DJRome

Since we're all coming clean, here's why I really bought the What If #5.

I bought the What If #5 and I'd debate that it would have sold for decent money four years ago. Those early WI issues always carried some premium. I know Doc Joe scooped up the #2 a few years back, but he paid a lot more than 3k for it. The #1 is still available from Bechara, but I don't see that going cheaply (65k the last time I checked), now or back in the day. And it's not even Hoberg; it's Kida! If you could have gotten one of those first 10 covers (or so) a few years back, it would have been tough to land it for under 5k. I didn't enjoy bidding that high, but I have no regrets. A friend recently said that "context is king" and I think the What If #5 is a great example of that. Would that be considered the "Hoberg Defense"?

I posted this in the General Forum, but thought I'd address the art guys, too: I have a piece of Jurgens/Breeding art and am not sure exactly what it was used for. It was sold to me as a promotional illustration for the Superman/Doomsday:Hunter/Prey limited series from 1994, but I'm trying to figure out if the image was ever published anywhere. Would any fanboys from the era remember exactly what this was used for? Was it a promotional poster or an in house ad published in the books? Any insight would be appreciated!

I have a piece of Jurgens/Breeding art and am not sure exactly what it was used for. It was sold to me as a promotional illustration for the Superman/Doomsday:Hunter/Prey limited series from 1994, but I'm trying to figure out if the image was ever published anywhere. Would any fanboys from the era remember exactly what this was used for? Was it a promotional poster or an in house ad published in the books? Any insight would be appreciated!

I loved the original Ultimates storyline. For that reason, and that reason alone, I purchased the splash below some years back. Ultimate Hulk meets Ultimate Thor; one of my favorite pages. Did I over/underpay? Who the hell knows? But if an A example from that story comes up again, I'm confident that someone would fork over good money for it. I'm less confident about everything else Hitch did, but the original Ultimates art has legs.

To commemorate SDCC, I posted an Aragones spread from 1987 to my CAF page. I thought you guys might get a kick out it. How many real life convention attendees can you spot in the crowd?

Classic Warlord Cover & More @Comiclink We're coming into the final stretch of the CLink auction. It's looking pretty interesting, with a lot of good material looking cheap. Speaking of which, please check out the Warlord & Infinity Inc cover that I put up for sale. Both are sitting comfortably below FMV (for now). It's a rare chance to get a top example of Grell's most famous work & a well done McF cover without breaking the bank! Warlord #13 Infinity Inc #32

A little over a year ago, I saw a very nice cover being offered on CAF. I contacted the guy, who told me that he was selling it for a friend. A very very private friend. So he didn't really have it yet. I took that as a red flag. It was a modern piece, so I asked around and found the artist's rep. When he heard my story, he was incensed. Turns out the art was still in the possession of the original artist! The fellow who originally posted the piece, was obviously shopping around a piece he didn't own & his whole "friend" story was bunk. The rep did have the piece available for sale, so I bought it from him for a cheaper price than the first guy offered. If someone is selling art that they don't have in hand, you should be skeptical & ask questions. Hope that helps, Fred.

Fun blog post. I think it's a great idea to toss up some reviews of the lesser publicized auction results. Keep up the good work!

I'm one of the three amigos from the mystery table. Both Spidey pieces attracted a lot of attention, but went unsold. The McF Spider-Man 13 dps was 50k. I don't recall the price for the PPSSM 8, but if it was cheap it would already be with a new owner. Anyone interested in a quote from any of the pieces in that pic should PM me their email address & item of interest. For the record, they're my buddy's pieces. I don't own any of the art in that pic. My stuff was on the next rack over.

Who won the contest?

For the last few years I've tried to watch as many of these live auctions as possible. As such, I can't help but notice how weird the Roberts collection lots were. Most of them didn't catch bids before auction day, yet most lots were fought over by two internet bidders at the live event. How does that happen? Regardless, it seemed like a pretty strong auction. There were no "grail of grails" but a ton of solid material pulled in strong prices. It's amazing to see how well strips & underground art continue to perform without taking away from the superhero stuff. Definitely a lot of surprises on the upside, but some good material was undervalued IMHO. The Frazetta stuff sure looked reasonable (relatively speaking) and the Swamp Thing #6 was actually cheap (again, relatively speaking). If money were no object, I would have bought the Strange Tales #115 splash, Cap #148, & Avengers #108. They all went in the mid teens, but a private seller would want something in the twenties for any of them. Well, if money really was no object I'd have bought the Zeck Spidey Index cover. Very overpriced, but oh so pretty.

Wish I could rewind the auction to bid on the cover to Cap #148.

Wow, that's an amazing collection of stuff!

Looking for the origin splash from Emerald Dawn #1 by Mark Bright & Romeo Tanghal. If you know where this page is, please let the owner know that I'm very interested in purchasing it & will pay top dollar. I can be contacted through the boards, or directly at anextdoorguy@yahoo.com -Dan

It is my understanding that Pedigree is very experienced in auctioning comic books, so I think they have the potential to become a viable source of art. But I am disappointed to see this auction play out so similarly to the last one. I'm hoping that Randy & Doug read this thread & address these issues internally. Personally, I don't want to see an auction with marked up dealer inventory. I'd rather have a 30 lot auction filled with real items without reserves. If you want to make it more of an event thing, keep some of the marquee pieces (like the FF #23 splash) at crazy prices. But there shouldn't be more than a handful of lots like that per auction. Not if you want me to take you seriously, either as a seller or a buyer. Believe it or not, I will be following some lots tonight. Not bidding, but following. The Allred Bats 66 cover is a nice example & currently it's at a buyable price. And that DD #1 page is pretty expensive at 90k, but I wouldn't be stunned if someone wins it. It's a real piece of comic history.

Yeah, but what are peoples estimates? I am guessing between $20k and $200k. Way to go out on a limb. Well, you can say that it's a safe bet that he nailed it! Seriously, the splash to ST #103 sold a while ago in the 30's. Considering that the #103 is Kirby and the #115 is Ayers, I imagine the #115 should go at the very lowest end of your (very wide) range. It is quite pretty, though, so who knows?

The Strange Tales 115 splash is definitely 12 x 18. I'm sure Heritage will correct it before the auction.

Can't wait to listen when I get home. The hobby needs more stuff like this and more guys like you, Felix!

Compared to what the other Kirby pages were going for, the Cap #100 page did seem a little pricey. But it is a good fight page from an important issue that features the Black Panther (My comic buddies tell me that his early appearances are hot). It's a pretty good piece of comic art. I was surprised, but not shocked by the final number. Conversely, I was surprised that the page from the FF annual #3 didn't break 20k. It's a half splash from a notable issue that features a fight scene with all of the X-Men. I know the Colletta inks aren't a plus, but I thought it would go for at least 25. My congratulations to the buyer, who I thought got a great deal!

Really surprised to hear some folks saying this was a soft auction. Sure, a few lots didn't hit their numbers (like the Peanuts stuff) but most material did pretty darned well. Today's oa sales garnered more than yesterday's books did. Not by much, but it still speaks well for our little hobby. A lot of stuff surprised me on the upside. I'm talking about FF #123, Hulk #156, GL #76, Logan's Run #6, the Barks duck page, and many other lots. Considering that we've still got CLink & DocDave's events coming, I'd say this is a very strong auction cycle indeed. I also think we have a few more guys are getting serious about their acquisition goals. 2016 should be an interesting year to be a comic art collector!

WD #19 pages 1 & 3 just sold for $8.4k and $8.1k, respectively, on ebay.

Thanks for the info. I kinda knew I wasn't getting my hands on them

I've been searching for the cover to Captain America 286 & 287 for awhile now. Any help would be appreciated.