Will_K

On 1/23/2023 at 7:11 AM, Hulk213 said:

and then a week later, there was a significant markup on the same page

FYI - There is a topic that is dedicated to this phenomenon in general (with examples).  Somewhat entertaining.

People really pay serious $$$ for the pages where you see the lugs on the bottom of the Batman's boots.

On 1/15/2023 at 4:19 PM, vodou said:

Good thing Steve Oliff slept in that morning.

Does anyone know if Steve Oliff ever declined to color a piece of original art ?

On 1/14/2023 at 1:53 PM, Michael Browning said:

On 1/14/2023 at 12:58 PM, jjonahjameson11 said:

That Superman 259 cover seems as though it’s been on sale for the past 15 years, moving from one dealer/seller to the next.

the price definitely reflects its a ‘stale to market’ piece.

I said the same thing. It seems like it’s bounced around and around and around for all of the two decades-plus that I’ve been collecting. I think that had an effect on it selling so low and I also just don’t think Cardy has the same fan base as he did back in 1996 when everyone wanted a Cardy cover and prices were soaring. This auction result was lower than some of his horror covers sell for. I’ve seen the Cardy art price decrease happening a lot more than I ever thought I would, but I also see the same thing happening to Neal Adams’ DC covers.

I've never owned or wanted to own that cover and Nick Cardy is my favorite comic artist.  It's one of a few Cardy Superman covers that have moved around.  Unfortunately, Nick had the duty of drawing a lot of Superman covers when they were trying to "de-super" him.  His butt was getting kicked in most of the covers of that period.  A great loss is that Nick actually never drew a Superman story.

On 1/13/2023 at 6:32 PM, Dr. Balls said:

On 12/2/2022 at 10:29 PM, Blastaar said:

Moved over…  

I like Mike Hoffman. I think he is unfairly criticized. When I purchased the artist edition of Tarzan and decided to display it I was looking for some nice OA to make it pop. Since I’m not in the market to pick up a Frazetta, I picked up the phone and reached out to Mike. Nothing wrong with copying a style if you do it justice. And he most certainly does.

If I may ask, why is he criticized? I like his style - and I don't usually do commissions, but he's on my list to have one done. I really dig his work.

I think people just believe there's a rule that Frazetta can be an influence but not THAT much of an influence.  Anyway, I noticed that piece on Dueling Dealers 102.  Tom Grindberg doesn't receive that criticism.  He's demonstrated a strong Neal Adams influence and shifted to a strong Frazetta influence.

I wish Hoffman's sketches on ebay were a little more finished.  I have 2 of his inked / watercolored pieces and a large page from one of his stories.

That could be one crazy episode.  There was a recent episode where Anthony was doing "end of season" deals on unsold art from previous DD's.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b74VnICzbWw  You can probably use that episode to get an idea on the deals.  During regular DD episodes, given enough time to work a deal, Anthony can come down quite a bit in price.

On 1/6/2023 at 12:49 PM, Heidjer Staecker said:

For example, I love Bronze Age DC Horror ... especially the title pages.  Does anyone really want to look through a 100 of those, even if I love them?  Probably not, and it takes away from a smaller selection of pieces.

Since those stories are just one-offs, it's different than having 100 pages of the same series or character or artist.  For DC horror, I'd be more willing to look at 100 title splashes if you had the entire story. 

On 1/6/2023 at 2:27 PM, Rick2you2 said:

What are those weird clips between offerings? Who makes them? Should I even ask why Bill is wearing a fake Viking hat?

Bill is supposed to be Thor or BillaThor.  Thor is Bill's favorite character.  This is just the stuff that you'll learn from watching lots of episodes of DD.  For example, the Recap round has been renamed the Ragnarok Recap round.  Those clips (they call them memes) are what really make the show a lot longer than a plain claim show (e.g. the Dealmakers of Comic Art with Will, Bechara and Glen).  Also they make DD very production intensive since they have to record those memes individually and then create effects.  Since Bill used to live fairly close to Mike, they recorded a lot of things together.  But since Bill recently moved to Florida, I'm sure there will be less stuff with Mike.   Anthony and Sharon seem to enjoy recording stuff.  When you join the channel ($4.99 / month), you're ID'd by the Thor's hammer in the chat (different colors indicate how long you've been a member).  Bill also plays Billigan.  This is due to Mike calling him "little buddy" on occasion (see also the Gilligan's Island themed episode of DD) in earlier episodes. 

On 12/16/2022 at 3:07 PM, Yorick said:

I am still on the fence whether or not to post a TERRIBLE commission from years ago.  It could potentially hurt the artists' reputation.

Interesting point.  I usually don't post "sub par" commissions/sketches or ones that I don't do it for me (e.g. poorly drawn fishnets on the Black Canary).  I mean, unless I intended to sell it.

On 12/16/2022 at 9:12 AM, RBerman said:

I have one cover for a series which is on hold due to legal wrangling. The artist asked me not to post it online until the comic comes out, and I agreed.

If you do post the art, I hope you'll post the story (re: legal wrangling) .

In OP's example, overpaying (in hindsight) at auction is a conscientious choice.  You basically have to live with that choice.  I think we've all been there.  Hopefully the market catches up to what you've paid.

In another case, if I pay X for a piece today and find out I could've bought it for half of that yesterday, I might feel I overpaid.  Noone forced me to pay X and theoretically, I thought it was worth X when I bought it at the time.  But now would be a good time to examine one's knowledge of the market.

One artist that I follow on Patreon and Kickstarter asked to not post art in order to keep things "fresh".  The artist now posts less art on IG and FB.  And asked us not to post art (e.g. art rewards) so that he can use it later (e.g. for Kickstarter books).  So basically, to honor that request, I'll only post art by that artist that has been published in physical form.

A reason why I don't post all of my art is that I've already posted art that represents my collecting habits and likes.  You can tell which publisher I like.  You can tell which artists and/or characters I like. 

One niche I haven't posted is my One Year Affair "strips" from National Lampoon drawn by Ralph Reese and written by Byron Preiss.  And some sketch covers, nothing major or slabbed.

I know it's been asked over and over (and in different ways)... but who's buying all this art ?? 

I'm surprised that the market can absorb so much Jim Lee art when Albert sells it.

Aunt May should've broken a hip in that last panel.  This is a great looking page.  Except for the lack of backgrounds, which probably would take away from the action.  I'm ignoring the price since I don't follow that market.

On 12/12/2022 at 12:41 AM, Xatari said:

keeps me accountable

accountable for what ??  Interesting word choice.

On 12/11/2022 at 4:28 AM, G.A.tor said:

I got to thinking and I wonder if some of mine, or other’s reluctance, might be from previous general comments made when a particular page publicly sells. Like “paid too much”, “can’t believe that page went for so ….(insert “little” or a “lot”), or “that’s not a very good example “ etc.  etc  

I don't recall seeing comments re: price on CAF.  Definitely not as much as on these boards. 

To expand on my theory... HA Live referred to the weekly Heritage auction on Wednesdays.  HA Live does not refer to ComicArtLive or Dueling Dealers.  HA Live starts at 7 PM Eastern and winds down close to the start time for Dueling Dealers (9 PM Eastern).  My theory is if Mike wins the coin toss and wants to catch the end of HA Live, he'll let Anthony go first.

In case noone recalls, this piece was originally published in the reprint of the History of the DC Universe hardcover by Grafitti Designs.  It was a great bonus in its day.

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/history-of-the-dc-universe-hardcover-collection-gatefold-poster-jam-illustration-original-art-featuring-the-art-of-ja-total-/a/7242-91001.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

On 12/2/2022 at 8:36 AM, barneythecantankerous said:

Couldn't you make the argument that collectors buying up an entire issue is greedy?

If that's the way the art is being sold then there's only 2 choices (if you can afford it) buy it or don't.  It's been argued that buying a complete issue for the sole purpose of breaking it up and selling individual pages is leaning more towards a profit motive.

On the other side of the transaction, from what I understand (maybe I'm mistaken) from Felix's unboxings, there's isn't a premium or discount on the price when selling an entire issue.  It's a matter of preference to sell the art in that manner.  But I'm sure it saves a lot of trouble when shipping a complete issue vs individual pages.

Bill has mentioned that DD and various shows conflict with other sales.  They just have to go with it.  I think Felix even mentioned that he doesn't schedule an unboxing if it'll conflict with ComicArtLive.

Maybe DD vs HA only matters if you're buying ?  I don't watch HA Live if I'm not bidding or curious about specific lots.  And I think it's possible to follow both if you're not buying.  I also have a theory that if Mike wins the coin toss, he'll let Anthony go first if Mike is interested in HA Live.  Also, DD starts when HA Live is almost over.  And you could just watch DD after it's streamed, I'll do that just to see what art was for sale.

As you mentioned, you feel a certain way about having the 2 separate boards that have the pencils and inks.  That's just the way you happen to have them.  But over time, there's no guarantee those boards will be kept together. 

The biggest issue is seeing bluelines with inks ("in the wild") and thinking those are actually pencils and inks.  In other words, seeing bluelines with inks not knowing that is what it is. 

A lot of this is not knowing the "penciller's" process.  Sometimes there are actual pencils on some piece of paper somewhere.  Sometimes there are only digital pencils.  The penciller might change from one to the other.  It might depend on the project.  Ugh.

Factor in whether or not the penciller and inker are the same person.

Re: "valuation"... Some people make the point that the inks are what was "published" and that's what really matters.  I guess that's especially true if there are only digital pencils.

Tonight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezmv8tfUgw8