Peter L

This is why I usually only buy CGC when I buy old books.

Over 10 years ago there was a piece of art that I really wanted listed for Heritage. All of a sudden, the art is not for sale anymore. I'm pretty sure it was even in the catalogue. I called Heritage and they said that the seller pulled it back. They said this is not usually allowed, but he was willing to offer an even more valuable piece or pieces of art in exchange for doing this. The seller was one of the most famous public collectors in the world who has since sold many other things in his collection, some of which I bought off of Heritage, so I'm guessing they were also counting on his future business.

I think of this whenever I am tempted to get a Michael Golden commission, or see some of his art from the Micronauts that I loved as a kid, or when someone says, "Patience is a Virtue." True story: At the SDCC after this story came out, I saw him sitting at his table by himself. I walked by and noticed. He was very friendly in trying to get me to look at his stuff but I just ran away. It kind of gave me the chills. Had the story not come out, I might have spent a lot of money not getting a Micronauts commission.

I never got the watermark before. I can't remember if I used a free product or paid for it. I thought it was just strange my old phone had no watermark but the new one does.

Hi All, I would use Camscanner on my iphone to take nice photos of original art to post. However I just upgraded to the new iOS and to the new iPhone 11. I transferred my backup from my old phone to my new phone. Before when I used camscanner, there was no watermark. Now there is a watermark. The only solution from camscanner was to pay a lot of money to get the new app upgrade. If I use my old phone, the watermark is still not there. Has anyone encountered this problem or know how to get around it?

Does anyone know Greg Land's dealer or how to contact him? Thanks.

I agree with this totally and I think well put. I prefer Miller and Byrne and Simonson and Steranko much more personally, but as for most influential this says it all. I like Miller and Bryne and Simonson and Steranko because they are so unique. In some ways, they are not as influential because you can't easily copy their style as Neal Adams or Lee/Williams. Adams and then Lee/Williams also became the predominate house style for the comics that marked their era,.

No current data for the estimation of the panel page? If so I would agree except that I would bid $40k for a good panel page with the character.

$10-20k Miller - DD/Ronin/Wolverine/Sin City I think there is a Miller renaissance going on now. I think Miller's early Sin City and covers would go for that range, but later Sin City would be between $6 -12k. There are some nice splashes for sale online from later Sin City that can't get that price. Regarding that incredibly high price on the Heritage Miller DD page, it could be the new range might be 25-35k. There are so few Ronin good pages I'm not sure this is accurate, and my understanding is that there was question about some of the provenance of some of them. I think if a good one featuring the characters hit the market now it might go for 40k.

$10-20k Ross - Marvels/Kingdom Come [UP from $5-10k] I think that would be for splashes but I'm not sure that is correct for panel pages. Edit: I would add that Alex Ross covers of DC or Marvel are up to $10-20k for average covers, and up to $25 to 35 for higher end regular size covers. The price would be even more for double page spread covers but there are so few and they have not really changed hands in the last 15 years that I don't know that this is accurate on the very highest end of his work.

I thought Simonson kept virtually all of the Thor run original art except for a few pieces. If this is so I'm not sure an accurate market valuation can be made.

I just got back from SDCC and still recovering. I tried to make this post readable but I need more caffeine. I had a great time in San Diego. I went to the IDW dinner. I don't know many collectors in person so it was nice to meet a few. It looks like I am now priced out of the market. I did buy a few small pieces just for fun. But the prices seemed to be extremely high as a few of you like Gene commented. Regarding comic sales, I just saw a post from a big midwest comic store that said comics sales for floppies are the most popular in recent memory, and they posted that other stores are saying the same thing.

I was at Albert's booth when he was explaining to someone how he got them. It was a long answer and I don't remember because I wasn't really listening. I was just looking through a stack of art and didn't want to eavesdrop but I don't think it was a big secret.

Do you know what the deal was for the Bruce Timm headshots? Why were they so popular? Is it just at the pricepoint certain collectors love them?

I'm sure you have all heard he is an original comic art collector. He may be reading these boards right now.

I enjoyed the show. I liked how I could look at the art now and then concentrate on the fun new activations and exclusives at SDCC. I thought this location was much better than LAX but traffic was still difficult. Albert Moy had these Bruce Timm head sketches for $200 that were flying out of portfolios like crazy. It seemed like that was the hot thing. The market on Adam Hughes seems to have really gone up a lot. Anthony Snyder had a nice Marvel ad with all of the major characters on it. It is not my thing but even I was impressed with it. I walked in carrying a big acid free box with a mylar that was empty in case I bought something. As soon as I walked in and many places I went, people would ask if I was selling anything. I didn't really think about that but it seemed like a great opportunity to sell.

I have two young children also. My priority in finances is to put a set amount to go into their 529s and our retirement accounts along with the mortgage. So the money I spend on art is not what we need to cut into those other areas. My wife is great. She never bought me an Alex Ross or other art, but if it makes financial sense she is fine with what I buy. When I started dating my wife, I took her to the San Diego Comic Con so she would hopefully understand what I liked. At her first convention I introduced her to Bill S and had him do a commission of her in a Catwoman outfit as best as possible. He did a great job and she liked it and started to get art. It is framed in our bedroom. I started showing her art and the trends. She is an MBA so it had to make financial sense to her, so I would mention to her what I was buying. At one point she wanted bitcoin, so I told her to buy bitcoin and I would buy art and let's see who did better on a small amount of money. I won that competition even though my win was theoretical since I didn't sell. But she started to see the benefit of what I was doing. I do collect for what I like. But now with kids, I also collect what they may like and what may be of value in the future.

Can you post a photo of the Alex Ross? Would love to see what she bought for you.

Hi Brian Thanks for putting this together. I was just offered a slot at the IDW Simonson dinner which I think is the same time. I hope to meet up with all of you some time in the future!

I love the podcasts. I suggested in another thread that I would appreciate a SDCC panel like with what you do with the podcast and on collecting. I think it would be terrific. I also think it's a good way for the vast number of SDCC attendees to learn about collecting art. I used to go to conventions and skip the original art tables, not understanding what I as looking at. This would have been an unembarrassing way to learn about the field.

I watch HGTV and I see these huge houses and I think, are there that many people who can afford these houses? There was one episode where two specialist doctors with one kid were looking at a $1.8 million home in Phoenix and they said they couldn't afford it, but they were looking at what kind of features of the house they would want. How can that be? What do these big home buyers do? A lot of people seem to have a lot of money where they can afford houses like this. That wealth isn't just going to disappear. Maybe it will go to their kids. There is a lot of talk about student loan debt but I read that the average debt is around $30,000. I don't think someone worried about a $30,000 student loan debt is going to be a big comic art collector. Comic art collecting may have problems in the future but I don't think the transfer of wealth or the lack of wealth will be the issue. At one comic con I asked a book dealer why some issues were so high, and he said this was the largest amount of comic book readers in many decades. The number of female readers has doubled the amount of those who read comics. They may not read floppies but they read trades or digital. I recall reading the stats that in the last few years there are more women who go to the SDCC than men. I never would have guessed that.

I am pretty sure I met the high end framer who framed all of the WB stuff. He said he did. If he is correct and I have no reason to doubt him, the art was framed with tape on the original art, and also not using the best archival materials. So you would be better off having it opened up and then rematted and mounted. You can even use the existing frame. Every time I buy art that is already framed, I do this now. Every single time it is framed poorly for conservation. It costs a lot more and a lot more work to frame it with conservation in mind, and framers will tell you that it may not look as good without the use of tape.

Previously in the Marvel area of California Adventure, they had a store area of canvases of comic panels and images, kind of like Roy Lichenstein others like 70s posters and Silver age comic covers. Currently in Downtown Disney they sell original art from animators or artists who draw other Disney characters. I don't see a far connection between eventually having original comic art for sale, once Disney management realizes there is money in it.

Blade Runner is among my favorite films. And when I first saw it in the theater I thought it was a reasonable vision of the future. Today you have to suspend belief that there are no smartphones or that people talk to each other because there are no smartphones. The future is so hard to predict, and there are so many factors involved it's hard to know. I would not have predicted that Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse would have been so well received and won an Oscar. I never thought in my lifetime an animated superhero cartoon would win an Oscar. Spider-man is going to be much more popular 20 years from now. Disneyland in Hong Kong is transforming a whole section based on Marvel. Look at the attached photos for Disney's California Adventure. Every kid in America will know Spider-man like they know Mickey and Minnie. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's art was disregarded in his lifetime. His posterwork is hugely valuable today but back then was tossed aside. He even resorted to drawing on cardboard or whatever was around. People like looking at it and the high value brings interest and makes it sexy to collect. Money will do that. I saw the recent Babe Ruth card that broke a record at Heritage. No one around collecting saw him play but still sets records. I wish I bought a Jackie Robinson card a few years ago that I always wanted. Now it's out of my price range. I never saw him play. But he's iconic and it would be great to have. When Action Comics #1 was #8,000 I begged my parents to buy one as an investment. Of course they said no. They never thought it would reach the heights it has. I think younger generations will still want some of the same things that older generations would want. Urban Outfitters was not a store with wide appeal. They had to try to change their business model to survive. Rental instead of buying is not a first choice but a forced choice to continue to look good with the means at hand. Millennials have less money because of student debt and other issues, but it doesn't mean they don't want a Tesla and a HGTV model home at the end of the day. Putting aside the politics inherent in Margret Thatcher's famous quote, the basic idea is still true that when you are in your early 20s, your limitations and life stage will develop, and you will want different things and have different priorities as you get older. Some people with money will always want stuff and buy stuff. Disney and other corporations will influence them greatly on what to spend that money on.

I recall reading on these boards in the last few weeks about how art was printed back then, on rollers, and it was easier to cut away the art than peel the tape away. This is why the older art may be cut down from a full size board. I may have the terms wrong but something like that.