Flambit

Loved Richie Rich as a kid! I had a stack of them, along with my Cracked magazines from the late 70s that disappeared somewhere along the way. The funny thing is that both of those runs are so much more difficult to replace in terms of just wanting to flip through or re-read; any of that Marvel or DC stuff is easy to find in digital form, and even Kirby's later, lesser stuff alone will be reprinted until the end of time in some form, but finding that run of Cracked Magazines or a run of Richie Rich Dollars and Cents or Richie Rich Diamonds in a cheap digital format? Impossible. The ironic thing is there have been a ton of Severin Cracked covers on Heritage recently!

I'm so nostalgia driven, probably more than I care to admit, so this is a great thread for me! My period was about 1977-1979 and 1982-1986. There are so many books in there: most anything from the Pacific Comics run, Byrne's Alpha Flight, Miller's DD, etc, etc... so many! But three from the first five or six comics I ever read that are still magic for me to look at:

No way it's only 80k. Especially when those Thor covers went for more than 100k. If it showed up on eBay for 80k, and it was the real deal, I would find a way to come up with 80k to buy it myself! My guess is a bit less than 300k. I think around 250k.

I feel bad about that. I wrestled with coming late but I was thinking it was a formal sit-down type of thing, so I thought my arrival would have been kind of a disruption (placing my order late, etc). Ah! Next year! And sorry again for the inconvienence.

Really sorry I missed this dinner. Had really been looking forward to meeting some of you in person and sharing stories! Had to help someone right after con ended and I wound up too far away from the restaurant to get back there on time - I would have been over an hour late and didn't want to intrude. Hopefully next year!

Speaking of large paper Kirby OA: back in December (or so) of 1982 Kirby did a signing at my LCS called the Comic Book Nook in Simi Valley. There was a back room where they used to hold gatherings for role playing games (Champions, D&D etc) and at one end of the room there was a roll of paper which was suspended on a hanger of some sort - like a roll of paper a photo studio might use to create a false background for a subject - but at the store it was used to write notes or or doodle on during a game. I walked back there shortly after the signing and Kirby had drawn a life sized Silver Surfer standing with his board in hand. It wasn't super detailed, and with a marker only, and the paper was that cheap white "Pictionary" bond stuff, but damn it was cool. The size alone was so impressive. I've always wondered what happened to it - hopefully the store owner took it or it wound up somewhere safe.

What I have noticed is that, thankfully, the crazy throngs of people seems to have peaked around 2012 or so. Whenever it was the studios pulled out definitely helped the madness abate. As we walked around last year, even as crazy as it was, we all agreed that it definitely just overall less congested. Can't really explain why. But there was a time that if you got stuck in one of those main arteries though the exhibit hall, you would not move unless you could get into a side aisle. What made me insane was the photographers stopping traffic to photograph a cosplayer. No regard for the masses of people behind them. Sunday, for some reason, was the worst. I found the food lines for that terrible convention food have eased up too - but good luck getting a table to sit down at. If I'm hungry, I'll generally go to the little outdoor pool bar at the hotel next door. And the bathrooms at the back of the exhibit all are generally ok - just don't use the ones by each hall entrance. And something I was curious about - has anyone seen those passes for sale that various ticket agencies have? Do you think they are real? My first thought is they aren't, but at the same time, I'm sure there are many people who aren't able to go at the last minute for whatever reason. They gotta sell them somewhere...

It's so true. I've been around conventions and art a long time, and I can never recall seeing even a single piece. With one exception: many years ago I actually saw the Monster Manual cover in person. It took me a good few seconds to register without the title dress and, of course, I wasn't used to seeing the front and back cover at the same time. That really kicked the Nostagiometer into the red when it dawned on me what it was!

He always wrote to Rosanne Rosanadana, of course! (Long time SNL nerd!)

OMG - thank you! How awesome to see that after all these years! I remember being about 12 and my friends were all freaking out about the company "crossover" there at the bottom! I had started searching again for this image a few months ago and never even came close. Thanks again!! Wonderful to see! (If anyone owns this art and wants to sell, drop me a line. It's worth a try, right?) Edit: it's funny, the more I look at this picture, I forgot how much I loved this image as a kid. It so informed a lot of my taste in art and stylistic choices! I had no idea how much influence Willingham actually had over me! Love this piece! Many thanks again, sir!

Man, what a great thread! Loved Willingham, was first introduced to him though D&D and watched his ascent in comics - so jealous to see that someone who is such a talented artist is also such a talented writer! Speaking of Willingham D&D, maybe you fine folk can help me identify a nostalgic D&D image from my youth I have been trying to track down - it's from the title page of a module, and it's a group shot of some Drow/Dark Elves. Definitely Willingham because I vividly recall his unique signature and style. But there's a treasure chest in the corner, and it happens to be filled with Marvel easter eggs: I think there's Captain America's sheild, Thor's hammer and Iron Man's helmet! I thought it might be from Queen of the Demon Web, but I don't think so...

Okay, that actually does help a little; that's probably farther than I've gotten on my own. But this is what I find so totally frustrating about the site. When you pull up "Art/Memorablilia," it brings up the same search criteria you'd expect when looking for comics: min grade, max grade, third party grade. If you want to only search for covers only, it's shoehorned into the very bottom of the "max grade" search function, and I'm not even sure that will bring up original art covers only anyway: my recent search found nothing (granted, there may be no OA covers listed now). But that's pretty confusing. Not to mention, if you only want splash pages? No search function available. Interiors, nope. And - you have to search individually by each artist. I can't figure out a way to bring up all the interior pages for all upcoming auctions, or all the splashes. I'm not trying to beat up on CC here -- I'm just saying, if they are starting to get some heat from the Berk auction, then why not put a few bucks into reprogramming that aspect of their database? Why a confusing "Art/Memorabilia" selection and not just a dedicated "Art" choice? I mean, what exactly is "Memorabilia" and what does it have to do with OA, anyway? And when you pull up "Art," how about a unique search function window: covers, interiors, splashes. I don't personally need a function to tell me the min or max grade of my original art. And allow a search by ALL available, not one artist at a time. It's just cluttered and confusing and it seems like it could be fixed SOOO easily! And this doesn't even start to address the want list function that the original post was about!

I find Comic Connect so unbelievably difficult to navigate for original art that I don't even consider them a serious alternative to Heritage or Comic Link. They seem to be totally geared towards comics sales and OA is sort of a distant after thought that their database seems totally ill equipped to handle. There was a thread not too long ago about this. I understand the recent Berk auction did well, and more power to them, but I think that was more based on the incredible firepower of the material at hand rather than the reputation of the auction house itself. It's a shame, because I'd love to see a third really strong auction house step up, and I thought once maybe Comic Connect might be that one. But not in their current form, I don't think.

I don't know if it's my "dream" commission, but I have always wondered what Wolverine by Jack Kirby would look like, in the style of those oversized, all pencil, really detailed commission pieces he did circa '77-'78.

Ugh... forgot about the Cover to L&R #1.... Yeah, that would be a big contender for sure...

When I first got into original art collecting as a teen, the general consensus was that the pinnacle of the hobby was a Byrne X-Men cover, Kirby FF cover or a Frankenstein plate (Miller DD covers just fell short - they might have been #4 on that list - and DKR/Watchmen/Killing Joke pages were still finding their footing, as hard as that is to believe). I could probably turn down a Frankenstein plate as much as I admire them because it doesn't scratch that particular nostalgia itch, and, although I wouldn't ask for something as unrealistic as FF 1 or X-Men 137, I would consider a really good example from either. Don't know if I'd ultimately pull that trigger though. I do have a handful of pieces (grails? - I know we hate the word grail when used for more than one) it took me 25 years to locate, so my collection is quite personal and geared to my own specific loves...

https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliegerstein/heres-what-a-100k-house-looks-like-in-all-50-states?utm_term=.iyodwJXyG#.nv2doEwrx And just think: you'd have to trade 1-4 of these (depending on the negotiations) for the Batman Adventures #12 cover!

You're not kidding. I've certainly been guilty of compartmentalizing/rationalizing art purchases vs literally anything else in my life (at times). On one hand, I'd agonize for days about spending three figures on a household appliance I need, and then later find myself on caf musing, "Gosh, I wonder if the owner of that piece would ONLY take sixty thousand dollars?" Not that I have the 60k to offer. I've always thought that we use the abbreviation "k" to sort of disconnect us from how insane some of these figures we throw around are. It's like the "k" is almost meaningless. Oh, it's just 100k. Not that I have 100k either!

I think the thing was if I'd begged and borrowed, I could have come up with 5k for a couple of those things post 2003 - ugh. But back then, 3-5k for art seemed so excessive, and you know the mindset, "how could this art possibly become MORE valuable when the asking price is 5-6k which is obviously TOTALLY INSANE ?" I WISH I'd heard that Moy podcast! I heard it got pulled because someone complained But (sort of) back on topic: it's funny how it seems like everyone with a Crumb piece is slamming Heritage for a little of that Fritz money. Granted, I don't know if that qualifies as "flipping," strictly, since many of those I've not seen before. But I think the problem is there is now SO much Crumb on Heritage that people are really going to take loses, especially on the lessor pieces. If I wasn't so tapped right now, I'd go for a lessor Crumb piece or something; might be one of the last times you could get a Crumb before a huge jump in prices. Will be interesting to see how this auction unfolds. And BWS pieces - there's a ton of them up there this time!

No worries! I understood what you meant - I can totally dig it! In fact, I probably have some of the very worst instincts of anyone on this board. I’ve been a fanatic comic person since I was 6 or 7, and involved in the convention life since I was 12 or 13 - and I’m old now. I know we all have our regrets, but here’s a short list of my colossal mistakes I recall actually passing on (not stuff I saw, mind you, but stuff I was going to actually pull the trigger on but couldn’t because I couldn’t raise the money): 1987 - I don’t ever recall seeing those Dark Knight pages at Scott’s table, but I do recall seeing the table - so I won’t beat myself up about that one…. the only thing I DO recall is the Welcome to Smallville Superboy Miller cover, but I thought it was really expensive. I did debate it, but don’t recall at all now what it went for… 1999-2000 - I swear I saw the Thor #126 cover (Thor/Herc grappling) for 10k online somewhere and passed on it, knowing it was just an insane cover image. That one is almost like a fever dream - did I actually see it? Just couldn’t raise the money. Also, 2 different Frazetta Ghost Rider covers for 10k each. A handful of Byrne WCA covers, but I recall they were pretty aggressively priced. 2003 or so - Captain America covers 197 and 199: eBay, both sold for 5k (really sting to this day because that’s a particular nostalgic favorite of mine; probably if I could go back in time for just one thing on this list, just out of my love for that run, I’d take those!). An incredible Kirby Sandman cover sold for 5k as well around the same time - failed to raise money for all. 2003 at SDCC: Black Panther 7 cover (3k) and Watchmen Ozy “I did it” page (I want to say it was $1800, but could have been as much as 3k). Was out of work, couldn’t come up with the $ 2003 - Jaime Hernandez gave me his for sale art list. He must have had 10 different covers on there. With the exception of one of the Death of Speedy covers, I don’t think one was over $600-700. I did the math once and realized I could have had 8 or 9 covers for under 5k. Not to mention the dozens upon dozens of panel pages and splashes. 2007 - on caf, I saw a couple of great Bolland/Morrison Animal Man covers for 2500 (I thought, “No, too expensive” haha) and a couple of Byrne WCA covers for 3k that I just couldn’t pull the trigger on. I loved both runs, so that hurt. 2008 - FF #100 on Heritage in 2008 for around 50k - I was trying to raise the money but couldn’t. I’d honestly love to see what that would flip for now because the image is so unbelievable. And my future mistake: I’ll put out there that I have been going back and forth, back and forth about buying one of those complete Paper Girls books from Felix. I honestly think that’s a deal right there, I’m just tapped out. If only there art from the Saga books available..!!! That would be a no-brainer for sure!

You're welcome haha. Those were some beautiful pages, just some wonderful art in there. At the time I just couldn't justify spending the money for an issue that specifically didn't feature Cassidy, who was my favorite character at the time. Obviously a huge mistake, since I believe the entire issue was only 2k. I definitely debated it but I opted for a Cassidy "How're Yez" half splash instead. That would have been from Albert's site around 2000 or so, I think. God, Albert had SO much Preacher art back then. I just thought, "Oh, well, it will ALWAYS be available." haha The interesting thing that underlines what SquareChaos said, is that, essentially, it was the "second" pass at Preacher art: by 2000/2001, the really choice pages were gone: no more Saint of Killers at all, no more really key story pages. But there were a TON of B+ pages for sale. That was the only complete issue available. I was offered the other complete issue in 2007, but I think it was somewhere between 6-9k... I can't remember how much exactly now. In the interest of staying vaguely on topic: think of what you could get if you flipped it today haha!

I'm not complaining at all, I'm just shocked. I picked up a decent Byrne Alpha Flight cover I'd always loved about 8 years ago for about 6k. Last year I had a really nice conversation with a very cool collector who offered me what I thought was an astonishing amount of money in trade for it. I had no idea it was worth what it was because they generally sat between 5-10k for years. And my point about the Namor piece isn't that I thought it they were particularly expensive in general, it's that I thought 4k was outrageous for what essentially is no original line art, only washes over a copy. I actually think 3.8k is completely fair for that other Namor cover, given the buyer got all the OA included; in fact, I would say that OA Namor cover at under 4k is the upper end of reasonable. But, I also agree with chasing stuff that doesn't pan out: in the late 80's I thought for sure Kevin Maguire could be the next John Byrne based on how hot his JL series was. Nope. I turned down a Kirby Eternals cover for a lesser JL cover (both were $250 - whoops!). I wasn't speculating, because I LOVED that JL run, and I still do, but in terms of value, I definitely made a poor choice. I also would have thought Rich Buckler would have taken off given how prolific and hot he was in the 70's/80's. Nope, even with Nostalgia as a driving factor, you can still find affordable Buckler pieces all over the place. At the same time, I turned down I don't know how many great Preacher pages, and even, on two occasions, two complete (admittedly lesser) issues (one was the one with Jesse's dad in Nam where the main cast is barely featured, one was Jessie driving on the road listening to the radio the entire issue). I guess it comes down to correctly speculating, but we all tend to buy what we love, don't we?

I guess what I meant was I thought it is crazy that a Byrne production piece, from a period arguably past his prime, with essentially no original art, would sell for over 4k. How does that bode for, say, Alpha Flight covers? I had always considered Alpha Flight as affordable prime-era Byrne. Now I'm starting to realize they are all going for about 18-20k on average - when did that happen?? I remember when the Alpha Flight 27 cover was on Heritage - it didn't SEEM like it was that long ago, and I had been one of the bidders on that piece - and it only sold for something like 2.5k. I think Coollines got that one; I've always wanted to inquire at the price they marked it up to, but haven't have the stomach for it. Anyway, I guess my dreams of paying 6k for the Alpha Flight 12 cover are long gone BUT - it's nice to see that Namor 13 cover going for 3.8k, which includes both pieces of art, one of which, I believe, is actual original art of Namor and the whale creature; the other piece is the wash piece, and the wash is all you were getting when you got the 7 cover, as I understand it. And the 13 was from a recent Sunday auction, wasn't it? I mean, I'd rather have the 13 over the 7 cover (even though the 7 cover is the better image). At least you're getting original art, right? Okay, sorry for the thread drift...

Ugh. The crazy, unpredictable prices in the OA world are bad enough, but when I see late Byrne production art going for over 4k now, I just wonder how I can even continue to maintain an interest in the hobby with the intent to buy anything..!

Slightly off topic (from this particular catalog), but speaking of Romita, I can't forget a catalog that Lee posted on the Facebook group that had something like eight Romita Sr. covers, all between $50-60. One was this one. I can't imagine what it would go for on Heritage today.