AndyFish

Marvel Family #40-- another title I'm partial too.  Great colors on this one.

Giant size MR. Tracy from Harvey-- stunning condition-- this one is flat, square and clean!   

And I don't collect Captain Marvel Jr but I just might start after finding this one...

Speaking of Clowns, got this one from HEROES AREN'T HARD TO FIND at Baltimore...

Oh man picked up so much in Baltimore I don't want to hijack the thread, so I'm going to post a few here for the next few days-- I've also going to post some in Pre-Code Horror too-- even thought I'd rather just one Golden Age thread.   First up, Captain Marvel Clown Cover-- I'm a sucker for clowns and I love the original Captain Marvel so this was a no brainer.

Wanted that Ramona cover recreation too-- missed it by about five mins.

It is already happening, but like working digitally the work is going to be differentiated based on the skill of the creator-- in the above example of comic art being shown (the one in BW specifically) the layouts are clumsy and the lettering is amateurishly placed.  In art school 200 years ago I had a professor tell me if digital camera's had been around Michelangelo would have used them.  Will AI be a tool actual artists use to create masterful work or will amateurs play artist?  I think there will be a little of both.  But all the whining in the world is not going to stop technology.   I've long been on the boat that CGI is ruining movies, I'm no longer seeing SFX artists create an image using an actual camera and a variety of techniques, I'm watching the results of a technician punching in keystrokes, and what is created looks like a video game to me, and there is nothing more boring than watching someone play a video game.

Take the 70s James Bond film THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, not a classic by any means, even in the Bond Cannon, but there's a scene where a car is jumped from one broken bridge over to another and it spins in mid air before making a perfect landing-- there were NO TRICKS used to create this effect other than a stunt driver making it.  Today it would be CGI-- but back then it was actually done and because it was there was nothing fake about it.

But what do I know?  These Marvel movies are one step away from being complete CGI Animated films and they are still pretty popular.

As an artist who does sketch covers at shows I can attest to the fact you can't draw on that particular outer paper you're showing in the example, it's a protective covering.  Okay you could draw on it with a Sharpie but you're not getting the best and smudges are likely.   For that matter sketch covers themselves for some books are often lousy quality-- nothing worse than someone handing you one of those -- and handle blank sketch covers very carefully because hand oil effects that way ink will sit on it.

I love Captain Marvel, which is why I hated the SHAZAM! Movie (I thought the Winnebago TV Show was better).  Been finding some good Fawcett's recently.  Like Worlds Finest Fawcett's can still be found cheap.

Got quite a few pickups over the last couple of weeks-- I don't want to overload the thread but here are a couple.   First up, WORLD'S FINEST #16-- I like the early square bound covers and they can still be found cheap.  No respect for WF-- probably because a lot of them have pretty goofy covers-- I mean who wants a Detective Comics #31 when you could have bought Batman gardening!  Even as a Bronze Age kid I would buy WF pretty regularly but it was always a reluctant purchase because it meant the newsstand was out of BATMAN, DETECTIVE or JUSTICE LEAGUE.

When I was in art school a professor told me a story about a buyer asking a seller if he'd take 30% off a painting he had in a gallery show-- the artist agreed and when the painting was delivered after the show 30% of it had been cut off.  There's a general rule of thumb that you don't ever ask an artist for a lower price-- that's what agents are for.  In this case I don't see it as the same thing-- but I agree 1000% that I would have said that's out of my price range-- how about $200 for a quick five min sketch right now and if he said no walk away.

I'm going to guess that you're still waiting for the cover sketch-- I know nothing about his reputation and have found all of the Kubert's to be upstanding folks-- but the pattern of taking work at a show and then promising to mail it seldom works out no matter who makes the promise.

Also taking the following

House of Mystery 306 $25

Unexpected 179 $10

Billy buckskin 3 $35

Rawhide Kid 25 $45

That'll knock me into the 30% with the other takes.
Thanks!

Going to take...

HOUSE OF MYSTERY 286 - $20

HOUSE OF MYSTERY 303 - $25

FAMOUS MONSTERS 101 - $15

Two Gun 48 $15
Wyatt Earp 24 $45
Billy Buckskin 1 $65
Battle Action 15 $75
War Adventures 6 $75

And I'm still digging but I'm sure I'll find two more to get me to 30% off

So More To Come! Thanks Jimbo!

Keeping in mind the photo I posted wasn't the specific book I saw- in that case the book had faded and so had the CGC Label-- in the example I have that label is crisp and blue-- so my guess would be this one was faded before it was graded (sounds like the start of a limerick there), but the one I saw DEFINITELY was affected by the afternoon sun.

I was always in the camp that if you're buying books and they are graded by a reputable grading company like CGC (acetate-gate shall pass) then the grade is the grade-- to the point that I'd confidently buy a book in an old CBG Style ad with little worry-- for those of you who don't remember CBG- it was THE premiere weekly newspaper for comics collectors and many of us paid extra to get our copies shipped quickly so we could be the first to pounce on ads from various sellers-- and those ads never had pics so you saw a DETECTIVE COMICS #38 VG/F you either wrote a check and mailed it in hoping you were first and that the seller's grading matched yours or you called and asked them to describe the defects to you over the phone-- but no pics!  Can you younger collectors even imagine that?   

Well, I have enough confidence in CGC that a 8.5 is a VF+ and like a dealer I'd done business with many times over I would be confident in what I would get- but then I walked into a comic shop on one of my many convention tours this year and saw something like this (and for the sake of not embarrassing the shop I swiped the photo from the WORSTEST EBAY DEALS thread here on the boards, it wasn't the same book but it was one of similar value)...

N

Now I'm not going to argue whether CGC graded it this way-- and if they did my whole world is upside down but said book was displayed up behind the register along with many other prized books and the afternoon sun was casting in on the whole display.   When I asked to look at the book the owner took it down and handed it me and I said "It's a shame it's faded." to which he took it back, looked at it and tried to explain it was likely a printers error.   Well that's not the point of my story-- this is-- as CGC books are graded and then put into circulation I have to imagine this type of thing happens -- an owner stores it improperly essentially destroying the grade.

Myself I grade a book based on condition but then the final look is the color.   Color is extremely important to me.   Recently I ran across a PLANET COMICS #58 a 5.0 with absolutely GORGEOUS color and a 6.5 with slight color fade-- the 5.0 was the same price as the 6.5 but the color was the deal maker for me.

My question to you, my CGC fellows and gals, is how important is fading to you in assigning a grade?  

On 8/4/2022 at 5:00 AM, ExNihilo said:

I don't understand how artists have time to do sketches at cons.  Are they going back to the hotel room to work on them at night?  From what I could tell of SDCC, the creators seemed like they would go out to dinners, bars, or other industry functions.  Jim Lee did his Sandman sketch AT THE bar but that's probably because it was going up as part of a charity auction.

It isn't easy- and it's awful trying to work if people are asking you to sign things-- so you just get rolling on a piece and have to stop.  You also don't want to be rude to someone who wants to talk to you at the show.   On the flip side, I need to be doing something at these shows so I can't sit at my booth and just stare ahead, or push sales-- that's not my nature, so I'm glad to get something to keep me busy but it's why its important not to overbook.   

It's also awful to go back to the room and keep on working, I've done it for charity pieces that were being auctioned off, but we really get some networking done after the show.

On 8/13/2022 at 11:09 AM, Dick Pontoon said:

I don’t usually spend much time in Artist Alley, but with so much time on my hands due to the lack of dealers, I strolled though and discovered Japanese artist Hirsohi Kanatari. I was unaware of his work, but as a big kaiju eiga fan I picked up an Ultraman Sketch comic of his, on which he drew a portrait of Pigmon for me on the inner cover. (And licensed by Tsuburaya Productions! Along with his prints.) He also had a Bandai Shin Ultraman figure I bought to add to my son’s collection, and an Ultraman Mephilas face cloth for the heck of it. He was very gracious and a pleasure to meet.

And that's bout it! I used to write rather lengthy show reports but gave up a few years ago. I may resurrect a few of those to illustrate what the show used to be like.

 

 

THIS!  My favorite part of these shows, after the vintage comics, is to discover an artist whose work I really like.  You can't do that on the internet without knowing who to search for.  Digging through boxes of Golden Age books with lesser titles I may have never heard of or seen is another plus-- can't do that online.   I'm biased because I don't ever have to wait in a line, which would probably change my attitude quite a bit, but for me actually being at a show beats couch surfing any day, no matter how comfortable my chair is.

Well since nobody answered you I'll give you a rundown-- FanExpo is a lot like the old Wizard Shows, but if you've never been to a big con that doesn't do much for giving you a vision.   I can't speak for San Francisco, or it being on Thanksgiving weekend which is going to have an impact on who's doing the show.   Side note- I had a con organizer ask me why I thought a Thanksgiving weekend show was a bad idea-- "people love to shop after Thanksgiving!" he said-- it doesn't take into account the creators and dealers who have to travel to get to the show-- if you're local, sure you get up the day after Turkey Day and go set up-- but if you're coming in from anywhere that requires more than a few hours commute that means you're driving or flying on Thanksgiving or the day before (I Like to get to a show the day before myself).   A lot of people won't want to do that.

But assuming this show is like their other shows expect a giant hall, a good portion of vintage comic dealers (which is a nice improvement over Wizard), ditto creators and artist alley where you can get artwork or signatures from your favorite artists and writers or discover someone new.   You'll certainly be able to find that POP Figure you're missing, those things are everywhere, and there will be a wide array of modern stuff, good prices on TPB and hardcovers, the occasional video dealer, and people selling masks and collectibles.  If you're into celebrities from TV and Film-- especially genre things-- they'll be there and yes you have to pay for autographs or photos but prices vary and I'd suggest buying into a package for your favorites because they do a nice job of keeping lines moving.

I'm not a celebrity guy myself, but I was able to say hello to Carl Weathers without any line or waiting whatsoever and the guy was Apollo Creed!   Overall, I think they are good family friendly shows, I'm sure when @KevinBoyd has a minute between shows he'll chime in here with some official answers.

Well worth checking out if you're in the area.