GreatEscape

The impact is worse for ComicConnect auctions where "Extended Bidding" for 3 minutes can keep repeating while other lots open and close-- theoretically you can have multiple ComicConnect lots with concurrent active bidding . At least with Heritage, one lot has to close bidding before moving onto the next lot and it's only about 5 seconds between extensions....but I know that seems like torture waiting through extensions unnecessarily (ie, 2 bidders intend to bid much higher but one deliberately lets the "shot clock" wind down before each shot). Perfectly legal but frustrating to the other side.

Fun to watch the epic battle for the 1950 Peanuts daily...was $84k w/ BP when "Lot closing, fair warning" then (at least) two bidders fought over it until it hammered at $192k. Bravo, surely a record for a Peanuts daily.

I thought ComicArtLive was awesome with entertaining panels and an amazing diversity of art for sale. Thanks to all the folks who visited my booth and chatted during the show. Congrats to my lucky buyers-- I appreciate your business and know you'll enjoy your new art! Best, Dino

Hi folks, hope everyone is enjoying the ComicArtLive event and weekend! Today, I'm posting a magnificent oil painting of Frank Frazetta's Conan and Barry Windsor Smith's Red Sonja by Michael C. Hayes, a talented award-winning fantasy artist best known for his Magic: The Gathering illustrations and painted book covers. See the link for a more detailed image and background notes. Enjoy! Conan and Red Sonja

I'm offering pieces from blue-chip artists like Kirby, Miller, Starlin and Infantino along with modern artists like Dell'Otto, Daniel and McGuiness. Here are a few teasers: (1) 24 Flashes drawn on a single page (2) Tales To Astonish and Astonishing Tales (3) Lords with Swords and Hoards on Boards (4) Iron Fist and Triple Iron, but no Iron Man (5) Bishop and two Knights (Moon and Dark) (6) Bloodshot and Bloodspot (7) Mary's Monster Mutant Makes a Menace (8) Who? I'm Star-Lord man, c'mon! (9) Magneto takes the Elevator (10) McFarlane cover homage See you soon, enjoy the show!

What better to follow Halloween than DEATH! One of the earliest known images of Death by Chris Bachalo, who drew this amazing Death pin-up in anticipation of the Death: High Cost Of Living series that came out in 1993. Death 1992 pin-up

Wanted a Batman pumpkin just like my avatar for Halloween...Jim Lee wasn’t available so I had to carve it myself!

It’s Halloween week Boys and Ghouls! Great time to post my Tomb of Dracula #42 cover (1976) by Colan and Palmer. Only a handful of TOD covers with Blade— and none more dramatic— so this definitely ‘spiked’ my excitement! TOD 42

Central vacs were still popular in the 90s before wall-to-wall carpets gave way to hardwood floors.

$900,000

Here's a monster mash: a Werewolf vs. Skeleton throwdown framed by a Gargoyle threatening a damsel in distress. Classic 70s Marvel Bronze horror courtesy of Gil Kane and Tom Palmer!

Marvel's epic Infinity Gauntlet / Infinity War saga concludes on this incredible end-page featuring 25+ heroes including the FF, Avengers and X-Men expressing various emotions from disbelief ("Impossible!") to celebration ("Warlock won his battle") to sheer gratitude ("We're alive!"). Art by Ron Lim-- known for his character-packed pages-- remarks in the margins "Is dis enuff Avengers?" Awesome! Link

Proud to add this classic splash of Marvel's #1 villain, Doctor Doom, from Fantastic Four #278 by John Byrne. “TRUE LIES” headlines one of my favorite memories from Byrne's legendary run in the 1980s. Enjoy! CAF Link

The memorable cover to Naughty and Nice (2012) by Bruce Timm: Naughty and Nice cover

Here's the cover to Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm (2012). So many wonderful pin-ups from this book have been posted on CAF, CGC forum and Facebook...I'm delighted to acquire the cover! Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice

That X-Men Ann 1 (1992) cover image was used again for a 1993 X-Men Universe poster...I remember having this poster back in the day, it was huge and (I think) all Jim Lee!

As I began collecting, I tended to buy stuff that ‘check the boxes’ for a desired artist/character or artist/title combo. As my collection matured, so did my tastes and my ability to better define my collecting goals. It helped to prioritize and set realistic goals for each piece (ie, Byrne X-men panel page vs. Miller Wolvie splash vs Sienkiewicz Moon Knight cover) to ensure some budget discipline (“where do I get the most bang for my buck”) then try to get the best example I could find (“one and done, baby!”) and turn focus elsewhere. Naturally, I learned from past experience to gradually upgrade while “keeping the keepers“. I focused on buying fewer pieces where my personal value/nostalgia greatly exceed FMV. This means letting go some incredible pieces that others value far more than I do, and accepting this as a part of the journey. Eventually, I discover a number of pieces that I have refused to let go over time (despite many compelling offers and/or opportunities to sell) have become “untouchables” as well as significant purchases that bring me exceptional joy...these are my GRAILS. Bottom line: Don’t go searching for grails...they find you.

Most of the top pieces have reserves so really depends on ‘pricing’ to determine if they sell or not. Hopefully, reserves are reasonable

Frank Miller’s Wolverine #3 end page...perhaps the artist’s most detailed and defining portrait of Logan. “Not a beast...a MAN!”

Really great Thor image!

SOLD (Perhaps, I should have posted in comics... luckily this was bought by OA collector for reference purposes).

Happy Fathers Day everyone! I've always loved so-called "Roll Call” pages as special treats for team titles...by definition, a roll call identifies a list of names, as of soldiers, students or superheroes. This roll call page from New Teen Titans #19 by George Perez features full team intros and activities unique to each hero: Robin (fixing car), Starfire (laying in bed), Raven (meditating), Wonder Girl (reading), Kid Flash (running) and Cyborg (delivering a knockout punch)! Great layouts and details that have become Perez hallmarks. Perez NTT roll call

Hey Turtle, My online source lets me specify the overall mat size and the opening size...plus you can customize stuff like colors, rounded corners and "bottom weighting" (ie, a slightly larger bottom margin is believed to improve aesthetics (according to a museum curator friend). One issue is that mats are much cheaper in larger quantities, so one-off mat orders will cost 5-6x more per piece than what I pay for 25 identical mats. That's why I standardize with two sizes (regular and twice-up) and only this year added a third smaller size (9x12 opening for TMNT-size art and sketches that fits in standard 12x18 mylar. Ordering one-off mats let you perfectly customize size, cuts, fabric and colors to each piece of art, but you'll have to be comfortable with different sized mylars and/or frames. Hope this helps