Will_K

Several art dealers provide appraisals as a service. 

The only thing I know about MTG is that it stands for "Magic The Gathering".  And then I know nothing else.  In the world of fantasy (or whatever), it's amazing that there can be so, so many images and this image has to be singled out.  I'll bet that there were a lot more that were targeted that somehow made it through the gauntlet.

When the artists create the art, what's the process?  Are they told to come up with certain imagery ?  Or do they just create "whatever" and then someone decides what kind of text / attributes go with the art ?

On 10/11/2022 at 8:03 AM, Taylor G said:

Todd Klein has a series of posts about the history of digital lettering here (search for "digital lettering" on the page).

FYI - the 11 x 17 prints that he sells on his web site are nice.  I have a few of them myself.  Some prints feature original verses written by favorite writers (e.g. Neil Gaiman), lettered by Todd Klein and signed by the author and Klein.  If the print features new art, it's signed by the artist and Klein.

From Batman / Green Arrow: The Poison Tomorrow (1992).  Written by Denny O'Neil... Drawn by Michael Netzer (Nasser) / Joe Rubenstein... Lettered on the boards by Todd Klein. 

Batman ( in the Batmobile ) chased down a truck loaded with toxins.  A lot of the comments in this topic are in regards to the storytelling even without the lettering being present.  So I'm just presenting these pages (39, 40, 41, 50) even though the lettering isn't really legible.  When posting art in these forums, usually the art has yet to be posted on CAF, so another peek into my collection.

On 10/3/2022 at 10:17 PM, Michael Browning said:

“Booth or counter?”

Booth or counter at the coffee shop ??  Or maybe you sat a table for the hand off ??

I don't do social media.  Here and CAF is about as "social" as I get in any context.

On 9/30/2022 at 9:19 PM, Michael Browning said:

100% TRUE STORY

Booth or counter ??  Will the art ever appear on CAF... giving us a clue to the creator ?

On 10/1/2022 at 4:23 PM, RBerman said:

Another month, another collection of unattributed secondhand jam pieces!

Joker and Red Skull  - Matt Wagner, I think.  Sandman - CMS (Cameron Stewart), I think.

On 9/29/2022 at 7:42 PM, KirbyCollector said:

I wonder at what a point a super intense desire for something becomes "I don't want anyone else to have it" syndrome

From experience... it's when you have enough $$$ to pull it off.  And frankly the "I don't want anyone else to have it" was stronger than the intense desire for it.  Although I've grown to love the piece.

I was kind of fuzzy on this one.  AH's style has been evolving since he started working professionally.  And (assuming he drew it) it depends on when he drew it.  Some parts look traced (the legs) which I think is very unusual for AH.  Her right hand doesn't look like AH.  Also, not crazy about that lasso.

Well, it's definitely a "thing".

My understanding is he loves really good sushi.  It might go a long way if you can hook him up while he's in your neighborhood.

On 9/15/2022 at 8:52 PM, Taylor G said:

On 9/15/2022 at 6:16 PM, BCarter27 said:

Physical original art should not be sold separately from an NFT.

You are not taking this far enough.

Take a scan of the art, create an NFT.....and then destroy the art.

Otherwise anybody can make another scan of the art, and since no two scans are the same, you can't claim exclusive ownership of [the COA for] the original art.

You are also building a public record of all transfers of the art.  That should go down well.

That is hardcore.

So far, it looks like any image created by AI is a one off.  And AI is "trained" using existing images.  Side note: you can really mess up an AI by including eff'ed up scenarios (in this case, images) into the mix.

So maybe AI can create a cover illustration.  But let's say we want to see a Superman story drawn by Leonardo da Vinci (or Charles Schulz for that matter).  How would that work ?  You load up every image drawn or painted by da Vinci.  Then you load up images (like those model sheets) of Superman, his villains and every supporting character.  You program human anatomy (e.g. elbows only bend one way).  Let's say you go by the "Marvel method".  There's a very loose outline of a story.  How does the AI pace the story?  What about panel layout, # of panels per page, splash pages, 1/2 splashes... establishing shot, medium shot, close up shots... leaving room for lettering balloons and captions.  I guess it could be done.  But it may not be pretty.  Then you go with the more traditional method (full -script)... then what ??

On 9/11/2022 at 4:28 PM, barneythecantankerous said:

The fourth point you've missed is investment

A fifth point would be "checking a box".  For example, I've never owned a Jack Kirby piece.  I'm not well versed in the Marvel universe.  And I didn't really read Kirby's DC work.  But I'd like to have a Kirby piece one day, hopefully a DC piece.

On 9/12/2022 at 8:34 PM, cloud cloddie said:

What happened in the last 24 hours to make ‘nude’ make the list? 

The stats only show the top 20.  I'm willing to assume "nude" is usually in the top 25 of every stat.

1) If there's a piece that I absolutely know will generate a lot of comments... and I see that piece soon enough that I'd be an early commenter... I'm more likely to comment, not that I'm commenting just to comment.

But if I'm late to the party, I'm less likely to comment.  Basically, I doubt that I can add any observations or commentary.  No need for me to be the 1000th person to say it's a great piece.

2) I look at older pieces in a CAF gallery (especially if I discover a new gallery).  I'll add a comment... whenever

3) I'm sure there are lots of older pieces that get lots of views but not a proportionate amount of comments. 

Basically, "Jim Lee" might searched constantly but that may not generate a constant stream of comments. 

Look at CAF's most searched terms:

https://www.comicartfans.com/popular-searches.asp

Which has some useful stats.  And as of this writing, "Dean Yeagle" shows up in all 4 stats.  Nice pinup but is there a "Please share your Dean Yeagle art" topic in this forum ??

Pics would be helpful.  In general, production art has minimal value.  But it seems like these are niche characters / titles, so you'd probably find someone with interest but not willing to spend big bucks.

On 9/8/2022 at 9:17 AM, tth2 said:

$20k for a Terry & The Pirates comic strip from 1935.  It's crazy how prices have absolutely exploded for these.

That really surprised me.  And knowing there were more Terry strips to follow, I thought... "OK, here we go !!!".  The amazing thing was there was another Terry from less than a month later in 1935 that went for "only" $ 528.  That is a very wide range.  And several others in the later 1930's went for less than $1,000.

Detective Comics 487 cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez went for $ 43,200 (including buyer's premium). Wow.

Even at today's crazy prices, I don't consider $3,000 comic art to be a low cost piece.  But otherwise, I agree with your argument.

I have a 1/2 page from Secret Six 4 by Jack Sparling, just sayin'.  ComicConnect auction in 2020 for $165.00  .

https://www.comicconnect.com/item/895204

Based on comics.org, Sparling didn't draw the entire Bomba series.  But I'd say the covers to Bomba 5 and Bomba 6 would be pretty desirable, not that they'd be in grail territory.

https://www.comics.org/series/1793/covers/?page=1.1

As Andy mentions, AI is (will be) a tool.  Just as digital coloring is a tool.  The tool is only as good as the person that's using it. 

People may not remember it now but when comics started being digitally colored, they looked terrible. 

Some shlub getting a book colored wasn't the same as it looking good.  The same went for digital tools when they started being used to manipulate pics in print advertising.

It's a great cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.  If you look at the calendar, the piece is in the Wednesday, September 7 auction.

But right after it ?  You have the Signature Auction, September 8.  Anyone that really wants the Detective Comics 487 cover has to hedge against anything they want in the Signature Auction.