Rick2you2

This was the last one.

It need not be the consignor to buy a piece at an excessive price. If an owner of several pieces wants to maintain or increase the value of what he owns, buy something high, and use it to support the value of your inventory. Don’t forget, this is a thin market. As a potential buyer, that is just as bad.

I concede that my judgment is a bit harsh about the cover to no. 33, but that is because I am familiar with the cover to no. 41 (whereabouts not known) which I think is much better. This is a printed version:

Has there been something of a split going on with Neal Adams pieces? The good ones keep going up, or at least stablizing, while the less desirable ones (including newer ones), don't hold their value?

I know this sounds contradictory, but from my perspective, it does make the piece less desirable even though it does not lower value. So, the absence of a cover logo is something I would try to replicate and add. If the missing portion was dialog covering art, I probably wouldn't object to its absence.

Part of me has been concerned about that, but if it gets him into living books and new stories, that”s not bad. In truth, I know Didio was a fan (as is Neil Adams and Bruce Timm), so the increased attention lately may be waning. Besides, these days, I focus more on the character’s newer appearances. I know there are people who consider 20k a wad that they have no difficulty spending, But, a lot of people do, and don’t spend it. I could, but I won’t, and that certainly includes an Aparo cover. I follow public information fairly closely, and that final price is a big jump from any public sale of a PS Aparo cover beforehand. And to sell for more than the Adams cover? If the auction had come first, and then the CAF pieces were listed, that would at least be logical. This is not, unless there have been private sales to justify the amount which I can’t factor in. Before the auction ended, I had a chance encounter with the owner of the Adams’ cover. When I pointed out the price differential of the bids, he shook his head. Adams is consequential. Aparo is merely good (or great depending on personal taste). Big difference. We then had a discussion about shilling (including Mike’s admission). So no, I do not accept the idea this is simply the result of overheated bidding without evidence to the contrary.

Still wondering about an explanation for this Jim Aparo Phantom Stranger cover which went for $22,900 including Buyer's Premium. Up until this time, there has been a mediocre Phantom Stranger cover (no. 36) which the Donnelly's were trying to sell for $11,000 last year at the NJ Comic Art show, after Moy couldn't sell it for $8,000 beforehand (you can find it on CAF). Then, about 6 weeks ago or so, two other Aparo Phantom Stranger covers appeared on CAF (and are still listed), with one for $19,500 (also with Deadman) and one for $16,000. They are posted below, as well. Befsides that, there was nothing publicly offered for sale. Were there private sales which somehow account for what I consider a significant increase from the Donnelly's pricing? Frankly, I like the one for for $16,000 best, and the one for $19,500 also has Deadman. Maybe I'm overreacting after reading the "shilling" thread, but something doesn't seem right to me. This one is listed for $19,500 This one is listed for $16,000

Fair enough. A few years back, I met someone who had nothing wrong with her vision, but wore glasses as a stylistic choice to make people think she was bright (and ignore the plunging neckline of her top). This one just popped up in Comic Art Tracker. Another example of education and sophistication (I am not making fun of your comment, I think the whole concept is funny):

I know absolutely nothing about this character. I was just wondering why, in what looks like a very physical and precision-oriented sort of work, she would be wearing glasses? Wouldn’t contacts, or at least goggles, be safer?

Proxy bidding!

Grover Cleveland is on the $1,000 bill.

Welcome to the Boards, where you will meet people (not me), who know a tremendous amount about this hobby, it’s artists, pricing, and all sorts of insider information. All around good people, too—no trolls here. To answer some of your questions: 1. I usually carry around an art portfolio bag with backpack straps on it as well as a side handle. Over the course of a day, carrying by hand is tiring, so the back straps help. In the bag, I also include several top-loaders of different sizes to hold things I may buy, copies of old comics containing image samples for artists to use, in case I want a commission, and sometimes, art pads and drawing tools in case I go to a convention and run into an artist who was unprepared to do a commission but changed his/her mind during the course of the day (the tools are overkill —but that’s my preference based on some experiences). 2. Absolutely let them know. That’s particularly the case with artists who may have lots of things they have done, but don’t know what to bring. They will be on the lookout for other stuff they have buried (don’t bother if you know Walt Simonson). You can also get commissions done in advance and brought to the show. 3. Can’t help you on Jam pieces. I like full shots, and prefer to have fewer pieces which are more costly. One other thing: buy carefully. Get things that you like, and don’t overspend because some says a page is a great piece or a good deal, and buy a lot of things that are cheap just for the sake of volume.

The Adams’ cover went for around market, more or less, at $14,400 including BP. The Aparo cover is a different story. What the Hell?

Not on everything. Look at the winning price for the Aparo Phantom Stranger cover—$19,000 plus buyer’s premium for a total of $22,800. It went for even more than the Adams Phantom Stranger— by a lot. Am I wrong to wonder about the price?

I’m wondering what the impact will be. Reduced weekly auctions? More product in the pipeline? Impact on pricing?

I did do one trade, but it was a little odd. Someone had pieces I liked but wouldn’t sell them. He did see something up for auction he liked. I agreed to bid at the auction, and if I won, we would swap the art. I did win, for much less than I expected, and he honored our deal. I actually felt a little guilty about getting too good a deal, so I threw in a Sunday section of the Phantom I had lying around. I never heard from him again, which made me feel worse.

On a related note, there is an agent offering a pencil cover I like for more than I think it is worth. The same price is posted on similar covers by the same artist, but the ones sold are about a third less or lower. It is also priced at almost 6 times his panel pages. I am not anxious to offer a third less than asked, since I think it would be rejected. I also have no intention of insulting the artist or denigrating the piece. Anyone with brilliant ideas how to get that price closer to reality? And no, it is not the Donnelly’s.

Consider notifying your credit card company about an improper charge. Are you also sure the charges were really from eBay?

The Adams cover is now higher than the Aparo cover. In 2015, the Adams cover sold for $8,365.00. With BP, the bidding now is at $5,880. I think it should now exceed the 2015 price, but not by much (unless we have some shills out there who want to protect the market price).

Fair enough. I don't generally pay attention to things I will never, ever buy.

No so sure about that. There have been pieces in the weekly auctions in particular which have sold on the low side. I'm also following two Phantom Stranger covers, one by Adams and one by Aparo. At the rate the auction is going, I am not sure the Adams page will hit what it last sold for on Heritage, and certainly not the 15K the seller has been trying to sell it for. The Aparo cover is better, but there are definitely better Aparo covers than that one. It may, however, end up outselling the Adams cover. I'm not bidding on either one of them.

I am sort of wondering if watching these prices makes much sense before we are 24-48 hours away from the end (unless there is a bidding war already going on, which can be fun to watch). A lot of people make their bids at the end of the auction period because it helps hold down the pricing in the bidding wars. This auction also seems to be drawing attention away from the weekly auction.

Would anyone know how to reach Daniel Henriques, or his representative? He has a CAF site, but it looks inactive. There is also a Facebook page, but it seem non-business related (unless I found the wrong one).

I can’t forget that money part. Those pieces aren’t cheap. The volume I could handle, at least for a few years, but I would probably start picking up commissions of oddball scenes for pure fun. For example, I wonder what some characters would look like wearing beachwear? Thanks to a Zeck commission posted in Heritage, I now know what WW looks like in a bikini, but how about the Shining Knight in beach togs?

I think we are looking at the latest version of a “swine flu” panic, but in the age of the internet and the herd instinct, things look much worse than they are.