DJRome

Bummer, Bob. Especially about the Camelot 3000.

I always enjoy these big auctions. 2.7 million dollars on 50 lots! A very bullish indicator for the hobby. That said, I can't help but notice that a lot of the 70s stuff under preformed compared to expectations (DD #157, Ms. M #4, AV #105, FF #154). Are the collectors in their mid 50s tapping out now?

$6555 for the Gammill Action cover. I'm happy to see an underrated artist getting proper respect for a change!

The Batman Who Laughs was the breakout success of DC's Metal event last year & one of his earliest appearances (#3) will be on the auction block tonight. It's a great splash by EVS & you can check it out here. Only $600 with a few hours left!

Now on ComicLink, big time Magic the Gathering artist, Terese Nielsen's cover for Ruins #1. This story was her only work for Marvel & is her only published depiction of Spider-Man, Cap, Hulk, Iron Man, etc. I bought it directly from the artist through her eBay story about a dozen years ago. It came with a certificate of authenticity too, but I don't see it on the lot description. I've attached a pic of it below. If anyone was thinking about buying any Nielsen art, you would be hard pressed to find a better bargain than this listing ending Tuesday night.

One day to go and a lot of stuff is still temptingly cheap. I almost wish more bids were in so I could really narrow my focus on one or two pieces! Question for the boardies: When do you put in your final bid on these things? If I was bidding on CLink 6 years ago, I'd usually see the "last minute" bids come in 10 minutes before the close. CLink's online bidding system wasn't considered reliable enough to cut it close. Time passes & CLink seems to get better (more bandwidth? different servers?). Now last minute bids start coming in with a couple of seconds to go. But I still hear stories about bidders missing the window due to freezes. I've personally never had any issues, but I put my last bid in with no less than 30 seconds on the clock. Are you guys getting your bids in reliably with less than 10 on the clock? I'd like to snipe like I do on eBay, but I understand that nobody's bidding system matches eBay. Not even Heritage. Their last signature auction crapped out on me a couple of times during the live event.

Yeah, that's a strong reserve, but I'm surprised to see so few lots are carrying reserves this time around. Good news for the buyers!

Does the Platinum format annoy anyone else? As crazy as it sounds, I used to make the time to follow all of the art lots in a signature auction. But there's no way I'm taking three days out of my life to watch & bid on comic art (four, if you follow the weekly auction, too).

Added a couple of pieces. I think this will be the last update before the show. Thanks for looking!

Just added what I consider the "big deal" of my NYCC offerings: The splash to Tales of Suspense #60. If you''re a fan of the old Iron Man stuff, then it's a doozy! Feel free to check out the full description at my CAF NYCC Gallery. Any questions/inquiries can be sent to anextdoorguy@yahoo.com Price is $26,000.

Just updated my for sale gallery (link in 1st post). Added some cool stuff, including a Perez Avengers splash from '76, a Fabry Preacher cover, a Byrne fight page, & a James Jean Fables prelim. All are priced in the CAF gallery.

Just dropped a couple of pieces on eBay. Both are no reserve with low starting bids, so please check them out. More to come later!

NYCC is my last con for the year, and I've pulled out some fun stuff for the show. You can check out everything in my for sale gallery here. Only a couple of pieces are up now, but more will be added as the show approaches. I can be contacted directly at anextdoorguy@yahoo.com The highlight so far is the title splash to JLA #19. The price is $17,000.

My big question regarding this auction was whether any prop collectors would feel a desire to dabble in comic art, or would these lots go to art collectors? My gut said it would be art collectors, and that seems to be the case so far. Good luck to the boardies who are bidding. If the reserves aren't punitive, I think you might pick up a bargain or two!

Because I'm such a comic art nut, I've put the Prop Store live auction on while I do my morning internet stuff. I have to say I'm kind of impressed with what I'm watching. A lot of nice props are getting bids & the video seems to come across clear. It looks like these guys have their act together. I hope their comic art lots do well & we see them get into it more next year. Anyone else watching/bidding?

I'll have a table at the show, along with some other collectors. I'll be bringing a bunch of new stuff, including the leftovers from my Friday eBay auctions. Anything unsold will be available at a discount at the show.

Trying something new this time around. Rather than putting up a preview of my art con wares on CAF, I listed a few pieces on eBay instead. Follow the link to see them all here. All lots close on Friday & will be available for pickup at the NJ art con. Anything that doesn't sell on eBay will be with me at the show at a reduced price. So feel free to drop by my table & make an offer! Happy bidding & see you guys next Saturday!

When I rank art, I find I don't take price into consideration. Rather, I ask myself "how many examples out there would be just as good (or better) than this one?". If there are only a few, it's an A example. If there are many better examples, it gets a C or lower. Actual valuations are dependent on the market for any given artist/title and happen outside of my grading process. Because an A level Millie the Model page will always sell for less than a D level Romita ASM page. The issue I see collectors having with B examples is that they are the easiest to mis-price. They are the "I'd like to have but don't absolutely need" pages. And when funds are needed, it's not easy to quickly find collectors to pay top dollar for them. As such, a lot of the high end guys gravitate to the A stuff because they think someone will always want the best of the best. Value focused collectors aim for the C & D examples because they aren't priced as speculatively as the high end stuff. Right or wrong, it seems very few collectors consider B level stuff to be cost effective for what it is. And that's a shame, as B level art is the backbone of many of my favorite art collections. Hell, a big chunk of my collection is art I would classify as B. A B example is often nice enough that I feel good about having it, without breaking the bank to get it (usually).

A nice Buscema page from Wolverine: Bloody Choices hammers in at 13k. Wow.

My bad. That does explain the price.

Another fun one to watch. It was great to see a few Marvel 2up splashes come to the block. I think the Ayers Giant Man sold for too little (13k) while the Heck Iron Man went just right (16k). The Kirby Caps both seemed to hit their numbers, but the ToS #75 might have gone too cheaply. Not only was it out shined by the awesomeness of #60, but it didn't really get a push from the auctioneer when it came up. Hope to see more of these in the next auction!

Thanks for keeping it up as long as you have. Looking forward to the next blog entry, even if it isn't next week!

Congrats Harry! It's a great cover. I think you're a bad influence on me. Watching you go makes me want to go out & buy more art!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi at the art con. It was great to see some old friends & put faces to folks I only knew through the internet. Before shutting down the for sale gallery, I thought I'd bump this thread one last time. If there's something you're interested in, please contact me by Wednesday night. Offers are welcome.