grapeape

19 hours ago, Will_K said:

 

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.

Wow what a tool. Sorry man.

1 hour ago, romitaman said:

i actually agree with Mike H (vodou) here..... 

The stories on how certain collection art was acquired is actually as fun to talk about as much as owning  the art itself.

I have so many amazing stories...many i've shared here..and they are fun to rehash from time to time.... with people who appreciate our hobby of course.

 

I got laughed at by other collectors and dealers for about 10 years for being mainly the #1 guy collecting and paying retail at the time for Romita amazing Spider-man art from october 1989 (when I first got into the hobby) to about 1997....

I was trading Kirby and every other high end artists work for Romita ASM for that entire early decade of the 1990's at value for value, and I was laughed at a lot for doing that.

then Glen Brunswick came in the hobby...and the Romita art market changed......... LOL.

 

As for this flipping thread...... I flip art every day practically.

that's what you do when you sell art .

If you don't know what you are doing, you go out of business real quick and/or you stop selling or leave the hobby having lost money you invested.

Not sure why people think flipping art is bad...... if you have it too high it wont move......and you are losing $$$ on your investment......... some people are ok with that...i'm not....

i choose to move art and work deals out in trade or cash / trade that work if i've had art too long.

This works for me...others choose to keep art for many years and even decades without it selling....... everyone has their own business model on what art is worth to them.

I always tell people..if you want something on my website i've had for a long time...i will "ALWAYS" give a discount (within reason) to work a deal out.

Is that not common sense thinking?

 

My ASM art collection is the only art i have that I choose to hold onto for the long haul..BUT.....if someone asks and i get an offer that makes me feel it's worth selling....I SELL!

 

Still amazes me how there were hardcore hardheads that didn’t recognize Romita as a great artist. That was maybe one factor that worked in your favor Mike. 

4 hours ago, AnkurJ said:

I’ve opened quite the can of worms. Perhaps a new thread should be started?

nah this one is fun !

4 hours ago, vodou said:

Huh huh! This is one I'd like to know more about...first two rounds on me, someday?

Absolutely my friend

3 minutes ago, vodou said:

 

I can't be the only collector that remembers the exact circumstances of how every single piece was acquired. Sure, some were easy -just pay the price, but so many others took a lot of searching, networking, not buying four other things and thus luckily having the funds a week later for that other thing that pops up, etc. To those of us that did the gymnastics and remember the energy and complexity so many situations required, a swap for "a small pile of cash" just doesn't do it.

The "how" stories are sometimes worth more to me than the art is worth to the market too. Those are the really easy pieces to hang onto.

Bingo. That’s the part that money can’t buy. It buys the art yes. But the work to gather funds and pull off a deal, or to find what you’ve been looking for (needle in a haystack) is what stays with you. The war stories you share with yourself and other collectors.

I’ve had people logically explain why I should take an amount they are offering me for a piece. 

You can always buy something else they say. I’m giving you way more then you paid for it. The potential buyer rarely cares what you had to do to obtain it.

i once placed a winning bid on an auction from the dentist chair while getting a root canal.

i once paid $4500 for a piece of art in 1997 which was all the money I had in a savings account as a young family man with two young children. Still have it and those who laughed are applauding my foresight today.

i once outworked the cocky Los Bros  and the charming Glennru and bought a Kirby Captain America cover from Jacks friend that had never come up for sale publicly.

its those stories, those experiences that are worth more then money.

57 minutes ago, shady64 said:

I prefer not to, but some artists insist on it or even add the personalization without asking you.

Yeah I think it’s a bit of a test. The artist is challenging your loyalty. He dedicates to shady64 he thinks that’s a real fan.

your refusal no matter how polite means your a mercenary flipper.

Not asking you seems unprofessional although I could see where an artist might assume you would appreciate a personalized dedication.

To my biggest fan shady64, best Michelangelo.

1 hour ago, Timely said:

Back then they sold for an average of about $7300 per page.  I'm not sure of the going rate back then for Ditko as I was not into OA back then, but clearly it has come a LONG way!

Some years back I started noticing the few Ditko pages listed on CAF disappearing. I know there was a page with Spidey where he falls in the ocean? the guy had NFS but said he’d take 20 K maybe 8 years ago? Within a week it was gone and two months later sold at HA for $43,000.

i always wondered if someone bought from CAF member and listed or if the CAF member sold it through HA and thanked his lucky stars. I’d love to know. 

If I took 20 K I’d feel happy until 2 months later seeing I left too much money on the table.

1 hour ago, vodou said:

ABC...

 

That’s right  😂 

49 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Personalised if you're keeping it for life, non-personalised if you plan to put it on the wall for a few years and then sell one day. 

I met Harry Lampert (Golden Age Flash) in 1996 and had him personalize a word bubble above a speeding Flash’s head that said “ I’m catching this bullet especially for grape ape.”  )he wrote my first and last name) not my board name obviously.

i love it and never intend to sell it. If I ever did I think the art would matter most to a buyer and the personalization  would not matter. Harry has passed away and so has his lovely wife. I’ll always cherish the piece.

Now.....Steve Rude....I bought a beautiful page from him but dealt exclusively with his lovely and kind wife on the phone. She asked me if I would like Steve to personalize the page but I declined. He’s eccentric (understatement) and I feared he might write across the art. 

All original art has the potential to have a higher future value should you decide to sell. I can understand if you’re concerned that a personalization 

”To my biggest fans Los Bros, best wishes, Neal Adams.” might limit desirability to anyone not named “Los Bros.”

it depends: I’m more forgiving of personalization on art gained second hand pre 1990. Scarcity.

The quality of the art will always rule my response to a page regardless of how it’s dedicated.

3 hours ago, AnkurJ said:

So based on this logic, would you hesitate paying future value prices for Ditko art? Let say a page with 100% market value is $25,000 today. Would you pay $30,000 without concern of time catching up to that value? I’m not sure how many of us could stomach such a risk.

I get what your saying. Ditko Amazing Spider-Man however is one of the few high end blue chips where buying at $100 K could still look like a bargain ten years from now. 

Theres risk in everything.

38 minutes ago, batman_fan said:

Just look at the Ditko Spiderman page.  Last time I saw it sell was at HA 2010 for just shy or $24k. Now people are saying $100k+. Back when it sold before it was a pretty hefty price but every year Ditko Spiderman pages seem to just keep going up.

Appreciation yeesh !!!!!

On 9/28/2019 at 1:08 PM, vodou said:

Amazing? Wow, thanks. I work hard at it. Enlightened means you're learning something too, even better

Fight Fight Fight !!!!!

On 9/28/2019 at 11:01 AM, romitaman said:

ha ha...vodou..... Man i love your anecdotes....:)

He "thinks" he knows my business model.... love it.

At any rate...... keep looking over the site gents...lots lots LOTS of great higher end art still being put up for sale on the romitaman site.. and over a hundred more great art pieces by the time we head for the huge  NYC con next week.

for what its worth.... it doesn't bother me if my asm 55 cover sells tomorrow or 20 years from now.

it's about "EXPOSURE" gentlemen...... some people get it...Some people DON'T..........i'm always enlightened by vodou here and his amazing analytics he shares numerous times per day with everyone...LOL......

 it's all good...

We will be set up at our normal huge booth 2405 next week at the NYC show...right by the front doors.....So please feel free to stop by one and all to chat about our great hobby and to see some cool art as well!

and yes folks...We do have the BEST, fair, time payment plans for art buying in the hobby...

So let me know if you see anything you like and i'm confident We can work it all out!

 

 

 

 

Sell sell sell !!!!!!

1 hour ago, batman_fan said:

What happened to you?  You use to be so cool and hip!  And for what it is worth, the Beetle is probably the single coolest villain ever created 

Okay, maybe not but I have a certain fondness for the character since the 1st comic I ever got for my collection was Daredevil 33 which featured the Beetle.  Still trying to find a nice page or the splash from that issue.

I personally like the Beetle. Comics were meant to be fun. Hope you find a page.

2 minutes ago, Timely said:

No Ditko Spidey page has been to auction in this country for over a year! There have been some private sales recently and every Spidey action page has sold in the 100-200k price range.

That’s great insight. Thank you I’m not privy to the private sales so that’s excellent info to consider. I would be curious to know how much trade factored into the $100-$200 K ? Still legit but cash is what makes me take notice.

On the strength of 

1) quality action SPIDEY panels

2) Steve Ditko passing away

3) lack of publicly offered examples

I believe we can see $100 K 

Is it November yet ?

2 minutes ago, Timely said:

There is usually a premium added to 1/3rd Ditko splash pages, all things being equal!

The HA page is a really decent all out action Spidey page, however most people I've talked to think #10 is a bit of a dud issue.

I have mentioned the fatigue factor as ASM 10 pages seem to have recirculated for sale repeatedly since the break up of that issue. 

The 1/3 splash has taken pages over the threshold but I think this one with no splash has arrived at the right time. 

Well see.....

1 hour ago, batman_fan said:

Back to the page up for auction.  Yes it has Spiderman in every panel, but I don't think it represents a primo page for a Ditko. $100k all in seems high to me but not crazy high and given how prices have been lately probably to out of the realm especially given it has been a while since one auctioned off.  For my taste,I like these two pages much more which hammered quite a bit lower but that was a while back.

 

 

My gut is that page is going to get there. Just seems like the right time. It’s going to be an outstanding auction.

39 minutes ago, Bronty said:

I can totally understand that POV

Bronty what’s your prediction on the winning bid for the ASM 10 page?

1 hour ago, comix4fun said:

Visual Aid: For the Chronologically Impaired....and 1964 was a leap year...which is why it's 366 days. 

 

That's why March to March isn't 13 months, because it's a year, which is 12 months, otherwise your  anniversaries and birthdays would be one month earlier every year to fall on the annum. That would be anarchy.  

 

You guys are all crazy ha ha. I feel like the math professor trying to keep up with Matt Damon. How do you like them apples?

On 9/27/2018 at 3:59 PM, The Voord said:

Two 1966 covers on my CAF:

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=144580

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=103036

Captain Atom to me represents some of his very best work. All I can say is wow!!

1 hour ago, Carlo M said:

Not a big fan.  I find the ones with two different characters and storylines dilutive and with far less impact than  - say - a unitary splash.  A case of one plus one equals less than two.  The ones that portait four different moments of the interior story (like FF 106) are more acceptable but still distracting. Call me silly but I would prefer paying a fraction and getting a strong interior with strong storytelling. My 2 cents.

I agree with Carlo from the OA perspective. I find most of these split covers distracting and prefer a single theme. 

As a kid however I loved the split covers in the comic book. Funny I know to like the comics with split covers but not the actual art covers.

1 hour ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

Is this the issue containing several pages with dog bites or am I confusing it with issue # 6?

Yeah the dog ate issue 6. Still kills me those pages were left on a doorstep.

Issue ten was sold at auction 20 ? Years ago. The book was broken up and sold at auction. I knew a Ditko page was coming to test the market as we’ve lost the great Steve Ditko.

What do you guys think on this one? The issue ten  pages keep coming up so I don’t know how to measure fatigue.

This is a quality page though. It could hit $100,000 maybe? There’s probably not enough published data to back up my guess. I just have a feeling about this one.

2 minutes ago, Garry Ghoul said:

thank you for your help

It’s a great page. Dr Doom looks menacing in that Colan style. You should do well if you take it to auction. I’m curious to see what it goes for. I held a page in my hand from this book in the 90s for $175. I passed because my brother got the best of the two available pages out of FF 37. 

One of the dumbest things I’ve ever done.

Good luck!!!!

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/panel-pages/steve-ditko-amazing-spider-man-10-story-page-17-original-art-marvel-1964-/p/7212-203001.s

I can’t wait for November