Garf

I think this recent sale is a good example to look at https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/story-page/cliff-rathburn-ryan-ottley-printed-blue-lines-invincible-52-story-page-original-art-group-of-3-image-/a/322247-49202.s?ic2=mytracked-lotspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyTrackedLots-101116 Cliff Rathburn [Ryan Ottley printed blue lines] Invincible #52 Story Page Original Art Group of 3 - $408.00 (including the juice) Invincible is one of the hottest moderns out there when it comes to the amount of eyes on it, but if you compare the $136 per page to what inked pencils or pencils alone are going for then you might end up with anywhere between 5 - 8 times the value (if you don't count expensive outlier pages e.g. #12 Omni man / Invincible fight). Was Heritage the right place to sell these? Probably not. If you look at Ottley sketches and remarks on eBay then they too are fetching a lot more. I do own an inked blue line copy splash from Transformers and and at the time I wouldn't have paid more than $100 - $130 for it. I just liked it because I have seen some of the original pencils, which looked a bit naked without the details the inker added to create the published piece. It presents really nicely, knew I would be happy with it but I don't expect it to appreciate. It did further my appreciation of what a great job some inkers do though, and I am definitely more open to purchasing similar pieces once I had been there already. If we change the conversation to inks where only digital pencils exist then I really regret not buying into these because they used to be cheap and the ones I was interested in have gone up five fold. You just don't see the same movement with inks only where the available traditional pencils aren't paired with them, and it makes those pages sit fairly low on my own personal hierarchy of things... low enough to know that I would be chasing a squirrel and should be focusing on things higher up. Makes me wonder how other boardies would order stuff in their own personal hierarchy (e.g. ... in no particular order... B+ and above published work, colour guides, prints, signed prints, prelims, commissions, published pages (inks and pencils), sketch covers, remarks, con sketches, published pencils only, published inks where traditional pencils exist, published inks where only digital pencils exist, mono prints.... and anything else you can think of... then where the squirrel line is drawn).

Yes. Toploaders can have sharp edges and can be a tight fit. I sometimes use them for transport and noticed one was chipping off a tiny amount of white out on a page as it was going in. I don't really bother with them much now since that happened.

There were a lot of really really expensive items, but the range of prices really was starting from the floor all the way up to those lofty heights. I only popped in for the last few hours to see what the fuss was about, hadn't gotten involved in previous ones because I didn't want to be tempted, as expected I had a couple of pickups in that short space of time *sigh*. There's part of me that wishes that I had gotten in earlier but then that could have been lethal given that there was good a variety of pages all in one place. There were at least 4 things on my want list, with two of them reasonably priced. Loved that Infinite Crisis DPS and in hindsight was glad that it was marked as sold

@Bronty Nice site (I have only had a chance for a quick skim), I have a couple of general questions. How do you feel about art where you might overlap with other fandoms? For example TCG art and Blizzard art is featured in lots of videogames. Do you think this is mostly a retro thing or are you seeing any art from modern titles creep in, even if it is a sketch from a known artist who usually works digitally? Personally I would love to get something from https://twitter.com/bourassaart if the opportunity arises ;)

Love that Afterlife with Archie. Was tempted to go after it myself but have a couple of things on the horizon I need to hold out for. Congrats!

As someone on the other end of the spectrum this really sucks. Have been fattening up for what could be a long hibernation away from making any larger purchases. A lot of people saw this coming and it spurred me on towards completing most of the goals I had in my head. Just three left to take down *fingers crossed*. I'm just glad that I don't have any time payments, only a small piece on hold. Looks like the artists over here who haven't already got a rep across the pond should seriously consider it.

That's pretty much how I see things too. If you look at the lower end you will get people with the least disposable income feeling the oncoming squeeze the most.

I like this. I stepped away from collecting for a long time and it was the nostalgia for reading comics that brought me back, it wasn't about any particular era or run just comics in general. Which means I pretty much get similar enjoyment out of good stories and art from any era, but I can't deny that there will always be some sweet spots. I would say that a lot of comicbook nostalgia is heavily story driven above all else, however that isn't to say that there is no place for pieces where he art is the carry. It's often more striking if the cartooning is doing a lot of the story telling because that individual page doesn't feel so lost and out of context. Different sides of the same triangle. Why not two, or all three? There are a silly amount of high earners/people with cash in this hobby and this forum is only a tiny part of of the pool. I wonder if there is a certain number, a tipping point if you will, where it becomes likely the people doing the bidding are quite happy to pay out a lot more than you might expect simply because they can?

He has gotten very into nature and painting birds in the build up to and since publishing his book "Raptor". That's really nice.

I believe the same person sent me a stack of blanks as I was doing a TWD sketch giveaway on the modern boards. There are some really nice boardies out there, I have been helped out so many times with people either buying or holding art for me where the seller doesn't ship outside of the USA. I don't have any crazy transaction stories myself beyond the usual convention stuff, which is a long long long list of being inconvenienced.

Thanks

Yeah. I would have bid too had I noticed happy the new owner is excited to have it. Guess that happens sometimes, but I do wonder if Heritage and other auction houses lose out when it comes to more frugal collectors who could raise the floor on smaller pieces.

Ding ding ding! I haven't had much time to follow auctions otherwise I might have had a cheeky bid myself as this did go low. However, I have to agree that it doesn't have as much appeal/wall appeal without the horror aspect coming through. There's definitely a lot less "pump" going on with TWD prices but there are still a decent amount of collectors out there. Personally would be happy for the prices to come down a bit.

Thanks for the kind words. It's heart warming to see that sharing this might have a positive effect, I do worry that (especially when it comes to sharing pictures) it might cause anxiety for some. We have been lucky enough to have a wonderful community around us where we live which has helped get through the first week and beyond, and my employer has been very understanding. I couldn't ask for more. We are at the stage now where we have a long term let to move into at the end of the week and thankfully it is just a couple of streets away from our home. None of our routines will have to change, which is a huge relief. When you go through something like this it is all consuming for quite some time. I find it amusing when I look at how much we have achieved to progress out situation (i.e. dealing with the fire service, fire investigators, doctor, insurer, local council, mortgage lender, structural engineer, pets, kids & school, accommodation, replying to so many messages, etc) and then remember that I don't currently own a pair of shoes, still just wearing the sandals I ran out in. Keep saying I will sort that one out tomorrow . Just want to say it one more time... I never thought this would actually happen to us. I'm just glad that we were cautious anyway.

I really don't know where best to start other than to say the most important thing first. We had a really bad house fire recently. Everyone got out safe, and over the 48hrs that followed directly afterward we eventually managed to find all of our pets who had also escaped. We had all the usual things in place just in case like smoke alarms, fire extinguisher, large escape window upstairs, but I can honestly say that I never thought that this would actually happen to us. We tried to fight it back for a short while, I think most people would, but it quickly became obvious the only sensible thing to do was to get out. If you are reading this please take a moment to think about what fire safety precautions you have in your home and if there is anything you can improve. Even if you generally have things in hand it doesn't hurt to review, especially when a lot of countries are experiencing unprecedented heatwaves. Have a quick search online, the advice is out there and your local fire dept./brigade's website usually has a lot of good tips. It goes without saying that it is also just as important to be aware of your surroundings when staying away from home too. It was scary how fast things happened, and it could have easily taken a turn for the worse. Seeing as this is a place for collectors I should mention the other bit. There were some pockets of the ground floor which survived along with quite a lot of my art collection. My comics are all gone. I think I will miss the ones that I pulled off of the racks when I was a kid, and some of the dedicated stuff the most. Upstairs was completely gutted and unrecognisable. The comics and books in the loft were fairly densely packed and smouldered under the roof tiles which had fallen in when things started to collapse. Anything that wasn't particularly well shielded from water or smoke downstairs didn't fare well as it took around 12 hours to get it all under control. What was left eventually reignited in the hot weather for round two. There wasn't much that we got out beyond the clothes we were wearing and what happened to already be out on the washing line. Definitely a reminder for you all to keep your records and insurance up to date. I really wish that I had recently recorded a video tour of the house, that would be really useful right about now. That and also that some of my art portfolios and framed art was better shielded from water. We have insurance and will rebuild. It is going to be a long road (9 - 12 months) but hopefully one that is not too uncomfortable. The conversations here about insurance and spreadsheets have certainly helped me to be in a better position now than I was before I joined these boards. I am trying to keep my chin up and take each day as it comes. J.

I think you found the addiction group who will support you in your searches... It's has gotten harder to find certain art (e.g. 80's / 90's / 00's stuff) at prices where you are only dipping your toes into the water. Which is a shame because it can be difficult to slow down until you feel like you have established a foothold. I have always tried to fund things as much as I can with side hustles / buy, sell, trade... which has gotten me a lot further along than I would have ever otherwise thought possible. The mantra of most collectors around here is usually "buy what you love", those really are words to live by. For me that was leaning right into my nostalgia and sticking only to comics I loved as a kid and a small amount of more modern stuff I have really enjoyed. It's not always actually that easy, you won't necessarily be unhappy with what you have but you can still buy what you love and overpay, or 5mins later think that you should have gone for something else first, or realise that you have been ticking a lot of boxes (e.g. page with main character) instead of looking for those little storytelling gems. If you haven't found it yet Bill's Comic Art Live YouTube channel is probably one of the best places to learn from the experiences of other collectors https://www.youtube.com/c/ComicArtLive ... if you have time have a look at the "Collector Conversations" playlist. p.s. you are right frames aren't cheap, but that's actually "art money" not "frame money" :P

Thought Bubble is usually one of the best conventions we have and it will be busy. If there are artists that you are interested in getting something from then then sure try to reach out to them or otherwise just get there early and get on lists or queue. It's no different from any other con though, don't be disappointed if artists who go there and don't sketch or take commissions and are just signing e.g. last time I saw David Aja he wasn't sketching, just doing small remarques in books. I can't say that I am blown away by the line up this year and may not attend, but that's more about my own personal likes than anything else, I'm sure others will look at it completely differently. Unfortunately controversy has struck again https://bleedingcool.com/comics/frank-miller-no-longer-attending-thought-bubble-after-creator-boycott/ which usually has a ripple effect. It's a shame because I suspect that things are already a bit muted due to the impact of covid. If you enjoy going to cons just to be around the people and creators then it will be fun, if it was closer to home then I would be going anyway, the exhibitors are interesting and have lots to browse. Generally speaking we don't usually have many OA dealers attending (if any), but established artists will often have some portfolios with them if you are looking for published stuff in particular. Unfortunately we haven't seen a large amount of OA on sale in one place since the last LSCC. If you have any specific questions sling me a msg, would be happy to try and answer them or it might be that one of the Facebook groups could help. It's the only thing I use it for any more.

Ok. You made me laugh there, but yeah I get it.

That's pretty much what my better half said about love/fondness. I think I already know what I am going to do as the pieces I have in mind don't have any comics nostalgia attached but it helps to hear what others think (still feels kinda horrible)... if I didn't have this place to ask I'm sure that I would drive at least one person in my house to the point of yelling at me along the way

Just wondered how people on here rationalise things when selling a piece from their collection? I struggle with letting anything go because I generally stick to the mantra of this place "buy what you love". I feel lucky that I am in a position where I feel that way about what I have but it can seem like like a double edged sword when you get a really good offer on a piece. Probably the best answer I can think of to my own question is to either work more or get a better job and sell nothing , but I am going to set that aside here. If I do complete a sale on a couple of pieces, it will be to refocus some of my collection. I think I would be happy in both worlds, one where I do that and the other where I don't... but I don't think I can go in with that attitude. I doubt anybody wants to deal with someone who is undecided or is unclear about price. You guys scare me with all the comments here and in CAF lamenting about the ones you let go.

Don't forget your mobile phone, car or electric smart car, your television that is internet connected with a webcam and mic, your smart home that has to connect to someone else's cloud for the convenience of turning on a bulb, your Alexa that is apparently not always listening, your doorbell camera that 3rd parties can access, the operating system and browser which you are using to read this which defaults to keeping an online record of everything you write and do, the "free" email account you use, the cards in your wallet or any modern identification containing NFC chips, the devices owned by your family and friends... the trail from a blockchain that ended at your doorstep irrespective of what you purchased online because logistics companies have started using it. Imagine a world where comic collectors are forced into having their posessions numbered, barcoded, sealed in plastic and then put on public record for everyone to pass judgement on. (What people already let into their lives and homes makes NFTs/blockchain seem pretty tame. I still like the idea of having tokens or organised digital receipts where it might benefit me with proof of origin or facilitating resale. I don't think wider adoption of it is going to be something which we can avoid, at least until someone breaks it. Sorry if this has strayed away from the art/hobby side of things )

I so want to bash NFTs here, but I know that would be a dumb thing to do . So... NFT ramblings. Blockchain is already well on the way towards allowing everyone to tokenize everything but the current trade is not really doing NFTs any favours in normalising the technology or the usefulness of digital transactions/ownership. I reckon it's going to take brands, luxury items, logistics, online games and other things (e.g. even the trade of physical art) to bring it into the mainstream. edit: that and being built into payment apps Maybe kids now will want NFTs of all the old apps, games and Youtube stuff they grew up with??? or maybe there will be too many opportunists wanting to make a quick buck for anyone to see value in it. I can see it working for me in places, I would love it if some of the digital online gaming or TCG stuff I have collected over the years could be traded to new players when I lost interest. Still seems like a bit of a mess that is fuelled by a lot of hype and speculators willing to pump and dump stuff though, so I can still have a pop at it The marketplace is getting saturated very quickly. It's going to be great for digital artists when the dust settles though, digital art has been crying out for something like this and talent is talent. In this hobby, would people eventually want to own and put a digitally created comic page/cover NFT in their online gallery of choice if it was being sold by the artist? If so for what price when the alternative is to put your money into a physical piece? How are people going to feel about it when it's showcased side by side with digital pages where a physical copy exists or still frames of cartoons/anime just because someone is able to acquire the license and it's not even coming from the artist? edit: Mickey Mouse will be selling you art Owning a physical original is still going to be very stiff competition for a long time. Beyond the one to one digital pieces would it be a good thing if every piece of physical art we bought was securely recorded in a database with complete ownership history, scan/photo and other details that travelled with it after having originally been digitally stamped by the artist? I think a tool like that would be pretty easy to bundle into an app that also tweeted out the photo/scan and do other stuff, which might mean it offsets the time spent using it against social media/brand, finance/taxes, taking payments etc. It might be a pain to have to accommodate adding older pieces all the time though.

It's entirely possible to do. Even though it is fun it can also be a bit exhausting to try and keep on top of what is out there, sure being signed up to CAT helps but I still browse places it does and doesn't cover on a regular basis. Quite a lot of what I see in that range now is towards the upper end and closer to an example of the things I like as opposed to a diamond in the rough. I always have a small mental shortlist of the things I have seen and eventually one by one if I don't go for them someone else picks them off. BTW is this topic crapping on contemporary comic art a little or are we also saying there isn't a steady enough flow of good comics being made using traditional methods to meet demand?

Dedication written in pencil? Provenance be damned, Tony is getting erased. There is always another piece of art lurking in the shadows but it won't become available until just after you have completed a purchase.