Flambit

1 hour ago, zhamlau said:

When I say that out loud, it blows my mind. I bought an AF15 in higher grade recently...again mind blown when i pull myself out of collector mode and into "omg, how many months of mortgage payments did i put into this collection of staples and paper?!?!"

I keep waiting for this ride to end and crash so i can buy art and comics for 10cents on the previous dollar...it keeps not happening for some reason. God, how great would it be if everyone agreed to start selling covers for few hundred bucks again (in today's dollars)!

 

 

I was flipping through the Heritage archives, and I'd be happy just to go back to 2011-2012 prices!

On 4/21/2017 at 6:06 AM, furthur said:

I have several frames made by "Frame it Again Sam" who used to make these quick change frames, but has apparently retired. The tops pop off and the art is behind plexi, but inside the frame there is a pocket with a mylite and an acid free backing board. Perfect for modern size pieces and allows me to swap things out regularly. I have this four frame set up in my office and change it out every couple of months so I can look at different things. Currently up are a Risso Batman/Joker  commission, a Question cover by Cowan/Sienkewicz, a Sandman commission by P. Craig Russell and a Silver Surfer cover recreation by Buscema of a cover  that I used to own the original of. These have been up for a few weeks so I will probably swap them out around the beginning of May.

That is such a great idea.  It's too bad the guy seems to have retired, I would have had some frames made up like that years ago when I was displaying art more.  Now, thanks to the magic of technology, I am probably just going to make high quality scans on heavy bond paper that is similar, but not as thick as standard comic art stock and frame with cheap frames.  I'm also in the process of replacing framed art with scanned repos as well.   

You used to own that SS cover?  Damn...

I was always a bit confused at where the line was drawn: are the lawyers contesting artwork that was returned to the Kirby's that they then sold in the 70s/80s as well?  There's a Devil Dinosaur cover on Ha that I'm pretty sure the family received and resold...

Yeah, that sketch is a bit of a bummer.   Especially when guys like Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez will do fantastic little sketches for free at SDCC.  

I have never really objected to signing art - that much.  Guess it depends on how it's handled.

The last John Byrne one I saw was pretty horrific... it's the s incredible piece of Marvel history, with all these flawless little Austin lines, and right in this open space at the top, there's this big ugly signature (no disrespect to his signature - I like his signature - but man, should have been along the boarder or something!)

At the same time, back in the late 80s when this stuff was merely a collecting oddity, I got an Aparo Batman cover expressly so I could have Bob Kane sign it and - I know, ugh! - personalize it to me!   I would never do that again (and I'll never, ever sell the piece, so I don't regret it).   I just wanted something cool and Batman with Bob Kane's signature (I was a kid, didn't know about Bill Finger, so have mercy).  Plus, Aparo had personalized it to someone before I bought it.

But I actually like the Walking Dead page.  The signatures look cool, and I don't really think I would detract that much from the sale value, and they are arranged pleasingly, not in the art, and it doesn't look like a key page of any sort.

 At the same time, I wouldn't let the cast of the Avengers anywhere near a Kirby Avengers page!  

7 hours ago, ESeffinga said:

Amateurs. 

Stan Lee would have signed right over his face.

Judging by a couple of X-Men 137 pages I've seen, John Byrne would have signed right in the middle of the art with a giant Sharpie! 

I've known Scott for years and I told him he had been mentioned by Scott Williams in that recent podcast.  Scott has told me for years he was Miller's art rep, but seeing that picture.... holy mother of god...!

1 hour ago, Drewsky said:

Honestly, get a high quality copy made, frame that and keep the original in a portfolio. Light kills inks, and your white page will tan if you don't do all the expensive stuff. Also, Never put art on an exterior wall if you live in shifting climates. The change temp could worpe the page or cause moisture damage. It's your piece, but putting an original out is a risk imo.

Exactly what I plan to do.  Why risk damage to pages worth $$$ when I can get a high resolution scan and frame it cheap?

On 4/3/2014 at 1:59 PM, koollectablz said:

No don't misunderstand.

 

The example I used - the Gene Day 'Dr Who' cover has not had the borders added with an overlay. They have been taken from either a blank piece or a damaged or valueless piece and added deliberately to defraud.

 

I'll say it again so no one can mistake me - they have added and altered the piece on purpose solely for financial gain and to cheat an unsuspecting customer.

 

How do I know?

 

I asked if any work whatsoever had been done to the piece (as I knew it previously from CAF and watched the auction on Heritage) mentioning the borders quite specifically and was told the piece was all original and that the borders were attached to the art and always had been.

 

As for the price? It's a free country they can choose to charge whatever they like. Likewise I and everyone else can choose to shop elsewhere.

Look what just popped up on eBay!  For $8150!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/252853662254?ul_ref=http%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F0%2Fe11021.m43.l1120%2F7%3Feuid%3D9a4f8eba89cc43658a0d6409bb672ead%26bu%3D43189834087%26loc%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.com%252Fulk%252Fitm%252F252853662254%26sojTags%3Dbu%3Dbu%26srcrot%3De11021.m43.l1120%26rvr_id%3D0&ul_noapp=true

I've wanted to attend for ages but I'm so far away.  At least SDCC is only four months away!

15 minutes ago, shadroch said:

SGT Fury 113 is a reprint from 1967. No original art in that book as far as I know.

I didn't know that.  I just saw the 113 at the top of the page in the auction picture.  I have no idea what issue the art is originally from.  

Savage Sword of Conan 191 pg 24

ASM 237

Bob Hall/Frank Giacoia

Captain America Ann 10

James Brock - pencils

Hudson - Inks

Here you go:

Sgt Fury 113, pg 17: Ayres/Tartglione

My knee jerk reaction is to say, "You have to be willing to let anything go." But then I can imagine how frustrating it must be to have all but a few pages to a complete book.  You either don't know where they are, or worse, someone is sitting on them to spite you.  And you never know what will happen!  I had made peace with letting my personal grail go, only to find it surface at random for a FMV opportunity.

I have a number of different loves in OA, but I've recently started collecting Top Ten art: the story meant a lot to me and it's generally pretty affordable.  It's crossed my mind to try and complete an issue, but I doubt it will ever happen.  The pages are too scattered, so I count myself fortunate to have what I have and I'll just buy a page here or there when I can.  It scratches the collection itch without breaking the bank.  And I have to say, everyone here has been awesome in pointing me towards various pieces and opportunities, everyone has been very gracious about offering help.

The other nice thing about Top Ten is, while I love it, I can't really be held hostage.  I found three interior pages on caf for sale, with the price listed as "Please Inquire," so I did.   These have to be the highest prices I've ever heard quoted for any Gene Ha interior artwork anywhere.  So I'm quite happy with the idea of never owning these pages.  

I always thought Kevin Maguire really underperforms, especially his Justice League stuff, considering what a fan favorite he was and how loved that book was.  I've seen at least two JL covers from his run go at auction in the last few years, both for less than 5k.  Maybe that was reasonable, but I was a bit shocked.  

Of course, I'm sure if it was one of his "elevator" covers, it would go for a bit more than that...

3 hours ago, Timely said:

I just added a Hercules cover by Bob Layton to my CAF.  Awesome cover with Galactus, Watcher & many more.

 

Check it out!

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1385790

 

West

Nice - but I really like your Weird War 48 cover!  Was one of my favorites as a youngin!

There is one aspect of this hobby that have never been able to get my head around.  

Does it really devalue your art if you reveal it to the world (in a caf gallery, etc)?  

I know there's a fear of theft, which I understand.  If you have the Action 1 or AF 15 cover, you might want to keep that under wraps.  

But there's the "fresh" aspect that confuses me.

I've read threads about Black Hole collectors, but they doesn't really go into detail about the "freshness" thing. 

If someone has the cover to, say, Daredevil 158, and it surfaces first in a caf gallery and then goes to Heritage a year later, I doubt it would have much effect on it's value.  It's not AF 15, but it's a piece that most of us would sit up and take notice of, even though it isn't fresh, per se. 

But if you had a lesser Byrne piece - let's say a second tier piece like a WCA, She Hulk, or Action/Superman cover, basically a cover that isn't prime 70's Byrne, but still could command a decent 4 figure price (let's say it's not Coollines selling it) - does THAT get hurt by showing up on caf and then moving to an auction site soon after?  

(Or a comparable piece - a Bolland, etc,  whatever your personal cup of tea in that range is...)

I'm genuinely curious - it seems like there is so much cool art that still exists, yet, it just ain't out there (on caf, for example).  Is it because collectors are hiding it for future sales?  

I think it falls into two catagories for me: one is "I can't believe that piece has actually surfaced, even though there's no way in hell I'll ever be a contender, but the spectacle to see what happens with the outcome be entertainment enough (DKR2 cover, GLGA 76, Watchmen covers, etc)," and then "Wow, this is a dream piece and  I could actually make a realistic attempt for this piece!"

With the former, it seems like once every year or two, there's a legendary piece on Heritage.  In fact, I even think the frequency of the big deal legend pieces surfacing on Heritage has increased.  

With the latter, though, idk... I'm a lot more jaded.  There's a lot of neat stuff coming up on Heritage/Clink that I'd be thrilled to own, but none of it is keeping me awake at night.  I don't really know what goes on in the private circles, but I follow the auctions like clockwork, and I'd say, maybe once every half dozen auction cycles there's "that one..."

I seem to have a knack for missing stuff on CAF - I have never seen a piece I've really wanted surface there - and eBay is kind of a wasteland now that I haven't really checked (outside of a tip from a kind soul every so often), but definitely ten years or more, it seemed like there was incredible stuff surfacing every week.  

That's a keeper right there!

Outside of my Alan Moore Top Ten fascination, and Alpha Flight #12, My big "where are they's" for several years have been these five Flash covers from the late 70's:

Edit: actually I believe Mike Burkey had this last one for sale in 2013 for 4k, but I had been wiped out getting something else just a month before.

I'd like to thank Malvin, Simon and Bird for the eBay head's up - I did win that Synder Top Ten page!  It's a great piece.  And thanks to J.Sid - I did contact Gene Ha, but he said he sold all of his pages a long time ago (I thought I'd heard that rumor once upon a time).  

I have a couple of things on their way, and then I will be back in the game!  Thanks again!

15 minutes ago, rotembk said:

Sure (but yeah, for some reason the search engine made it really hard to find it):

 

That's it, yes, thank you!  Yes, I seem to have a lot of problems getting the search engine to find anything.  "Post Your Ghost" kept pulling up Ghost Rider threads.  

Shame Post Your Ghost didn't catch on - it's a really catchy thread title!

The one I keep coming back to is the cover to Alpha Flight #12, for some reason.  Doubt I could afford it at this point, but I'd love to see it.  Was a huge influence on me as a kid.  

Curious how many of these pieces have been found over the last ten years...!

Also - i swear I've seen a much longer thread dedicated to searching for "lost" pages, but I cannot find it!  Can someone point me in the right direction?