Mr. Machismo

I wouldn’t be surprised if he provided full backgrounds and cover quality execution for 15Kers.

No arguments there.

Those 24x36” Miller pinups look like a steal compared to this. I’ve been offered two Hush splashes in the last year for 20K...but more importantly, they had FULL backgrounds.

Hush cover moving strong, quick. Already exceeded my estimate.

Original C-Link listing didn’t have stats.

Considering the Capullo is my #1 piece — period — I would not sell it for any other piece of art. I’m also not particularly keen on this Hush cover, nor do I feel like dropping the 40k+ it’ll likely demand.

Odd, my White Knight splash page is listed in the covers category, despite being labelled as a Splash. Hopefully that's an isolated incident and not elsewhere.

Now I want a full issue of something. And Tradd Moore art.

Tradd’s style is technically mind boggling. I’ve been wanting someone for a Dragon Ball Z commission; will keep an eye out for when his list opens next.

Given how much Felix does for the hobby, and how clear he’s been about not treating comic art as an investment — to the point where it’s actually ruffled feathers with another artist trying to capitalize on that angle — I don’t believe he’s being duplicitous here. I raised it as a question and not an accusation, and I apologize if it came off as the latter. While Felix does have motive to speculate simply because he’s a rep, he routinely preaches the opposing viewpoint. The fan perspective rationalizes the perceived misalignment, at least for me.

@Nexus The fan perspective makes sense. I think that may get lost on some, including myself, as you’re the most identifiable moderator of investment/cost discussion opposed to readership (IIRC, you don’t read the big two). It’s clear you’re [super] anti- comic art as investment on Twitter and podcast. When something like that is written, I’m betting there’s still a small chunk of people who take that as a “tip”, given your proximity to the “market” and buy accordingly. But again, as a rep I think that’s to be expected and even encouraged when done honestly and out of genuine excitement (like you are.)

To be fair, some of the statements in your newsletters are highly speculative. I.e.: Don't get me wrong, I think you have to inject a bit of that as a rep – I'd go as far to say it's even your responsibility. But it can't be argued there's no speculative comments surrounding your artists and their art – which may contribute [in part] – to some of their sales. I know it's driven a good friend of mine to purchase from you on at least one occasion. And to clarify: I believe your art sells so fast primarily because you price fairly and are a huge asset to the hobby, both in terms of moderating discussion, attracting new collectors, and conceptualizing unique ideas. You provide content which leads back to you. My hat's off to you, and I am both thankful and appreciative of you!

My entries: Batman #1 Cover (Volume II, New 52, 2011) / Batman: COURT OF OWLS by Greg Capullo — Batman: THE LONG HALLOWEEN Trade Cover by Tim Sale — Detective Comics 881 Cover by Jock - Batman: The Black Mirror — Batman: White Knight #1 Variant Cover by Sean Murphy — Batman: White Knight / Batman VS. Joker Splash / Issue 1, Page 11 by Sean Murphy Rest of 2017 here (most of it, anyhow.) http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerydetailsearch.asp?gcat=91867&Yr=2017&order=Comm&pi=18

If DKR was released today, how would it hold up? That’s my point. As generations die off, so will appreciation for the [original] classics. Current VS past readership is somewhat irrelevant in this discussion as previous generations pass away. We’re talking far ahead here. I don’t believe the generations to come are going to appreciate something for its cultural significance as it’s been stated. Being much younger, what I see is rapidly increasing apathy in that regard, on all fronts. 20 years from now, a teenager sees HUSH* and DKR trades side-by-side on Amazon, they’re going to think DKR looks dated and is poorly drawn. They are not going to force their smartphone-attention spans to digest 100-200 pages because their grandfather told them how important DKR was. *I’m using HUSH as a general example here of a comic DC/Top 10 lists will continually push for the foreseeable future, and acknowledge DKR is the superior comic, though not in terms of my personal tastes. And yes, HUSH may very will hit the curb side for not firing as well on story as it could have, but I believe DKR will become irrelevant first strictly on apathy towards classics.

Thanks, Scott. The further ahead we go, the more we’ll see “classics” change, I think. And to define my usage of classic, I mean memorable stories which are considered mandatory reads as X fan. The stories that continually hit top 10 lists and are referred by active-reader friends. Yes, DKR is absolutely a classic to most of us, but to many younger readers it’s not. I don’t share this sentiment, but it can be viewed as just another Batman story which leans too heavy on copy, has terrible art (DKR Gallery edition sits on my coffee table and routinely gets scolded for “poor” artwork by guests), and is a little too goofy and dated. Long [long-] term, I see a story like HUSH surpassing DKR, and I’m not saying that because Scott is here. It reaches a far greater audience, showcases a wide gallery of villains, has tight and dynamic art that isn’t seen as “scribbly” or bad — but rather generally appealing and familiar — and reads just as well today as it did in its release because it doesn’t rely on issues of the day to drive it. It’s much farther reaching in terms of its appeal, despite having a weaker story than DKR. I believe the same for Court.

Thanks for listening, everyone. Good conversation. I’ve had a number of emails come through on CAF regarding the podcast. Interesting trend: they also were not impacted by DKR, and in some cases downright hated it. I’m surprised to hear this from some collectors, and it’s my belief there’s a reservation among younger collectors to express this as it will somehow discredit them in a hobby which is dominated by mature individuals. When I first read DKR in my teens, I really did not like it. I felt it was far too copy-heavy and the news segments were incredibly boring and broke up the action. I view it very differently now having gone back to it, but it’s still not in my personal top 5. I have no nostalgia towards it, despite reading it early on. Regarding nostalgia strength VS time, my view differs from Felix’s a bit. Although Dark Victory, HUSH, and Long Halloween were among the first comics I read, it’s Court of Owls which I hold the fondest memories of. This is true for some other listeners who have contacted me as well, as a number of them jumped into comics with the New 52 reboot, or really amped it up when things seemingly became more accessible. Yes, it feels like comics nowadays are reset to #1 almost yearly, but this was the FIRST time Batman went back to #1, and psychologically that brought a lot of new readers in. Anyhow, it will be interesting to watch prices over the next couple decades. Because the vast majority of art collectors skew older — and sometimes don’t even read new comics from the big two — there’s an inherent lack of appreciation of new work VS the older stuff. Where comments like “Snyder and Capullo’s run was average” and “White Knight is horrible” is echoed among the veteran collectors, an intense and opposing reaction is heard from the younger, heavily active readership. Do you have any idea the hype that is heard throughout local comic stores for White Knight? As I mentioned, I do best on the pieces which are absurdly priced and mocked, by far. In part, I attribute this to not possessing a heavy bias towards older work, for whatever significance or reason, which can sometimes lead to a disconnect to what’s happening today. An observation!

Bump looking at all things Hush and Long Halloween.

Anyone here get the AXM Colossus cover? Site or internet glitched out for me. Loved that cover as a kid. Anyhow, put on a tracking bid on another piece and won it. So that was a nice surprise

3 Hush pages and a Long Halloween cover acquired (serious offers). Looking for more—bump.

One more Hush page acquired. Bump.

It is indeed Ed. He has the whole series of Faboks. Nice guy.

Fabok owner has all and won’t sell. Capullo covers avail are from Glapion and are $20K for #3 and 40-50k for #6. Dell’Otto are from David Ceci and likely 15k-ish based on his current...demands.

HUSH bump.

Bump.

A HUSH cover.