Rick2you2

I have never had a failure, but I know a lot of people haven’t been that lucky. There is a Facebook group dedicated to it. Maguire is slow, but I am disappointed that he did that to you.

Sadly, he won’t be there on Thursday, but I wanted Eastman to draw a Phantom Stranger-in the form of a Ninja Turtle mash-up character. Some others I am toying with include Ashley Woods, Guillem March and Jason Shawn Alexander. I already have work by the latter two, but could add to my stash. What I don’t want is something like a Jim Lee style. I find the super-realistic look he does and which is in vogue these days to be artistically uninteresting. Also, the Phantom Stranger is a mystery/horror character more than a heroic character, so I like a style which captures that.

I had a headshot done by Maguire a few years ago at a NJ show, and met him several times. Maybe he forgot. Spencer may not have forwarded the notes to Maguire. Spencer isn’t real good at following up some things. On occasion, when I have paid something in advance, I always get the recipient to sign a card or piece of paper acknowledging receipt of money and what it was for. Otherwise, he might completely forget; and then I have proof it was done.

Not much to add that isn’t in the title. I have a few thoughts already. One of them is Dan Quintana. Also, If there was someone who you would avoid because they take your money and don’t produce, I’d love to know that, too.

Currently, no. But, I do like it if the artist writes a note on separate paper. That way, I get the best of both worlds since I can keep the note with the art.

Just don’t use the word politics in it or ....whoosh.

Since the material was inexpensive, I bought 4H and HB lead, as well as some inexpensive .07 mm lead pencils from Staples. Hopefully, the artist won't mind picking what he wants and putting it in. I did one with the 2 mm pencil lead, and broke part of it off when it didn't seem to fit.

Up to now, the trend seems to have been if you hold onto it long enough, then even people without brains will do okay in the end. Are there areas (not just 1 or 2 nutty purchases) where OA selling for five figures has sustained price drops after the passage of, say, 5 years?

Does it matter if it .05mm instead of .07mm? The cheaper pens weren't available as .07 mm.

Good for sanity.

Well, maybe then personal delivery by private jet?

That margin lets him cut the actual price by, say, 10% or more, account for the equivalent of interest, and still make money. What is disturbing is the number of people who buy the OA at the higher prices.

Pretty stiff mark-up. I guess he operates in a really high sales tax state.

When I bought them, they weren't high value; this was a very casual hobby where pages were stacked randomly on a table or flat in a box. I still remember a young Bill Sienkiewicz standing up hawking 4 pages of his at his table at one show; and drawing no interest at all. In fact, my old Eisner Spirit page was only $400-450 (with the logo on it). I guess you could say my buys were purely nostalgia based. I bought what I bought because I liked the character and the character's stories. Still do, and hate the movement to digital (just learned that Batman/Superman issue 2 was done that way).

Try out the words “alimony” and “child support”. I feel your pain.

While I do have some pieces of real value which date back to my first collecting run in the 1980’s, the bulk of what I have bought is in the last 8 years or so. I don’t sell art I have accumulated. To fund most of my purchases (I do break my rules if I really want something) I make deliberate reductions in my weekly, disposable expenses. Then, I put the saved cash in a little envelope and watch it grow. If you want to save, a good way is not to use debit/credit cards. I once read that the average person spends about 12% more by using plastic than cash (since it doesn’t feel like real money). I typically take the same amount out of the bank every week to fund general expenses. What’s left goes in the envelope. Once you get into it, and watch the $ add up, the pile grows fairly quickly. Over the years, I have picked up things I really wanted. Curiously, some of the things I didn’t spend a lot on have become favorites, and things I really wanted lose some of their luster. So if you see something you really want, it may later be worth more to you than the Kamandi page.

That’s not unsecured debt (neither is a car loan actually). Presumably, it includes mortgage debt.

I forgot to count auto loans, but yes. Saw that about a week or two ago in the Wall St. Journal. Credit card debt (the bulk after auto loans and student debt) are rising but still below the recession depths. I do know the difference between underemployment and unemployment. I suggest that some of it is voluntary, like my eldest son’s circumstance, and in other cases, there will never be some of the old jobs, so they aren’t really underemployed. Just the reality of sending those factory jobs to China, etc. There has been increased pressure on wages, which have been rising. That is a backward indicator that the boom is almost over, since increased wages come at the end of a cycle.

I agree the art market is beginning to cool, but the dealer is probably trying to maximize his return on investment when he can. The fact that junk shows up at places like Target means there is general public interest in his work. That results in a boost to prices overall; if people like the decorative stuff, then collectors will be influenced in their choice of purchases. Like the OP. I stand by my statement on the coming recession. These things tend to come in cycles, as you certainly know, and the last one was mostly caused by bad banking/loans which have been somewhat fixed. What will happen is worse than it should be because the GOP tax reduction combined with high spending has resulted in a high deficit that should rob the Congress of a major ability to effect fiscal policy, while low interest rates has cut into the Fed’s ability to lower rates further. Personal borrowing on unsecured loans, not counting student debt (a major problem) is lower than during the last recession, and we are running at full employment (excluding frictional unemployment). There are more jobs available than openings (but they are not well distributed in the economy). I predict only 2 quarters of recession, but a slower recovery, due to the debt problems which will later effect demand. I will take my chances with the SEC.

I wouldn’t buy the Lichtenstein without enormous research. The art market has been pretty hot from what I have casually read, and it is very cyclical. Circumstantially, I have seen various reprints of his work at places like Target; which suggests to me his stuff is high right now for it to be mass marketed. If I were you, I do not think this is the time to invest in collectibles. We are less than a year away from a minor recession, IMO, and that is when the prices of this sort of stuff flattens out or falls. If I were you, I would place my money in something safe like blue chip stocks or a conservative index fund (not keen on bonds, in general).

I was out of the hobby in 2004, so I’ll just have to stand on my record. While I understand what you are saying about creator owned material, it may end up burying good artists if their books don’t reach the right audience. I have been impressed with Ashley Witter’s skills and quality of work; but not so impressed with her book Squorriors.

Publication carries the inherent imprimatur that the work is good—otherwise, it wouldn’t be published. There is excellent unpublished work, but because the public’s ability to recognize good art from dreck isn’t always so hot, publication remains a valid standard. That is also the case with likes on Facebook. Some mediocre stuff gets showings of support because the likes want to encourage the artist.

Well, you could also reduce all romantic comedies to: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl. The fun is in the journey, not the destination. But yes, some of the stories I have read really are tired, unimaginative retreads of the past.

Well, I took his work seriously. This is from Byrne as penciller and Rubinstein as inker in 1980 (before Byrne did his own inking). I had him do it at a convention, and I was over 25 at the time. I also wanted Sienkewicz, who was also there, but he wasn't doing sketches at the time (I think it may have been during his first full year at Marvel). This was Byrne's first request for a Phantom Stranger (he told me at the time). Let me add that one day, Alexander will be a star.

Note my recent comment above. Same response.