The Voord

There's nothing illegal about two collectors agreeing not to bid against one another (one drops out of the running) and is more an act of friendship than a deliberate attempt to deprive the seller out of a higher result. For me, I could do without the emotional baggage as in any auction scenario I would always want a clear pathway in my bidding (at the end of the day, I'm pursuing an artwork I want). The one time I was asked by a so-called 'friend' (in the loosest of terms) not to bid against him on several artworks he was interested in competing for in an auction scenario I politely refused. The other collector was someone who was quick to ask favours but rarely if ever reciprocated (usually only contacting me when it suited him). There are a number of good guys I might listen to, but he wasn't one of them. I think the whole idea over-complicates things unnecessarily. If it's an auction, the guy willing to pay the most should win the prize and if I lose out by playing it straight, I'll take solace in the fact I gave it my best shot.

We had a thread on this in recent years. I didn't agree with the practice then and don't agree with it now. Collectors in favour of this type of collusion were adamant that the seller didn't lose out, which I also disagreed with.

Enki Bilal . . .

I know, I fed it to you!

Bob Kane Batman drawings are so old school. Where are the clowns? Send in the clowns!

Years ago, someone at Marvel asked me for a high-res scan of a Tales to Astonish cover I owned at the time for one of their reprint editions. I was clearly told that no complimentary copy would be forthcoming, but it didn't really pose much of a problem for me to scan the cover - so I did. On the other hand, I've contributed scans of Ditko cover art to Craig Yoe and was sent copies of the published books.

Seems to have now stabilized at 500 artworks, wow!

Welcome to the jungle We've got fun 'n' games We got everything you want Honey, we know the names We are the people that can find Whatever you may need If you got the money, honey We got your disease

Looks HOT to me!

Damn, I thought we was talking Hot CAKES!

A Spanish collector friend, Jimmy Willis (good Spanish name, !) has just joined CAF and currently has nearly 300 images uploaded, with a magnificent range on display. Jimmy is a valued member of my Movie Poster Artwork and Marketplace FB group. I met him in person in Hamburg, Germany, a few years ago when we had a summit meeting of movie art collectors. Nice bloke and we've done some good deals together over the past few years. Link to Jimmy's CAF Galleries: Comic Art Gallery of Jimmy Willis at ComicArtFans.com . . . and some sample paintings from his collection:

"Interior pages are better than splashes" is the new "splashes are better than covers"!

You need to convince dealers on that one.

To all intents and purposes I've now finished my re-do of 'Soldier' from the 1964 OUTER LIMITS episode of the same name written by the late great Harlan Ellison. 'Soldier' is one of several OUTER LIMITS episodes that James Cameron would later plagiarize for his 1980s movie, THE TERMINATOR. I based my sculpture on available screen captures from the filmed episode and I'd like to think that I've remained faithful to the helmet's design. This is one of four casts. This is my display bust; I'll keep a spare (unpainted) cast and the remaining two copies are now spoken for by collector friends. I'll be starting a new project next month . . . A few minor paint corrections to make here, but nothing major.

This?

I had a similar problem last year sending a painting from the UK to a Spanish collector via FedEx - which was the first time I'd used the service. Not sure how it works in America, but if memory serves me right I used my National Insurance Number (which might be a UK thing) for National ID. Now I've got three paintings going out to the same guy later this week . . .

Sorry, I wasn't declaring my own strategy as I always vote for what excites me . . . I was just wandering if the deafening silence to this thread was due to the possible reason I suggested? I have always listed my voting choices in all the years this thing has run but forgot to note down what my selections were this year. I know I voted for the Ditko ASM pages for sure!

Where'd everybody go? The problem with declaring who you voted for . . . you pizz off those you didn't vote for!

Conan can limbo dance with the best of 'em!

I like how the new voting system works which is a lot more manageable to narrow down your selection. I have cast my votes, with the exception of the sketch covers stuff - which doesn't really excite me. I didn't keep a list of the art I voted for though the Ditko ASM pages were no-brainers for me to select.

Guys being knocked out are pretty common place in comic-books . . . you seen one good punch, you seen 'em all, So what else is new? One Minute Later guy could clean up on these things! One Minute Later:

Have started to build my army of OUTER LIMITS 'Soldiers'. Two today . . . three by Saturday! These are hollow latex casts of my latest sculpture. The one on the left is a few days old and the latex has cured a bit more than the guy on the right, who is fresh out of the mold today. As the latex cures, the colour begins to tan. They're hollow casts and will need to be filled with rigid-drying polyurethane foam, prior to painting and extras bits and pieces added . . . like rivets and stuff. The guy on the right has not been seamed (i.e. flash from the two halves of the join eliminated).

I decided to re-do my second OUTER LIMITS sculpture, 'Soldier'. The first version was pretty good but I thought I could make some noticeable improvements now that I've got a little more experience behind me. Some end of day five photo updates. The clay sculpture has been sprayed with white plastic coat spray, to act as a barrier between the clay and the plaster mold - which has now been created. Some light plaster repairs to do on the inside of the cast then give it several days to dry more fully. Should have my first latex copy towards the end of the coming week . . . Some attachments, such as rivets and the antenna, will be added in post-production.

Send in the national guard!

What are you interested in most . . . the art or the $$$s?