PhilipB2k17

LOL! No. That’s Juggernaut. But he does get his powers from Cytorrak

This shows why I was interested in the pages. Very cool art.

This one?

I separate my DPS (I know, the horror!) and place them next to each other in the portfolio so you can open it up to That's great, as long as you keep the art out of direct sunlight. For higher end stuff, you would need Museum glass, or its plexi equivalent.

That depends. Are you still offering them at the same price point? LOL!

I'm not sure I agree with the "best in class" designation for A list art. Is the "best in class" Tim Truman Grimjack page an A page from a collector's standpoint? It may be for SOME (me, included!) but Grimjack and Truman are not A-list (or even B list in many people's eyes). Then again, maybe the 1st appearance of Grimjack MIGHT be an A page, and possibly the cover of #1? They are certainly A's for certain types of collectors. But, maybe not most of the rest of the hobby. But, other than that, would any pages come close?

We can't define B level art without first defining what A level art is.

Some criteria that I am putting out for discussion A - Level 1. 1st App of a major character, regardless of artist, or even aesthetic value (See Hulk 180 Wolverine final panel Page by Trimpe: Nyx 3 Cover, etc.) 2. One of the best pages from an alltime classic comic run, regardless of title or artist. —— a. Featuring a critically important scene from the story; b. Cover from that run c. Featuring a classic or quintessential depiction of the main character or characters in that classic run 3. An iconic cover, regardless of artist, character or title. 4. A classic/ quintessential example of an iconic artist’s depiction of one of his or her signature characters during a period regarded as that artist’s prime, and a high point or era for the character or book. Example, a high quality John Buscema cosmic surfer Page.

The Mona Lisa is, objectively, not Leonardo’s best painting. Yet, it’s an A+++++

My advice would be to get B level art while it is still (relatively) cheap. You saw the same thing happen in the comic book market, with the high grade keys going for higher and higher prices to the point where the mid-grade stuff started becoming more affordable for the average collector, and then you saw the prices of that start going up. As for the definition, I think YMMV.

Yeah, I don't know.

I saw a pretty nice Saint of Killers page on ebay for $2500 at a time when average Preacher pages were going for that. SOK is the breakout star of that series, and pages with him on it sell at a premium.

Where's Bill C at?

That, and the cover is actually pretty damn nice. That is some vintage Byrne at his best.

Yeah, I was gonna say, that looks like "Robert" in context. The first name of the inker.

Someone will pay a lot for this, regardless. It's a published Byrne X-Men cover reinterpreting his most iconic image.

I like Sal's art, and have more appreciation for it than I used to. But I think his reappraisal is mostly nostalgia driven. Sal was a good, solid, reliable pro. The equivalent of a major league outfielder who you can count on to play every day, hit about .280 with 25 HR's & 85 RBI; and play a solid outfield for you. The kind of guy who every team likes to have on their team, but is constantly looking to replace with the 5 tool superstar prospect. He worked fast, and at a consistent professional quality level in all kinds of genres. So, he worked on a LOT of Marvel stuff during the 1970's and 80's, which are hitting their nostalgia peak with many deeper pocket collectors right now. Sal's art was also the epitome of that era's Marvel House style. He wasn't one of the idiosyncratic art superstars, like Frank Miller, or John Byrne or Bill Sienkiewicz. But when you think of Marvel art from this era, you inevitably think of Sal. Plus, he worked on some classic titles from the era, like Rom, New Mutants, Hulk, etc. Sal's art is also back in the era when you still had word balloons. So, again, there is a nostalgia factor at work. You are getting a quintessential Marvel art page when you buy a Sal page from that era. (I'm not sure his later DC work is as prized). Is he a top 5 all-time comic book artist? As much as I like Sal (and my first piece of OA was bought directly from him some 25 years ago), I do not agree. But, he was made for the mediun, no question about it. He had an expressive, dynamic style and was a consummate sequential story teller.

Me too. Every time I go to a show, I see stuff I have in my collection up on the dealer walls advertised for prices I can't believe. Stuff that just a short time ago was considered dollar bin dreck.

Things change so quickly in the comic collecting world (and to an extent the OA world as well), that crazy stuff happens. I have dealer friends who can barely keep up with all the books that suddenly become "keys" due to some new retcon, or TV show. I just discovered one such instance relating to my OA collecting. Last year, I was eyeing a couple of nice Doctor Strange pages by Geoff Isherwood on eBay. They were from (at the time) a run of the mill early 90's run, but it they featured a nice battle between Strange and the Juggernaut. At the time, the pages were a bit over my price range, so I kind put them on my watch list to see if they got reduced. I was close enough to pulling the trigger on one of them that I went out and hunted through local comic shop dollar bins for the issue it was from: #44. I like to own the published comic my art is from. So, anticipating that I may buy one of these pages, I purchased a nice copy of the comic for no more than $1. As it turns out, I decided against buying the art, but I still have the comic. It was a nothinburger issue, which just happened to feature some nice art. Well, that's all changed folks! It turns out this issue featured the first appearance of Cyttorak. You know, of the "Crimson bands of Cyttorak?" And, it has become a valuable commodity in the past year. It went from being a dollar bin nothingburger to a $40-$50 key book. (Not sure how long that'll last, but that's the case right now!). Why did it skyrocket in price? I have no idea. Now, I regret not buying one of those pages from this issue. Granted, none of them had Cyttorak in them. But still.

That’s my point. The strip values don’t reflect quality

Pogo was regarded by historians of the art form as one of the best strips ever produced, with Walt Kelly being regarded as a genius. C&H May or May or may not sustain its current esteem.

Yep. You can actually make a bit of money as a dealer by buying bulk collections for 10 cents on the dollar then selling the stuff in dollar boxes at conventions.

The “specimen sample” Certificate of Authenticity is a nice touch.

I confess I wanted that American Flagg cover by Chaykin. But I am not a guy who prebids so I missed out due to being busy during the live auction. Congrats to whoever picked that up.

I go to a lot of conventions and have dealer friends that ai talk about this stuff with frequently. And, they are seeing both a crazy run up in “Keys” but also an uptick in people buying back issues and runs. Mom not certain whether older collectors are being lured back into the market, but I see a lot of kids and younger parents buying back issues as going through long boxes. There is an innate kid appeal to holding a floppy comic in your hands; or reading it on your bedroom floor or under your sheet with a flashlight. Even kids who grea up on iPads like comics. I have even seen some comic stores who used to only carry new stuff (and maybe a year or two of back inventory) start to buy up older collections so they can put out classic inventory. The massive pop culture upsurge for comic TV shows, video games and films is starting to have an effect. A lot of people are interested in the history of these characters and where the stories came from. Abd while thy like reading a trade volume, they see all those classic issues hanging on a wall or in a glass case and get intrigued by the real deal. Abd have you been to a Free Comic Book day event at a local comic store lately? I live in the Midwest, and not a major population hub and they are packed, with long lines out the door. That has changed over the past 3-4 years too. Face it. Comic books are freaking cool!