grapeape

Superman by John Byrne. Door prize won by a young fellow at a small comic convention in Ithaca, NY. The year was 1985. I was not that person, but I was able to convince the now serious collector into allowing this one to find a new home, at the residence of ye very own Mr. Grape Ape. The deal was made some 20 years ago, and if you're interested in who the seller was feel free to look up the gallery of Michael Kenyon on CAF.

Have you ever went to a convention that had an amazing original art door prize you could win? Even if you didn't win, tell us your experiences. What was the prize and where was the show. Share pics if you have them. Take a look at this one from 1974.

You have the right temperment for this situation. Age and health no doubt were contributing factors in what happenned. I am sorry you did not receive the page. Your forgiveness of losing out is sincerely touching. I know in my heart it was some kind of mix up.

Bill C said:The cool thing for me about this situation was, even though he had some really key interior pages I wanted, once I knew he went full clown, I just stopped thinking about his pages, dont bother looking at the pics of them, and couldnt care less. That was a big turning point for me when I realized I was breaking the art addiction. Grapeape replied: He went full clown, man. Never go full clown.

That's a relief. I kept thinking why do that to Bagley's perfect #36? The 35 is frustrating because the inking after the fact of publishing, hurts my heart. In no way am I disparaging Matt's inks, because he did a very nice job. It's what you said. Preserve the original by lightboxing the pencils on a separate board and than you have two pieces of art. Thanx to Matches Malone for posting the before and after.

While you're there can you grab me one of the New Yorker covers hanging on the wall? Great photographic coverage of the gallery art. Some really terrific work put into those perfect layouts. Extraordinary really. Black and white delivered at a high level. Curious about the last phot. What is the green art in the picture?

WTH is this picture of Gene doing in this post?

And in fairness, he has the rare opportunity of going for a piece on Heritage. How often do those opportunities come along?

VILE ARTS AND CRAFT GAMES.

I bet it was Mrs. Colan who packed it. Very sweet lady.

Angry. Fred Kida, or his son, folded up Spider-Man strips and sent them in a flimsy envelope. Love the artist but h8 the crimes against the strips.

💯

I'm sickened by this. Not once but twice. I have the lists and I'm watching. If any of these pages Pop up anywhere, I'll send you all the info. if this thief goes into a comic store or convention, a camera is bound to catch his image. I can't fathom the financial loss of both shipments. Again, many of us in our community are watching out for you to locate your art. I believe in miracles 🙏 Sorry this happened.

Epic.

When a dealer gets hold of a piece of art and resells It 2x3 (if we're lucky) higher than what was paid, we howl and call them scourge. When a well meaning collector gives another collector a break on a piece because they've identified it as something personally meaningful, then flips it, are we howling at the shady buyer? Not all of us. Some appear to delight in the naïveté of the sap that bought the song and dance. There's no feelings of disgust for the wolf in sheep's clothing. Interesting. I'm no sociologist, so I won't offer a certified opinion here. I'll just say interesting. I always want to be the smartest guy in a deal. Always. That being said, because of the greedy and sometimes psychotic, predatory nature of some folks buying art low and selling sky high, I do my best to bring something else to the table. I'm no Angel. I do love the camaraderie this hobby can bring though. I value it. So if I can do something that brings a real genuine smile to someone's face, I'll do that. If I know someone is looking for a long time for art, and I come across it, I point it out. I don't buy it and than seize upon that collector with an ungodly asking price. If someone truly loves something I have, and I can bring them happiness by letting it go, that brings me more joy than a cold, financial transaction. I have no problem with any sarcasm, or "you should have known better" comments left here. I really mean that. I like you all. It's important to me that you have an important takeaway. If we've been disturbed by predatory, greedy behaviors of the usual suspects, well, don't we desire to behave better than that? I think we might be taking shots at collectors that wanted to do right by a fellow collector. I think some collectors like to feel good for both sides when they make a deal. YouTube is full of videos where a guy for example buys 5 boxes of silver age comics, or whatever, and than goes to the subscribers with I TOTALLY STOLE/GOT OVER ON THIS RUBE/:SAP. I don't ever want to be that kind of winner. Happy Fathers Day

What an abdominal, soulless thief. I h8 garbage like this. He needs to be punished. 💀 👻 🖼️❌

Didn't I tell you all Frank Castle/Punisher would never die? 💀 😆

Disappointments. On that subject the following. In LA a few years ago, I met a fellow, we'll call him Dwight. Dwight had 2 pages of amazing Spider-Man art by Sal Buscema. I made Dwight an offer for the two pages that he paid $20 a piece for back in the eighties. Dwight was blown away by my offer, but then became Leary. Maybe he needed to do his due diligence. Months dragged on, I finally called him and said, how about giving me a chance. We negotiated. We arrived at a price that was double my initial offer. These were for my personal collection. He came up with the price. He asked me to go to my bank and get cash. I would drive to LA. He would meet me in an agreed upon safe place. We had an agreement. Over the phone. After dragging me for 8 months, I got the cash, was ready to drive up, when Dwight went back on the agreement. He called me. "I think I'll take them to auction just to be sure." He did. They sold. He made $80 more for his trouble. Why didn't I just buy them at auction? I will deal with people I don't particularly care for if they have art I desire. I won't ever reward someone for breaking a gentleman's agreement. I wouldn't bid because he broke his word. Honor, means something. I have let collectors know when something they have is meaningful to me too. Even when I'm hoping to buy it. I have no desire to embarrass them by flipping it within a month or so when I just told them it would mean a lot if they'd let the art come my way and "fulfill a lifelong goal."

It could be that todays collector is more wary of letting a piece of art go only to have it flipped. Correction. I'm positive more collectors worry about that today. It's because of how ridiculously high values went up on art the last ten years and especially the last 2-3. at the time I sold my Byrne for a sob story, I didn't sell it for a price that I regretted . It was more a gentleman's agreement and a breech of some kind. There was an "understanding" that I was being handsomely paid, never the less an understanding that I was letting my art go to someone who would "cherish" it. They didn't. I don't care what they made after they got it from me. If I did, I would've sold it to the highest bidder. It was the fact that they deceived me on behalf of someone else. They deceived me, to benefit themselves and someone else. They deceived me by expressing a deep love for my piece. They violated an honor code, be it written or implied. I come from a time where I would sell at a fair price for art, but left a bit of the bone with meat, just in case they had to sell in an emergency. I've always tried to buy, leaving some meat on the bone for myself if I faced an emergency. It's how you build your portfolio and don't have tons of art you'd like to let go stagnate (see some dealers) because you put soul sucking prices in them. That's like saying look don't touch. Or look don't buy. My point is, it's easy to mock some of us who made a "mistake" by getting duped. But I think that's a narrow understanding of what this thread is all about. Without honor, what the hell do you have? Don't get me wrong. I welcome comments that warn us to be careful of falling for foolishness. Please just remember to encourage others with good advice and empathy. Everyone of us I suspect has at least one story involving art where disappointment took place. Thanks to all who've contributed.

Rick I love ya brother. But I think that's too harsh.

I knew this was coming. It broke my heart but I kept my word not to say anything. I loved this guy as much as you could love someone who is not your own blood. Great artist yes. A much better human being. My condolences to his family. You have so much to be proud of. May God bless you and help you get through this difficult time. R.I.P. John.

Scott, you're one of my favorite artists. I have one piece you inked I will never let go. I love your contributions to our chat. They are sometimes passionate, but always measured and thoughtful. Me knowing you still have this cover makes me unusually giddy. I know it's crazy what we've done as collectors. Our neurosis, desire, passion, ego, nostalgia, madness and more have contributed to obscene financial valuations on this stuff. John Romita Sr. said he never could've imagined these pieces would become so valuable. Even with my late start as an art collector, 1996, I figured out that one day this stuff would reach near unobtainable price points. It was a gut feeling. What am I saying? I'm saying I'm glad you still have a few great pieces made of your own blood, sweat and maybe a few tears? I can never repay the debt I owe the comic and fantasy artists that have captured my imagination since childhood. Thank you.

Here are a few movies I'd love to see. With the success of films like Sin City, and recent Spider-Man animation films, they should make. 1. The Mike Zeck 5 part mini series faithfully aligned panel for panel, frame for frame...... with the best animators. The original art and writing team as collaborators, consultants. I'd love that. Would it be R rated? 2. Not Punisher related, but I've always believed that adapting Mike Mignola art to the big screen would make for award winning work. Hellboy? hell yes. However, it's been a dream of mine to see Mignola's Triumph and Torment storyline be adapted to the big screen. I don't think it would come off with actors. I think it would be stunning with animators. Mike Mignola, and his inker, and the writer all as consultants again. (Badger and Stern?) I don't know if it would be a box office smash. But a dark film with Dr. Strange, Dr. Doom and Mephisto, animated beautifully, would win awards and prestige. Am I nuts? Yes. Don't answer that. ps. Absolutely agree with Scott about Whilce Punisher. Top notch.