John E.

On 7/14/2022 at 5:15 AM, Rick2you2 said:

Several possibilities, I guess. Maybe a combo. The original estimated value was way off with overoptimistic pricing across the board. Or, there is a temporary pullback due to fear of recession and lack of cash flow. Or, this is a reset from the high prices running from the early days of the Pandemic. Or, this is evidence of a market shift away from the character. Or, it’s summer, and who really cares about this stuff If you can be outside unless you are a hard core collectors? Maybe other possibilities,too. The question is what is the trend from multiple data points?

The original eBay price was $300 or best offer. No takers (stages 1 through 6). It then gets shipped out to Comic Link (stage 7) which ended last night and hammers for $550 (stages 8 through 10). Someone should’ve taken the better deal when it was on eBay. 

On 6/10/2022 at 1:07 PM, Will_K said:

Please let us know how it sells.

I guess there is a…

Step 8:  

Step 9: 

and 

Step 10:  

Mignola Hellboy

On 7/7/2022 at 6:08 AM, Rick2you2 said:

Following up on the OP, anyone notice some softness in lesser quality pieces besides Hockeyflow33?

In the last Wednesday’s HA auction, I did notice some smaller pieces that I was tracking not end as high as I predicted. However, I liken this to what I often hear on the market segment of news radio: “The stock is down 40% from its 2020-2021 highs; but still up 80% from its 2019 peak.”

On 6/30/2022 at 7:49 AM, timguerrero said:

which show did they have it for sale? who was selling it? Anthony or Mike? weird that they'd do false advertisement. 

The OP says it was on sale during Comic Art Live but doesn’t mention a seller. I still say there’s plausible deniability but seller gets an F on their homework. 

On 6/30/2022 at 2:47 AM, lurker said:

Perfectly legit to credit both in the COMIC but to advertise an original page as a Larsen/McFarlane would border on fraudulent IMO.

Sure, but if Todd is credited in the book the seller has plausible deniability. It’s like when some books credit three inkers but don’t tell us who inked what pages. I can’t accuse the seller for fraud if he’s saying it’s an Al Milgrom inked page which could be true though it’s reality it’s Scott Koblish. What annoys me the most is when sellers don’t do their homework when there’s doubt. Not everyone can be an expert in inking styles but they can ask around. 

On 6/30/2022 at 2:17 AM, jazawlacki said:

 It is curious though why they'd be billed together as "Art" if it was so heavily in one direction.

Just offering opinion here, no hard evidence. Spawn is Todd’s baby thus he has to have some creative control on the artistic side. Plus having an “art by Todd McFarlane” credit probably sells more books. 

On 6/29/2022 at 11:14 PM, jazawlacki said:

Hey there,

Recently saw an OA piece on Comic Art Live from this Spawn run sold as a McFarlane and Larsen piece. Only Larsen has a signature on it, and in my markedly inexperienced opinion, it looks pretty Larsen-y. Does anyone have the final word on this? Both artists were credited for pencils and inks, but I'm wondering if McFarlane worked on the scans and not the actual page?

Would love to hear the experts chime in.

jz

Albert Moy reps Erik Larsen and he sells a bunch of Spawn 258 pages and credits only Erik Larsen. From what I know about Todd and how he works, Todd may have done the layouts, and even then, he could have done the layouts on a separate sheet of paper; or Todd received Erik’s final pages and Todd may have added embellishments to it, like darkening some inks or thinking a line. However, if I were buying a page I’d just assume it’s 100% (or 99.99%) Larsen. Larsen is such a pro that he’s the kind of guy who just sits at Artist Alley and draws out Savage Dragon pages at his table, practically eschewing pencils and just going straight from ink to paper. I hardly doubt that Erik needed help drawing this thing. And I think Todd would add embellishments on Greg Capullo’s art back then. I’m just putting one-and-one together here so I may be so wrong. Erik is on Twitter and he’s pretty responsive to questions from fans, unless Erik has left Twitter. I haven’t logged in a while. 

On 6/13/2022 at 6:26 PM, aqn83 said:

I pay pretty close attention to the modern Batman art market, and there was a young notable collector who made some HUGE modern batman art purchases, and he has since liquidated his collection.

Another year later, another younger comic collect jumps into the scene and, like the other, makes a ton of huge purchases. He has also since liquidated his collection (a lot of which he sold for far less than he bought for).

There is currently a new collector who has been buying modern Batman art nearly non-stop. I'm wondering if his fire will fizz as well. 

The Five Stages of Unbridled Ambition Leads to Ruin

Stage 1: Unbridle ambition

Stage 2: Arrive at Ruin

Stage 3: CGC Comic Art Marketplace Sale Posts

Stage 4: Appearances in "(Attempted) Flip of the Day" Thread

Stage 5: CAF "Everything Must Go" Sale

On 6/24/2022 at 1:14 PM, Economy Joe said:

He's gone.

It is so wrong.

He fought until the end. I am so proud of him and so in awe of his strength.

Once he was diagnosed he didn't take visitors but we would talk and text. Then when he decided to sell his stuff I started making the 90 minute trek to Hammonton NJ of all places. Now that I have had about 3K of his comics and about 8K more to come I have realized how I am getting to know him even better by seeing what he read. Everything, nothing held back. It is a great gift he gave me.

I’m sorry to read about the loss of your friend Bruce. It was nice to read that you got to share quality time with him at the end. My condolences. 

On 6/23/2022 at 6:58 AM, vodou said:

Very, very public money laundering; unlikely to be investigated...ever.

I'll suggest that hosting the venue but not taking any piece of the action is a pretty decent plausible deniability defense, just in case. PR value - huge, and 'free', of actual spend and legal concerns. Smart move Dallas.

Things that make me go 🤔

On 6/22/2022 at 11:57 AM, tth2 said:

If Gene is involved, there'll be no cash, only crypto.  Of course, the problem with crypto these days is that at the exact moment it's paid, it'll be worth whatever the agreed price was, but by the time the seller actually exchanges the crypto for good old fashioned cash, it'll be worth 20% less.

This shows how pedestrian I really am. I still think in terms of cash, not crypto. I may as well have said postal money order. 

This started off as a sincere question then it devolved into my usual ‘tupidity. I did think it odd this art is kept hush-hush AND that it may be available for the right price. Old school buzz marketing perhaps. Just seems like there’s a lot more here than Felix is allowed to say <wink wink> and that we may be in for a treat in the next two or three years. 

On 6/20/2022 at 3:22 PM, Nexus said:

 

I asked my friend if I could share this pic with some collecting buddies at the show. He said no way, that this was for my eyes only. He half-admitted that he may have taken this picture surreptitiously (he didn't realize what a big deal it was until I let on, and then realized maybe he shouldn't have just taken a shot of it). I then asked if it was OK if I only showed a few select others the pic from *my* phone, but didn't distribute the pic otherwise. That he was OK with; he'd known me long enough to know I wouldn't burn him. It was just too good not to show a handful of friends at the show.

Gene was one of the few I showed the pic to. We all pretty much agreed that it LOOKED good...but without seeing it in person, couldn't say 100% for sure if it was the real thing or a recreation.

Fast-forward another year or so, and it turns out it was the real thing, and that real thing might be available for the right price. Beyond that...no comment.

But it's been long enough otherwise to share the "SDCC phone pic" story. If/when the art does sell, maybe I'll get some of the principals together again for a podcast.

Hi Felix, long time listener to your podcast. I have no doubt the cover to Hulk 181 exists. I have a burning question though: if there is a lot of cloak-and-dagger secrecy behind the piece how would it “be available for the right price?” I’m just wondering how these deals happen among the upper echelons of collectors? Would your friend act as a middleman and say something like, “These are my friends Felix and Gene. They are also friends of <ahem> Herb’s. They are looking for a place to rest their briefcase full of cash somewhere in [dramatic pause] the Canadian woods.”

I’ll take your “beyond that…no comment” answer off the air. Thanks! 😉😊

Another good Mandel podcast, Felix. Listening David Mandel talk hobby reenergizes my love for OA collecting each and every time. 

On 6/19/2022 at 9:19 PM, tfish1 said:

I was happy to pull down the DD #1 page though  

On 6/19/2022 at 11:21 AM, vodou said:

It's unnecessary, alienating, and ultimately that combination serves to likely decrease the pool of buyers and discourage sales.

That's good business? Naw; dumb.

“My thigh gap brings all the boys to the yard / once there / I capture their Likes, clicks, and views / then I’m / doused in ad revenues.”

On 6/18/2022 at 12:32 PM, Race said:

Starting a new thread because the other one went way, WAY off the rails

 Race, I didn’t think you were new here  If only there was a button ()

But yeah, Garfield. 

“The Dark Knight cover is your family’s legacy, Bruce, and you let it slip from your fingers! Your father would’ve mopped the floors at Hertiage!”

“My father was a wealthy man, Alfred! Why would he be mopping floors at Heritage?!”

“Jim Halperin is a very powerful man.”

On 6/18/2022 at 11:28 AM, Rick2you2 said:

You could still probably afford some Rocky Mountain Oysters.

Is my rebate voucher good for it at Omaha Steaks? 🐂🧶🧶🤤

We can go halvsies.

On 6/18/2022 at 9:57 AM, vodou said:

the All Hat, No Cattle playahs and handicappahs

I like that. Had never heard of it. I definitely have no cattle. I’m more like a ranch hand. Every 5 years I save up enough money to buy 2 or 3 steers. And every 5 years the Governing Board of Ranchers decide that the corral is too crowded and they decide it’s my steer that has to be slaughtered. So I’m back down to no cattle again but I do get to pick up a rebate coupon for Omaha Steaks on April 15. I guess that doesn’t just make me any ol’ ranch hand; but the kind who likes petting rabbits.