Carlo M

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Looking for the page 1 splash page to Cat 1 by Severin and Wood. As underbidder on recent Wood Marvel pages on Heritage, I am aware of the prices Wood commands these days. Also interested in high end DD and Astonishing Tales interiors, and page 2 from Cat 1. Carlo

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Definitely an interesting topic. In general, a proliferation of high quality scans of OA would be a danger to the hobby. I guess vintage OA can always be recognised in person, but the risk for online acquisitions would be there. On the other hand, I do see the attraction to being able to enjoy visually a great piece of OA, otherwise unachievable, in a high quality scan. I have also thought about buying spare copies of AE books to take ou a couple of prints. The Jack Kirby Thor and FF large include some stunning splashes and covers that would display wonderfully on a wall (have you seen the double sized Doom pin-up in the FF AE?). Also, one can play around with prints. I have a great cover that I did not want to display to protect it from sunlight. So I had a high resolution scan made, had it cleaned from all the imperfections, and had it printed in shining B&W on a massive aluminium sheet (approx 60x40) and had it hung in my study,. It is so impressive. Obviously the experience of looking at it is a different experience from looking at the original cover, with all its imperfections, in my portfolio. But both are greatly satisfying. I have also toyed with the idea of playing Lichtenstein with some of my interiors, exploding some interesting panels, or creating collages of different images. Have not got around to doing it but will probably experiment a bit in the future. So I don't think buying / creating prints necessarily needs to be frowned upon, just a different way of enjoying our hobby, IMHO. Carlo

Miller...right of course, what was I thinking!

Thanks for the info! That book has some great interiors, it will be interesting to see what happens. I know I am in the minority but I really think that visually and stylistically peak Kirby is circa FF 80-90. The stories were maybe not as fresh as the famous run from 45 to 60, but his style had pefected by then, and Sinnott's inks got much sharper.

I was surprised to see an interior splash from FF 83 surfacing in this auction. The full issue was included in an IDW AE, so I had assumed the book was complete. Anybody knows / can disclose if that was indeed the case? Is the book being broken up? Carlo Mich

Interesting to note that the two sequential Adams pages from UXM 61 got basically the same price at HA and CLink. Actually CLink was a bit higher, resulting for the seller doing better at CLink on a net basis. Maybe due to the slightly lower quality this time around the few quality pieces got a lot of attention in CLink, while 10k pieces get less attention at HA? Carlo M

Not a big fan of HT but this piece has a great retro feel, what with the early Wolverine look, and very well executed. Any idea which year this was done? In any case this was a great bargain, congratulations! Carlo M

I know it is a bit early to start a thread on HA fall auction. Yet this piece seems worth flagging early on. It seems like it is a well known piece. Anybody knows how the newspaper effect was done? Not clear from the description... In any case a truly historical, iconic Kirby cover. 300k? Carlo M

Definitely +1. Covers and splashes are beautiful and they display better on a wall. But comics are a sequential art form, and interiors amix of storytelling and art are great examples,

So sorry to hear this piece of news. I feel very fortunate to own this splash by her. I literally get mesmerized every time I look at it. Very talented artist. My condolences to those who were close to her. Carlo M.

Which dealer was the NAdams XM double page spread with Angel and Sauron? I did not see a reference in the file name... Thanks! Carlo M Sorry, wrong signature in the previous one! ps - thanks so much for the pictures!

Which dealer was the NAdams XM double page spread with Angel and Sauron? I did not see a reference in the file name... Thanks! Cael

a I personally think that the definition of A that most people on this thread gravitate towards is way too restrictive. Based on the above, there would be only one A page in the whole history of the Hulk book, as no page can come even close to the first Wolverine appearance! On the other had, a page with four high quality panels of Hulk battling Wendigo would be an A page in my book. Having said that, I agree that it is not that easy to find true A pages. I looked at my collection (around 80 pieces amassed in 20 years + of collecting) and I could count A pages on one single hand (and only a couple by the stricter definition) Personally - and I am throwing this out there just for fun and with no intention of offending anyone, the 1st appearance of Wolvie would be: B C A* (* Wolverine first appearance) Personally, I rank Trimpe second tier vis à vis Kirby etc, and on par with Sal Buscema (and I am a BIIIIIG Sal Buscema fan). Finally, the particular run where the page appeared is not really well known other than….that one panel and the fact that it was Wolverine's first appearance. So, here is my personal (three times underline personal, based purely on personal tastes and no pretense to be writing a book on comic art) list of A Marvel artists (and please note that I am probably most taken by artists not listed among them and, conversely, I would not collect some of the names listed...) Silver Age A* Kirby and Ditko (they belong to their own category) A JRomita, JBuscema, NAdams, JSteranko, GKane, WWood, GColan Bronze Age A JByrne, GPerez, JStarlin, BWindsor Smith Copper Age A Jim Lee, TMcFarlane, WSimonson And here is my attempt to identify some A runs at Marvel (remember, first appearances or "Face it Tiger" pages are A*): Silver Age ASM - Death of Gwen ASM - Some of the best ASM vs Goblin ASM drug issue ASM - best Ditko issues FF Coming of Galactus FF Doom and Silver Surfer FF Let there be Life Avengers Kree-Skrull war Bronze Age XM GS and 94 UXM Dark Phoenix saga UXM Days of future past DD Frank Miller run (is this still bronze age)? Jim Starlin's Cap Marvel / Warlock with Thanos Avengers Korvac saga (borderline….) Of course there are some single issues that would qualify as A even if they don't belong to a historic run. "This Man this Monster" comes to mind, for example. Carlo M.

I think this is a very interesting angle. While all this thread is about how subjective and nuanced grading of OA is, there is some merit in trying to give some objectivity to the whole thing. A three-pronged grading system: quality of book / run; artist; quality of page. The easiest is the third one: quality of page. 4/4 of an interior with the main character (or characters for team books), action, costumes, etc. makes it to A. The other two are a bit more complicated- Artists: no doubt artists like Kirby, Ditko, Miller, JLee and McFarlane make it to A (each within his own period). Then you have Romita, Buscema, Byrne, Perez (sorry I am a Marvel guy...). I remember there was not a consensus on Romita and Buscema on this forum. And then you have the point of the inker. Where could you fit that part of the equation? Book / run: how strict would one be? DKR, KJ, Coming of Galactus, Dark Phoenix saga, Days of Future Past, Death of Gwen...they all would make it. But how about broader runs? Does all Ditko AMS or Byrne UXM qualify? Does any of Byrne FF make it to A? Food for thought... Carlo M

I am in a similar state of mind at the moment. This means that I look less at CAF offers to make, and just enjoy auction materials coming through, waiting for the piece that "speaks to me", not feeling that I have necessarily to buy something.

Excellent thread, I found the contributions really interesting. Personally, I collect OA as an alterntive to collecting mainstream art. The problem in branching out to quality comic art material that does not have a nostalgia element for me is that for that kind of money I would then prefer to buy mainstream contemporary or modern art. The nostalgia element, coupled with quality, is what makes me prefer comic OA to mainstream art. (BTW, nostalgia alone does not do it either...there must be some basic artistic quality to what I buy, wspecially over certain dollar amounts). In order to branch out, I would need to invest significant time in reading that material, in order to develop at least an appreciation and potentially create a new emotional connection (hard to do at 50....). Any suggetions for strong pre-hero sci-fi? (am intrigued by pre-Marvel work by Wood, for example, but would not know where to start). Carlo

i find this thread really interesting. Great contributions by everybody! One last consideration, coming from an advocate of art with text over image only. I would buy (and have bought) a piece of comic OA with great image and poor or no text. But I would never buy a piece of OA with great text and titles and lettering etc but ugly art... Carlo

On the other hand, modern art can be enjohable with no text, if the art itself is evocative enought. I am not bothered by the absence of text in this piece, somehow I get the content all the same: Crystal feels something is wrong with Mother Earth..

Even splashes or covers are more charming with the balloons and title effects. The splash below would definitely be less charming without the text Who can beat "Time which cannot be touched, cannot be seen, is the strongest trap in the world"... Einstein himself could not be clearer...

I agree that words may have a bigger impact on collectors' choice than people assume. Obviously the image and the emotional connection will always be the prime drivers for my choices, but in some cases the text might give me that one extra point in motivation, and maybe - just maybe - a bit of more money I am willing to spend. Case in point, I always pause on the thought bubble in panel four when I look at this page I acquired recently. Comics differ from other illustration art because the mix art and text, if you love the medium there must be some value attached to the text. And if it is included in the OA, so much the better.

I can't say I am unhappy, but there are certainly more pieces that I like than I can chase. What I don't like about it is that my choices and the end result might depend more on the order in which they will be put up than my actual preferences. Oh well that is also the fun of it. In any case what I find surprising is that some pieces are coming in batches of similar items: Brunner Dr. Strange, FF from the Doom / Silver Surfer stroryline, early Colan Daredevil, cosmic Lim, Sal Buscema Defenders prelude.... Surely current high prices are attracting some old timers to come to the market, but one would have thought big collectors would prefer to trickle their items over time. I also wonder if some books are being broken up, like it seems to be the case with Sub-Mariner 34 and 35. Possibly also FF 57? It will be very interesting to see if the market can absorb these multiple pieces. The three Kirby Sinnott pieces from the Doom / SS run will probably require more than 150k alone...(my guess based on precedents). Carlo

I think sometimes people who enquire do not want to put out an offer not because they are uninformed but because they are fishing for bargains. I had a couple of instances (item NFS, approached, replied please make me an offer, reply back please give me guidance) when my answer was: well the item is NFS. What I know is that I would not sell for sure for X [market value] but will sell for sure at Y [market value plus premium - premium size depending on how attached I am to the piece]. Anything in between I can't promise, will consider it. In all these cases, the guy never even replied. Carlo

Agreed this is a fantastic auction. Anybody has any idea why the Cap 155 cover showing up in the Miscellaneous section has issue 115 on it?