Michael Browning

They usually don’t even buy enough to get them. When they do, they put them out at, maybe, a dollar or two more, but usually they’re cover price.

I just don’t see those covers moving at all in the shops in my area.

The first question I would ask is: Have they even responded to your inquiry? Secondly, you should ask them about payment. When I asked years ago, they said I could pick up the art in person at San Diego, which was impossible for me since I live all the way across the country and wasn’t going to be in San Diego. I’ve never been able to buy from them and I live in the continental U.S. 🤷🏼‍♂️

It sold at a very reasonable price. I actually thought it sold a bit low.

None of what I bought this year was a goal at the start of 2022. It scared me to death when, in the first few days of January, a friend texted me to say that the Michael Golden Star Wars #38 page was up for sale. I wanted it, but had never believed I'd have a chance to own a page from that issue -- and I sure didn't think I'd be able to afford it. I also never thought I'd be able to buy the Ghost Rider #28 cover that I got a couple months later. Another friend told me tonight he's focusing on quality over quantity this year. Me, I'm just buying what I can.

This is such sad news.

My purchases were mostly from deals I'd been working on for YEARS. And, they all came together within a few days of each other. Two guys I'd been patiently waiting on to sell me their art emailed me on the same day. I am very blessed and I thank God every day for what He blesses me with. I remember in 2016 when all I had was two portfolios NEARLY full of art and couldn't believe I was on the verge of needing to buy another portfolio. I never intended to purchase so much this year, but, art isn't like comic books where you can always buy another copy down the line if you miss out on the one offered today, so I try to buy as much as I can of what is offered to me.

I started the year out strong with a Star Wars 38 page by Michael Golden and I’ve been very blessed to have picked up some great art. I figured I was going to have a lighter year, but, as of this week, I’ve bought more than 200 pages and covers in 2022. I got 57 of those pieces in today and I’ve got 29 on the way. I’ve still got a month to go, so that total may go up.

Ugh. Just wait until one of those is passed off to someone as the real thing.

I'm not sure how to explain it to you.

No offense taken. Anything done to a published piece destroys the integrity of the published original art. Once that is published, nothing should be changed on it at all. Even in the cases of fading inks, re-inking destroys the published art. If you get a commission drawn in 2020 and then have it inked in 2022, that's up to you. But, once it's a published piece, it shouldn't be touched. At all.

I wouldn't buy it. It's no better now than a commission or a recreation because the original, published pencils are destroyed.

One of the very best of the series. That image of Wolverine is so memorable.

An All-Clea page like this is nice and Nebres art is beautiful, but you have to find either a major Clea fan or a person who really loves that issue to get $2000. I think it's closer to $1000 (I think probably less), rather than $2000.

Help me understand: Why buy something for $50, put it up for $80 and then sell for $65? The return on investment is almost nothing after eBay takes out fees, so just don't buy the art and keep the $50 and invest it in something else. The profit's not even worth the time and effort to put it up op eBay and, it almost makes you selling at a break-even amount. That's trading dollars for dollars. Why even bother buying if you're going to sell at a $7.00 profit?

The copy I found had been rained on so it’s NOT high grade at all.

It’s a really nice, really focused collection. I’m surprised HA didn’t spread it out over a few auctions.

It looks like someone dumped their entire Spectre/Dr. Fate collection on HA. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s a very focused group of covers and pages, much more so than I’ve seen in the past. I wonder whose collection this was. The estate of the late Jerry Bails?

They sure weren’t your “last words” to me because you sent me a lengthy email message going on and on.

Of course you do.

You don't have a clue what you're talking about. At all. My business is selling rare graphic novels and has been for many, many years. Those Frank Miller Batman leatherbound books sell between $20-$75 on average. $75 on the very best day. That has never changed in all the years I've been selling graphic novels. I have a stack of them that I haven't been able to sell at break-even and I keep waiting on them to go up. Waiting and waiting. The last few sales on eBay show $35-$51 over the last few weeks. I have also been asked to be a part of the new Overstreet website group of advisors and an advisor to the Guide -- AGAIN -- because of my expertise in graphic novel sales. But, you know what, the Frank Miller Batman hardcover is a copper age book and isn't Modern and it isn't a book you can't find in the wild. Since it was produced as a mass-market book store publication, it's not rare at all. They're literally everywhere. Please stop trying to suck the fun out of this thread.

No one said the books have to have “some” value. Not sure why that’s even an issue you’d bring up. Have you read through this thread? You might want to. Many rare comics that are found in dollar boxes actually sell very high if no one can find them and need a copy for their collection.

Motion Picture Funnies Weekly 1 isn’t a Modern Comic so it has no place here. That’s Golden Age. Way before Modern. Early John Byrne = NOT Modern. No one cares what comics you wish you’d never seen. Start a new thread and see how many comments you get. That’s always the way to go when in doubt. Again, you shouldn’t be posting that here. The Frank Miller Batman leatherbound hasn’t sold for $500 in the US - at all - since I’ve owned a copy and I got mine right after it was published. And, again I say, start a new thread if that’s what you want to talk about, because it has no place here. Most Robert Crumb comics — also not modern. Unless it’s a trade paperback collection. If you don’t like the topic and aren’t going to follow the rules of this thread, start your own, but stop bogging this one down with nonsense.

And one more that isn’t impossible to find, but it’s the first copy I’ve ever found:

Found in the wild, but almost impossible to ever find in the wild or online. None for sale on eBay and none for sale at Lone Star, so these are super rare.