Lee B.

Good morning! I'm happy to announce that the biography I produced in collaboration with Marvel and DC inker Dave Hunt, entitled Dave Hunt: An Artist's Life, will be offered for sale for the first time at this Sunday's Comic Art Con in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ (http://comicartshowcase.com/comic-art-con.html). I addition to copies of this great-looking book (if I do say so myself), I will have some pages from the Dave Hunt estate available for sale. Please stop by and say hello if you are there! Best regards, Lee

Nice work getting good-looking and thoughtful content published on a regular basis! These are always fun reads. It's interesting that you compared the Star Wars #9 cover to a Star Wars #35 cover by Infantino. I think the first half-dozen or so issues after the Star Wars movie adaptation are fairly magical and almost seem to be cut from the same cloth as the movie adaptation, interior art-wise. I can appreciate the later Infantino art, and some of the inking by Austin was quite nice, but I would take one of the early Star Wars covers or interiors any day over an Infantino cover or interior, and likely pay the premium, assuming I had that kind of money to spend. Best regards, Lee

Hi all! After a short hiatus, the ComicArtAds weekly Heritage auction predictions are back, focusing on the auction ending this Sunday 3/11/18: http://www.comicartads.com/content/heritage-weekly-auction-ending-31118 This edition of my column has over twice as many predictions and insights as the previous edition. And this weekly auction has a lot of cool pieces! Best regards, Lee

With about 18 hours to go, here are a few predictions for this week's Heritage auction: http://www.comicartads.com/content/heritage-weekly-auction-ending-21818 Best regards, Lee

It should be no surprise that, just like today, pieces of art could bounce around from owner to owner quite frequently in the 1980s and 1990s. As I have posted old ads to my ComicArtAds website, I have been surprised to see pieces advertised repeatedly and for various prices. For example, page 11 from Captain America #108 by Jack Kirby and Syd Shores was advertised in the Comic Buyer's Guide by a comic book shop in Chicago called Variety Comics in 1994 with an asking price of $525: http://www.comicartads.com/content/captain-america-108-page-11 (As a side note, it kills me that I lived around the corner from this shop for three years in the mid-1990s and never knew the store had comic art.) This same page re-appeared in the Comic Buyer's Guide in 1997, being offered up by Diamond International Galleries for a few hundred dollars more: http://www.comicartads.com/content/captain-america-108-page-11-1 This same page surfaced again in the Comic Buyer's Guide the next year, offered up by TriState at a price much closer to the 1994 price: http://www.comicartads.com/content/captain-america-108-page-11-0 I'm not sure what caused these fluctuations, especially the lower price in 1998, but it's nice to see that art didn't always double in price each time it was offered to the public in succession. Best regards, Lee

Hello all! I listed two pairs of good-looking and affordable pages on eBay Sunday night: https://www.ebay.com/sch/leebenaka/m.html?item=112810900860&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562 One auction is for two 1981 Wonder Woman pages by Jose Delbo and Dave Hunt, and the other auction is for a pair of mid-1980s Action Comics pages (including a title page) by Kurt Schaffenberger and Dave Hunt. Thanks for looking! Best regards, Lee

Thanks for chiming in with some thoughtful and thought-provoking remarks. I think one difference between Glen's story and what is typically highlighted in this thread is that Glen's story was 20 years old. Most of us were not at San Diego that year, and we didn't have a shot at any of the art being discussed by Glen. It's history. The current examples are pieces that folks see at auction one day, and perhaps bid on, and then see listed sometimes only a couple of days later with a notable mark-up in price. I think that makes the current examples more galling to some folks, and that's why they are cited in this thread. These current posts are accompanied by snarky comments sometimes, but generally they mostly just include a link to the original sale and price, and a link to the same piece's current asking price. It is what it is, and it's up to the reader to judge whether these practices are good or bad. I think you slightly mischaracterize the reaction to Glen's story in the thread you cited. The term "ruthless" was applied to the scenario, and the term "friend" was called into question at one point. This is all quite mild, but I don't think everyone in the thread was bending over backwards to praise Glen. That being said, I'd like to repeat that I do appreciate your thoughtful contribution to this discussion. Best regards, Lee

Hi all! I just posted a new ComicArtAds auction preview, focusing on this week's Heritage weekly auction closing on 2/11/18. I did pretty well with last week's predictions with one surprising exception. You can read all about it here: http://www.comicartads.com/content/heritage-weekly-auction-ending-21118 Thanks! Best regards, Lee

24 hours later?!? That belongs in the (Attempted) Flip of the Day thread. What is the new-and-improved asking price, or is it "inquire"?

Hi all! I'm just bumping this post up as a reminder that my West Coast Avengers and Superman auctions are ending on eBay tonight, hopefully after the Superbowl is over. Thanks, Lee

Another enjoyable and informative read! I like the fact that you highlight artists that I don't really follow. Keep up the good work! Best, Lee

Hi all! I just posted my most recent predictions for this week's Heritage auction, as well as a recap of my bids from last week. I went out on a limb this time around to try to predict a value on the Neal Adams Phantom Stranger page, as well as a John Byrne cover making its third appearance on Heritage in less than three years: http://www.comicartads.com/content/heritage-weekly-auction-ending-2418 Best regards, Lee

Hi all! I have some auctions on eBay, including a pair of pages from West Coast Avengers #28 by Al Milgrom and Dave Hunt, as well as a pair of early 1980s Superman pages by Curt Swan and Dave Hunt: https://www.ebay.com/sch/leebenaka/m.html?item=112782301535&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562 The auctions end Sunday evening. Thanks! Best regards, Lee

Hello! Please don't forget to check out my auctions before they close tonight. The top bid on the Denys Cowan DC Comics Presents action page is pretty low at this time. Thanks, Lee

Hi all! It's Friday night, which means I am long-overdue to post some predictions for this Sunday's Heritage weekly auction. You can read about my predictions, and how well I did last week, on the ComicArtAds website: http://www.comicartads.com/content/heritage-weekly-auction-ending-12818 Thanks! Best regards, Lee

Definitely not a complete story. There could be a random page or two, but I'd have to look at my copy to make sure (and I'm out of town for a few days). Best, Lee

Hi all! I just got Gene Colan's Tomb of Dracula Artist's Edition in the mail. The book is beautiful, and I'm not just saying that because it includes the complete Tomb of Dracula #48 that currently resides in my collection. The Colan/Palmer art is lovely throughout. I highly recommend this book. If you want to see a nice preview of the book, check out the link below. Best regards, Lee https://13thdimension.com/13-great-pages-inside-gene-colans-tomb-of-dracula-artists-edition/

Hello all! I listed some art on eBay last night, including a pair of Jose Delbo Wonder Woman pages and a DC Comics Presents page by Denys Cowan featuring Superman and the last appearance of the Charlton-era Captain Atom. You can see the auctions here: https://www.ebay.com/sch/leebenaka/m.html?item=112768877447&ul_noapp=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562 Thanks, Lee

One out of two ain't bad Jay! I don't think I've made a prediction as correct as your Curt Swan Superman Movie prediction, which finished at $310.70, including BP. The "Dusty" illustration prediction, on the other hand, was a bit off, but I have no idea about G.I. Joe art and am in no position to judge. Keep up the good work! Best, Lee

I couldn't agree more! It's read how Rob describes his approach to his collection and collecting. This was one of the best installments ever. Keep up the good work Rich! Best, Lee

Hi all! If you need a break from fretting about whether the federal government will shut down, please check out my latest ComicArtAds auction preview for the Heritage weekly auction ending this Sunday: http://www.comicartads.com/content/heritage-weekly-auction-ending-12118 This week's auction isn't quite as exciting as in previous weeks, but there still are a few fun pieces that inspired me to make some closing-price predictions. Cheers, Lee

Good evening! I just posted a couple of nice Curt Swan and Dave Hunt Superman pages from 1982 in my CAF gallery. Please let me know if you are interested! Thanks, Lee Superman #373, page 11 -- SOLD!!

Nice work with your guess on the Sam Keith Fish Police pinup Jay! I am not brave enough to try to predict a piece like that. Best, Lee

I thought the pages could possibly have come from Gary Land's collection, but Gary seems to have quite a large collection still posted on CAF. I suppose when you have an artist working on a title for so long, several large collections could have developed over the years. The pages on Heritage always seem to be of pretty high quality. Best, Lee

Your latest article was a great read Rich! I totally missed those Mike McKone pages. It's impressive see nice-looking panel pages featuring major super-heroes selling for less than $125. It seems like there continues to be fine art to be had at entry-level prices. I'm also surprised that the Alan Davis Excalibur prices are holding up after seemingly months of those pages appearing in the Heritage weekly auctions. Thanks a lot for the very kind shout-out to my website as well. I think there is still a lot of room for additional original comic art-related content online, and you have done a great job of keeping a discussion going with your weekly columns. Keep up the good work! Best, Lee