Flambit

Somewhere I have one of his old price lists from 1987 because I was really trying to chase down Maguire Justice League art, a book I was obsessed with at the time. I just remember all the Kirby Eternals covers for $200 a pop...

Oh man, I didn't even notice that it was the complete book! That would make total sense, then! Someone was going for a bit of a profit there. And I know for a fact that it wasn't Thibodeaux's booth in 2003 where I saw the Black Panther cover. If's funny, because in 2006 or 2007 I was offered the Silver Star #1 complete book - without cover - and I want to say they were asking 12k (Three years prior, the whole thing plus cover was 5k!).

is this also 1998? Wow, there's the Black Panther cover I swear I saw at SDCC in 2003 - for $1500 less in 2003! Can't explain that one. I must have misremembered it, because that doesn't make any sense.

I just realized that New Gods book is EIGHT thousand, not five thousand. That does start to seem a little pricey! I mean... not anymore, but, for 1998, that would have been a pretty steep expenditure. I do remember, though, in 2003 (again), the covers for both Captain America 197 and 199 (AND one of the better 1970 Kirby Sandman covers) all popped up within a few months of each other on eBay. I wanted a Kirby Cap cover more than anything, but I was out of work at broke at the time. All three pieces closed in the 5k range and I distinctly remember thinking they were kind of a steal and if I had had the money I wouldn't have even hesitated.

The ENTIRE New Gods #5 PLUS cover? 5k? Wow. To kind of put it into perspective, I remember seeing Lisa Kirby in 2003 selling the entire Silver Star #1 book + cover for 5k at SDCC. I also saw Black Panther #7 cover prominently featured near one entrance for 3k at the same show.

I couldn't remember for sure - that was a total guess. I would definitely say the 253 is better, but there's something about the 258 that speaks to me.

Even if you don't know the artist, you can't go wrong if you like the piece. Unfortunately, I hate this particular Sky Masters haha. It's all set on the base, and mostly talking heads. I definitely still want a good Sunday though, but it's been so long since I've kept track even what they are going for now. Does anyone know what a decent one is worth? I never see them (Sundays) at auction or even for sale anymore...

Agreed on both points - the non Janson inks and the Romita face on the Thor cover both definitely contributed to my lack of interest. Did the Thor cover go for 25k? I lost track of it. I remember the Kirby Thor 258 cover (Grey Gargoyle) sold at least twice on Heritage and Thor's face is redrawn there, but that was, what, 33k? Wow - the winner did get a great buy! I personally like the 258 cover better, but the 253 has such a great, dynamic Thor pose!

thx for bumping. I can't believe this was 7 years ago!

I was actually a bit surprised to see the Miller DD hit 59k. The DD 190 cover was on clink a couple of years ago and only reached 40k. It's a little abstract, but I think I would have rather had that one, especially for the price, even though Elektra's face is in shadow.

The DD cover just hit 47.5k. I don't think it will go higher than 55k though. But I am prepared to eat hat for supper...

Similar thing happened to me. I inquired and was shot down - albeit in a very nice/polite way. It went to Clink and I got it for so much less than what I had been prepared to offer to the gentleman. Moral of the story: you may be holding on to someone's grail and don't even know it. Always at least be willing to hear offers!

Would also love to see the price list!

I think I told this story a few years back on the list, but many years ago I really was hankering for a Kirby/Wood Sky Masters Sunday. So that year at SDCC, probably mid 2000s, that was my goal. The Donnellys had two - I think it was Rich (tall, thin) that I was dealing with - and he trotted out two Sundays. One, he said, was inked by Ayers. But the other was certainly inked by Wood, so a deal was made. At this point, I knew that Wood only inked a portion of the Sunday strips, but I didn't know which ones. But I literally thought, "A dealer wouldn't lie to me." Of course, he lied to me; I found out later it was inked by Ayers. I bear my portion of the responsibility for this: I should have done my research, but at the time I didn't know how to tell what was done by whom (I later found out when I bought a copy of the Jack Kirby Collector on a whim and they were all right there under Sky Masters, broken down by inker/date). But I had assumed, having purchased most of my art though auction houses, which are generally pretty reputable, that dealers were as well. Another lesson: listen to your gut. The whole time, my gut was screaming that this was wrong, that it wasn't Wood, and it didn't look right. And the subject matter of the strip is odd. I'm sure they were thrilled to unload it. Still have it - I figure it's not totally worthless; there are Kirby pencils under there, but the whole thing left a horrible taste in my mouth.

congrats - I'd love to own a complete book one day!

My initial intention was to store my art in a safety deposit box and just keep high quality scans at home. Definitely takes some of the romance out of it, and I checked with a couple of banks and they generally didn't seem to have boxes big enough to store 11x17 pages. Then a family member actually came across a pretty good safe second hand which I bought. It's way bigger than needed for art storage - it's probably four feet high - and all of my portfolios sit on the bottom shelf. I generally keep it stored there and locked; I keep thinking if I leave it out, that will be the day the big earthquake happens or the cat will pee on it (like that X-Men cover haha). I do store other valuables inside as well since I have all sorts of room. 1) I think it's a fire/burglary safe 2) about 4'x3' maybe? 3) I can't recall offhand - I'd have to go look 4) porfolios 5) no 6) yes - have left the bags that came with the safe inside. 7) it actually does. I have a big safe now I can store other things in it, and since I live in SoCal, I'm more concerned about the big one hitting, it will probably be the one thing that survives if that portion of the house comes crashing in. And I live in a good area, but if I get burgled, there's no way anyone could move this thing!

Do you really think the Miller will sell more than the McFarlane?

I remember, it was probably years ago at this point, it was in the caf classifieds at 55k. I want to say David Mandel was the seller, but I'm not sure. At the time, I remember thinking 55k seemed really high for a pre-168 DD cover (that's how long ago it must have been). But who knows...

...and 13k for that Miller DD 169 page. I guess Miller DD talking head pages are hitting Byrne X-Men page levels!

I was a little surprised about that Kirby Liberty Legion cover going for $21k, especially since it sat so long for so low (although I've learned that means nothing). But the background is entirely stat, I believe, and I wasn't over the moon about the inks. I would have rather had that great Sandman cover (granted, not as iconic, and not Marvel heroes).

Yep, it's those certain special one-off stories that ring the nostalgia bell. I personally have wanted a page from "The House That Haunted Batman" for many years (just missed out on the splash a couple of years ago).

Congratulations! Like you, my dad bought me my first issue of Batman (by Aparo) at our local Circle K in the late 70's, and it was one of the first four or five comics I ever owned, and my first issue with Batman. Aparo will always be my #1 Batman artist, certainly from a sentimental standpoint. Hopefully you'll be able to track down a page or the cover to #442 and add it to your collection!

Wow! Is it because it's 15 cent silver age cover? I mean, just a couple of auction cycles ago, there was a Captain America cover on HA by Kirby, no less, and it only went for 24k with juice - and that was only 1976... No way this cover could go *that* much higher, right...?

Hi Lee, Will you be doing a prediction of the signature auction coming up next week?

Wow, that was great! Trying to place when he would have drawn it... Johnny Carson references, cars that might be early 70s... That would have been one of the seminal comics of my youth if it had been published - damn!