JadeGiant

This is what I use.

Do you have a link?

Scott Hepburn commission from Heroes Con https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1507714

Cost basis (your first comment) and FMV aren't always the same. No snark intended and nothing being "pushed back on you" ... anyway. Not looking for an argument.

This seems to presume that the “significant other currency” is always negative on hobby purchases. If that is always the case, your problem might not be in buying art – time to look elsewhere for the source of the problem IMO. I think there is another presumption – that the average collector has a 6-7 figure cost basis for a hobby. That’s not my cost basis in a year (or any close range of time). Average Joe collector doesn’t have to explain such large expenditures on art IMO. I have friends that spend more than I do in art at the golf course, country club fees, new equipment, golf vacations, etc. The enjoyment factor is enough in those cases to justify the expenditures because their significant others appreciate the enjoyment they get out of it.

I tend to look at buying art (and any other collectible) like this: the price you pay is for how much you will enjoy owning/viewing/appreciating the item. If I buy a commission for $400 (like one I had done at Heroes this year as example), I am OK with the price and the possibility of how it will turn out and write off the cost as part of the hobby. If I get money back out of it someday great, if not, that is fine as well as I don’t really have a plan for this stuff 20 years from now – likely some will get sold and some will go to my kids if they appreciate it. For larger purchases, ROI comes into the picture of course. But not from the perspective that I need to see a gain as I would in an investment. If I buy a piece of art for $3K I would only do it because I love the art and plan to keep it. If I would sell, I am OK with some loss on the piece as the difference would be the cost of owning the piece and the enjoyment would be worth it to me. All that said, I want every piece of art I buy to be worth more money than I paid, and significantly more would be great … but that is not an expectation I hold out for. I know I am on the plus side of many pieces I have bought and on the minus side on many pieces I have bought and that is OK because it is a hobby. Check back with me in 20 years if/when I am selling and I will let you know how I feel if comic art has become nearly worthless and I take a bath on everything I own.

LOL ... wait, are you joking? CC is almost completely off my radar due to how hard it is to use their site.

they have auctions?

I'd be interested to read the story as well. Post here? Or send via message if you prefer. I think nice scans would make for an interesting thread personally.

Another example from my collecting: I was able to finally meet a favorite artist and we spent a lot of time talking about his art, etc. He shows me a cover he drew from a comic that was never completed and thus never published. I bought it immediately and the cost was less than half of what it would have been if published. I was thrilled to have a cover at what I saw as a steep discount to a published cover … but that was where it was valued at. HE later found the opening page from the story and gifted to me as well – quite a bit cheaper than if published

Welcome to the forum brother, enjoy!

I don't think finding unpublished art is uncommon at all, but finding a complete story is not something you see very often. I don't follow these types of pages much so I don't really have good information for rarity - more of my observation. If you are looking to sell, you are most likely going to find your suitor in the way of a fan who collects that artist or possibly a big GL art collector.

now that is a good question. I am not a huge Ditko or Strange fan (outside of Defenders) so I can't really answer but I am sure some experts will chime in. I can definitely see a collector valuing something high and possibly higher than something published if it truly strikes a chord with them but that would be the exception to the rule and an outlier scenario. So I can definitely see unpublished work being valuable, especially when it is a complete story … I still would not see it as MORE valuable than published. The problem is likely to find that one collector who values the art AND is willing to (over)pay for it. It does happen but is rare from what I have seen. Thinking of myself, the perfect storm would be a Sal Buscema Hulk story that was done but not published. If completely drawn and done at the level of a published work, I would certainly be interested. That said, if the same money could get me a published story vs an unpublished, I think I would opt for published every time.

Glad to see you back Felix!

If you are asking if an unpublished book was more/less valuable than a published book, of course less IMO. I think this is pretty much a universal truth. Maybe an exception would be where a stellar example of something that was lost, etc. surfaced but I am struggling to think of a scenario where unpublished would even be close in value to published. I picked up a page from an unpublished Hulk annual and it went for a lot less than it would have if published. It got me curious about the back-story so I dug up a bunch of other pages and learned more about the issue known as “The Abel Brigade” … all pages sold for significantly less than they would have if published. Here is a link if you are curious: https://thejadegiant.wordpress.com/2016/07/01/the-lost-hulk-annual-and-the-abel-brigade/ Hope this helps

more valuable or less than what?

Really good point. I have caught myself thinking along these lines at times.

Good read, thanks for sharing. I follow much of this advice inasmuch as I buy what I love, don't buy for investment, and my collection gets more focused with each passing year in terms of what artists I buy. I also found it interesting about knowing who else collects with the same focus. As I continue to narrow focus, I have met new people with similar interests and they collect similarly. I guess my collection will be worth billions come time for retirement. Cool.

Pics?

Loving this thread - keep the obscure coming!

Not even Batman could master the superpower of light-dampening thighs

The artist nightmare ... because it doesn't matter where the light source for the image is coming from, a strategically placed shadow is always required

We talk about black hole collectors a lot and that is how I view art that gets sucked into the Donnelly abyss – gone forever. I used to view their site out of curiosity but haven’t been to it for several years. The longer I am in the hobby, the more stories I hear about them tampering with artwork, shady dealings, etc. …. It increases my disdain for them. When I accidentally open a CAF piece of art that it theirs (I have learned how to spot theirs and avoid opening), I get irritated that I looked at it. The problem now is that they are “laundering” their art through auction houses and into unsuspecting collector hands and then probably back into the hobby.

Great looking art! IF you are a Jim Lee and DC fan, this is about as good as it gets! Congrats!

This. They have a piece I considered buying before they bought it but then wrote it off. I saw it somewhat recently and the price was not out of the realm of reasonable but they had altered the art which makes it worth less than one of those eBay "production" pieces to me ... they are a black eye to this hobby