Andahaion

Thanks for the heads up. Listened to it on commute in this AM. Always enjoy hearing new perspectives on the hobby.

@JadeGiant Appreciate the thoughtful response, thank you. As luck would have it, I received a few personal notes from other boardies who read my previous posts where I expressed a bit of frustration. One gentleman was kind enough to jump on the phone a few times to discuss OA (Twanj). As you and others have pointed out, that is really the best way to learn. And, I'm attending Baltimore Comic Con this year so will look forward to perhaps connecting with some folks. Not sure if you saw my update in another thread but I have acquired my first piece. It is a work by Jim Starlin from Death of the New Gods. Starlin is a personal favorite of mine, but I've never read that book. To your point, it wasn't very expensive (about $300 shipped) and it's in a new frame and up on the wall already. I'm not looking to fill portfolios with $300 pages, but I might be in for one more smaller page as a learning experience. I have toyed with posting a WTB ad here, and am starting to really believe that may be the best avenue to pursue additional purchases. Obsessing over dealer sites and google searches gets one only so far (ie, further confused, ha). Here's another illustrative example of how little I know. Maybe someone else would like to comment, or not, but it's interesting to me at any rate: I found a Starlin cover (not trying to collect just Starlin, this is just happenstance) for sale on CLink for $2,900. In my opinion it's a nice modern Starlin cover that he did as a variant to the Superman Unchained arc. It is a nice big rendering of Supes and Mongul (a Starlin creation) engaged in fisticuffs. At first glance, I thought to myself $2,900 is a good price. Maybe even cheap. I'm not 100% sure why I thought that, I think perhaps based off all the interesting market info I've read about OA in the past 6 months or so. So, a google search for the cover revealed a thread from this board from February 2016 where that cover sold for $1,600 at auction. And now the ask is $2,900...I'm not sure what that means other than I probably should wait to buy something like that. That said, is it the market? Did it sell low a year and a half ago? Is what Felix purports on his podcast about buying high and selling higher needed to be applied here? These aren't directed at you, just questions that entered into my mind. I'm over-analyzing, sure, but for good cause. And if I'm going to spend the kind of money I think I'm going to spend on comic book art I'd like to better understand the landscape. Cheers.

This thread is eye opening. Not sure what else to say. I've also come across an example recently. And one really doesn't have to look very hard either. Makes me hesitate to pull the trigger on anything.

Thank you both, appreciate the responses. I'm going to continue to ramble on here, so feel free to poke holes in my thinking... I re-read all three stories within the past month (Hush, For Tomorrow, and Unchained). There are undoubtedly other factors involved, but it's quite amazing to me how much impact the story has on each arc's OA value especially when I believe two of those stories, Hush and For Tomorrow, are very similar in quality of work (artistically). Using the OA community's general rule of what constitutes a more desirable page (ie, costumed action vs. talking heads, splashes vs. panels, etc) I could acquire a page from For Tomorrow for about half of a comparable (or even less) Hush page; and purchase Unchained for even less. It's likely my own short-comings within the OA space, but this is something I'm having a difficult time absorbing/processing. I suppose I should just look at the silver lining and feel good about potentially spending less on work that I feel is on par with Hush. But the appeal of owning a Hush page is quite real and is hard to ignore, even for a Superman fan such as myself.

I dig "under-grails". Might employ that. Also like cornerstone, though.

Just going from my own experience as a new art collector, I've felt the same way. Didn't take long to come to that conclusion either, but I'm sure we're not the only ones who experienced it coming in. I recently posted some thoughts about coming into the OA market and a few board members reached out, which felt good. It definitely helps to have friends in this sphere, even if they're virtual friends. If you ever want to chat, or vent, please feel welcome to send me PM. Happy to help in whatever limited ways I could offer.

Would anyone here offer to comment on Jim Lee's various Superman art? I know what I like, but am relatively new on the OA circuit and would appreciate some context from a holistic perspective. "For Tomorrow" seems to be regarded as one of his artistic high points, but "Unchained" is beautiful also and appears to have a lower entry point. I suppose I'm trying to balance several factors that will guide my decision on which to pursue and it's helpful to hear different views (especially from veterans). Happy to take responses here, via PM, or over the phone if anyone is so inclined. I'm a relatively nice person.

That is great! I love Jock and would love a page from Black Mirror. Love the artistic, "painter quality" of his work. Big fan. Congrats!

$9,560. After a few minutes to recollect, I'm not sure my initial reaction of "yikes" is appropriate due to the final number, but I was bidding on it and you know...emotions and all.

Didn't distract from what I wanted. Hush page for $10K. Yowza. Uh, guess I'll find another Lee story to purchase from or something.

No. Joke. Yikes.

@Panelfan1 This was a custom order.

After a long while researching, note-taking, and feverish twiddling my my thumbs, I finally decided to make a purchase. Starting slow at first with this piece as I wanted to get some OA in hand and feel it out. I found it on Black Line Fever's site and aside from the "we only take checks" thing the process was pretty flawless. I'm a big Starlin fan, so am happy that my first piece is by him even if I've never read this particular series. I also like that it features Darkseid who was an inspiration for Thanos, so it comes around full circle in a way. Decided to have it framed as it's art and should be looked at in my opinion. I will likely frame most of the pieces I acquire, but you never know. The frame is from Michael's and I'm actually really surprised by the quality...all archival materials and they tell me that the glass has some kind of acrylic infused or laid over top to prevent damaging the artwork should it fall off the wall. Pretty neat.

There certainly is something super satisfying in working hard to achieve a goal. Seems part and parcel to America, makes one feel big and strong. That said, I'd also assume that lots (not all, but lots) of people worked hard to attain a position in life to "just write a check". I bet they feel pretty good in their achievements too.

You'd think it's easy, and obvious, but I run into this all the time. Quite irksome and maybe a little lazy, but who knows with people. Could be anything.

Very cool. Since looking into OA, I've a new appreciation for Bagley. I've always liked his stuff. I've also noticed that when you strip away the color and see the core a lot of artists are speaking to me in new ways...case in point, Bagley.

Whenever I lament about a lack of close friends in the comic world I always laugh at myself and think about Paul Rudd in "I Love You, Man". Great film and very apropos here. The value question is an interesting one. I'm assuming here, but I'd wager you didn't grow up with much exposure to Kirby or any of the other early titans, right? So, guys who are 20+ years our senior...who are they going to sell to? I'm also pretty certain that you and I absolutely have an appreciation for Kirby et al., but here is where nostalgia kicks in...it's just not my bag. Counter to that, who am I going to sell to when I'm ready? Will there be a strong market? I certainly hope so for all the above. All this aside, I'd like to think that whatever I buy I will be mentally prepared to take a loss primarily because I love it. Insert the old cliche, buy what you love and you'll always be happy. But, to a degree that doesn't make much sense especially if I'm "investing" $2,000+ into a piece of comic book art. And as I continue to grow professionally, that dollar figure I'm ready to spend will go up. I've already spent several times that on individual comic books. And I really didn’t mean to drag Mr. Snyder’s name into it, at second thought I should have left names out of it. Again, I’m sure he receives many inquiries like mine. In fact, I tried to preface my communication to him…something like “I’m sure you receive these questions a lot but can you please help me find…” But it does speak to an issue of entrance into the hobby. Cheers

Which makes very little sense to me because one of the themes I kept hearing in Felix's podcasts (aside from discussing Dark Knight) was "where is the new blood" or some form of "where is the new blood coming from" to sustain/grow the hobby. And this is coming from stalwarts of the hobby who are rightly concerned that Gen Xers like myself won't get in. So, here I am an affluent guy in his 30s looking to invest thousands of dollars into this hobby and I'm already disinclined. But at the same time, I'm not too surprised. It is a close community at certain levels. Maybe Felix should get a group of guys like us on his podcast to discuss from our perspective.

@ O. Thanks! I will certainly take you up on that offer. BTW, I think I've mentioned this before but I really enjoy your column. Requisite reading for me, very informative.

Thank you all for the thoughtful replies. If I'm being brutally honest with myself I believe my biggest issue is that aside from this board/computer screen I don't have any other outlets to discuss this stuff. And so much gets lost in translation within these pixels. None of my close friends are interested in this space (comic books/art). And I think a lot of my concerns could be sorted out if I had someone to get a drink with who understands and shares love of this hobby. That makes me sound lame, but none of my close friends share this interest, it's just how it is. So I'll just put this out there and see what reaction it may elicit… I'm 38 and grew up when Jim Lee and company were just about the coolest thing ever to a 12-year old. And Infinity Gauntlet blew my mind. I love Jim Starlin's cosmic stories (Warlock/Thanos) to death. But Superman is still my champion. I love Daredevil and would love to own something from both David Mazzucchelli and Alex Maleev's work on the title. Ron Lim's Silver Surfer is the greatest. There are many more characters and stories I enjoy, but those are the biggies in my world. Now to the artwork I've looked at purchasing. I lost at auction on a piece from SS #103 by Tom Morgan. Being picky as I am, what kept me from going harder at it was the artist's signature placement. Borderline ruined the page, in my opinion. I lost at Heritage’s last auction on a tremendous page from Infinity Gauntlet that featured Warlock/SS/Thanos. I did my best research and put in what I thought was a strong bid only to lose by $1,000. I wasn’t available to bid live, such is life I suppose. Albert Moy has a nice example of Jim Lee's work on Superman Unchained (Issue #6, page 18). It's $2K and has a great half splash of the protagonist giving the business to Wraith. Batman is also on the page. Aesthetically, I think it's great and I might be in the minority here but I really dig the story. Anthony Snyder has a couple pages I've looked at. One from Infinity War (Issue #6, page 40). It's the one of Thanos talking to himself in the cornfield at the end of the story. I like this page more from a character perspective. Plus, there’s actual text on the work! I realize he represents Maleev, but when I inquired about said work I was not impressed with the reply. I would think that a representative would approach their business in a different way...you know, to produce a sale. I don’t mean to be snarky/rude, maybe there was a legit reason for the curt reply. Just doesn’t lend itself to me feeling good about moving forward with a purchase. Romitaman has a pretty interesting piece from a historical perspective, being Mignola’s early work on Daredevil. I like the chiaroscuro effect very much. More budget friendly pieces abound…some on Anthony’s site (Trinity Bagley art); Felix’s site (Black Road); and Black Line Fever has a neat Starlin page from Death of New Gods. Never read that though. Thanks for indulging the lengthy post and happy Friday.

I think it's very interesting that in the six weeks or so that I've been seriously shopping for my first piece of OA (after around a year of slow research) I have basically not even thought about comic books. I've been binge listening to Felix's podcasts in the car and at my desk and have to say I'm a little freaked out by how invested I've become without even owning a page yet. I've heard/read about this phenomenon a few times, but didn't think it'd happen to me because I love my books and I love the hunt, but there's some kind of magic elixir that has me under a spell. I'm still hesitating pulling the trigger mainly because I'm still not sure what the hell I want. There's a lot of good stuff available, but I don't want to buy to just buy. I want focus and purpose. I'm also still fumbling around the context that comes with these pages. I may see a page that, from an artistic sense, presents very well but I find myself compelled to research the story to find out about the page and greater story arc if I'm not familiar. This is not an issue I've faced to such a degree with my fine art endeavors. Pretty sure this is nothing new to most of you, but I find the need to vent somewhere. I almost started a journal to document what is looking more and more like a transition from books to art. What the hell?

I'll tell you as someone who's trying to find their way into this hobby, those podcasts have been practically a godsend. I found them about two weeks ago and have just a few left to get through. I really appreciate your perspective of looking at these pieces as an artist. That really resonates with me for a list of reasons I won't bother to include here. Funny thing is that I'm actually considering two pieces that you've worked on as my first purchase. And here I am interacting with you on this board. It's just really cool and surreal, you know? Cheers.

http://www.albertmoy.com/SaleAll.asp

Thank you, everyone. Alas last night was not meant to be, but it was instructive nonetheless. I'm not too heartbroken with the loss, and look at it as an opportunity to acquire something better. Lemonade from lemons, as they say. If you're curious, I was after the Surfer piece by Tom Morgan. Per my "blueprint" I thought it a very nice Surfer moment, indicative of the character. Plus it was plain cool. I wasn't a fan of the signature placement though, which is probably why I didn't chase ti harder. I wasn't too far off in my estimate and my bid held on til the last few minutes. I was proud of myself for sticking to my guns and not upping the bid. Now looking at a few pieces on some of the bigger dealers sites...and away we go

"Well, Nuke's scared because his eyelids are jammed and his old man's here. We need a live...is it a live rooster? We need a live rooster to take the curse off Jose's glove and nobody seems to know what to get Millie or Jimmy for their wedding present. We're dealing with a lot of sh@t."