Rick2you2

Shilling is wrong, but it doesn't affect me too much because I won't pay more than I feel something is worth to me, even if I miss something I wanted. When someone shills, they still have to pay Heritage 20% on the sale, plus taxes and shipping, so they must think the bidding is really low to spend that kind of money for nothing. Do I regret not buying some things when they were cheaper? Not really; I had other things to buy and I have never regarded this stuff as an investment no matter how much some of it is now worth. There is a reason why some pieces sit for years in dealer inventory. Maybe we are the break point on some areas, as many have predicted here.

Nope. Secrets of the Cabal and Its Control over the Illuminati. Then, I realized my life might be in danger even though I was no where near any Coronavirus outbreaks.

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I doubt it was stolen from the wild. My guess is there is a captive breeding program, or programs, but I still didn’t think they could be privately owned.

Yes, they can reach or exceed 150 years old. What I saw was a youngster, with a shell, as I recall, of about 16 inches in length. In a demented sort of way, it was cute because it was so curious of its surroundings. Not what you would expect just seeing the adults. With that said, I thought they were a protected species which were not for sale to private people in order to encourage zoo breeding. You would be nuts to own one casually by the way. They like to dig holes and lie in water or mud while enjoying warming sun. They also need a good sized space to crawl around. Not house friendly.

I feel your pain. But at least for me, there isn't much collector interest in heros wearing opera capes, brimmed hats and pants with cuffs on them.

This is a subject which comes up quite a bit here, also known as Tulipmania, and I have been in that mix for quite some time as well as have other people, like Gene. My current take on the subject is that some prices are already at their max, and have started to either drop or not sell for years. I was tracking one for 8 years before it looks like it sold (at an unknown price). I think that it would make more sense to view the hobby as a series of bubbles or potential bubbles instead of a unified big bubble. A lot of pricing is based on nostalgia. So, the pieces from issues that are old are more likely to be at the top of their range (with exceptions, of course) because the people who read them stop buying and start selling. So, if a comic came out when you were younger, and if you are in your prime art buying age, that one should still have legs. I also think that over time, a lot of the prices will sink. I would never buy this stuff as an investment because for every one that works, at least ten won’t. Let me add that I think a lot of the art out there in the last 20 years (if not more) is at a higher level of quality than older art. Part of it is that comic artists have more freedom than they used to have to produce more visually interesting pieces, and also, the pay plus royalties is better so more quality artists are attracted to it (and with movies and tv, it is no longer viewed as quite the underbelly of publishing that it used to be). Some of the pricing, in my view, is out of whack for certain names, but for pure skill and style, a lot of it is undervalued.

That’s okay. I once took my youngest son to a reptile and amphibian show where they had this stuff for sale. There was actually someone selling a young Galapagos tortoise there (how that’s lawful is beyond me). And you think this stuff is nerdy?

Or, as my youngest used to say: yea, and copper is the new gold.

There is if you keep a bunch of them, particularly the collectors who have bred different color variations.

How about people who collect live snakes?

Pogo? My word, that sounds about as desirable as Gasoline Alley (which is at least being published I see).

I figure that tape is on the outside. So, if there are any harmful chemicals in the glue, they would not get inside. I would be concerned about damage the iron could cause to the integrity of the envelope That stuff probably melts and warps pretty easily, I assume, unless it catches fire first.

I expect to be experimenting with that this weekend. It doesn't seem hard. I bought some sheets, an exacto knife, a long metal straight edge and some rubber cement (which I doubt I will use). The plan is to cut a large sheet in two, place the two halves on top of each other, and then use the straight edge and pencil to mark the dimensions I need for cutting. That way, the two pieces will be exactly the same size. While I have heard that the rubber cement is archival, I think for this purpose that it overdoing it. So, I am simply going to use some blue duct tape I have to bind the two together on three edges. This is for storage, not for public display, so a perfect appearance doesn't really matter to me. Loose pieces do rattle in oversized Itoya's, but if you put them in sleeves and put that in the Itoya's they don't move much.

Joining is free. You don’t have to become a premium member.

Instead of placing the art directly in the Itoya, place it first in a Mylar toploader. That is what provides the best protection. With that said, I had kept some art in old plastic and glass frames dating back about 30 years ago, before I knew better, and in the dark. When I found them again, they were in remarkably good shape, with one showing some evidence of where the frame was, and another, on simple paper, showing hardly noticeable evidence of yellowing. Two others still look good. So while I am not advocating sloppy preservation methods, you are not likely to cause any major damage if kept dry and in the dark.

It depends upon your point of view. Those are the same fans who helped make her a star.

Agreed. He did a commission at a show for me.

Scarlett Johansson in a bikini?

You had the audacity to ask for something you paid for before the Millenium. How dare you violate his creative process? Didn’t you know, it can take years to develop just the right pose for a 1 character commission. 🦨 🙂

To be candid, that art shouts skills that are being abused.

I now know where I can send my old, used sneakers which aren't quite so worn out to throw away yet but too worn out not to be replaced. What's that mailing address?

To be candid, I would be hard-pressed to name an artist who I thought was disagreeable. The closest I saw was someone who asked an artist to draw something he had been asked to draw countless times over, and he asked the kid if there was anything different he might like because he was tired of doing the same thing over and over. Some other names I can add, but is by no means exclusive, would be: Chris Batista Tom Mandrake Kevin McGuire Keith Giffen Michelle Deleki (now a mother). Colleen Doran (health improved). Joe Rubinstein (a really nice guy) Amy Reeder Chaykin is a pistol. If you ever want to hear a strong opinion about our President, drop in on Neal Adams.

It sounds like you wanted to give him moe direction than he wanted, and he didn't want to have his artistic freedom compromised. Why did it take more than one email after the introduction? What sort of details were you giving him? By the way, a phone call is not a good idea for a different reason. If the commission doesn't come out the way you want it, you can't point to a specific email and say this is what I asked for. His response to a phone conversation would be "that's what I undersood from the phone call", and then, where are you? If you can't do it in writing, not a good idea to do IMO.

If you ask him, he may even send you an autographed photo of himself, suitable for framing, of course..