PhilipB2k17

7 hours ago, ESeffinga said:

I've actually owned 3 published Usagi covers, and a few published endpaper pieces over the years. All were bought directly from Stan at various shows. Interiors you don't typically see for sale anywhere.

Right. Stan has covers available for sale on his site right now, in fact. My error. I heard a recent interview with him where he said he has kept virtually all of his art. I assumed he meant covers as well, since I rarely see any available. As I understand it, he will only sell internal pages that he rejected for a book, and had to redraw for some reason. So, only unpublished ones.

13 hours ago, Superhero said:

I am honored and pleased beyond belief to finally share this beautiful, amazing, wonderful grail piece with everyone.  Big shout out to my friends, Chris, Ron and both Joes for making this possible.

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=1408502&GSub=23844

All I can say is: Wow

8 minutes ago, malvin said:

Interior pages are rare if not impossible (unless someone else collaborated on it) but he actually regularly sells his covers.

Malvin

Thanks for that info. I know he holds onto almost all of his stuff. And, he inks and letters his own stuff, so there is no other collaborator to give pages to. His original art book was based on his actual pages, not scans of his pages. He sent them to the publisher.

On 7/14/2017 at 3:05 PM, Twanj said:

So, I feel you as far as having no local friends into comic art, but lots of friends into comics, going back to when we were younger.

You & I both like some of the same stuff. Ron Lim's Surfer is the tops.

If there's something to a page that borderline ruins it, move on! It happens to me all the time, I try to talk myself into it but I just can't if there's a proportion that's off or something looks weird.

I might not dip my toe into buying Infinity Gauntlet right now.

I haven't had much with dealers, I wouldn't bother unless they have a page you really love. Sounds like the Jim Lee one is close.

Once you find something you really love, it'll be easier to pull the trigger. But it's wise to be cautious at first!

Infinity Gauntlet proper pages are pretty inflated right now. And may always be. But, you can still pick up  Infinity Gauntlet tie in pages for more reasonable prices, IMHO. 

3 hours ago, Timely said:

Any Usagi Yojimbo fans here? I finally got a Usagi Yojimbo cover by Stan Sakai!!!

 

CAF link for those of you who would honor me with a nice comment  

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1408395

 

 

 

Wow! Stan holds onto almost all of his pieces. An actual published Usagi page in the wild is very rare, let alone a cover. Awesome pickup! 

3 hours ago, malvin said:

if you believe that, you should buy it

It is available direct from me on CAF for only $249..

 

Malvin

No thanks. I already have a pretty kick DPS by Land. 

16 hours ago, malvin said:

Hi Folks,

These end when SDCC is on but I still went ahead and listed items starting at 1 cent with no reserve!  Stop the madness, but look and bid!  The items are:

1. A MASSIVE page by Tom Richmond from the Mad Magazine parody of Watchmen (might be your best chance to buy something tenuously link to Watchmen cheap!)

2. A Whiteout page by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber!  There was a Kate Beckinsale movie on this many years ago, I'm sure it has upside!

3. Wayne Barlowe painted prelim for a novel (Bridgehead by David Drake)

4. Judah page (From Steve Rude's Nexus) by Vokes

Ebay Link

Thanks for looking

Malvin

See you have a Greg Land sketch in there too. People seem to be very hot and cold on land. Undervalued, probably, due to the controversies, which no one will care about in 10-20 years.

1 hour ago, suspense39 said:

I don't mind the time extension and agree, ten minutes is way too long, I'd even say 1 minute is plenty. 

Right. That will end sniping. It gives others an opportunity to outbid, but doesn't drag the thing out. And, don't live auctions keep going until the bids stop?

3 minutes ago, vodou said:

It makes a lot of sense, Felix is talking to fellow collectors. Not dealers. (Except Albert twice, and one had to be pulled back down...) Collectors have a longer view than dealers that need to make it rain regularly. Which is no excuse for bad behavior and why more customer service friendly dealers like Mike Burkey (romitaman.com) are so often praised and appreciated by the hobby at large. Mike makes his money, and then some, but does it in a way where the buyer still walks away feeling good about the whole thing. That's what I try to do too (I deal fine art) and it does work to everybody's satisfaction, if that's a goal of a dealer. Not all dealers give a sht however, they do know that -to some extent- they've got it and you want it and that does turn the customer is always right thing sort of upside down. You as a buyer have to decide how much that matters to you though. The art remains the art (for a price) and maybe it doesn't matter who's doing the selling if the price is right? There's nothing wrong with Anthony (to address a different post) but he's from NY and...things are a bit more business first, drinks later there. Maybe that's what you bumped into. That's my experience with him too, but it didn't bother me. I have plenty of friends already, I don't go comic art shopping -among dealers- to try and make new ones. Those...you'll find plenty of opportunities to make right here on this board. Ya know?

I think the point is that unlike comic books (or at least historically), your local CB store owners was more than willing to talk shop with you. Unless, of course, he was busy, etc. OA dealers (not all) tend to be very transactional. They are not there to help educate you. It's just different.

1 hour ago, rocket1312 said:

It's crazy how much your experience/situation mirrors mine.  I'm 37 and started in on all of this about 2.5 years ago.  Our tastes seem to have a lot of overlap and I also don't really know anyone else who's into this stuff.  The only difference seems to be that I was much quicker to jump into actually buying art.  You're smart to do your research and to be cautious, but my experience over the last year+ is that a lot of the art (especially early 90's) that I'm interested is quickly becoming unaffordable (to me).  That's not to say it's wise to get caught up in the bull market and wildly overpay out of fear, but I'm starting to realize that maybe I'm better off overpaying a little now for the stuff I know I really want while prices are still within my budget's stratosphere, rather than finding a deal down the road on something that doesn't completely scratch my itch.  Obviously your own budget and priorities will have a lot to say on the matter.

I've never dealt with Anthony Snyder before, so I can't comment on him specifically, but I will say that I have been somewhat turned off by the way some dealers/reps communicate in this hobby as well.  While the vast majority of my experiences so far with collectors, artists, dealers, and reps have been positive, there is an "exclusive club" sort of vibe that inevitably hovers over the comic art world.  It can be intimidating and I've definitely found there to be a learning curve when it comes to knowing how to communicate with certain key players.  I can sympathize with dealers in particular who are likely being bombarded with questions/requests on a daily basis and need to be able to weed out the looky loos almost immediately so that they are able to devote time to known quantities, but I also know it can be devastating to a new collector trying to find their way to be given what feels like a cold shoulder.  I'm not much of a networker, so I know I'm never going to be on the "inside" with any of these people, but I've generally found that as long as you're direct and confident (without being overbearing), willing to put your money where your mouth is and don't take any of it too personally, you'll be fine. 

This. I've been doing this for about a year, and finally went to C2E2 to see all the Big Boy dealers and art there. I eventually bought a piece, but I did get the impression that the art dealers were almost like car salesman in some respects. They are not like your friendly neighborhood comic shop owner, who wants to talk comics and stuff. They are more interested in pumping up a piece and selling it to you. I get that this is how they make their living, but it was a bit offputting. I guess if you establish a longer term relationship with them as a reliable buyer, they may change their attitude. But, its hard for newbies. 

1 hour ago, 1Toy2Many said:

We are definitely in it for the long haul as far as I know, and if we're not it's really going to suck for me because I've got plans and a great deal of energy committed already! Personal and professional.  

 

  I am here to integrate changes and that will absolutely involve breaking away from the status quo.  Otherwise, why I am here at all?  I'm just saying that there is a well-earned success bias that I need to respect when trying to make recommendations and modifications within a 50-year-old company.  I'm the new guy, so I have to earn the right to change things and the only way to do that is with a planned approach.  That's why all this input you all are sending is so valuable and appreciated, as it gives me more leverage beyond my own opinion when I'm sitting in a meeting. 

The one aspect of the funnel that's being overlooked is that many times, buyers will tap out late on pieces they're fighting to buy, but then they will shift their bidding to OTHER pieces that are still active and still at a lower price.  

In other words, you like a particular cover more than any other piece and you're winning it, but you also really like a splash page.  You don't have the budget to win both.  You're winning the cover but suddenly a bid comes in at $5200 and you can't match it......if that splash page is still active at $2600, you can now switch to it.  This is another reason the SELLERS like the extended clock, because that splash page just got another bidder it didn't already have.  It also gives you as a buyer a chance to still walk away with a piece you wanted.  

I'm just saying that if/when changes are made, these are all current factors that will need to be respected and answered.  What is it about the 10 minutes that bothers you, Philip?  

I think 10 minutes is much too long. Watch a live auction, and the auctioneer doesn't keep asking for a hammer price for 10 minutes straight. It's 2-3 minutes, tops. 

If I'm a Christies or a Sotheby's, I use my chase in the auction art world to develop my own online auction system, designed from scratch by top notch web designers and a game theory economist to see if I can compete with HA, etc. 

It seems to me that one of these auction houses should employ a game theory economist to design a bidding system that makes the most efficient sense for both the buyer and the seller. I like the idea that an auction should not "end" until people have stopped bidding on an item. Sniping occurs because auctions are timed out. But, I do not like the fixed 10 minute time extension either. 

15 hours ago, Bronty said:

If its your  money, sure

What? You mean not everyone here has $20K to blow on original art? That seems contrary to every other post on the forum. 

3 hours ago, Logan510 said:

Any other hot tips? 

Yeah. "Plastics."

1 minute ago, Gatsby77 said:

Yes. The book has already been, in the short-to-medium term, "potentialized."

With Jackman's final turn at the character behind us, the speculative money will move on to greener pre-movie pastures, like Venom, Punisher, even Dark Phoenix books.

God help us if we get wind that Beta Ray Bill will appear in Guardians 3...

I think the speculative feeding frenzy has moved on to NM #98; BA #12 and Nyx #3. Maybe NM #87 as well.

37 minutes ago, Bronty said:

You think THIS is worth $20-30 grand?

http://www.comiclink.com/itemdetail.asp?back=%2Fsection.asp%3F_SORT%3DYES%26id%3D1398%26f1%3Di.Price%26ODire1%3DDESC%26f2%3Di.Publisher%26ODire2%3DDESC%26f3%3Di.IssueNumber%2C%2Bi.Genre%26ODire3%3DASC&id=979244

1 minute ago, Bronty said:

One zero, more like!     I really want to sell you some no-cap panel pages

Well, it was a range. One zero appended to the $200; and one appended to the $300. 

34 minutes ago, Dumur said:

But then there is this:

https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/54113333_original-art-by-jack-kirby-from-captain-america-no-204

I don't understand. This is all crazy to me and why did I not know about this until now?!?!?

Wait, they put an "estimate" on that of $200-300? Aren't they missing a couple of zeroes?

44 minutes ago, october said:

9.4

2015 average was ~$4400

2016 average was ~$4800

2017 average is right around $5000

Looks like completely normal price appreciation to me. 

Here is AF 15 in 4.5 in comparison. Now THAT is abnormal. 

 

Well, you are right! The value appreciation for Hulk 181 has leveled off. The bubble may be close to popping. The collectors who can afford it have copies. The only ones buying at the current price point are flippers, and they are having a hard time finding takers at the top prices. 

On 5/30/2017 at 10:17 PM, Dogsupreme said:

I agree on POWER PACK. It's only a matter of time. NEW MUTANTS is a prime example. Not only does POWER PACK have an outstanding run on its own but is firmly established in the MARVEL UNIVERSE.

I also believe GREEN LANTERN #141 has great potential as well. 1st OMEGA MEN could be DC's answer to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. plus LOBO!

RAGMAN #1 is also a sleeper. DC's DAREDEVIL?

Another overlooked gem is STATIC #1. Had his own animated show and could possibly show up along BLACK LIGHTNING.

PHANTASM from the comic adaptation could appear as well in live action form in either GOTHAM or in a BATMAN movie. A great villain to rival the JOKER!

Other possibilities?

PREZ, NEW GODS, MR.MIRACLE. THE DEMON, SATANA, DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON, SHANG-CHI MASTER OF KUNG-FU, WHITE TIGER, JACK OF HEARTS, SHOGUN WARRIORS, MICRONAUTS, DAZZLER, SPIDER-WOMAN, NIGHT FORCE, CAPTAIN CARROT, AMETHYST?

Keep your eyes on the Micronauts. At some point, someone is going to realize its value, and make a kick- movie franchise out of it.

36 minutes ago, october said:

Classic bubble growth chart. 

What grade is that for? Or is it averaged out? Looks to me like the bubble started inflating right around 2012. The average value has basically tripled in 4 years. And if you compress that to the past 12 months, what do you see? And, keep in mind, that all the 181's people had in tehir collections started flooding out when the price started inflating. So, you are seeing a significant supply increase at the same time as that price tripling. Look at the sales volume. 

3 hours ago, Nino_013 said:

Definitely do your homework. And just because theyre a professionals, doesn't necessarily mean theyre the right person to do it.

Choosing the right colourist, can only help improve a piece. This ones probably been my favourite collab: Bob Layton w/Laura Martin colours..

Laura Martin is one of the best colorists in the world. So, naturally, that looks fantastic. I should think a coloring job by her would not in any way detract from the value of a a sketch cover. Not with anyone sane, anyway.

8 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Why can't they both be important? 180 and 181? 

They are. I just think 180 is undervalued and 181 is in the middle of a Dutch Tulip bubble. 

8 hours ago, Logan510 said:

It's only been the more relevant book for the last 30+ years 

 

It's good work you're doing 

You clearly don't understand what a bubble is.