Will_K

I think you get the classic stamp on the back of your hand.

The Gold Ballroom is out of the way. The elevator is kind of out of the way. When you get up there, you can't possibly get lost. But you could get killed and it's possible noone would find your body until the next NYC Comic Art Expo.

If you haven't already done so, ask some of the "usual suspects" on ComicArtFans.com Glynn Crain and George Hagenauer and Doug Ellis (runs the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention which also has art for sale) There's also this on CAF: http://cafurl.com?i=23770

I'm thinking Dave Gutierrez. He also inked a few of Gene Colan's modern commissions. https://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=1520802

I'm really baffled by the blank, really blank sketch comics. For example, Superman Blank, Batman Blank and Wonder Woman Blank. The covers are blank except for the logo and price. The insides (10 pages) of WW Blank are totally blank. The interior pages seem to be have a smooth finish. The covers are more on the vellum side. And... no ads. They might as well make @AnkurJ 's idea official and publish Bristol boards with logos. I have to admit, I've got 1 each of Supes and Batman. And 2 of WW.

Frank Cho did at least one that his agent (Steve Morger @Steve Morger ) put on ebay. That one was with the Black Panther, Storm and another... panther. It went well over $1000, if I recall. Wasn't even slabbed.

I'm not a big Marvel fan and I don't have a romanticized view of Jack Kirby. But I wouldn't quibble with any one putting Kirby on a "best of..." list.

Outcault . Wow. A new entry in the mix, I think. I'd put Kirby over Adams. Because he came first and sheer volume. I'd say that not only are these artists but in one way or another they fall into the "auteur" category.

It's not really your 4 favorite or 4 best or 4 impactful or 4 whatever comic artists. From Wikipedia Mount Rushmore re: Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln... "The four presidents were chosen, respectively, to represent the birth, the growth, the development, and the preservation of the United States. " If you stick with that criteria in relation to comics, I think you'd get a totally different collection of 4 artists. I'm not knowledgeable enough to venture a list.

Here's one: https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/439485-pics-from-nj-art-con/ Helpful hint: Use the "Sort by" option (under the blue "Start new topic: button). Sort by "Start Date".

As I mentioned in the original thread, I've started getting sketch covers. I came to the sketch cover "party" late. I think the main appeal to sketch covers is the ability to collect art and being able to store them with your comics. No need to buy Itoyas. I've been getting a couple sketch covers with a certain concept, nothing posted, yet. I'm not getting them slabbed. I get blank sketch covers for some titles/characters I wouldn't usually get. It keeps things interesting. I've heard the paperstock for sketch covers is better than it used to be. FWIW, I got a couple Betty & Veronica 1 sketch covers with inked art and a little watercolor.

@Justin Case I think you'd get better feedback if you provided a scan of the art in question and told your story.

Well, that too.

That might require proving who actually did get my item.

The supervisor said the only person who can view the video is the postal inspector. I'll probably have to pursue this pretty far to get that kind of action. I'll also try filing a police report. I'm guessing they'll just say it's not in their jurisdiction and nothing will happen.

Complained again to one of the US Post Office window guys who told me that noone can pick up a package without a card. As if someone couldn't just scrounge up or save yellow cards... then write my PO Box number on the card. Also talked to a "supervisor" who asked my how anyone would know I had a package... because they can see the yellow card in the window. Nothing to counter that argument. Said I had to go to the website. Or I could call the general support 1-800 number. Re: usps.com Cannot file a "claim" because item was not insured. In Firefox, unable to complete for webform for "find missing mail" because you have to check 2 boxes to acknowledge their disclaimers. The boxes can be checked in Internet Explorer. I do not hold out much hope for this. They're going to look at the tracking and tell me my item was delivered and then close the ticket.

Out of curiosity, let's say there was a cover (maybe Adventure Comics 73)... and written on it was "from the collection of Joe Schmoe". Do we know that Simon and Kirby were aware that Joe Schmoe was in possession of that cover ?? On the flipside, let's give a little credit to some people for saving art from ending up in landfills.

Based on comics.org (which is sometimes known to be incorrect) the Ruben Yandoc credit is correct. HoS 132 story page 3 (book page 23) https://www.comics.org/issue/28626/ HoM 212 story page 5 (book page 29) https://www.comics.org/issue/25992/

I use USPS Priority Mail with insurance for the full value. I package the art as per the biblical verse "send art unto others as..." with the hope that there will never be a need to put in an insurance claim. In general, you buy insurance hoping that you'll never have to use it (or know how good that insurance was).

OK. Well, I spoke to the person that was referred to as something like the one "who's in charge of the PO Boxes". She said she wasn't really and that someone was just passing the buck. Anyway... she said that my stuff is usually set aside because it's typically large, flat stuff. And the larger ones won't fit in the USPS lockers anyway. She allowed that a clerk may have just given my item to someone by accident. Kind of scary. Also, she never claimed that they always check IDs and never even said that they're supposed to check IDs. Kind of scary. And you're not supposed to pick up an item without the yellow card. I'm not certain if there's always a 1-to-1 relationship with the yellow cards and items. Sometimes they write the PO Box numbers on the cards by hand and sometimes they don't. Not really "official". They went years without writing PO Box numbers on the cards. They started doing it again a couple months ago. I asked if it would be OK if I put something in the window of my PO Box so noone could tell if I have a yellow card. She said I could if it would make me feel better. Huzzah !!! In any case, I asked the ebay seller if they would file a claim with USPS and I will filing a complaint with USPS.

I like USPS. But how many of us will write about all the times things worked out just as expected ?? A lot of the complaints are related to human nature itself. Not getting a signature, leaving packages in the rain or taking packages... just different manifestations of flaws we all have. In my 20 years (or so) with the PO Box, it's been a pretty good run.

I would say Steve has gone all schizo. His current Kickstarter comic looks like it will have separate stories that are 1) pencil only, 2) painted and 3) pen / ink with computer color. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevenmannion/fearless-dawn-shorts-1-comic-by-steve-mannion?ref=user_menu I'm pretty deep in Steve's art so I have to be picky now.

Thanks to all for the responses !! @NelsonAI My PO Box has a combination (no keys). The previous "occupant" (a business) has a different PO Box but I still get their mail sometimes (addressed to my PO Box). And USPS probably never changed the combination on the PO Box. When I tried to pick up my item on Wednesday, they asked me if there were keys in the box. There weren't but I'm not sure why they asked. But it seems like USPS might be starting something like those Amazon lockers. Last Saturday, I picked up a couple pieces of art and 2 hardcover books. Those items totaled in the low 4 digits. In this instance, my item was a blank sketch cover comic. A cheap lesson learned, I suppose. I've only showed ID once for a pickup. And that was only recently. And that person seemed to be pretty new to that Post Office. Also, and it only happened a couple times this year, I would get a slip of white paper (like 1/4 of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet) with barely legible (very fine print) shipping info and a tracking number on it. And also the yellow card. So I took all that to the window. And they said something like "you don't really need that". I figure that may have been a way to match up items with the yellow cards. But then I stopped getting those slips of white paper. Now I'm remembering the Mike Nasser / Vince Colletta splash to a Flash story in Adventure Comics (Dollar Comic). I never got it. The seller sent me a scan of his USPS receipt to prove he sent it.. This is way before eBay integrated the auction and mailing functions.

Short of that, I can ask if it'll be OK to put something in my PO Box to block its window. I can find a Post Office with boxes that don't have windows. I didn't know there was such a thing.

Today. I was going to talk to the person in charge of PO Boxes but she left early.