drdroom

Latest Heritage results are 2012, 2013 and those have run-of-the-mill panel pages in the low hundreds. Maybe they've gone up since then? Also, can someone clarify, did The Ultimates cast Samuel Jackson as Fury BEFORE the movie did?!?

New member Skizz raises an important question: "Bryan Hitch is one of those artists whose art I feel extremely schizophrenic about.  What I mean by that is that there are times I feel he is a modern day Michelangelo who widened the scope and canvass of comic art and heralded the modern cinematic style storytelling in comics. And there are other times I feel he’s just a photo tracer.  At the time of writing this, I feel the former. "  

I confess I'm not sure about this myself. I feel that the original Ultimates series was incredibly influential, & the Hitch/Neary art was huge part of that. But then  I feel like there is an intangible element missing. Is it overly photo-referenced? Ultimates pages can be had for a few hundred bucks. Are they underpriced?

Welcome Rudra. Your comment about Brian Hitch reflects my own thinking, so I'm starting another thread about him to settle the question once & for all.

30 minutes ago, Bubb Rubb said:

I may be wrong, but I believe Action 1 probably started the GA.  Before that was the Platinum Age.  The 50s are sometimes called the Atomic Age.  Showcase 4 has been called the beginning of the SA, to make things a little more unfocussed.

Right, GA starts in 1939. It's basically the forties. Atomic Age is basically the fifties, and it's a necessary age 'cause it's totally different, Superheroes OUT, every other genre IN. SA is basically the 60's. There's, in my opinion, too many outliers at every junction point to pin the dates down more than that. 

2 hours ago, Messier3499 said:

I don't know, but a good guess would be to take the high end of what you would legitimately expect it to cost, and then multiply by 2.

 

From my experience and knowledge, which is admittedly more focused on '70s Kirby, this is not fair. I'd say take the high end of what you'd legitimately expect it to cost, if you're realistic, and that's probably about where Bechara will have it priced. Maybe plus 20% to account for the natural variance between buyer's view and seller's view. I've bought stuff from him and seen, within the year, close comps go on Heritage for basically the same price, including the vig. YMMV

Fujitani worked from the 40's into the 90's! All solid pro work from what I've seen, and frequently a bit better than that. Some really nice stuff for Dell in the '60s. 

For the fourth of July I am celebrating the American comic book with a new CAF gallery featuring my modest collection of GA original art, which doubled in size following the recent Jon Berk auction. Glorious early day goodness from Master, Slam-Bang, All New and Rangers. Gallery is here if you're interested: http://cafurl.com?i=22917

I try not to take sides but this is the kind of serious research you just don't get on comic art-L.

46 minutes ago, Dumur said:

First auction I am not following in a long time, due to not having interest in a single piece. There is kind of a peace that comes with that.

Yeah, it's great when you can cross one off.

5 hours ago, Panelfan1 said:

Whats to debate?  

Sticky or not sticky?

The cynics among you may think I am just pumping my auctions here, but I see it as tipping you all off to some sweet, sweet deals. To wit: the first half of the OA selection just finished (A-L) and my FOUR Caniff strips all went in the ballpark of half price, based on Heritage comps. HOW GREAT IS THAT?!?

But if you slept on day one, fear not, there is still great stuff going for a pittance. Just to take a few completely random examples: 
Alex TOTH golden age western page! 
KANE/WOOD Captain Action page w/ Stan Lee lookalike!
GRANDENETTI/WOOD horror page w/ Phantom Stranger lookalike!
Epic PRE-CODE HORROR page w/ Mushroom Cloud & Weird Romance!
Another PRE-CODE Harvey HORROR page by Powell, w/ censored hatchet murder!!!
A Selection of high quality SEKOWSKY pages, including a pre-code CRIME splash with a curvy dame about to blast a copper!

and, of course, pages consigned by other people.

Happy Hunting,
Aaron

59 minutes ago, Weird Paper said:

One word: Sekowsky. His figures are stiff and blocky. His faces all look the same. Ughh. But... if you grew up reading DC in the 60s, then you grew up loving his JLA. I've got multiple pieces by Frazetta, Adams, Wrightson and BWS in my collection, but my favorite piece is my JLA 21 page. It's blocky, stiff and beautiful and it drips with nostalgia... and I've always argued for quality-of-art over nostalgia as a purchasing motivator. 

I love JLA pages in just the way you describe, and paradoxically they are pretty much the clunkiest and most primitive of all Sekowsky pages. I believe the inks by Bernie Sachs are a key element of the JLA alchemy. When I owned one of these pages () I looked at it closely. Sachs inking was incredibly careless with respect to the pencil line. Sekowsky draws the boot line across the calf, Sachs inks it down around the ankle, that sort of thing. It's kid lit that nearly has the quality of kid's drawing. I've just convinced myself that I need to get another one.

I mean, clearly Master Man has incredible franchise potential. He's braver than mighty lions!

20 minutes ago, tth2 said:

I was the underbidder.

What did it go for?

I don't think Romita Sr. is really very good, but I would be truly thrilled with a good Spidey page from the run that I bought off the stands (roughly #50-#70). If they were priced where a Colan DD page is I would likely have one. But for what they cost now, no way, even if I had it. You can buy immortal cartoon masterpieces for that money by Kirby, Foster, Herriman etc. 

I  have a Roger Brand page that I love for the pure underground vibe it represents, and a couple Golden Age pages that are crudely drawn but historically rich. I have a Kirby page that is great and nostalgiac but damaged by Colletta inks. I have a late Kirby that is past his drawing prime but the scripting is more brilliant than ever. 

So no, no problem to admit flaws in the artwork. Keeps things interesting. 

20 hours ago, tth2 said:

the jon berk auction had a page from whiz 2 with the first appearance of ibis the invincible.

Right you are, the Whiz 2 is earlier by 2 or 3 months. I will refrain from making any derogatory comments regarding "magicians" or "not really costumed as such" and graciously congratulate the new owner. Boy, that first round of Fawcett heroes had pretty dopey origins, didn't they? 

Man, that Superman art is SUH-WEET! Anyone know what it hammered for? & Also, were the the original Superman dailies published in '39-'40, or ever? Aside from the two panels thought to have been used in Action 1? I'm thinking I may still have a claim on earliest extant published superhero origin story OA (that's a lotta qualifiers, but hey, a record is a record)

5 hours ago, suspense39 said:

Interesting.  I think I have that catalog.  I'll look it up

If you find it, can you post a scan of the listing?

I picked up the Master 1, page 1 (cover date March 1940) in the Berk auction, and I am wondering is there any extant Superhero origin art older or of similar age than this? I believe there are some pages from the first Sub-Mariner story out there, but can't remember if they have origin material, and I seem to remember some Superman prototype stuff. What else?

42 minutes ago, Weird Paper said:

The Planet Comics Mars splash. (See other thread.)

Oh, of course. So many GA pages swimming in my head this week. I'm getting art-struck.

2 hours ago, Weird Paper said:

Sweet! I love the idea that something still exists from Master Comics #1! And those Zebra pages were gorgeous! I was underbidder on one of the others, but it wasn't my main focus.

Because your main focus was....?

9 minutes ago, adamstrange said:

The vast bulk and value of the collection is up for sale this week but a small set remains that should keep Jon happy.  It includes those items above and a smattering of the different kinds of pieces that made up his collection.

I don't blame him! That Black Condor page is UNBELIEVABLE...

So, comparing your original report to the auction, it looks like Mr. Berk has held on to a couple of prime Lou Fines and an outstanding Wolverton, at least?

Mars, God of War. I mean, has there ever been a cooler name for a sci-fi series?

2 hours ago, Weird Paper said:

So'd you get any of them?

I did, as a matter of fact, thanks for asking!