PhilipB2k17

Really deserving of a whole different thread, but yeah the 70s decade of comics and art, mostly sucked @ss. It's only nostalgia for those unlucky enough to be a young teen in those years that props the art up today (of course painting with a big brush here...there are probably a handful of exceptions). Agreed. Every era had a good % of unreadable material, but I always thought the 70's stuff contained a far higher % of it. 70's Marvel stuff, in particular, had a lot of experimentation going on. That's why 70's marvel comics are so hot right now. This is the era of Starlin's Captain Marvel and Warlock, Warewolf by night, Conan, the creation of Ghost Rider, Wolverine and Moon Knight, the introduction of the New X-Men, the Death of Gwen Stacy, etc. Later you had titles like Nova, that fantastic Micronauts book (with highly sought after Michael Golden OA pages), Rom, etc. This was my wheelhouse. The problems with Marvel in the 70's were inconsistent output, that required lots of reprint books, and filler issues, and missed deadlines, etc. Jim Shooter, usually portrayed as a villain, came in and cleaned all that up and got the trains to run on time, and made the place profitable.

It's not just graphic novels. All the Digital purveyors have years of back issues. For example, Marvel is publishing stuff from the Golden Age on Marvel Unlimited right now, let alone the stuff from the early 2000s. I agree with the stratification argument. There will always be a market for the top end stuff. But, you will see values become stratified. I think some of the current stuff (Trimpe IH pages, to take one example) are vastly overpriced for what they are going to be in a few years.

How much is a Blip #1 signed by Matthew Laborteaux worth? He was the US Pac-Man champion in 1982.

If this comes to pass, 3rd party signature certification on Original art pieces will become much bigger, as will seeking out signatures from artists. If you have an authentically signed piece of OA, the artist has literally and figuratively "signed off" on your ownership of it.

I saw that page offered on eBay a year ago, and the guys was asking for $ million for it. he probably assumes it will get Hulk 180 last splash page money. I do think that it should do better than $100,000, though. That price doesn't shock me. It's the first fricking appearance of Daredvil, fer chissakes. I would be stunned if someone won the DD#1. You're paying for 1 panel. Other than that you are just getting a bunch of gangsters sitting around playing poker. I'm not a massive Daredevil fan, but I don't believe that panel/page is considered a classic, it just so happens to be the first panel that the Daredevil appears on. $60-70,000 would be MAYBE what I think it should have gone for. The fact that it's at 90,000 and reserve not met tells me it should not sell. I do enjoy another mess up by Pedigree (can they get anything right?). "Daredevil is considered the first Silver Age solo hero to debut in his own book with issue #1...further increasing the importance and desirability of this art!" Apparently Randy has never heard of The Incredible Hulk, who was a solo hero, that debuted in his own book, with an issue #1.... in 1962!

Seriously, Blip #1 is an uncommon book? I have a copy in NM condition. Anyone want to buy it from me? Also, how common are those 7 Eleven Marvel Collectors giveaways?

Comichron publishes the monthly comic book sales data. Here's the data for November, 2016: http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2016/2016-11.html The Top selling comic was Batman, which sold 121,000 units to distributors. I don't know what percentage of them actually were sold to readers/collectors. Interestingly enough, the records for most comics ordered in a single month since 1997 (the year Diamond became the exclusive distributor) was August of 2016. http://www.comichron.com/vitalstatistics/diamondrecords.html So, last year was the strongest sales year for comics in probably 20 years. Take that for what it's worth.

Sounds like a great concept! Artists who I'd like to see spolighted: Eduardo Barreto, Emanuela Lupacchino, Terry Dodson, Dan Spiegle, Scott Shaw!, Joe Staton, Don Rosa, Stan Lynde, Leonard Starr, Jim Holdaway & Gisèle Lagacé (availability, pricing etc). Let me add Will Meugniot to that list. Anyone who has some of his DNAgents pages knows you often get an extra special bonus pinup drawing on the back. I have a great double page splash of his, both with fully inked, multiple pin-up drawing character studies.

Sure, I posted it at Comic Art Fans. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=1360749

As someone who's been doing this for only about a year, here is some advice I have, for what it's worth. The generic advice to "buy what you like," is correct. But what does that mean? The only way to really know that is to look at a lot of art, and get a feel for what makes a great piece of original comic art. Some people only want Covers. Others prefer splashes. Some don't mind the panel pages. Covers are invariably more expensive to buy, expecially the older, pre-digital era pieces. I actually think panel pages can be pretty great, as pop art. There is nothing like original comic book art, with the panels and word balloons. That's what makes the art special, and differentiates it from other types of art. I bought my first piece over 25 years ago at a convention from Sal Buscema. At the time, he was not regarded as a 1st tier artists, so I got a great title splash from him for an absurdly cheap price, which was the going rate at the time. Now, Sal has a much great reputation as a great Marvel stylist. I didn't start buying any OA until more recently, with that piece as a starting point. I don't have any other higher end pieces...yet. I prefer the older stuff, with the word balloons intact. Ink on Pencil. That's real Comic Book OA, IMHO. I also always collect the comic its from as well. It's especially fun when you come across a page from a comic you already own, and remember reading. I learned "values," initially by just following eBay auctions. After a while, you get a feel for what things are worth, and can start predicting how much they will sell for. I also set a budget on how much I am willing to pay for a piece. I've lost a few that I really liked because I was unwlling to pay more than my budget, but the great thing about this hobby is that there are hundreds of thousands of pages out there. You will find another one you like eventually. I like 80's independent comic books stuff. And, because the books they come from are not so highly sought after, the pieces tend to be reasonable. Even from bigger name artists. But, what I've found as a rule of thing on OA, is that the artistic merit of the piece counts the most. It's a visual medium, and things that just look really great tend to command higher process, no matter who the artist is. I'll take a great splash page by a lesser regarded artist over a really crappy example page by a "star" any day. And, both do exist. Second, well-known characters tend to be more sought after. Spider-Man and Batman pages, no matter who drew them, are going to command a premium, generally. Not always. But, generally. Especially if they are good examples of the characters in action. Sexy woman art also brings a premium. A sexy drawing of any female in a published comic book page will tend to draw more interest, no matter who the character is. This is a male dominated hobby, so that's just a fact. Superhero stuff tends to get higher prices than other stuff, unless it's from a premium artist, from a classic era, doing horror or sci-fi or humor. Pages from well known artists Comic runs for a particular character, or from key issues, will command higher process than general run books by lesser known artists. Grail pieces for one collector may not be so for others. Some may think a McFarlane spidey-splash or cover is a grail. Others, like me, would rather have ANY Dave Stephens page, especially if it's Rocketeer. I saw someone was able to score one of Stephens' classic Alien Worlds covers recently and was consumed with jealousy. But, after a while I thought how great that piece was an appreciated it. In any case, the bottom line is - buy what you like, but don't pay more for it than you can afford. Quantity can also be quality, if you have a discerning eye and buy stuff you really like. There are a TON of great, great, great less expensive pages out there. They are just not from key books, or by superstar artists. They are just excellent examples of the artform. I do advise going to conventions and just talking to artists there, and buy from them directly if you like their work. But, folks, real Comic Book OA is going the way of the dodo. In 5 years, comic books will no longer have original pencils or inked pages. It will be all digital. So, the stuff that exists out there now may be all there will ever be. I am not a fan of the digital stuff. The finished artwork is great, don't get me wrong. But, it's not the same as real ink on pencil. That's just me, though. Others may - and do - disagree! That's what makes this hobby so great.