grapeape

Back in the nineties ole Grapeape was at the SDCC looking through art at the D.O.A booth. I stumbled upon a really cool prelim of the Punisher...or so I thought. I bought it for $35. But one day recently I was looking at a checklist of art by Mike Zeck and found a comic called Bloodshot Last Stand. I reached out to Jim Warden. Jim Warden reached out to Mike Zeck. Was this a Punisher piece? Was this the prelim for Bloodshot? Was it a “Punisher” converted to Bloodshot?” Mike Zeck replied to Jim last night and he passed it on to me. ” It was not originally created for any Punisher related project. Specifically targeted to that Bloodshot cover.” “Looking at it now is the first time I’m realizing how close the pose is to a Punisher pose from years prior. The ‘Plate One’ illustration for the first Punisher Portfolio! I wasn’t aware I was ‘homaging’ myself at the time :-)”

A word of caution for Blackstone. You should have read the boards before buying. Too late

Congrats on winning it. Somebody told me once that they knew someone who (amateur) attempted inking unfinished Byrne or Cockrum pieces they got at a comic show in the eighties. Can't remember if that person was on the boards.

FF 1- sheer introductory drama FF-55 FF-57 FF-72 FF-86

I think the inking is unfinished But I wouldn’t fool with it. It’s a good historical reference of Byrne pencils. The Beast looks very 😎 cool.

My friend did something similar for a book he had most of the pages for when the cover simply never shook loose for ownership. It presents very nicely. enjoy the day 🇨🇦 🍇 🦍

B U M P * if you have or know the whereabouts of any original art pages from this comic please contact the OP Jordysnordy through PM here on CGC. Please be fair and reasonable in your valuations and help this man with his goal of putting the book back together. It feels good to help your fellow collector. I know these pages are out there.

Justin Case did you make the deal?

Mike R V there is a thread on this board somewhere that lists all the dealers, many you won’t see on the CAF home page. I just don’t remember exactly where but hang tight I bet someone quicker then me will produce that link. I see you’re exhausting your resources but networking like you are here will produce more opportunities to dig up secondary market connections I’m sure. Good luck

What did you get buddy?

Items for sale fromcolfo_45 colfo_45 (0) | Save this seller uh....yeah I think we might want to pass on this seller's treasures.

Steve buddy next show you have to get away and head down here. ommmmmmm Dealmakers....... How Much?..What do you want? I mean where am I going to find another page like this?.

I’ve seen colors bleed through so xtra protection ✅ 💯 % smart move!

Oh my..... Mr. and Mrs. 🍇 🦍 ✅

This is quality 💯 BT. I mean this an Amazonian Powerhouse here! *I would advise avoiding ebay on Bruce Timm and on Charles Schulz Snoopy, etc. Enormous amount of fakes routinely offered and sold.

Let’s face it kids. The highlight of the on air streaming show occurred approximately at 2:03 in when the legendary grape ape yelled “grape ape” then for dramatic effect pointed at Bechara’s camera and yelled “GRAPE APE IN THE HOUSE.” Grape + ape more and more referring to himself in the third person. Before leaving Grape saw Rich tied up trying to get something together before going back on camera. Grape looked at Mrs. Ape and said, “check it out.” The other Donelly was alone. I approached with a couple of pieces inquiring, “do you buy art?” “Uhh, it’s my brother that does that. Hey Rich? Hey Rich?” This guy wants to sell something.” Rich had to sprint over to make sure he wasn’t missing out on FF 1 pages. He wasn’t. Then I heard someone shouting, “where’s Rich? Hey Rich you’re up/on.” Poor guy had to sprint back across the room So......again if anyone looked disheveled or overextended grape would like to apologize for any part he played in that. Let’s do it again in November. 🍇 🦍 met a lot of cool human beings (collectors) here.

My apologies my friend. In my defense. I spent Friday and Saturday helping the mother in law clear shrubs from the garden. So you bet I swilled some gin before today’s show,.,,,oh,.,,. Yer talking about......

I had to leave half way through the streaming show. I can tell you I saw some pretty good sales going down. I got there 10:45am and there were at least 60-70 people in there. I couldn’t get to the art for awhile. Tables were packed. There is a benefit to going to the show: • see the art in person • meet other collectors (I won’t name you guys but that was awesome. 😂 To have people walk up and say, “so you’re Grapeape?” was hilarious and really appreciated. You all know who you are thanks for getting together with me and looking at art. • under the right circumstances you can work out better deals in person. I’ve done it and I’ve seen it happen. • collectors showed me their stuff. Some of the collectors don’t show everything in a gallery. I saw mind blowing pages I’ve never seen before. • I made new friends 👍 I live in sunny so cal. This LA show gives grapeape a chance to scour for unseen pages and meet cool people (Mike Mignola a prince of a man) also John Livesay!

I sent comicconnect an email about a Kirby page they were taking offers on. I offered them within $1000 of their buy it price. The page had sat there flat for 9 months. I waited two weeks, sent one more “hello?” email then deleted them from any serious consideration. You always answer a potential buyer. If you want to be taken seriously that is.

Haha!!! The demons gave conquered the great grape ape. The urge to bid, to kill other bids, is too strong. He is conquered! So he conquers!!

I’m sorry about my behavior Bill. I’m in a self help group now. Damn this dirty addiction to art! This won’t happen again I..... look.... Paw Paw bought me that comic when I was five and.... I remember THAT page most of all... GIVE ME GIVE ME GIVE ME I NEED I NEED Arrrrrgggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! 🍇 + 🦍

Fair enough. Well congratulations to the mystery buyer. John Romita Sr. is a legend for sure.

Well you nailed it earlier. Anthony “stole” it at $155. Rick2you2 actually giving good advice especially for newbies trying to win a page. Dealers having a difficult time replacing their inventory (that’s their problem). Pages more expensive today even for dreck. Even before this mad scramble to scrounge up “fresh” inventory dealers have always competed with collectors for art. Greed is good. Imagine FMV. Double it in your mind. Bid accordingly. If you’re a collector you’ll probably win it for less then that max, a dealer won’t chase beyond what he can justify his resell markup. Now if you’re bidding against a serious collector who wants that page and just doesn’t give a _ _ _ _ then you’re probably going to lose anyways.