Will_K

On 9/25/2023 at 5:02 PM, vodou said:

That Captain Marvel is already halfway to disappeared 💩

Kudos to the letterer, Jim Novak, for using the durable inks !!! 

I've gotten my share of commissions and bad commission experiences.  One of the reasons for "meh" is that I think the artist is so great and the commission doesn't rise to expectations.  It's basically comparing a single piece to a lifetime's body of work.  It can't be done, even at an artist's peak.

If the actual commission process was smooth, it's possible that you haven't had enough time to appreciate the piece.  It might actually grow on you.

Should've been more specific.  I wasn't trying to flatten something.  I'm really interested in protecting pastels and other kinds of pencil drawings from smudging.  But it seems the most important thing is avoiding pressure.

On 7/25/2023 at 8:43 AM, Dr. Balls said:

In the past, I have used Mylar (not good at all), wax paper (it felt like there was a leftover residue) and silicone baking sheets (transferred a faint textural pattern from the silicone to the paper) all to poor results.

@Dr. Balls or anyone... this topic was originally about flattening art that was rolled up.  What do you think about using wax paper if there is no pressure ??  I keep my Itoyas standing up.  So I assume that would lessen the worries about residue.

On 9/23/2023 at 1:05 PM, John E. said:

Is anyone keeping up with the live art sales shows, particularly the ones Bill Cox hosts? How are the sales going there?

Those live art sales were going gangbusters early on.  In 2023, I think the percentage sold during live show is down.  I don't follow all of them but when Bill sends out the promo e-mails, he teases a few of the pieces and gives a rough idea of how many pieces will be available.  Lately after the sale, Bill has been sending follow-up e-mails showing the art and prices for what is still available.  Depending on the artist, a very, very rough guess is 10 - 30% of the pieces do not sell during the live show, it really depends.  The pieces vary.  Some are original published art, some are pieces done expressly for the live art sales.

And it's not just a function of price.  There aren't hundreds of people watching the live shows but you'll see a large increase in views afterward.  Originally, fulfillment was handled by a third party, great packing for my 1 buy.  Bill handles the fulfillment on his end now, still great packing for my other buy.  After a couple weeks, the unsold art is returned to the artist.  I was present when Dan Brereton sold one of the returned pieces at this year's Baltimore Comic Con.  The buyer was from overseas and very likely didn't watch the live show.  Also, there might be a little fatigue, I think Howard Chaykin has done at least 3 of those live art sales.  I think Denys Cowan has done at least 2 of them (1 of them with Bill Sienkiewicz).  Dan Brereton has done 2 of them.

I'll watch a good portion of every other episode (or so) of Dueling Dealers.  I usually bail out on the recap so no guesses about sell-through rate.  As per the "flip of the day" topic lately, you can see the Mike and/or Anthony do some (direct or indirect) sourcing from ebay or other auctions.  But I don't think there's a lot of that happening.  Anthony will say that he picked up certain pieces from artists that were recently at X-Y-Z Comic Cons.  So there's bound to be some markup there.  I know other people are doing the same thing on ebay.  Hey, if you don't like the markup then you'll just have to go to all the comic shows and get art directly from the artists.

On 9/22/2023 at 7:32 PM, redrighthand said:

Side note: Came across a figure recently that, of those surveyed 50% of vinyl collectors don't own a record player. Mostly ascribed to purchasing current vinyl as a mean of supporting a current band in the age of streaming or as collectible/art objects.

I'll confess that in the mid 1990's, I went to Bleeker Bob's in NYC for the express purpose of getting the Buckingham Nicks album.  Didn't even know if they had a copy.  There it was on the wall for $100.  Jacket in great shape, plain sleeve (probably a replacement).  I was in and out in less than 5 minutes, a very happy camper.  I played it a few times, copied it to a cassette tape.  I still have the album and maybe even the cassette.  But I can't play either of them. 

The Stephen Amell autograph (theoretically, the most desirable of the 3) is pretty crappy.  Looks like a scribble over an oddly simple arrow drawing.

Just for future reference when the ebay auction is no longer available...  Buy it now price is $ 1,500.  Art comes with James Spence Authentication sticker.

Giving credit where credit is due... at least it's green ink.

On 9/5/2023 at 5:03 PM, Rick2you2 said:

Ross Andru on Spider-man will do a lot better than Ross Andru on the Phantom Stranger

Doesn't it, always come back to Ross Andru with you ?? 

What's really catching my eye is "Packard Bell".  Wow !!!  That name is pretty much obsolete in the States.

On 8/24/2023 at 7:23 AM, Rick2you2 said:

Nope. It elevates the non-artistic portion to a level of artistry. Like buying a print of Picasso where the image includes someone’s picture frame.

To me, it's basically a limited edition print.  Lots of artists do that.  Looks like he just went the extra mile to hammer home that it is not original art.  At least he's not doing the whole 1 of 1 thing. 

More info:

https://www.comicartfans.com/SubNewsDetails.asp?NID=16699&Title=Dealer+Roster+for+Comic+Art+Con

On 8/18/2023 at 10:55 AM, Bronty said:

Thanks, that's interesting.

You don't think there's a common sense element of "you bought a fukkin digital file with no inherent value"?

In general, going to court would open the can of worms that is the entire art market.  As has been mentioned in previous topics, there are some loose analogs between the lowly comic book art market and art sales/auctions.

On 8/17/2023 at 11:16 AM, cstojano said:

the colorful digital illustrations of apes can now be bought for as little as $52,445

Hey, hey buddy, watch it.  If you keep this up, we'll have to take this topic to the Marketplace subforum. 

see 3 pages:

https://cafurl.com?i=29326

This mystery is been resolved in one of the other 2 topics on this piece.

On 8/13/2023 at 5:17 PM, Rick2you2 said:

So you have any idea how hard it is to find decent (let alone good) images of the Phantom Stranger from artists I don’t have? 

Given that you don't really like D ick Dillin, have you ever seen any Dillin Phantom Stranger art that you do like ?

I couldn't remember what credit cards I had on file with ComicLink.  I logged in and did not find any.  My recollection was that I usually paid by personal check because that gave a slight discount.  Although mailing checks has its own issues.

I doubt that even “regular” art dealers in the US get enough walk-in business to justify a physical location. See also: Mr Glass in Unbreakable. 

Those bbqs hosted by Mike seem to be at his home, dubbed the “Romitamansion” on Dueling Dealers.  Apparently it is spacious from what can be observed in Mike’s “CAF cribs”  entry on youtube. 

I was watching Heritage Live (2023 June 2 - 4 The Comisar Collection Platinum Signature® Auction #7318) and there was some kind of issue.  I don't remember exactly what was going on.  But it seemed like things got hung up.  I think they also explained there was an issue related to bid increments or something.  This was with in-person auctioneers.  After at least 30-45 minutes, they started up again.  They actually backed up a few lots (to whatever their top bids were) and commenced bidding again.  So at least HA acknowledged the problem and gave a reason in real time.

I remember ComicConnect more or less crashed when the first round of auctions from Nick Cardy's estate started closing.  I think it was the next day that Vincent sent out an e-mail indicating he was not happy about the situation and making sure it was being corrected.  After that, the first round went off without a hitch.  And the second round went smoothly.

I think it definitely takes a certain frame of mind.  For example, as far as this hobby goes, I think of my self as a "buyer".   I could never work in a Sales department. 

Ranking unique pieces of art is like a manager ranking every employee.  Some employees are obviously easier to rank over others but sometimes it's too close to call.  Using the Jack Welch approach and always getting rid of the bottom 10% of your workforce is pretty tough to do.  And from a collecting standpoint, that could just lead me to not getting rid of anything.  Sometimes your bottom 10% is still pretty damn good.

I noticed that there's a huge drop off after the 4 DC books. 

On 8/5/2023 at 11:34 AM, Dr. Balls said:

I'd also recommend LifeLock

I can see how it would be useful.  But the whole idea of providing personal info to just one more party so they can keep an eye out for it just seems crazy to me.

I've gotten e-mails from ComicLink with reminders about upcoming lots that will be closing and they did not even acknowledge a problem.  I think they should've taken that opportunity to say something.