New School Fool

On 6/4/2022 at 12:56 PM, Hockeyflow33 said:

For a photography comparison it would be like we all collected the negatives and someone was trying to sell us prints of the negative claiming it's the same thing

Not really sure that's a good analogy, seeing as digital photos do exist, and sell. Not sure I've seen any rep claiming a monoprint is Original Art. In fact the name monoprint actually states it isnt....

There's clearly no love for monoprints here, which is cool. But there also seems to be a great deal of misinformation in this forum. I think the biggest mistake is assuming monoprints are a substitute for Original Art. They aren't and contrary to popular belief, I've yet to see any artist or rep claim that they are. Completely different mediums that shouldn't be so closely compared imho. They both depict comic art and that's it.

Some collectors would like a digital artists work on paper. A medium the artwork doesn't actually exist in, so having one 'print out' of the artwork with a signed and dated COA stating it's the first negates any remorse one would feel if there ever were subsequent 'printings'...

Totally appreciate that more traditional OA collectors have their preferences. Full discloser, my collection is currently 80% OA and 20% monoprints. I personally collect the artwork and not the medium. I realised this when I bought a bunch of artist editions and saw a lot of high res scans of OA in those books that had recently sold at auction. I would be totally bummed if any OA I bought was in those books, much in the same way most of you would be bummed if a monoprint you bought was reprinted.

It was actually Tradd's work that kick-started my comic art collection. Once I knew comic art was available to purchase, it was his work I wanted. My biggest regret is holding off on buying a few of his pages because something better was bound to come along. When that moment arrived Tradd decided not to sell 😭

It's agonising and amazing seeing his art disappear and prices shoot up in real time! 🥲

On 5/30/2022 at 12:49 AM, Michael Browning said:

Several years ago, I commissioned an artist for a Jonah Hex drawing. Just a headshot, not any action or anything, but it was going to be used as the cover to my fanzine, in which I was featuring Jonah Hex. The artist, a good friend of mine, said he would not only do the cover drawing, but he'd also contribute an essay to my fanzine about what he thought about Jonah Hex. I was so excited. The new Jonah Hex series by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray was getting ready to start and I had interviews done with every major creator who'd ever worked on the character. It was going to be a great fanzine, chock full of cool stuff. I had been collecting Jonah Hex headshots from different artists just to get different takes and this artist had offered his services and it was such a cool idea for him to be drawing the cover to my fanzine. He guaranteed me it would be completed in a few weeks and knew that I really needed it within that timeframe in order to get the fanzine printed before JH #1 was released. I went ahead and paid up front. Long story short, four years later, I finally got the commission. By that time, DC had killed the Twomorrows Jonah Hex Companion that I was under contract to create (they liked the idea and the work I'd done on the unpublished fanzine and figured it would be a good companion book so I went that direction) and the movie had been so terrible that I lost all interest in JH and sold off nearly all my Jonah Hex commissions and published art. The artist did keep in contact with me throughout the entire four years. So, fast forward to Summer of 2020 and the artist offered to do a cover recreation for me of the character he was most famous for. He was churning out commissions left and right and agreed that he had taken way too long on the Jonah Hex, so he guaranteed me he would have it finished NO LATER THAN November of that year. This time, though, he only took partial payment. After a year had passed, I messaged him and he told me it would be done shortly and for me to keep onto him to get it done. Unfortunately, he doesn't even answer me now when I ask when it is going to be finished. Maybe before 2024, is my hope.

Oh no! Damn that must be really annoying! 😰

This is what I mean, the artist knows he messed up with the first commission. So much that he felt guilty to put it right with the second. I mean, they're aware of them messing up. But then only to do it again (when I assume they're actively trying not to....!). Are their schedules just so hectic that they can't avoid it, or are they just so bad at scheduling and forever putting it off to tomorrow? Surely this behaviour can't be intentional right?

Coincidentally, I've just been updated that an artist I requested and paid for a commission that I have been waiting a year and a half for has finally finished it. The artist works digitally so I asked for a traditional recreation of one of their digital covers. This enables me to directly compare the two, and while I'm glad the artist finally finished it after so long, it's obvious they rushed it in the end so left feeling a little bittersweet.

I started collecting late so nowhere near done! I have noticed now though after 5 years, is that I have a 'type'. i.e. there's certain pages that I gravitate towards over others. I'm happy with what I have but what my collection's missing are good examples of these pages I like featuring certain characters or by certain artists. It's almost as if my collection is dictating what I should collect!

I am by no means an expert in the commission game but I hear of this situation often. I myself am currently waiting a year and a half to receive my commission. I'm not really sure why artists do this. Is it truly the fact that they have no time or are they purely just slacking off? 

On 5/24/2022 at 11:47 PM, Bill C said:

3 of the Paolo Rivera head shots went for seemingly crazy prices- but those were auctions, they werent priced crazy as a BIN.

I was tempted to go for that Spider-Gwen head shot by Paolo during the auction. Glad I held back in the end!

I agree with a lot of what has been said here: A lot of the art was wayyyyy overpriced. 

It's a shame because CAF is great resource for new collectors, I would highly recommend it to those finding their feet in the hobby.

I don't think I can say the same for Comic Art Live unfortunately 😢

Same for artists repped by Kirby's Comic Art. Zu Orzu posted a wonderful Storm piece by Olivier Coipel to her Instagram Stories. They don't allow those posts to be linked unfortunately.

On 5/16/2022 at 7:08 PM, Race said:

Someone they know = wealthy = could be anyone 

 

I think the point he is trying to make is that it is someone known in the hobby and not an outside investor with new Crypto Money.

On 5/16/2022 at 3:25 PM, Race said:

The buying trends and spending habits of the wealthy collectors on this board did not result in the hammer price for that Secret Wars page, so how do you choose to explain it? Things are moving much faster in the collectibles world than people realize... do you know there are now "fractional collectibles ownership" models, similar to Robinhood's fractional stock ownership vehicle?

I read somewhere or heard in an interview that someone was privy to who made that Secret Wars 8 purchase and it was in fact a seasoned collector and not a Crypto-Newbie. I'm pretty sure it was Joe Mannarino being interviewed by Bill Cox on Comic Art Live....will have to double check.

I have heard of fractional ownership. This exists in the world of contemporary art buying. I have yet to see it being attributed to comic art though and don't think we can attribute this to the recent rise in prices.

Edit : here's the video I was referring to. Listen from 7mins 15secs. Nick says the buyer is someone 'they know' and not a crypto buyer.

I personally think the comic art and crypto world have little to no connection. This latest auction will be very telling indeed.

On 4/23/2022 at 12:34 PM, Laszlo the Mudjar said:

I would agree and disagree with that idea or more succinctly I would refine the idea.  I agree that looking for "popular" modern artists puts one into the spec camp, however, I would argue that there are literally thousands of artists from which to choose so why not find one that a) you like personally AND b) is popular.  Going for only a) is not without merit but I would argue has less chance of holding value.  I would never buy art with the intention of flipping, but I would prefer to buy art that I like AND is from a popular artist.  Not sure if I explained that well, but I tried  

I think you may have misunderstood me, and in an effort to not derail this thread, I'll keep this brief.

My point was not on buying art you like from popular artists. Artists become popular because their art has universal appeal. There is more of a chance will want to buy their art compared to an unknown artist. Buying art you like from a popular artists doesn't put you in the spec camp in my opinion.

What does put you in the speculator/investor camp however, is buying art with the hope or sole intention that it will appreciate in value at a later date. If given the choice between art from artist A or art from artist B and you choose B because you hope/think that this art will be worth more in the future, then you are a speculator/investor not a collector.

Buying comic art on speculation and buying comic art on artistic merit are quite distinct, it's worth noting that a few of the pieces that have sold for large sums as of lately are devoid of artistic merit. (eg. that Black suit Spidey Secret Wars page, The Amazing Spider-Man #300 cover and the Ultimate Fallout #4 Cover) I'm pretty sure many comic art collectors would have initially passed these pages up when they first came to market.

Also, just as general advice...I listened to a recent podcast from Felix Comic Art recently and he explained this well. You should just generally buy what you like regardless of who created it. There is no guarantee the piece you bought will appreciate in value. I'd admit it is more likely to, coming from a popular artist. But buying art solely from popular artists because they give the best 'returns' is the wrong way to approach the hobby imho

On 4/22/2022 at 10:31 AM, Rick2you2 said:

As a follow-up, I think good art is easy to find. The question you should also ask is whether you want good art that is more likely to appreciate in value or not. If so, your safest bets are to stick to popular characters and books, using them as a screening device for your taste.

The best advice I received when collecting art is 'buy what you love, and you can't go wrong'. There's another thread in this forum where someone argued that all buyers of comic art at today's prices are speculators whether they like it or not.

I don't necessarily agree with that statement but using your proposed 'screening method' puts you smack bang into the 'speculator' corner and quite distinct from a comic art collector.

On 3/10/2022 at 9:42 AM, ExNihilo said:

As a new collector, my collecting aspirations are very narrow: I want art by artists of characters that resonate with me.  It's why my first OA was a Ron Lim sketch of Silver Surfer.  Why my first dealer purchase was a head shot of Wonder Woman by David Finch.  It's generally creators doing the work that drew me to them in the first place.  If not that, then it's pages from stories that I love.  It's why my ultimate grail isn't Amazing Fantasy 15, it's Jim Lee cover art from his Batman run (and if not that, then an interior page, and if not that then cover art from Batman/Catwoman).  New collectors could get some other modern art, but at least from my perspective, I didn't start buying OA to get something other than what I have my heart set on.  I don't know how other new collectors feel, but just thought I'd put in my 

I've had a similar experience as a new collector. In contrast to what has been said here, I've found it VERY easy to completely lose myself and find too many reasons to buy comic art. I personally have found that without limitations I'll easily run myself dry. So I restrict myself to published art from books that I have read. First it was Spider-Man related characters only then rapidly expanded to others if the art was cool. Within this constraint I found that I was actually finding cool art and then reading the books so I could justifiably purchase the art...

I found myself slipping as of lately by buying art from a series I intend to read at some point in the future....just not now!

On 3/6/2022 at 4:20 PM, MAR1979 said:

Those willing to do do that and have hustle talent will do well. But those are folks who  are likley to succeed in what ever they do. Those folks are outliers.

I disagree - I would say those folks are collectors!

To me there's a difference in being a collector of comic art (i.e. doing the process outlined by @Xatari and @cbaileypacker), to -  Just wanting to own a piece by McFarlane or Jim Lee in todays market.

I feel you would like to achieve the latter, and are becoming discouraged by how difficult actually achieving that is. I'm pretty sure a lot of the early buyers of comic art didn't realise how much they would actually be worth today.

On 3/6/2022 at 3:36 PM, Xatari said:

Clearly my previous comment was tongue in cheek in the same way we would never stand in a circle as we prefer the rhombus.  Rhombus jerk, my friend.

Thanks for the clarification - sorry - didn't mean to break your balls.

On 3/6/2022 at 3:45 PM, MAR1979 said:

Not sure most see that as a selling point?  The average collector has lower interest in obscure stuff.  But yea those who rnjoy less popular stuff by artist with very low limited following can life the "high life". Those who collect what they like never lose as the old saying goes.

Yes, I think this is what I was trying to say. Not 'obscure' but certainly if you're after stuff that is less popular to the mainstream, then you're spoilt for choice!

On 3/6/2022 at 2:11 AM, Xatari said:

We prefer “Illuminati”

Don't you find it conflicting to say that you would like the hobby to be more open to new collectors, while at the same time you say you attribute your success in the hobby to being a member of a circle jerk that liken themselves to a closed shadowy boys club?

On 3/5/2022 at 2:52 PM, MAR1979 said:

IMHO it's currently hobby for those who got in earlier or are wealthy.  It's also not hobby that needs to have large influx of new collectors to say strong. Due to the one-of-kind nature even small or tiny number of those getting into the hobby are more than adequate to keep prices a jumpin'. Simply put it's not a hobby that needs a constant flow of new blood a few drops every now and then is more than enough.

I don't want to appear cold, and apologies if I do, but unless you have wealth the time to get into most OCA has long, long since passed and finding other hobby interests are recommended. Or go the sketch route, I know people who only do that and they seem very happy. In fact they appear to be more at peace compared to pretty much any art collector I know including myself.

If you want to collect mainstream comic art from the 90s and older - then yes you're correct, that ship has sailed for newer collectors.

If you shift your focus to newer or more obscure stuff, then the hobby becomes a lot more accessible.

On 2/28/2022 at 10:13 PM, Rick2you2 said:

When I last saw her at a show, she seemed to have a manager there.

 

I've never met her face to face though I have seen that she needs a translator in interviews...could be a possible explanation?

I have bought a few pieces from her though and have communicated through social media, I assume I have been speaking with her directly, but who knows!

On 2/26/2022 at 9:46 PM, IceHole said:

Way back on 6/8/2020 I purchased a Peach Momoko original art piece from the HCG website.  They had a few, at the time...and the pandemic was upon us!  As you might tell from the title of this thread, I never got it.

Doesn't Peach Momoko sell her art herself? You would have had a better experience contacting her directly....without the 'added fees ' of the middleman.

On 2/28/2022 at 6:06 AM, Xatari said:

I would also love to see a dealer with newer and maybe a tad bit cheaper art since I spoke with several people who were checking out the hobby for the first time but immediately felt priced out.

Just a reminder that there is a ton of great modern art being created, and a dealer who figures out how to leverage this at shows could gain a tremendous amount of new customers to a growing collector base.
 

I know people tend to stick with art from the era during which they read, but great stories and great art are still being made. I personally would love to see the next generation of comic and OA lovers find a place in the hobby without having to buy online. 

Welcome to my world! I got into this hobby relatively late. A lot of the pieces I would like are already locked away in other peoples collections or priced so high it wouldn't be considered 'fun' to actually buy them. But I love art and comics, so buying from modern artists seems the route for me to take. I'm not sure if a 'modern comic art dealer' at a show would work in this day and age though for the reason outlined below...

On 2/28/2022 at 3:18 PM, Unstoppablejayd said:

I agree 100 percent.. I have said the same thing at the NJ art con.. at least there Anthony and sometime Essential Sequential show up with more reasonable pieces.. but I do not understand why reps like Cadence or the like do not get involved in these 

Maybe because they don't have to...? I recently attended a comic art festival in the UK. The Cadence crew were there, as were artists repped by Kirby's Comic Art. I noticed that all but two pieces of comic art being sold between them both could easily be found and bought online, I didn't really see anything new. I have a feeling these reps and their clientele have more of an online presence and do better business there than at shows. 

On 2/20/2022 at 4:33 PM, Unstoppablejayd said:

He has a bunch of regular buyers of his stuff.. but Facebook works from time to time. 

Thanks dude, I thought I had his facebook details - turns out it was just a fan page 

I've messaged him now and will keep my fingers crossed. Thanks once again!

Anyone know how to get in contact with Dan Mora? he doesn't appear to have a rep and he also doesn't seem to respond to messages on social media. Yet I see as lot of his OA on ComicArtFans.

How are people getting in touch with him?