Rick2you2

I’m old school. I really like Tom Mandrake. Chaykin is still excellent, although I liked his work better when he was still doing whole pages instead of panels he would merge in Photoshop (he has excellent panel design skills going to waste). Also, Guillem March (great at drawing women, by the way). Amy Reeder is under appreciated, too (very tight pencils). Saw Ashley Witter’s work on Squorriors recently. Excellent skills even though the book isn’t my favorite.

You must also love hangovers.

Two of them just showed up on eBay this morning.

It's not a bad game, but I don't love it.

Happy to hear it. Didn’t know about the dealer, however.

Not sure if this qualifies, but, $1,295 from Archangels. In May, 2015, it sold for $358.50. Didn't care for it then, and still don't. Or, is this just an attempt to make a healthy profit? Now, as I wrote elsewhere, prices for middle of the road Aparo are down. If someone is following this stuff, maybe a little over half his asking price.

For the same reason that Bakelite jewelry enjoyed a renaissance, and heirloom jewelry does, too (up to a point). In those cases its about the craftsmanship and the style. I gave my daughter some cells from a commercial for Chiquita Banana and had them framed in a colorful frame. She loves them, and they look great (particularly with the matting).

While you are correct that no one can know with certainty, I think the future is a bit less predictable than the present viewers. I am surprised that most political cartoons (besides Thomas Nast) aren’t held in higher regard as to price. They can have well known content and speak to how people feel about common issues regardless as to age. But, a lot of them are relatively cheap. In 30 years, I think this hobby will be seriously hollowed out. The top tier stuff will command high prices, the bottom tier will sell as affordable art for people who value style as well as collectors, but the material these days which might sell between $10,000 and $100,000 or even higher will be very slow if not dead. There may be interest in things like GL/GA 76, but not much.

I will wager that more people buy the toilet paper.

I don’t think that’s true. The majority are still thankful for the benefits they have received. Look at what happened in the USSR. Minor military activity, but mostly, a systemic collapse. Now the minority groups, like the Uyghers, may act and feel differently. But the Han Chinese?

Don’t think China is a powder keg, but it will definitely change. The public’s desire for basic freedoms was bought off by the huge economic gains the people made, like eating meat more than once a week and being able for the average person to buy a bike. I think you are more likely to see change the same way that Britain went from a functional monarchy under George III to a constitutional one in the 1800’s after Waterloo (and “Peterloo” for you Brit’s).

I think that good quality panel pages are really overlooked and undervalued. If an artist is able to move the story along with creative graphics, it demonstrates to me a skill level going well beyond draftsmanship. Obviously, they don't have the impact of covers or splashes, but as hobbyist in this field, where story flow is essential, they can really make a difference. So, don't overlook something clever, attention-getting and containing a logical flow. In terms of funding, I am in a similar situation to Bird, except the last of my 3 is at U. of Wisconsin at Madison, where a years worth of room, board and tuition is now over 50K and there is no scholarship. So, I get your predicament. Just scrape a little more here and there. Shop Costco, pick up their credit card, accumulate those points, stuff like that.

If you really want to rationalize bigger purchases, save the shekels and stop making smaller purchases. Personally, I like my smaller purchases, in some case, more than the bigger ones. Cost and perceived value are not the same.

Some things are easily worth it.

Not so good on storage, either. I had placed my hobby on hiatus for a number of years, and it was stored in the basement. The sump pump went, but instead of getting it fixed like she said she would, she spent the money getting a mole removed. Naturally, the basement then flooded...thankfully, only some pieces were unrepairably damaged. Good-bye, Eisner Spirit Splash. So long Aparo Splash...plus a few more. She is my ex-wife now. Let me add that alimony isn't so good for the collector, too.

Start by looking at the threads about the future value of art. Then focus on the cheaper stuff, which, in many cases, is really good.

One of the things I like about it is it’s very stiffness; it’s a time capsule of a period and style, along with the nutty dialog and old-fashioned clothing. It is not good art in the normal way we evaluate things. But, it is unintentionally funny and that’s why I think it is cool.

It's Rosenberger/Colletta, and $300. I'm in the process of buying it. I don't care if my "wife" loses interest, since she wouldn't have any. We've been divorced for over 15 years. My female companion/gf, however, really likes it.

Good grief, this isn't a law school class in contracts law or the law of agency. For you nonlawyers who find this interesting, here is the way it should generally play out: A dealer of art has either "express" or "implied" authority to sell the art from an artist freely given to him (probably express authority). Good luck arguing against that point. If the dealer deals with a third party (potential buyer) and is willing to accept a price, then he will at least have "apparent authority" to sell at that price, which, for you nonlawyers, is a little different than express or implied authority. He will have been placed in a position by the artist in which a third party dealing with the dealer will have been led to believe the dealer has authority to sell at the accepted price. If the dealer makes a deal, and the dealer has not expressly qualified that authority to the third party ("I can do it at $4,500 if the artist approves"), the artist is going to get stuck. The artist could still sue the dealer for breaching his agency relationship, and in this hypothetical, recover $500 back (difference between offered price and sales price), but the deal to the third party is a valid one. Finally, to close the loop, there is also a concept of ratification in which no express or implied authority originally existed, but the artist agrees to it after the fact (thereby surrendering the right to sue for $500)

Cute stretch. No, I originally wrote that kitschy art, like romance and schlock horror would enjoy a slight resurgence (I don’t see cowboys coming back). For the heavy hitting stuff, most of it won’t survive at these types of high price levels, but we will need a different buying generation in control to bring them down. I think the sweet spot in the 20-25 year future will be in the mid $1,000’s with a lot of buying below $1,000 (inflation adjusted). The middle range of pricing, particularly older stuff from the 1960’s-1980’s, in 25 years, won’t have sustained its high pricing levels and may be virtually dead. Let me add that there is a lot of very good art out there, being produced now, which I think collectors turn up their nose at. Creative panels, quality illustrative skills, respect for plot flow, etc. It just isn’t ringing the nostalgia bell. That is what will eventually be a major change agent as well as a generational shift.

Not the case in the beginning of the 1980’s that I saw. But then, the hobby wasn’t organized as now, so maybe I missed it.

Still don’t want to take a shot at names?

I agree with a lot of what you wrote. Your brother, I think, nailed it where the sweet spot in pricing will be—low enough not to hurt the bank account, but high enough to get good work. One of my favorites is Tom Mandrake whose work, I think, is undervalued. I don’t think you should be offended by naming names. Quality and price do not necessarily go hand in hand. As I recall, Ivan Reis used to be hotter than he is now, but his work is still very good. On the other hand, how did Jim Lee’s work get so expensive, even though it is also excellent. In 15-20 years, I doubt it will be viewed as justifying the prices it is commanding (adjusted for inflation)—not due to quality, but popularity.

Haven’t read him, but I’m an old economics major who loved off-beat branches. Way back when, we had “institutional” economics which was a catch-all for behavioral economics and other things which did not fall neatly into macro or microeconomics.

I think you are wrong about the future on this (but I generally agree with your long-term prognostication). I found out about Chairish; I expect decorators will, too. And, one will lead to another to another. Once they realize they don’t have to buy overpriced prints and set them in expensive frames, which are not needed with OA, it is just a matter of when.