PhilipB2k17

This is why I mostly buy art directly from the artist, or his representative. It’s anazing to me that a lot of the old Kirby stuff, which was clearly stolen (Hello, X-Men #1) sells for as much as it does.

Wow. That’s fantastic.

The story about how X-Men #1 pages mysteriously surfaced is a classic example. Some guy goes to a local comic shop in NYC, peddling the art. IF that's what happened. (I have my doubts).

I like this one.

I'd ask for him to prove it, or move on. I'd never match that.

The middle two look like they were inked by Bill Sienkiewicz to me, unless I'm crazy.

$8k for sure. The seller said he’d take that.

If it's not Wolvy: C Artist, B book, C-D page.

There are E-level Tony Moore walking dead pages?

Isn’t it DDD level?

I love that page too! I may even pick up an Elvira page, or two, because I know an artist working on her book right now.

Sept through October. https://www.societyillustrators.org/exhibits/tales-crypt-revolutionary-art-mad-and-ec-comics

Maybe he saw Mike coming, and quickly whipped it out so it was prominently on the wall whenever Mike walked by?

He won't say, because he's probably going to bid on it. Nor should he.

LOL! And here comes panelfan undermining the logic of my previous post. I personally think any KJ page is an "A" page. Now, are there KJ pages that are better than others? Yep. This I would classify as the A+ or A++ pages. But ANY page from this book is "A" level. So, I don't think it's inconsistent to say that a lower tier KJ page is not worth "$120,00, (although technically it IS because someone paid that for it) but also acknowledge that it's still a hobby A page. So, again, this gets to the heart of the question. For people whom a KJ page is an actual possibility, they are ranking that KJ page against Kirby FF covers, etc. They are not comparing it to the run of the mill stuff us ham and eggers collect. So, yes, to them it's lower on the totem pole. But, it depends on where you sit.

I look at the rankings like a Pyramid. With A stuff being at the tip. But, I think that Arvell Jones page is a good conversation piece for this thread, because it gets to the heart of how you define this material. Just from a purely objective standpoint, that Cap page is great. It has everything anyone would want in that kind of a page. It's got self-contained dialogue that does not need to be explained. It has a big Cap image of him punching the Red Skull (his arch nemesis) in a mirror image of his Hitler punch from the cover of Cap Comics #1, and some additional fight panels pages. It's well-rendered, and actually is pretty dynamic. If this was Zeck, or even Sal Buscema (not even listing Kirby here) it would be at least a low 4 figure page, no question in my mind. This would be true regardless of the storyline or title. Now, on the positive side it's from the mainline Captain America title, albeit from an Annual. On the negative, it's by Arvell Jones, who is admittedly no better than a C list artist in the hobby (although he does have some fans). But, I actually think this is among some of his best stuff (and I've seen qute a bit of it because he does a lot of the conventions in Michigan). But, regardless it's really good -- for Arvell. On the positive: It has word balloons, and is pretty clean as far as the art goes. (I've seen the OA). It looks really nice in person. A Cap OA collector might see this as a really great example that they could hang on the wall. Now, it's not "A" art, which I freely admit. It may not even be A art for Arvell (which is limited to probably his early Misty Knight pages). But it's definitely high B level - for him. I think it's fair to say that this is an overall C level Cap page, but only because it's Arvell. If this were Zeck, or Sal, then it would be a solid B, IMHO. All that said, I still didn't buy it because the asking price was too high (in my mind). I have no doubt that heavy hitters like Gene (understandably) don't think this page rates. Gene is collecting Dave Stevens covers, and the like, so his standards for what constitutes A level and B level are at a different stratosphere from the ham and eggers like me. A Killing Joke page - ANY killing joke page - is an "A" page to us, because it's way out of our league. Now, in the hobby as a whole, maybe that's not true. But it depends upon where you sit. In any case, that's just my two cents. Your mileage at vary.

Let’s just call it a “poor man’s” B page.

It’s a minimum low to mid 4 figures page, for sure. Plus it’s a Frank freakin’ Miller page from the Wolverine mini. So, yeah, keep it. It’s great.

Zeck’s covers to Secret Wars #1 & #8 are “A” Pages, we all agree?

Yeah. Maybe even $3k. A full page splash from ASM 231 sold for over $7,700, with juice in February.

Yeah. Talking head panel pages from this series, which have minimal Wolverine, have recent auction sales of between $7-$8K I think $3-4K is a fair estimate, but pages from this series are in high demand, don’t come up that often, and this has that classic Miller negative space look, with ninjas. So I could see it pushing $5k at auction.

I think if you ask for opinions, then getting honest responses should be expected. Nobody’s taste in art is exactly the same. So you have to take it with a grain of salt.

Following up: Can a truly great image set a floor on the “Level” of a piece? Meaning, can it be so great that regardless of artist or story or issue, it’s a B? Or does it have to also be if a great character? The Cap page above would not be rated the same if it was some random 90’s indie character punching some random villain. It’s great because it’s Cap battling Red Skull in a mainline Marvel title. Right?

I regret not buying this page when I had the chance. It was literally very recent. The price quoted was a little more than I wanted to pay, and I am saving up for a Con next weekend. But an hour after I left the Small Con where this was, I regretted it. But I chalk this up to disciplining myself. The price quoted to me was probably about 25-30% more than what Ai mebtally pegged the value of the piece at. But I did not do a good HA search yet (bad internet connection) so did not see that a splash from the same ssue sold for much more than what I was quoted. I think this page is ~better~ than that Splash. I might get a second chance as the person who has it might be at another con and I can try again. It’s not one of their “display” pages. So who knows if it will sell by then.

I get why old style dolls have cratered. Demographics. Especially raggedy Ann. Now, action figures like classic GI Joe or Mego? Or Barbie? Way up.