Rick2you2

I have seen Heritage add "Make Offer to Owner" on things I won, and I never asked for it.

Agreed. I personally am a big fan of Guillaume Marche and Arthur Ranson (specifically, his work on the graphic novel "Batman and the Phantom Stranger" [always on the lookout for more pages, by the way]).

Not my passion, but I respect a collector with a dedicated drive for a character.

That story is an example of what makes the character so appealing to me, not his role as cosmic nanny.

Just one, but a nice early one:

About that Phantom Stranger page, I think your pre-auction estimate is in line with what have been the price run-ups in general for his work lately. But so much has come on the market since last year, including a page on Clink (that was not as good as this one) which went for a little less than $500. I think the market will slack off a bit. So, I would guess closer to $1,300-1,500 including BP. But I think I will pass on it. If you are curious about that story, the bad guy captured the Phantom Stranger and had his heart removed for a transplant to replace his own failing one. PS later tracks him down, and later the bad guy is found dead. The stolen heart is missing. That was also the very first Phantom Stranger story I ever read, and a great one.

Not sure how the Garcia-Lopez 10 page Origin Story from Secret Origins is already up to $3,610 with the Buyer's Premium, or slightly over $3,000 without it. Based on the individual pages, only the first page is good. Pretty much at the top of the market already.

Heck, there are so many suspicious ones, we could start a thread.

I still buy low-end crapola, if its got the Phantom Stranger in it and the images are decent. Although, I do have my limits these days. Still won't pull the trigger on Dillin even if it did come up again.

I wish I could be more helpful, but that signature on Batgirl is really familiar.

I don't think this is Bruce Timm's work. In particular, look at the way the eyes are drawn and compare it to his other work. This is pretty clearly Timm:

Be really careful with Bruce Timm art, in general. There are what I consider to be a lot of fakes out there. And that includes a particular Harley Quinn sketch, if it is the one I am thinking of. It doesn't look right. I have been looking for a Bruce Timm Phantom Stranger, which I think is out there, but after seeing a fair number of fake Timm's, I may hold off until I go to Moy and get one commissioned.

You are very clearly asserting what you consider to be bad art, and one can’t define “bad art” without defining “art”. The idea that “great art” should “connect the viewer, unambiguously, to the emotion or experience of a time and place and share something about the the human experience that isn’t easily communicated”, is nonsense. One of my favorite artists Piet Mondrian, is an acknowledged master artist and father of the Dutch School. Most of his work is as abstract as it gets, but it conveys nothing of the human experience. His classic works are an exploration in the concept of balance between line and color, and his disparate use of seemingly random straight lines and primary colors to achieve it. It is not about beauty or truth, but intellectually stimulating. Great art, I think, is something which impacts a large number of people, for whatever reason, including old covers of the Saturday Evening Post. Even if you consider Lichtenstein’s art to be “one liners”, it is still excellent. It’s like a piece of chocolate in the middle of a dreary workday. That’s always a good thing (unless you are diabetic). But price is not the same as great art, particularly with some high priced stuff today. That is sometimes a reflection of investors or really rich people wanting to show they have style, taste or lots of money. On that point I would agree.

So, you want to define not just "what is art", but what is "good art", by deciding if you don't like it, then it must be bad and overpriced as well? Seems a little presumptuous to me. Price does not define quality, although a high price means it has a high level of market interest. For example, there are some excellent comic artists whose works are not particularly expensive.

While I would agree that they are not sophisticated, they are a lot of fun. What's wrong with art that's just fun? Knowing itheir origins makes them better, but not knowing them doesn't change the fact that they are vibrant, colorful and witty commentaries. Honestly, I would rather look at them than Girl With a Pearl Earring. This hobby at its core, involves fun art, A man dressed in a bat costume punching a person dressed in a bad clown outfit is never going to be treated as "fine art" no matter how well it is done. Heath is good, but for the wall, I would take Lichtenstein.

I guess this leaves her out:

I think he did more than that. He flattened the illustrations to emphasize the simplicity of the basic form which makes them appealing (and commercial). He did so by brightening the colors and changing the shading, but also by simplifying the lines, limiting the dialog, and adding a few things. You knew who the bad guy was because he has a scar on his face (unlike the original). "Torpedo...Los" says it all. Think C.C. Beck vs. Mac Raboy.

If you really bought it, you've already had the "worst."

Throw in the derivative art style, and lack of personal vibrancy and that pretty much nails it. But, the guy does have good drafting skills. With time, he might become really good if he puts his heart into the work instead of just his skills.

For those of you who post announcements and ads about upcoming shows, would you please take down old ones when the show is over? I spent the morning driving to a show in East Brunswick and back, but it turned out I was a year late for it. Not appreciated folks. The ad didn't list the year, and I didn't notice the day and date did not match to this year. Thank you for your future anticipated courtesies.

Oops. Nevertheless, collecting the names of others who suffered similarly will increase the likelihood something will really be done.

You should pass on your name and contact information to the OP if he intends to seek a criminal action. Corroboration helps.

That really is awful. Make sure you have proof of what you sent, and hopefully, you have saved copies of any communications. That includes any email, text messages and voicemail (Yes, I know the odds are small that you do, but it never hurts to check). Anyone else dealt with him who can back up the story with a similar incident?

But, the rates are higher.