Phill the Governor

One of my two pickups was admittedly more than I've ever spent on a single piece. I was at the collector summit a few weeks ago and had HA pull it to view in person. I looked at it for 5 seconds, snagged this pic, and said thank you and handed it back. Deep down I knew it was already a done deal: I was under her spell. https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/story-page/lee-bermejo-joker-story-page-19-harley-quinn-original-art-dc-2008-/a/7342-95023.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515

I thought the toilet page would go for about the same as the "on the phone" page from issue 5, but the toilet/issue 1 combo bumped the price up 50%.

The first issue was drawn in pencils only. Considering series like SAGA that came after this (another incredible read) have almost literally no published art, pencils only are better than nothing! p.s. the guy on the toilet is Invincible

Thanks for sharing the story, and for your involvement in how these came to be!

The Invincible #1 pgs both did about 55% higher than my guess, which accounted for other recent comps, but not issue one madness. As others have said though, you don't get it unless you've read the series. It's a groundbreaking modern masterpiece -which is funny because technically the first half dozen issues are now "vintage". Its likely the property will achieve success that rivals if not surpasses The Walking Dead, and that's saying something.

If I wasn't going after a few other pieces, this one in specific stood out to me at a great price for the content. Kirby Krackle... Thor.. nice panels. Great pickup I agree.

I know the buyer of the piece. They said once they missed the Xmen piece it was a sure thing just a matter of price. They are over the moon to have it! Baller FU money is right!!

Past my availability at the moment, but one of my favorite covers from the run. https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/covers/glenn-fabry-preacher-49-cover-painting-original-art-dc-vertigo-1999-/a/7342-95115.s?ic2=mybidspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyBids-101116

Well thank god 1960's feel-good Marvel (no matter how much I do like it)isn't what the genre, or a monthly comic book for that matter, is defined by. When the demographic of readers shifted from kids to adults, the writers had to adapt. Mature readers aren't as impressed with a compressed story into one issue as they are with a multiple issue arc with adult themes and character development. I don't care about a spirit of optimism, I'm looking for a groundbreaking story that lets me escape my daily life. The first time I read Preacher and Jesse spit on Gods face my reality was shattered and everything I thought I knew about comic books went out the window. Then when Carl killed Shane, and when Omni-Man's origin reveal happened my jaw was on the floor. I'm really not sure how you'd get nihilism and despair without redemption from Sandman, Y, TWD, Preacher, Invincible, etc.. but to each their own.

All good. I think more refined readers & art collectors like series that have a human element to them. In my opion it's why stories like Infinity Gauntlet/Thanos Quest and titles like Strangers in Paradise were so well received at the time, why underground art like Crumb is so desirable, or why a title like the Walking Dead became the cultural juggernaut that it did. These made you think about humanity and being a person and they resonate today because of reasons beyond youthful nostalgia or historical importance. For the most part we're all products of our generation. But we don't necessarily see when we're the old guy yelling to get off our lawn, just when other people are doing it. So much so that when pressed for why we dislike something, the answer is usually "I didn't waste my time trying it, I just know what it is- and I don't like it!". It's easiest to play it safe since many of us are afraid to try new things. And so ultimately it's easier to collect one artist or one character and write off the rest. I get it.

I'm a younger collector and I maintain that more and more pre-80s content will undeniably slip into cultural irrelevance. Even decent chunks of established properties like the fantastic four. If comic readers continue (which we will need for them to even know about and want to collect the art) there WILL be more readers of series like Sandman, Preacher, Y the last man, The Walking Dead & Invincible. Series that were made for adults. How many new readers are going to go back and read the original FF run from the 1960s? Or care enough about esoteric comic strips with characters no one remembers. We refined collectors can appreciate it, but without the nostalgia of growing up with it each and every one of those properties competes with newer, fresher content that was produced for mature readers and has a higher liklihood of being picked up by newer generations. The older the property the harder it will be to remain relevant. Some pieces will cling on and retain historical importance (obviously). But this gap will widen. For every cool Kirby piece I see or an older random Marvel cover that goes for tens of thousands, my mind goes to spreading that out (as much as possible) into the above properties. And yet, already choice pieces (and many pieces at that) from a series like Sandman has it's modern day demand at an all time high. Look at what an early Sandman page brings in compared to some early Marvel art! And being newer but being able to compete with older more established properties bc it was made for mature readers....

No. While it is possible.. something like cleaning that's in the resto scale is and should be something that has tell tale signs if you know what you're looking for: excessive whiteness with or without underlying stains still present, change in sizing, texture, feel, smell, etc....

Books with trimming can have the pages leaf-casted and go from Purple to Conserved. Color touch can be removed and go from Purple to Universal. Cover cleaned is either Conserved or Restored depending on how it was done and cannot be reversed.

That's a potentially life-changing find for the right person. Crazy these types of things still come out in 2023. Incredible condition!!

Textbook GA 5.0 Wouldn't be surprised at a 5.5.

Interior covers to MM15:

Part of the issue is that Kane himself is historically known to forge even his own drawings, paying other artists to do them and passing them off as his own. So the short answer is... aside from comparing the line-work to authentic sketches with detailed provenance, there's no way to know for sure. Provenance is everything in the art world, and without publication status, a sketch is the easiest thing to make up and pass off as authentic. The existence of the stamp on the back is completely useless as I've personally seen stamps on forged "published" covers that were used to help pass the piece off in the first place.

Ahh, I didn't see that one splash page interior photo. If that's the case, I rescind my comments.

The one thing that hasn't been mentioned is, aside from possible trimming, the evidence of cleaning. Based on the subtle waviness of the cover and interior pages, taking into account it looks so unnaturally white it appears fake as you said, this looks to be a case of hydrogen peroxide cleaning that went so overboard the book became whiter than it was the day it was printed back in 1974. I've seen that waviness before on books people post after peroxide cleanings, and since everything else about the book looks like a legitimate first printing, this copy (cover and interior) was 100% cleaned.

I almost pooped my pants when I saw that GM8. That's a unicorn to unicorns, and the grade is insane!

TIFF Files are less compressed than JPG, so there's more detail. For the sake of accessibility here, I think a 600dpi JPG would be sufficient. I did! Unfortunately the highest resolution photo online I could find was through Heritage, but I appreciate the heads up. And it is a particularly cool Schomburg cover, with more going on that can be see in one viewing!!

Hey everyone, I have a project and need a high resolution scan (600dpi TIFF file) of a copy of Speed Comics #33, and the copy has to have fairly perfect color registration. It's a tough book. I've tried working from scans on Heritage and else where online. The Mile High copy is pretty good, but it's only 300dpi and a better, higher resolution scan would be easier and less time consuming to work from. Would be able to compensate for time for someone to be able to scan and email it over. Drop me a DM if you may have a lead or could be of help. Here's a scan of the Mile High copy from the HA archives for reference. Thank you! Phill

Cheaper and more cost effective to have two. There also used to be two pieces of micro-chamber paper encased with the books. Last several dozed I've cracked (GA-SA books) there was only a single sheet, and on two books (valued at over 10k a piece) there was no micro-chamber paper at all. CGC cutting corners all the while raising costs since the Blackstone purchase.

As someone who works on books this is the number one issue that I encounter.

Without seeing the back cover this seems like an incredibly common (slight) press to get the spine back to it's original orientation. An advanced technique, usually done without removal & re-insertion of staples. Only catch would be if this was a reverse spine roll, that was intentionally done to move defects from the original orientation of the spine to the back cover. If that's the case, it's CGC's fault for over-grading the book the second time around.