Will_K

27 minutes ago, Unstoppablejayd said:

I am - refresh it

Refreshing isn't working for me.  The tone works for watch list items coming up. 

Also the "you've been outbid" works. 

Session 4, Not getting audio or video

Didn't everyone have an opportunity to buy it ??  It was listed on ebay.  But I think it had a reserve.

And I thought there a major thread about this on the board ??  Doesn't seem to be around.

Why didn't "Patience is a virue" become a meme ??

29 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

For several people I've spoken to, it's the straw that's broken the camel's back. 

What does that mean ??  The end of a collecting career ?  Only trading ?  Only dealing in cash ?

The murder of Iris West Allen in The Flash 275.  The death of a recurring character that changed the course of that title in so many ways.  I think DC complicated things later on.  But her death "stuck" throughout the remainder of the time that I was regularly reading comics.

On the art-side, Irv Novick leaving The Flash and Mike Grell leaving Green Lantern / Green Arrow. 

"Discovering" Neal Adams' Batman stories in those tabloid-sized reprints. 

And later... Dynamic Classics #1 that reprinted Detective Comics 395's Secret of the Waiting Graves by O'Neil / Adams / Giordano AND Detective Comics 437's The Himalayan Incident with Goodwin and Simonson's Manhunter.  WOW.  Those reprint books of the 70's don't get enough credit for creating nostalgia.

2 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

Or, perhaps we have reached a tipping point in which the weight of all the art out there has finally caused spenders to take a second look at their portfolios and decided they have had enough with the steady stream of increasing prices over the last 30 years, and the beginning of the end of this game of musical chairs is finally coming to an end

Maybe all the Felix Comic Art "art drops" are moving the market ??

Without having to get the book(s), why's SS's arm black ??

Yeah... bingo.  Another money scheme.

Will HA ever have any follow-ups on this ?  Maybe they're still assessing what happened ?

If you were only a casual buyer at HA, it's possible you missed all the excitement. 

7 hours ago, vodou said:

Is Passaic Book Center still 'a thing'? I

Store closed and inventory sold off at least 10 years ago.  I was going there on occasion before they closed.  I never knew them to sell OA.

6 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

I take the subject a little more fluidly than a flat bar. I have a standing statement to everyone I commission that if they find that to get the piece "just right", it takes more time than they thought, then I volunteer to pay them extra. I want the best of their work in my collection, and a few extra $ won't matter in the long run.

For one of my nicest commissions, over 10 years ago, the artist agreed to take on the subject.  We agreed on a price which was good amount of $$$ and he didn't ask for money upfront. 

But after a couple e-mails, (I found out later) that it seemed like I scared him.  That wasn't my intention.  Basically, I was just making conversation.  Anyway, he didn't respond to a couple e-mails and I didn't pursue him.

A few months later, he e-mailed a scan of the completed commission.  That's when he mentioned that I was (kind of) scaring him in my e-mails.  I told him the art as amazing, wasn't trying to scare him and offered to pay him more because it was so great.  I sent him $$$ for twice the agreed amount.  He was appreciative and I forget the exact wording but he seemed happy that I didn't just give him a token amount in addition to the agreed price.

---

For another commission, over 20 years ago, the artist's agent quoted me a price ($250, I think) and I paid in advance, the agent would hold the $$$.  At the time, I thought it was actually cheap.  At some point, the agent contacts me and says the artist would like a little more ($100, I think) because of the work.  And I paid it.  And it turned out A-mazing.

Good luck !!  But maybe you should keep the frame.

Not a Venom fan, But I do have a couple LaRocque sketches that cost me less $$$.  I was OK with them... even if they weren't particularly inspired.  My biggest beef with the drawings was that the women's hands seemed really small.  Even their fists looked like Darth Vader severed their hands. 

None of this discussion has given me the courage to sell or post the 2 underwhelming drawings I mentioned at the start of this topic.

To get better drawings, I think I should take up drawing again.

4 hours ago, vodou said:

To start, I believe only the good-best commissions are being posted (here, no idea re: social media - I ain't on any of it!), but actually as I suggested much earlier in this thread - the hobby would be best served if all of them were, with identifying characteristics only (artist, request made, price, turnaround expectation and actual time, and image/no-image as a result) and no further comment.

Interesting.  Although I don't list the pricing for any art or commissions I get. 

I wouldn't do that just for ones that are underwhelming because I think that would be form of comment.

But I get your point, post the art and let other people judge.

32 minutes ago, Blastaar said:

Ok, so I decided to post the commission but whited out the artist's name.

Wait... you're underwhelmed AND you framed it ??

22 hours ago, Nexus said:

But the one collector who probably inspires me the most when it comes to commissions is Jim Reid:

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerydetailsearch.asp?aty=2&gcat=5816

Very nice commissions.  I'm interested in knowing about any "underwhelming" commissions that he received (i.e. that he didn't post).

He doesn't have to be over-the-top happy.  But I'd be interested in knowing if there are collectors that no artist dares to deliver a dud.

1 hour ago, fuggit said:

I kindly messaged the artist and said I didn't like the way it turned out and since it was such a huge lump sum of money, I couldn't go through with the purchase. He understood.

Does the artist now only take commissions if he's paid in full in advance ??

It seems like you're referring to the finished product, not necessarily one of those "take the money and run" situations.

I've been underwhelmed by a $700 convention drawing on 11 x 17, paid for it at the show.  The artist was working on it off and on during the convention.  Then I watched him knock out a nice looking $100 (or so) sketch cover.  Disappointing, I'll never commission him again.  The artist has a variety of styles and maybe the art was consistent with one of those styles but it wasn't in the realm of what I was hoping for, especially at that price.

I've been underwhelmed by a $125 commission that took over 2 years to deliver.  Didn't really mind the wait, even if I saw him posting art for sale on ebay during that time.  I thought the commission was basically fine.  But it was ruined because the artist added an element that he probably thought would be cute.  Maybe because there was a blank spot and he felt that something should be there.  But it was a weird anachronism that threw off the rest of the commission.  Not getting another commission from him.

In my situations, I think the artist didn't really have a feel or the character(s) and just didn't know what to do.

In the future, I might get art by the artists but I won't get anything directly from them. 

18 minutes ago, AndyFish said:

Original Art is a completely different animal than comics

Aside from the genre and first apperance factors, art-wise, I would value it based on the 3rd panel.  Lots of great detail.  The nice hatching/crosshatching is obscured by the green.

The 2nd and 4th panels are nice to look at.

But if Roy Lichtenstein swiped the "bombs away" panel, you're golden.

6 minutes ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

$61 a page? For ink washed Art by Val Mayerick? Sure. I guess. 

Even if Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the greatest Holmes stories, unless it's a page with Sherlock in the deerstalker cap, I would probably would pass on pages from the story.  If there were such pages, the ebay listing should've shown it.

Cover "con":

Depending on the times, the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the real estate is reserved for logos, trade dress, price, corner box art, publisher's logo, etc.  It's more or less a dead zone for art.

At the bottom you have the box for the bar code of whatever.

X-Men 137, a landmark issue, cover art by a major artist... how much "art" is really there ??

It might depend on if the "original" is available for tracing.  Also it might depend on the size of the recreation.  If you're "serious" about it, lightboxing a scan could work.  Or if you're want to go really large, use a projector (a common brand is Artograph).

There's also the issue with reproducing brush strokes.  I'd say it's impossible.  You'd have to build up the line using a fine point like those 005 Microns.

2 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

I had a headshot done by Maguire a few years ago at a NJ show, and met him several times.  Maybe he forgot. Spencer may not have forwarded the notes to Maguire. Spencer isn’t real good at following up some things.

On occasion, when I have paid something in advance, I always get the recipient to sign a card or piece of paper acknowledging receipt of money and what it was for. Otherwise, he might completely forget; and then I have proof it was done.

I'm not sure how many of those cards you have for commissions that weren't delivered.  There's plenty of stories about correspondences (i.e. "proof") regarding work that wasn't delivered.

In the end, I don't put any responsibility on Spencer.  He was only involved after the fact.  Spencer was doing me a favor by following up with Maguire.  He was doing Maguire a favor by making sure he didn't become known for not getting his commissions done.

Spencer did mention that Maguire said he was going to finish all outstanding commissions by such-and-such time and apologized.  Any way after a couple follow-ups, that was it for me.

4 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

Also, If there was someone who you would avoid because they take your money and don’t produce, I’d love to know that, too.

NYCC 2010.  Kevin Maguire was doing those cool headshots.  Paid for mine.  Said he couldn't get to it.  Gave him my contact info so he could send it to me.  Asked him if he'll remember.  He said he would.  Did not get it. 

Was talking to Spencer Beck, Maguire's once upon a time rep, later in 2010.  Spencer asked me to send him note to remind Maguire.  Sent a note to Spencer.  And a couple more follow-ups.  I assume Spencer forwarded the reminders to Maguire.  Anyway, did not get the art.

But in 2012, a headshot popped up on CAF that looks amazingly like what I asked for.  I've written off Maguire.

It's a weird kind of advertising.  When you think about it, we promote art that other people are selling.