Lago32

This may explain why she ended the auctions early for the 5 pages she listed a month ago by Nowlan from Outsiders Annual #1.....a move I wasn't overly impressed with. I shouldn't be surprised though as I know of one prominent collector who is hoarding every page he can get his hands on from that issue and who probably made her a strong offer for the lot. Here's to hoping her dad gifted her some Seed of Destruction or Wake The Devil pages.

It's been 4 years since I started this A-level panel page valuation thread and it looks like almost a year and a half since anyone made any modifications....probably enough time has passed and enough new data points to merit a healthy discussion on what has changed?

Thought I would throw in my 2 cents... - Adams was his own best inker.......early in his comic career (64-71)....after that his inks became too loose, scratchy, and "rushed" for lack of a better word. As I've said many times before on this board, imo 1969 was Neal's apex. - Palmer was his second best inker......again, early in their collaboration....specifically X-men #56-62-ish. Don't get me wrong, their entire X-men collaboration was killer, however, as the run progressed, more and more Palmer started to show through in the inks which for me, just wasn't as desirable. This same situation happened with Palmer's first classic run with Buscema on Avengers....the early issues #74-76 were perfect.....Buscema's pencils were perfectly inked by Palmer....but then after these issues, again, more and more Palmer started to show through. I'm not sure whether the artists in both cases started gaining confidence in Palmer's ability so they gave him looser pencils or maybe Palmer gained more confidence and started exerting himself more into the art. And as it relates to Adams and Palmer's run on Avengers, obviously it is classic stuff but while #93 is excellent, I feel that #94-96 had Palmer again showing through too much in the art. - Giordano was his third best inker.....opposite to Palmer, Giordano's early collaborations with Adams (during the Detective run and definitely during the World's Finest issues 175 and 176), were not as strong as their later work together. I actually spoke with Neal about this at a Con here in Toronto a few years back and Adams was pretty vocal with Giordano's efforts during this time...the inks watered down the pencils too much, too broad and not as precise as Neal had intended. By the time they got to their second Batman run on the core Batman title, Giordano was much tighter and truer to Adams's pencils. This is evident in what I feel was their best work together - on the werewolf issue...Batman #255 and of course a few years later on the Superman/Ali story. As a side-note, I have to say that Neal's pencil work is probably his best work imo.....so organic and textured. Having owned some of the unbelievable pages where he provided pencils-only (GLGA 87 for example), it is almost a shame that they are inked-over 99% of the time.

I bought one yesterday from my local Staples here in Toronto (for a whopping $189 CDN lol)...and after a few hours of use thus far I have to say I am absolutely blown away. Not only was it a steal of a deal even on this side of the border, it performs like a dream. So easy to set-up and use, very intuitive, quick, and most importantly produces some of the best quality scans and prints I have ever seen. The only obvious down-side is the size as it is a beast, but if you have the space it is all good. Many thanks Gene!

....so I assume you took down that B&B 86 page then?

bump

Hi folks, Looking for a really nice New Teen Titans piece by George Perez. I have owned many interiors and some covers over the years, sold some I wish I hadn't of course, but really still hoping to find that one great page. If you have one that you feel is the cream of the crop content-wise, that you could see yourself parting with potentially at the right price, I would love to hear from you. I can be reached at mdavis.lago32@gmail.com Ideally, I would prefer a great page from NTT 1, 2, 10, 26-31, 34, 37, 39 and any awesome pages from the Judas Contract. Also, Baxter pages from 1-4 would work. Of course, any cool Perez NTT page from other issues works too. Thanks! Mike

That price wasn't insane at all. A/A+ panel pages from IF 12 and 14 have sold over $10k in the past few years - both publicly and privately. I was the consignor of that page, and yes I was pleasantly somewhat surprised at the result but strong Byrne IF pages have been climbing in value over the past year or so. And again I am biased, but the page I consigned was really strong content-wise imo.....fight page with a desirable villain, IF and villain in every panel and probably one of the most iconic images in the entire run as the last panel. And yes, there have been many sales of non-X-men Byrne pages that have gone over $10k - again, both publicly and privately. Most recently, just off the top of my head, that Count Nefaria Byrne/Marcos Avengers page went for $15k, the Spidey/Sonya Marvel Team-Up page in Heritage recently went for the same amount I believe, and there are a number of Byrne FF pages that have sold over $10k in Heritage, Clink, CConnect, and especially privately. I can tell you that if the right page were to come up from Byrne's Avengers run (ideally 184, 191 and especially 189), I would definitely pay over $10k.....that stuff just doesn't come up.

I also think separating comic art now into three distinct days of auctions is wrong...there are too many folks I have spoken to in this hobby that have either missed, almost missed, didn't know, etc. about yesterday's "premium" or "Diamond" or whatever-they-called-it event. Keep it to the usual two days, nice and simple.

Someone should complain to Heritage about that auctioneer yesterday....absolutely brutal. Zero knowledge of the content he is auctioning and zero passion or enthusiasm. I guarantee that he left money on the table for the consignors that day...I know I definitely feel that way. Just brutal.

I'll echo the observation that there were some strong prices achieved in this auction, and in some cases, some pretty surprising and unprecedented results - more so than I have seen in a while from Heritage. Most likely due to a couple of guys that "just had to have an example"? Some observations... - The Hush piece featuring Batman was nice but not an A-example in my opinion but yet still hit $10k....is that the new norm for Hush examples of that quality or has there just been a dearth of supply and again, two guys "just had to have it"? It was really not so long ago that a piece like that would have gone in the $4-5k range imo. - Other examples where a couple of guys seemed to really stretch past historical norms for admittedly nice higher-tier examples were.....Kubert war cover, BWS Machine Man, BWS WX 1/2 splash, Moon Knight ($3800 is huge for that page), DD10 Wood-inked page, Miller Ronin (wow....all of a sudden the page on ebay right now at $15k seems like a good price), Shadow Kaluta, Cockrum X94, etc. - I agree that the Adams stuff went a little soft but there were some pieces that had been offered before pretty recently so that probably affected things financially. I really like that GL85 page 3 - just killer art by Adams - but I guess it was punished for no mask. - The Avengers 76 was a killer piece and as I said to few of my OA buddies, the non-"Assemble" panels really shined to me with repeated viewing of the page. At $12k, it went where I thought it would. - Mignola SOD Hellboy results seem to now be firmly in the $10-15k range now for B+/A-level pages. I was the consignor of the last two in Heritage and was not overly surprised at those results as they have been selling privately in that range for a while now....of course, thats when guys are actually willing to sell them! The upcoming movie reboot may have speculators hitting the bid button a little more often perhaps as well. - DD181 and 166 "training" pages....I agree with Scott that it was funny that very similar pages were offered at once...I suspect the same consignor for both? I liked both but thought the 181 was great and I was the underbidder. It has everything going for it except no mask of course BUT memorable scene and I can see someone going to mat for it who just wanted one primo example from Miller's most memorable DD book. Re the 166, I thought it still went low despite the Oliff coloring, I suspect there are guys kicking themselves a little now for not bidding a little higher. Look at those killer Miller Wolvie Oliff-colored pages....they had been originally offered years ago on Heritage and were obviously heavily punished financially at the time but when offered again 1-2 years ago....not so much. Anyways, fun auction to watch. I ended up taking down the Romita/Sinnott Cap141, which again, went higher than any previous results, but for me it was the ideal example. Given some of these results, maybe it is time to revise the "A-level panel page valuations" thread....

WTB: Frank Bellamy Eagle Original Art Good morning everyone, I'm hoping I can ask for your help, I am looking for a couple of nice representative pieces of original art by Frank Bellamy from his Eagle work on either Heros the Spartan or Montgomery of Alamein. I would only be looking for double-page spreads. If you have something that you could be convinced to part with at the right price, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. I can be reached directly at mdavis.lago32@gmail.com Thanks! Mike

WTB Byrne Avengers Original Art Howdy everyone, I'm still on the hunt for that one great representative page from Byrne's vintage run on Avengers #181-191. Given how little of it pops up, I have to think that someone owns full books but thought I would post again just in case. Ideally I would love a page from either 181, 184, 191 and especially the Hawkeye solo issue from 189. I will pay handsomely for the right page... I am aware of what is offered publicly via dealers. Please send me a PM via this thread. Thanks! Mike

Vintage Byrne Alpha Flight Pages FOR SALE Hey gang, I just picked up a bunch of really nice John Byrne Alpha Flight pages that are now for sale. Fresh to market stuff. If you have interest, e-mail me directly please off-board at mdavis.lago32@gmail.com and we can chat. Thanks, Mike

1) Byrne with Austin inks....the only time they paired on MTU 2) one of the best pages from the issue/half splash 3) fondly remembered issue/strong Red Sonya fan following 4) one of the best pages from the issue 5) pages from this issue never come up = pent-up interest

In the misc section they have posted the oath page from the Green Lantern back-up story from Flash 219 as penciled and inked by Neal Adams. Having previously owned it (although I am not the consignor), I can say that it is a very nice page.

Phil, it looks like you are the WD48 guy based on your CAF - I'm curious if you took-down the page that was on ebay 5-6 months ago for around $3500? I had interest in that one but got outbid unfortunately.

I think the composition on the ASM 98 is exceptional - much better than standard Kane for the era. The GL 76 cover is just way too sparse for my liking - it loses a ton in B&W vs. the published cover, whereas the Spidey cover is dripping with some of Giacoia's best inks. Hanging on a wall, the ASM cover would display a lot, lot better. Unless your audience is Albert Moy, Scott Williams, yourself and tth2. I know you're an Adams guy, Mike, but, from a purely composition/content/aesthetic basis, this cover isn't even remotely close to his best. Wonky anatomy, way too much blank space...it's all about the significance of the book itself. If this was the cover to GL #77 and another cover had kicked off the run, the for this cover would be a lot, lot less than it is. I don't know Gene, I just took another look through all of the covers from that run and this really is my fave. I know it is hard to pull yourself away from the nostalgia and significance of a piece and really judge it for the art that it is, but I do. I actually like how sparse it is as the focus is meant to be on the two large figure images with no other significant distractions. Also, what is more symbolic or iconic to GL than an image of him charging his ring (or at least trying to)? I am also partial to how Adams drew GL and GA at this point in the run vs his more Giordano-ish style near the end of the run. It is hard to describe but this cover and it's interiors had a different feel which I like better vs the others in the run - cleaner, more dynamic and organic. Interiors-wise it obviously has a lot to do with the fact that Neal inked it himself.

I think the GL #76 price was all about the "key" issue/historical significance of the book to comics history. Adams may be the superior artist to Kane, but, c'mon, everything about the ASM #98 cover - to me, one of the very best of the entire run - blows the GL #76 cover away. The latter is one of those covers that just doesn't show very well in B&W, and it's far from Adams' best drawn work (it's not even my favorite cover from that run - I like the shocking #85 better). Its value has little to do with its own artistic quality vs. the significance of the book as it fits into Adams' legacy. And, remember, the bidding almost stalled out at $260K hammer - I suspect that the rest of the bidding (and possibly even the bidding up to that point) was really just two people. Is that really what the cover's worth, both absolutely and relative to the ASM #98? Who can say for sure. Personally, I would take the Spidey cover any day and twice on Sunday over the GL one - it's one of my favorite covers and issues from the entire ASM run. I think we are getting into pretty solid subjective territory here. I know a ton of guys that would echo almost the exact same sentiments but would substitute the GL76 cover for the ASM98. You have to admit Gene that you are a big Spidey guy and have huge nostalgia for that particular cover. And while I do like the ASM98 cover a lot (and appreciate why many love it), at the end of the day, for me, I see an upside-down/from-the-back shot of Spidey that is pretty standard Kane for the era. As such, for me as a huge Adams fan, it pales in comparison to the GL76 both artistically* AND in significance for both comic pop culture AND as it relates to the artist's canon of work. *The fact that GL's left hand looks the face-hugger from Alien aside of course...

I'll chime in as I probably fit the bill. I owned a bunch of WD art about 3 years ago (covers to #27, 54, 91, the infamous Omnibus #1 wrap-around cover, lots of splashes, interiors, etc.) and like an absolute insufficiently_thoughtful_person I sold everything just before the roof got blown off this stuff as the show caught fire. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20 right? Anyways, I have focused my OA collecting priorities elsewhere since then, but in recent weeks I have found myself cruising CAF for WD art again.... So, if anyone has a KILLER A+ panel page from early in Adlard's run that fits the following criteria, I will pay handsomely. I have to stress that I only need one representative page folks so the page will need to be great and it will need to check the following boxes at least: - has to be a panel page - has to be early in Adlard's run when his inking was cleaner, more precise/thinner lines - absolutely has to be 11x17 board - has to have Rick - has to have zombies - ideally has to have zombie-kills but not must have - ideally has Michonne and/or Governor but again is not a must have. I know everyone wants this stuff, but please try me....I can be contacted directly at lago.32@sympatico.ca Thanks, Mike D

Fun poll Gene! While I love and prefer BWS's later style on Conan, I would guess I am in the minority in that I also really like the early Kirby-esque/Conan-with-horns style. It was my first exposure to Conan and because of that nostalgia, I suppose it has always resonated with me. I should also mention that for the most part, I can't stand BWS's mid-run style where Conan was constantly dis-proportioned and, worst of all, he consistently drew Conan with that thin-faced/bug-eyed/gaping-mouth look that looked simply foolish. Here are my choices: 1) Conan #4 2) Annual #1 3) Conan #24 4) Conan #1 5) Conan #19

No, not yet in my opinion. If the person that suggested this change was basing it on the X142 page that sold for $36k in the last Heritage (to be transparent, I was the consignor of that piece), it doesn't apply as I would say that page is closer to an A+ page.

If Miller was in fact doing 8.5x11 layouts on a separate sheet for DD179-181, it could explain how Terry Austin was able to do his own version of the inks for certain pages from DD181 that were used in What If #35.

I always find it fascinating to chronologically take a look at what books an artist was working on at a given time (for instance, check out how many books Byrne was doing in a given month off and on in the 1977-1979 era - unreal). To perhaps state the obvious, but Miller most likely had to move to separate sheet layouts during the post-DD185 time period due to this Wolverine chores at the same time. I also reviewed the Miller DD TPB's last night and it is amazing the stylistic changes during the run...I have to say however that it is a little perplexing to me that if DD179-190 (except for 183/184) was done with separate layouts then 1) why did the title credits only adjust to "Miller - Storyteller, Janson - Art" as of DD185 and 2) why is there such a distinct stylistic difference between DD182 and postDD185? In other words, if there was no change in artistic approach from DD179-190 between Miller and Janson (meaning layout by Miller on a separate sheet), then why did things visually change as of DD185? As previously mentioned, there is a minor stylistic shift between DD178 and DD179 but not as significant as between DD182 and DD185-190. Some may say this is just my opinion but I believe it has always been widely acknowledged that DD185 onwards just looks more Jason-influenced than DD182 and before. To be transparent, I do own a page from DD182 so I do have a dog in this fight admittedly.

I'm sure about the rest of you guys but once I finally saw the physical breakdown of who did what in the latter part of the Miller/Janson DD collaboration in the last Heritage auction (see link below), any concerns I may have had about Miller not touching the board were put to rest. It is funny that more of these 8.5x11 layout sheets haven't made it to market. http://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/frank-miller-and-klaus-janson-daredevil-185-page-15-original-art-plus-sheet-of-miller-pencil-breakdowns-marv-total-2-original-art-/a/7097-92222.s Mike Davis