's rep or a dealer for marketing their business. They're up front about it. I think the point that was made was that there are individuals who hold themselves out as collectors, but in reality are really marketing whatever they've bought as dealers. The pump and dump strategy is most dangerous to newer collectors because they don't realize it's coming from an unexpected source. Ron

I think that’s a reserve. I don’t think anyone has bid that.

And, they're off!! Auction is open.

+1

I think it was a good price for what it was. Congrats to the seller and the buyer.

I can't see the photos Can someone repost that?

I think we've always had a great importance on a first appearance. What seems to be happening now is that some people are trying to place a great emphasis on pages that are close to a first appearance. And also a second, third, eighth, etc.

Beginning with issue 153 of Strange Tales, Marie Severin was handed the artwork chores for Dr. Strange. The good doctor shared the book with Nick Fury, and the previous artist was Bill Everett, who had to follow Dr. Strange’s creator Steve Ditko. So, it was pretty daunting task. Marie handled the art through issue 160. I think she did a wonderful job, and she continued to pencil and ink many stories for a lot of different titles after that, but Stan never really gave her the ownership of a major (or minor) book for any extended period of time ever again. A mistake from my perspective. In any event, here is the complete story from Marie’s first efforts on Dr. Strange from issue 153 of Strange Tales, ”Alone, Against the Mindless Ones.” Here's the link: http://cafurl.com?i=27242 As always, feel free to look around. Ron

It's been said that art and beauty are in the eye of the beholder. I think that qualifies in our little hobby too. Convincing wealthy people that something used for a comic book is worth a lot of money. Doesn't that sound like the hobby? Don't the same rules apply? Think I'm wrong? Show a friend of the family - a civilian, a non collector - your "best" piece (however you define best). And, then ask them how much they would pay for it.

Congrats Terry! I was wondering if the same person was scooping up all of those pages. Glad to see they're going to a good home! Ron

Trying to equate comic prices to a page of original art reminds me more of PT Barnum than Billy Beane. As it was said above, not the way I personally collect.

I don't know that I think a pivot to trying to create value by pushing almost first appearances (a page from the same book) of just about any character as being important is a "maturing of the hobby."

I just looked through the catalogs (got them today). I think the BWS Weapon X cover is in ComicLink, and I agree it's pretty nice.

Is there a cover in this auction? Or, are you talking about ComicLink?

I'll play.

So, plus 20% to all of the numbers above, if you're looking how much it costs to play.

The art exists and can be seen by appointment at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Ron

If memory serves, Felix has done about 10-15 of those show and tell videos.

Sky Masters was a syndicated comic, published from September 8th, 1958 to February 25th, 1961. Designed to be a “realistic” space strip, it had a lot of potential. Written by Dave and Dan Wood, the art was initially by Jack Kirby and Wally Wood. Wally Wood left the strip around July 11, 1959. After that, the strip lumbered along until it breathed it’s last in early 1961. At that time, artists of successful, published strips were at the top echelon. Kirby most certainly wanted to move from his current role at DC Comics into the ranks of artists like Capp, Caniff, and Raymond, who were well known and respected. Alas, it was not to be. Kirby’s business arrangement was poorly handled (sadly a theme in his career) and he ended up in litigation regarding royalties almost immediately after the strip started syndication. He lost the lawsuit on December 3rd, 1959; Wood left the strip shortly before that (because Kirby needed to save money). After Wally left, the strip was inked by Kirby himself, Ayers, or in some cases, perhaps Roz. It’s clear that Kirby realized it wasn’t going to be the monetary success he had hoped for, and the artwork suffers at that point. As I said above, it continued publication for a little over another year, but it effectively ended in terms of quality when Wally Wood left. For more on the story, I recommend Sky Masters: The Complete Sunday Strips by our own Ferran Delgado and Sky Masters: The Complete Dallies by Hermes Press. On a positive note, the failure of the strip and his anger at DC led Kirby to try something different across the street with a guy named Stan Lee. Yep, if Sky Masters was a success, we would not have the same Marvel Universe we’ve all grown to love. I’ve been able to grab a few of the Sky Masters strips over time, and they show us what could have been. The link: http://cafurl.com?i=26429 As always, feel free to take a look around. Ron