Sideshow Bob

Nick Cardy Aquaman from 2004. 1 of 3 (mine) and 3 of 3 from CAF (Adam Beechen). Totally OK with either!

I just got a pencil prelim (5x7in) used in creating a commission by Tim Sale (via Jason at Essential Sequential). I asked if it was possible to get the prelim inked by Tim because it was so awesome and would look great as a little piece. Was told that, in deference to the original commission purchaser with the final version, they don't allow inking of prelims. Likely it would come out too close to the final, thereby creating two copies of the commission in separate hands. I totally get that, and appreciate that Jason is protecting that original purchaser from getting diluted (from a certain point of view).

Without the dialogue, this page is blah. With text, its awesome!

Here is my CAF gallery: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=92556 It's more like a salad with a lot of different pieces than it is one distinct flavor. Starting in 2013 by getting my daughter a My Little Pony cover, my OA story continues to evolve. I have a sincere appreciation for Don Newton's work on Batman, as well as an eclectic collection of character-driven stories (Locke & Key, YTLM, Wild Blue Yonder, The Wake, anything by Terry Moore). A couple of Winsor McCay pieces punctuate the collection with something that obviously isn't nostalgia. I count several of the artists in my collection as my good friends, which honest to God is one of the coolest things in my collection. While not a Brony, I really do appreciate the artistry of Andy Price in My Little Pony, and I have picked up more of his art than I ever expected! Showing a lack of discipline but a wealth of great taste, I've got a great panel page showing Shane's death from Walking Dead, a Kirby cover from New Gods with Black Racer, and King Arthur's pop-up from Camelot 3000. Trying to tamp these impulses down... Speaking of which, I keep a "sold but not forgotten" gallery (hidden in the private gallery) to remind myself of how my tastes have changed. Profit (loss)-wise, its been a balance of winners and losers, and that gallery is a great reminder to me of where I overpaid and undersold. The last couple years, I've been commissioning a team-up of Batman & Spectre. Again, commissioning has been a great learning process with a wonderful prize at the end. Focusing on the future, I'm going to trim down a little, and focus on a couple bigger pieces. I still read comics weekly, so there is a never-ending stream of new artists and books to discover (Thanos Wins by Geoff Shaw, for instance). Stay tuned!

Batman: White Knight variant cover from Sean Murphy! http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryRoom.asp?GSub=188421&Order=Title

Apparently, Jim is operating out of the DC-Caracas office...

During the height of AIDS epidemic/fear mongering, the City of New York shut down several bathhouses (including this one) as part of a "health" initiative. The closure was fought up to the New York Supreme Court and upheld. Knowing what we know now about the virus, particularly its transmission and treatment, "tragic history" in retrospect is the nicest way to put it. As a piece of city/gay/AIDS history, the $40k seems justifiable. My apologies if I got any of this wrong or framed it incorrectly. Just trying to give some color to the comment as well as to the auction result.

From Greg Capullo/Jon Glapion: Joker/Batman Who Laughs/Batman page from the last issue of the Dark Knights: Metal. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=1465663&GSub=175812

Happened to me recently with a NFS piece of mine. I received the polite "Would you consider selling this?" I came back with the customary "What are you offering to pry it out of my collection?" And WOW, I got "Best if you provide me with a number. Every time I make an offer, I get no answer back from the prospective seller, and I would rather not go through the brain damage of coming up with one." So I did 5x FMV and that was the end of that.

There is a lot of Aparo... I mean, I lost count how many pages of Aparo are there. Wow.

I sent a note to the seller. No response, which is unfortunate. Is it worth winning the auction, then returning it for a full refund, and getting the chance to leave negative feedback on the seller? Frustrating to be this powerless, when you see someone about to be swindled...

Looks like the Joker has been pulled, but Harley with the skinny neck is still there. I reported the Harley to eBay and sent the seller a note as well. Maybe something happens and the people who have bid it over $100can get a re-do.

I had an invoice to pay on a Newton/Bats page, and voila it worked! Thanks for the heads up! Paid for my shipping! Bob

And a CGC Witnessed sketch. Same story.

These are in my daughters' room. No hesitancy on the lines. No red pencil.

Yep, the $3300 for a Newton/Alcala panel page is way out there on the distribution curve, but I will say that it had Riddler, Cavalier, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow facing off with Batman, Catwoman, and Talia. That is a page that checks a lot of boxes...

This sale process is a once-in-a-lifetime release of Don Newton art. I have been a culprit for driving up the prices on several of those pages. Tec 526 is my favorite book of all time, and I've gone to the mat several times for good pages during this ebay trickle. I thought it would be just be me looking for some Newton goodness, but I've lost out on many pages from the issue (including last night). There are a lot of pages in that super-sized Tec 526 and it seems like they've gotten nicely spread around to several Copper/Newton collectors. That said, I doubt they'd do this well on resale. There seem to have been adjacent pages to key pages that have made it in this sale, but not the key pages (first Jason Todd in Batman #357, second Killer Croc). But the real gem is the 'Tec #526 double-page spread with most of the Rogue's Gallery lined up. That will be a full-on free-for-all if it comes up, with myself in that mix. But I don't think the seller has everything from every issue, as the Robin/Batman splash from #366 was available years ago, so I'm not holding my breath. GLTA!

Will pay top dollar for any Locke & Key covers by Gabriel Rodriguez. I know that some escaped into the wild. PM me...you will be very happy with my aggressive numbers. Bob

On the Vader's Little Princess, I had set a mental budget at $1,100, but I thought to ask my 8yo first since I would frame it and put it in her room. After being told I'd be bidding on the original to a page in the book she had, she looked at me askance and asked "why?". So that put a quick end to my bidding. Congrats to the buyer, you can thank my daughter for getting it at a discount...

Very, very pleased with this one! Detective Comics 519, by Don Newton, inks by John Calnan. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=1457888&GSub=175812

My first Kirby! http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1457563

Crazy couple months, so haven't put anything up on CAF until today. Here are three highlights: Camelot 3000 #1 splash (first appearance King Arthur) Walking Dead #6, pg 20 (death of Shane) American Gods #1 (Glenn Fabry)

Yes, please share, as I would also sincerely appreciate some guidance here. Some of my pages from Batman and Detective from 1983-1984 are having the same issue.

Agreed on the timeliness of this podcast and the interview with Kyle. Having seen some of my favorite modern Batman OA end up in his hand in a very short amount of time has been both awesome and terrifying. The idea of competing against him means I can step aside from any modern Batman OA acquisitions for a couple years... What is notable, IMHO, is that his focus is very defined. He isn't looking to hoover up the Neal Adams market, nor is he looking to be a major player in the Kirby market, or even the DKR/KJ market. As we move to the next decade, who is going to pick up the inevitable retirement needs driving the release of collections that are going to hit the auction block? Its not Kyle. Its not me. Will today's Prince Valiant or Tarzan Sunday strips replicate the last ten years' results when more come to auction? Will those Kamandi covers keep going up? You are going to need a lot more Kyle's to soak up the supply with an ample amount of liquidity; I just don't see where that cash is coming from. That being said (in direct contradiction of my earlier statement), I have two of Winsor McCay's Rarebit Fiend Sundays from 1908 on my wall at home, which I adore. But I view those as my sole play in the vintage market. Ultimately, this isn't an asset class and never should be treated as such. I fret for those who are depending on prices for vintage OA to remain at these levels. Great podcast! Thanks Felix.

Thought I'd share the wall shot too. Stuck between two Perez pieces (cover to Archive edition and Wonder Girl pin-up), with a Zach Howard TMNT on the far wall. And the desk has the Fabok Batman and a Sienkiewicz Raven.