RabidFerret

Just now, Nexus said:

No, *you're* equating a financially successful item from 30 years in the past with a brand new item I'm attempting to sell.

I've not mentioned anything "financial". I'm comparing a supremely talented young artist with a supremely talented older artist. I'm comparing a new story with a well-remembered one.

When I look at a BORN AGAIN page, I marvel at Mazzuccelli's perfect artistic translation of Miller's brilliantly composed story. You apparently see a financially successful item from 30 years ago.

You are an art dealer. You are in the business of selling artwork. Your whole purpose is "financial".

But please, show me examples then of where you're equating the art you're selling to wonderful but worthless books from the past? To your point, there must be plenty of examples of you doing this, right?

1 minute ago, Nexus said:

Interesting that you would compare comic artists to stocks, when I'm comparing comic artists to other comic artists.

My god, this is like trying to have a conversation with Trump...

I'm very sorry if this is going over your head.

Maybe I can simplify it even more for you:

You are equating a financially successful item from 30 years in the past with a brand new item you are attempting to sell.

26 minutes ago, Nexus said:

Actually, I'm *not* advocating speculation. I'm also not trying to be altruistic or honorable, either (wtf, lol).  I say what I think. However you take it, is how you take it.

I don't believe anyone is suggesting that you're pushing comic art as some can't miss investment that people should be speculating into. Not at all.

But to put it a different way, if a stock broker stands on a soapbox talking about how great it was to invest in Walmart in 1980 or Apple in 2001, and then immediately follows that up with a "great deal on a brand new stock that will be the next Apple", it is seen as an attempt to create an association.

21 minutes ago, Nexus said:

Like I just said earlier, people hear what they want to hear. They'll believe what they want to believe.

I hope you understand that this comment applies to you as well?

You may 'want to believe' that you're not advocating speculation, that your actions are altruistic and your intentions honorable, but it's still possible that your actions paint a different picture you are not seeing or understanding.

21 minutes ago, Nexus said:

I believe I've presented some pretty compelling evidence supporting that today

I believe the compelling evidence of the day was provided by Kyle, with valid examples given of times art sales were pushed in a speculative fashion.

48 minutes ago, Nexus said:

First off...I'm a huge DKR fan, obviously. But I really only mention it on the podcast as much as I do because it's come to drive certain people crazy. I gotta keep myself amused, at the very least.

48 minutes ago, Nexus said:

So when I talk about DKR, I'm not advocating for its value or its potential value. Actually, I'm quite agnostic about that, if not downright pessimistic. I suppose people hear what they want to hear, but I don't believe I've ever pushed people to buy DKR for any reason, including love.

I've never heard you push it as an investment and I wasn't trying to suggest you did.

I was simply mentioning the level of raised awareness that comes from high priced art being brought up consistently in discussions, and the likely effect that has on people new to the hobby.

48 minutes ago, Nexus said:

It would seem, if WHITE KNIGHT art is already getting flipped, then it was bought for speculation.

My point was that most art circulates early on, even when it was not bought for speculation, simply due to life's unexpected twists - a change of interest, a better acquisition, financial problems, etc.

The art that vanishes and never changes hands seems to be defying the norm.

48 minutes ago, Nexus said:

So what are the "right" pages to invest in? Traditionally in this hobby, they're pages from #1 issues or first appearances of characters. Again, the vast majority of complete issues I've sold, are from random later issues. Does that sound like an "investment"?

I don't invest in art, so I can't say what the right pages are.

But on a simple level, Collecting 101, the parts are worth more than the whole. I'm not aware of any book that was worth more complete than it was in pieces.

1 minute ago, eewwnuk said:

no disrespect meant, but I would think that if you were an 'investor', buying a full issue of extremity wouldn't be the first way I would think an investor would place 10k. 

I wasn't talking any specific book, just an investing mindset in general. There are plenty of complete books that could be had for a fraction of that.

And I'd think it would depend a great deal on how much money you have and how much confidence you have in the book.

2 minutes ago, Nexus said:

No question, speculation happens in our hobby. It happens in new art. That's what drives the hunt for the "next DKR".

Now...to what degree is there speculation with what I sell? No idea. But I don't think it's high. I think that speculators tend to avoid me/my site, since most know I'm anti-speculation. I'd rather people not buy from us at all, than buy for speculation.

What I do know is that the art being bought isn't getting flipped, at least not immediately. Not individual pieces, and not complete issues. This may be surprising to some; there's the assumption that complete issues are cheaper to buy as a whole, with some discount built in. Thus, an opportunity for arbitrage. But that's not the case here at all. There is NO discount. The cost of the complete issue is the aggregate cost of the individual pages. There's no room for profit. Yet, collectors are still buying. I sold almost 30 complete issues last year (about 60 overall). To the best of my knowledge, not a single one has been broken up yet.

So I tend to think collectors are buying because they simply like the art. It's not just #1 issues that are selling complete. Almost all the complete issues sold are later issues, with scenes/moments that the buyer just likes. Also, the Tradd SUICIDE SQUAD issue is, again, UNPUBLISHED. That generally means zero upside. Yet, fans still wanted pages.

I'm sure the art I've sold will get resold at some point. But the reason it was bought from me, does not appear to be speculation.

I want to play devil's advocate a little here...

First and foremost, you're a huge DKR fan, which means your podcasts often reference that series and have guests that talk about it quite often. You do a good job of saying "only buy what you love and don't invest", but at the same time, a common thread is about a book where every page is 5-6 figures these days. Some people just see dollar signs no matter how much you push buying for love.

Second, if the art isn't being flipped at all, that may actually support the notion that people are in it for speculation.

Most artists and books that come onto the market sell the same way - the best pages are picked through, the weak ones linger. Inevitably a percentage of things that sold early on resurface months later when people realize they overspent, didn't like what they bought, find a better example, etc. We've talked a lot about White Knight on these boards, and while the art is not selling out, we've already seen pieces relisted for sale on eBay and dealer sites.

Yet if most of the art you sell isn't resurfacing, even in small doses, it makes me curious. There are plenty of investors who buy art, put the date they bought it on it, and throw it into a bin and don't look at it until 10 years have passed. They intentionally buffer how soon they let it return to the market.

And if that's a buyer's mindset, it seems like buying complete issues is the most cost effective investment vehicle since you don't need to worry about whether you picked the right pages to invest in.

32 minutes ago, Nexus said:

I don't release the art the same day the comic comes out, I like to give collectors a chance to read the book first. But I may just be thinking about how I'd like to know the story before buying the art. More and more, though, I'm coming around to what you've said.

You'll be amused to know that the buyer of the EXTREMITY cover that dropped yesterday told me afterward that not only hadn't he read the issue that the cover was from...he hasn't read any of EXTREMITY at all.

I still have a hard time wrapping my head around that...but have to admit it's way more common that I would have thought.

This is the kind of news that scares me a bit. This sounds like textbook speculation to me. The mindset of acquiring something they don't read, don't know the characters, are not invested in on a personal level, but still buy.

It's always impressive how quickly you sell out of art, but it raises a concern in my mind about the motives behind such speed. It has a beanie baby vibe to it when art sells out as fast as it's listed. Gotta get it before someone else does. Don't wanna miss out on the potential payday.

Speculation is clearly in the DNA of comics.

I've been collecting original comic art for almost 20 years. Somehow, miraculously unexpected, 2017 turned into my single best year of collecting. This was thanks to a trading partner with a love for Liefeld which allowed me to knock off some of my biggest wantlist items - the stuff I figured I'd be chasing for the next 20 years. In the end, I traded 9 Liefelds and acquired these 5 pieces in return. Presented in the order they were acquired.

1) Arthur Adams ~ Fantastic Four #347, Page 24(December 1991)

http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=9256

I loved the 3 issue "new" Fantastic Four run Art Adams drew and Walt Simonson wrote in the early 90s. It replaced the FF with Spidey, Wolverine, the Hulk, and Ghost Rider. It was my favorite story of Arthur's, a rare arc for him within a continuous series, and was a complete blast to read! This is my single favorite and most remembered page from the story, an insanely epic 6-panel page that somehow seems to cram in a half splash of Spidey and another of the Hulk. The Hulk is so big he didn't even fit on the printed page! It was an absolute dream to get this piece and I honestly never woulda thought it was possible. Many thanks to Mark and whatever medications he mixed with his alcohol that day.

2) Jim Lee/Scott Williams ~ Uncanny X-Men #271, Page 23(December 1990)

http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=9259

A Lee/Williams UXM page has been at the top of my list for years now, but the run is never as long as we think and I'm picky and wanted the right piece. Ideally Wolverine, in costume, claws out, Williams inks were a must, and I wanted art from their later work when things were really humming.

I ranked every page in the run and then moved down them until one wiggled loose. This ranked #5 for me, one of my favorite pages and one I'm still in awe of to this day! I love Xtinction Agenda, easily my favorite crossover of the era, and this page was from one of the best scenes in it, with Wolverine and Psylocke unleashing on Hodge.

I love how much energy is in the lines and inkstrokes in that first panel, and that last panel with Psylocke isn't bad either! I stare at that Psylocke hair and am in awe!! Scott's precision is amazing to behold.

3) Barry Windsor-Smith ~ Marvel Comics Presents #72: Weapon X, Chapter 1, Page 3(1990)

http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=9258

I've always loved Barry's art but wasn't sure I'd ever chase a page. They were often expensive and never seemed to have the perfect BWS linework I was looking for in his work. I wanted a Thing FF page the most, but when I approached his studio about getting a piece of art I had to at least ask about this page, an early one that always stuck with me, possibly more than any other page in the series. It's a very civilized page, with Logan using a gun, dressed in clothes, a part of society. There's a lot of time and thought put into this page's layout, how the eye is led, where the shadows fall, how the wires line up. I think BWS's best work on this series was early, before deadlines crept in, and it's in full force here. And this was fully inked by BWS too, something a few other pages I'd looked at didn't boast, as well as being triple signed with two BWSs and one signature! I half suspect this page is a secret treasure map too.  Oh, and he made Logan British.

4) Robert Crumb(Written by Harvey Pekar) ~ American Splendor #3, 'Standing Behind Old Jewish Ladies In Supermarket Lines, Page 3(1978)

http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=9257

I worked on the movie American Splendor and did the Crumb drawings that were used as props. Pretty fun moment in my life that I remember fondly. Not only did I always love Crumb's work, but after that experience I felt connected to him in a strange way and needed a Crumb Splendor page in my collection. This is from my single favorite story, featured heavily in the film. It was only five pages long, so finding a page is like finding a pebble in the ocean. It's also quite unique compared to most comic art, drawn on a spiral bound pad of paper with enormous margins and a nicely lettered title at the top.

5) Drew Struzan ~ Indiana Jones and The Secret of the Sphinx(March 1997)

http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=9260

OK, this one is still absurd to me. The climax to my year was an epic pickup that instantly became one of coolest pieces in my collection - a finished painting of Indiana Jones by the great Drew Struzan!!

Drew was always one of my favorite artists on the planet, and one I'd sought out often since I entered collecting, always keeping my eyes out and hoping for a scrap. But he was always far out of reach, his art expensive and the iconic movie posters picked through by some dude named George. But that all changed this year when I got the chance to pick out one of the 12 covers he did for the Indiana Jones novels from the 90s. This beauty is on a full sized 30"x40" board, painted in 1996, the peak of his powers when he was doing things like the Star Wars Trilogy triptych, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone, and Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace...some gorgeous pieces of art!!

The piece is a wraparound cover with a huge Indy face, inset panels of Sallah and Brody, a gesso sunset reminiscent of Raiders, and even the gorgeous warm color palette I loved so much in his work. As a huge Drew fan this is a truly shocking piece to have hanging above my bed, and one I look at and oogle nightly!

HONORABLE MENTION:

Seth Fisher ~ The Flash: Time Flies, Page 27
http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1431050

In my mind this piece was a dead heat for #5 on my year, a gorgeous splash by Seth Fisher from The Flash: Time Flies. My single favorite page from the entire book, an amazing choice of artistic perspective that I've always been blown away by. The pause, the momentum, the layout, the depth..it is unlike anything else I've ever seen in comics. I love Seth's work and this piece impresses and inspires me to no end.
 

Anyone have any Iron Man covers or panel pages from Mark Bright, somewhere around Iron Man 200-230 range? 

If so, ping me:)

5 hours ago, Bird said:

And this probably works for the artists who price like this. They could get their money with either 3-5 pages or 10-15 pages; same amount of money...I know which route I would take there. Develop a relationship with the ones who do buy and maybe they come back in a year and buy another. Getting bank and keeping more pages to sell later is smart...art is a commodity, even production art because the days when layout was only about storytelling and without an eye to resale are long gone. Hype sells art as well and Murphy is a smart marketer too.

I think it’s too early to say. On paper it  sounds like a good approach dollarwise, but I suspect there are hidden longterm costs.

What happens when your whole market is tied to these few deep pockets and they change their interest and stop buying? You may be pricing art for a market that isn’t there.

And if the handful of buyers unload you risk crashing your whole market since there’s no support underneath it.

And what about the fans that supported you on lesser books and now feel slapped in the face? Will they come back for the next book or have you alienated them?

That last point is true for me right now. I still love the art and will buy the comics, but I think I’m done with buying his art. For the prices he’s asking I’d rather get 20 year old art from more established books and artists.

9 hours ago, Panelfan1 said:

Yeah - i am that good. Ha ha.  But what i am interested in is - is anyone buying into value at these prices? How do you out there as art collectors feel about it?

I think this piece is priced similar to the rest of the WK work SGM is selling on his site now, but it is issue 1 and one of the few actual Batman pages in what is more a Joker book. I *think* this is one that sold at the secret auction, so it would be interesting to hear what it originally sold for.

But to the question of buying in, I've watched the site over the last month and none of it is moving. It seems like a handful of deep pockets are buying a bunch of the best pages on day one and nobody else is. Seems a very small market being propped up by a handful of folks.

An exciting arrival, one of my favorite pieces ever by Seth Fisher!

The Flash: Time Flies, pg 27 by Seth Fisher (July 2002)

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1431050

The graphic novel was about The Flash chasing a dude in his overalls into the future. The art was epic.

This is page 27, a splash of The Flash. Great architecture. Solid dialogue, too.

This splash always stuck with me. I find it mesmerizing. One of my favorite pieces from Seth's entire career.

Seth's version of The Flash doesn't use speed lines or blurs. Instead he walks casually, the world frozen in time around him. The world's fastest powerwalker.

I love this page!!

34 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

This Schulz home fire highlights something I was talking to Louise Simonson about at the SDCC.  She said that she was worried that Walt, by keeping all of his OA together in one place (whether at their home, or, ultimately at RISD or some other location), was leaving his art vulnerable to a catastrophic loss in the event of something like a fire.  Better to get at least a good chunk of it into the hands of the fans who will display/appreciate it, and who have, besides, admired and supported the art/artist for decades.  Helps mitigate the risk of total loss in case of a fire or flood or theft wherever the art will be stored at RISD when it's not being viewed/appreciated by anyone (that is to say, 99.9999% of the time).  I'm sure that RISD would rather have the money anyway - win/win for everybody! 

I wonder if all the originals at the Schulz Museum are stored on-site (though, at least there are a lot of Peanuts strips out in the wild as well).  In any case, I hope that they and everyone else in NoCal get through this difficult ordeal without any further loss of life or property.   

I've long thought the same thing about Bill Watterson, Jeff Smith, and the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum. When all the art is in one place it's certainly a risk. It reminds me of those classic 70s Marvel warehouse photos. In fact, that fear of egg-basket storage was part of why I finally sold some of my originals, just in case something happened.

10 minutes ago, SquareChaos said:

 

I've watched his pages for a few years... since around the time of The Wake. I don't see much logic behind these prices... unless we take the 'Batman multiple' talk seriously. I guess there is a possible 'unknown upside 1st issue premium' at play as well which is probably a real thing considering @Mr. Machismo's comments - anyone thinking this book is the first issue of a classic story arc may see the cost... if not as a bargain, then at least  as reasonable 

I'm personally wondering if his whole 'I don't work with writers anymore' thing will actually work out... he's been able to work with some really great writers and I think that has been a good part of the reason that he is as known as he is. I guess we'll know real soon if he can actually write.

 

I find the whole thing fascinating

Both Capullo and Murphy have taken the approach of putting almost future prices on the art - where they think/hope it will be down the road, as opposed to what it will sell for openly today. Court of Owls was a very successful series, but you can have your choice of Batpages from Capullo or Glapion right now. They're not selling fast. Much different from the typical dealer who pushes to unload as much of the art as possible at low prices and let the market develop naturally over time. 

This approach likely means the normal fans can't afford the art, but it's also forcing people to pay a high premium that does not allow them to flip the art or view it as a quick investment the same way as cheaper pages may be. I would imagine in most cases these pages would not get back their purchase price if sold at auction, probably for years. Markets generally seem to move when the supply has run out, not when there's a selection to pick from. I could see us talking years from now about how this art hasn't moved an inch since it came out.

Very different from say, Hush(for those who remember when that sold originally), where pages were priced more in the $1-2k range but sold relatively quickly. As we've seen the Hush market has grown substantially since then, I'm sure in large part to the work being in the hands of a large number of fans and not consolidated with a handful of deep pockets only.

From what's been said, it sounds like Machismo bought 4 of the 12 pages that were sold. As he's said, it's based on one issue and some degree of optimism that the overall story comes together, which raises the question of what happens if the series doesn't follow through, or if the big fish in a small market gets out.

But, all that said, I imagine in the long run this probably works out best for the artists, who maximize their returns and set a high floor to start with, but with a tradeoff that not a lot sells now. It likely alienates some of their fans with modest pocketbooks, but maybe that pushes them towards the lower priced non-Batart they can afford?

So again, I find it all fascinating, and far more encouraging on the artist side that Capullo and Murphy likely won't end up as artists who lament selling all their epic art 30 years ago for pennies.

1 minute ago, RabidFerret said:

Can anyone that was at the NYCC Secret Auction confirm if any of these pages were sold then?

Actually, I missed Mr. Machismo's post above where he already has 2 of those final 4 that were listed today.

4 minutes ago, NinjaSealed said:

If those are the prices paid for the pieces at NYCC they are not THAT crazy.

a deal compared to what they are asking for the pages they listed for sale today.

I was watching as they posted them, refreshing every second or two. 

It started with a few prelims that were available and had prices(which sold quickly), but then seemed to move to pieces that sold at NYCC. Then the handful of lesser pages that are still unsold now.

The final 4 pages posted were the good Batman/Joker pages people would want, and seemingly at fair prices, but it seemed like they all appeared as sold. Can anyone that was at the NYCC Secret Auction confirm if any of these pages were sold then?

Also, the prices dropped from what they were listed at at NYCC.

Page 18 dropped from $2700 -> $2200

Page 22 dropped from $2400 ->$2200

Freeze Splash from $8000 ->$6000

Seems like they were fishing for the market a bit.

5 minutes ago, Mr. Machismo said:

Ah. Well, if you want to base the floor on ~13 pieces sold, yes.  

That library page was not 8k. Out of respect for the buyer I won’t disclose price, but it was not cheap. That said, it was his favourite page and he was happy to pay what he did. Sean actually didn’t want to post that for sale, but his rep convinced him and priced it accordingly, and it surprisingly sold. Not sure why he wouldn’t just hold it back like the other half of the pages. It was posted to CAF today.

Agreed, WK prices are tremendously high, especially since sales started two days after release. Trust me, I’m not arguing the absurdity of the prices. I’m personally fine paying what I did because I am completely floored by the art — it’s tremendous. I loved the first issue and read it multiple times in a short period, which I’ve never done, and have plenty of faith in the rest of the story. It’s hitting all the right notes [for ME], and barring a horrible ending, I believe this will cement itself as a classic in due time.

Those Bat/Supes Hush pages would go for quite a bit more now, IMO. Hasn’t been long, but based on some other recent sales I’ve seen, I’m confident of that.

I own the Freeze splash but don’t like to publicly disclose purchase prices of anything I own. Of course I’m biased, but I have yet to see a Freeze page as good as this. It’s oozing with emotion and is a tremendous representation of Freeze, harkening Heart of Ice upon viewing. Freeze is often under utilized, so I’m pleased to hear Sean mention how important a role he plays in WK. 

Anyhow, good discussion and all valid points. Though I see we’ve derailed the thread a bit ? 

My bad on the Joker piece! Apologies. It is a gorgeous piece, as is the Freeze. I'm certainly not knocking the art, which I also love:)

It will be interesting to see how quickly the art moves once the larger public gets access to it and the rest of the series continues to roll out.

Hopefully the series finishes strong

Congrats again on the Freeze!

3 minutes ago, BCarter27 said:

This is the page you mean?

Yes, that was the page I meant...but to be honest now I'm not sure where I heard/read the $8k price. Twitter? Or maybe I'm mistaken and was confusing it with the Mr Freeze splash priced at $8k. 

1 hour ago, Mr. Machismo said:

As someone purchasing both Hush and White Knight artwork, they are absolutely not on par.

I didn't say they were on par. I said the floor for WK is higher.

Here are 3 low end Hush pages that sold in the last year on Heritage, all for less than a $2400 Gordon page from WK:

$1673 - https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/jim-lee-batman-609-hush-story-page-20-original-art-dc-2003-/a/7137-93529.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

$2091 - https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/jim-lee-batman-609-hush-story-page-19-original-art-dc-2003-/a/7137-93528.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

$1015 - https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/jim-lee-and-scott-williams-batman-610-hush-chapter-3-story-page-8-original-art-dc-2003-/a/121613-14049.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

In addition, I thought I read the WK Joker in the library splash sold for $8k, and have seen photos of the Mr. Freeze splash priced at $8k. Here's what sold in that range from Hush:

$9560 - https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/jim-lee-and-scott-williams-batman-615-hush-chapter-8-the-dead-story-page-19-nightwing-original-art-dc-2003-/a/7166-92021.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

$8365 - https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/jim-lee-and-scott-williams-batman-612-hush-chapter-5-the-battle-page-13-superman-original-art-dc-2005-/a/7124-92157.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

$9261 - https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/jim-lee-and-scott-williams-batman-612-hush-chapter-5-the-battle-page-12-original-art-dc-2005-/a/7124-92156.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

I'm sorry, but an out of costume Joker in a dark library or a Mr. Freeze splash is not at the same level as Lee/Williams Hush of Batman and Superman battling it out.

1 hour ago, Mr. Machismo said:

Hush is still a multiple of what White Knight costs, rightfully so. 

On the highest end pieces I don't doubt that, but from what we've seen so far WK is incredibly pricey for it's first month of release.

1 hour ago, Sideshow Bob said:

The Sean Murphy work you're comparing to is The Wake, Punk Rock Jesus, Chrononauts, and Tokyo Ghost. This is Batman, even if its an Elseworlds Batman. That's a different level of pricing entirely. 

Oh sure, of course Batman deserves a premium - but what is that 'Batman premium'?

A markup of 4-5x seems high but understandable given the character.

But per my Gordon example and the other pricing we've seen, this seems closer to 8-10x+.

For perspective, the floor for White Knight seems to be higher than the floor for Jim Lee Hush pages that are 15 years old. That seems a bit presumptuous.

5 hours ago, BCarter27 said:

Was it? Did all the people who could afford it know about the auction? If not, then money was left on the table.

I think exclusivity works in fixed-priced gallery sales when you are trying to get your buyers to stretch upward, but with auctions it is all about exposure.

Thoughts?

As a fan of Sean's work who reached out multiple times to the art sales team about getting pages I had zero idea there was a 'secret auction'.

Instead I kept being told 'we want to be fair to everyone, we don't want to presell or reserve any pages, we want everyone to have a shot'...but apparently not.

And that's not even touching on the pricing,  where it's $2-3k for a Commissioner Gordon panel page? Ouch! The last two books SGM did were in the $500-700/page for the central characters. A DPS would be in the $2-3k range. A Gordon-like page would likely be $300-400. So this is a huge markup where it feels like they believed their own hype too much.

The first issue was decent, but it's certainly no groundbreaking Dark Knight or Year One.

Sure, I want the artist to maximize the money they get, but this felt like a weird and alienating approach...