JadeGiant

The GREAT Bulandini!

I will be there with a bunch of other art hounds

great page - love it!

congrats - magnificent cover!

I’d say that page has a chance of pushing 7 figures if it is the first page with the Joker on it. Sure, not having Batman and Robin keep it down but c’mon man, the Joker is as good as it gets when it comes to the bad guys.

sounds good - can't wait to see what you get!

I can help Simon - let me know

Pages like this that survived are by far the exception scenario IMHO. Per the post above, there was absolutely no value to them for the most part so them being saved is probably due to an artist keeping their work or by pure luck. I don’t think there are vast hoards of early art out there but there are certainly pieces tucked away somewhere – either by a collector or in a stack of old magazines, paperwork in a trunk in an attic, etc. that is not even know by the owner to exist.

This is fantastic!

I don’t think there is a number IMHO. I just bought a page from an artist that I really like as I loved his run on a book. I was joking with another collector who has the same affinity for the artist and when I messaged him and said “Like I need another page from ____” and shared the page. We both laughed as we both find the art and price very appealing when his stuff comes up. I don’t have hundreds of pages from him (my collection is not that large) but I continue to add his art to my collection every year and will probably continue to do so as long as I am able to keep finding it and the price stays level. I don’t worry about challenges of selling.

Sounds like I am in the minority. I first look at the visuals of the page and that is the primary driver for purchase consideration. If you need the dialog to make the page more interesting than it might not be all that interesting visually and need the help. I would probably say that some pages that are older and high on the nostalgia meter might be aided by the dialog but just seeing those pages and I recall the story immediately when seeing it and would not balk at a purchase if the dialog was missing as it is burned into my head. Art > story has always been my preference in terms of comics I most appreciate and the same holds true on collecting the art from these stories.

true, and Heritage has lots of nice large scans

Correct. I am NOT a seller and have only traded off a couple pieces but nothing that was extremely significant to me. So I can’t say for sure how I would feel if a $5K piece sold for $2K etc. but I can say that I considered this very carefully when I made larger (in my scope) purchases and did consider how I would feel if I took a large loss. It did not factor much into the purchase equation for me personally as some art bought put me in a negative position right away due to overpaying. If I sold off art at significant losses, I would not like it but I can also say that I would look at it as the cost of owning/enjoying the art while in my possession. I think this comes down to an individual collecting philosophy and where your priorities are toward how you acquire art. If investment/return, etc. is higher on the totem pole than personal enjoyment/appreciation, then you will look at what you buy very differently then someone who buys for personal enjoyment as a primary driver. I got burned in the comic and sports card game when I started buying with return as a significant factor and I vowed never to enter into a hobby this way again so I look at what I collect these days very differently.

I don't know. I take this approach to buying art that I really like. I have a number of pieces that I know I paid at/above market and I did not care because it was still worth more to me. It is a tough argument as one can only really tell when faced with a big loss on a piece. I haven't had that experience yet.

Thanks for the response - I will keep an eye out for an appearance to get my IG promo poster signed

Is George still not doing the con circuit? I have a couple items I would love to have him sign.

Spencer’s site drives me nuts, especially the inability to see images on art for sale and all the “PI” artwork (the occurrence of both seems to be proliferating in recent years). That said, I have made multiple purchases from him and he has always treated me fairly and took care of a situation where art was stolen in transit in a way that exceeded my expectations. I used to look forward to his annual sale and was happy to hear when people would say the site is too much work to dig out art as it meant less competition for me. Sadly, I am on the other side of the fence these days and don’t bother with the sale any longer due to the aforementioned reasons. I assume I will buy from him again at some point if I can find some art I like and can see what it looks like.

What is the best piece of Kirby art known to exist? Suspected to exist? ... and I am happy to hear that a Hulk piece of art is at the top of the heap in this discussion!

Great pics – greatly appreciated – thanks for sharing!

I don't see any issue with an inquiry about commissions. I do it all the time (today even) as it is part of the fact finding that you have to do in order to prioritize your art buying purchases. IF the art was done based on a price inquiry, then I don't totally fault the OP. IF it was more than an inquiry and Spencer was given the go, then the OP should pay up.

Post a picture of the art - someone here might buy it at your cost. Sorry to hear about your situation. I hope things improve for you.

I don’t know. If someone is willing to give me $15K for a drawing, I’d have the paper and pen out ready to roll. It is not his fault that people want to pay him a ridiculous price. Strike while the iron is hot. I totally get the collector frustration when something you might want is now out of reach but don’t begrudge an artist for his livelihood.

Fun thread (as Dan’s usually are). I have never sold via inquiries about my art listed as NFS. My entire collection is NFS and I get an occasional inquiry but not that many. I chalk it up to one of two things: my art is not that appealing beyond my taste, or my descriptions make it evident that I am primarily a collector and not looking to sell. It may be something else entirely. Either way, I don’t have to fend off a lot of these fishing expeditions. I have inquired on NFS art quite a bit and have had several successes. There are 2 keys to getting art this way from my experience: be a good communicator and be prepared to pay a fair price (which is defined by BOTH the buyer and seller). I was the guy in the OP when I found this hobby. CAF had so much art that had me salivating (still does) and I sent a lot of inquiries that were probably not very well formed. I knew what I liked but didn’t know what it was worth or even what I would pay (other than a price too low). Once I learned the ropes, I started having more success. Some key learnings helped to develop a new approach: I try to approach another collector in more than just a straight up “I want to buy your art” approach. For art that I really like, I have to assume that the current owner has extremely good taste and likely wants to keep the art as much or more than I want to acquire it. Be polite. Be patient. Be willing to accept no (at any price). I will often strike up a conversation about the art, their collection, what they are looking for, etc. If I get a vibe that they really love the art, I probably won’t even make an offer. I might offer that I would be interested if they decide to sell in the future. My goal is to leave every interaction with a piece of art, a new friend in the hobby, a new contact, or something else (learning all the time). I enjoy the hobby quite a bit and have made a ton of friends – many who have art that I would love to own but don’t.

I have the Trimpe Hulk book. Love it! It is stored on the top of my bookshelf facing outward so the cover can be seen. I have the original cardboard box somewhere but don't use it because I want to see the cover and having it on the shelf makes it more accessible and easy to pull down and flip through.