Rick2you2

What all of this suggests, however, is that unless you really, really, really want an expensive piece, it may make a lousy investment.

I don’t think you can just blame the central banks here. A lot of the blame goes more pointedly to the big private banks who didn’t want to write down their loans, and companies who didn’t want to devalue their assets. In a sense, it’s a bit like the way some 401(k)’s now allow a percentage of retirement funds to be put in crypto to boost their returns. Bury the losses and hope things work out. ☠️

Not at all. Most of the economy is controlled by consumer buys and sells, not the state. I think the economy is pretty healthy— except in financial matters, where too much money has become lodged since the Clinton Administration. I also have a pretty good track record. I remember speaking to a finance guy and telling him I saw boom times ahead during the Trump Administration. He said he hoped I was right, but I was the only one predicting it. I was.

Spoken like a gold bug . Inflation is a necessary part of the economic system in order to counterbalance technological improvements and increased efficiencies which increase the value of what they buy, while reducing the cost to produce. Inflation means people have to improve their absolute income in order to maintain relative wealth. The Fed these days is okay with 2%, and can tolerate 3%. What we are seeing now is also the result of a pumped up economy on funds that saved us from a COVID induced depression—add money to the system so it doesn’t freeze up like it did to trigger the Great Depression. But, we also have our wonderful politicians, and Fed, who helped prime the pump after the Great Recession, and never fully pulled back spending afterward. Then, throw in market dominating companies who have pricing power. They Hoover up capital, helping to make the rich richer, and the rich then put their money in collectibles. I agree that collectibles are overpriced, but I don’t have the same “gloom and doom” attitude about the rest. We live on a relative scale, and the economic system remains grounded—except in the financial markets, including collectibles. We have full employment, with labor actually pushing back with union backing. We have cost inflation, but the very latest reads show a consumer pushback on costs is starting. Reports on housing in the last 2 weeks or so show softening in some places. In 6 months or less, that type of inflation will be under control if fossil fuels get under control. But if price/earnings ratios return to what they were 10 years ago, there will be a whole lotta hurt in the stock market.

Ironically, I like getting mediocre pages (within limits) with a less than brilliant character drawing. I also have excellent pages, and admittedly prefer them, but the so-so ones also let me compare and highlight what makes one better or worse. You might be surprised how many mediocre pages have something to say for themselves. And don't forget, a page is part of a story. Who buys pages that in of themselves aren't interesting but may do a great job of moving the story along? Not many and not often, I bet.

Just beginning, at least on a national level. Mortgage rates, highest in years. TIme that units are on the market is up (demand has dropped), Don’t forget the correction on prices is based off the highest prices ever, so you may not realize much of an actual drop if your thinking stretches to pre-COVID.

Not that serious. I think this is just a general economic correction, which may or may not result in a technical short recession (2 quarters of economic contraction), and later, a drop in prices as supply lines straighten out. What will get hurt are the inflated prices in stocks (P/E ratios), high housing prices (15-20%), overpriced collectibles (sorry, folks) and an increase in interest rates.

Publication only affects price, not quality. If you love the art, who cares? If you buy as an investment, you will probably get a lower rate of return than published OA, but it was probably cheaper to buy, too.

I had sent an email to Aaron telling him how well his work was appreciated here. He wrote me back that he has one slot left for his Heroes Con commission list if anyone is interested. "You don't have to be present at the con. My list is available through my rep, Cadence Comic Art. here's a link. And they can upgrade to the same size as yours! https://cadenceselect.bigcartel.com/product/campbell2022" His mention about upgrading is that I had upgraded to the 11 x 17 size from his regular size. Best wishes, Rick2you2

Bitcoin anyone?

A little harsh. I did once buy something that was only around 30-40% above market. What I buy, however, doesn’t always have much competition—no one else was probably interested. On the other hand, they do price their better stuff pretty high.

Stats are copies of original art and text “pasted” onto original art. Often, but not always, it is correct or change the underlying text or art. A large amount of stat art will usually reduce the value of art compared to art which is all original, since people want the original art. It doesn’t generally affect price if it only affects text, IMO.

And a really good Aparo splash from the Phantom Stranger, among other casualties.

I rarely buy commissions anymore, but I love the one I just got from Aaron Campbell. Campbell is the artist on the current Constantive series (Hellblazer), and his work plays beautifully in the horror genre. I had commissioned him at NY Comicon last year, and he ran about 6 months late, but this is worth it. Basically, he used John Bolton's style in Books of Magic to create an interpretation of the essence of the Phantom Stranger so rarely captured by artists. While you can't tell, he also did it on a rough paper which gives the image some nice texture. By the way, it was $500 for a 11 x 17, but he has since raised his rates to $600--if you can get him. The following image does not do it justice.

Fair enough. I collect to the character even if story flow and muscle development are both weak. I want clean images imaginatively done. I also tend to downgrade massive fight scenes which a lot of people love because I consider them, in most cases, a detriment to the plot.

Those strengths are not what collectors want in art, like dynamic musculature, even though they are critical to moving the story along. We buy pages and admire panels, not pieces of stories to study things like story flow.

Check the seller’s sales history. If he doesn’t sell much, he may feel he’s already giving a big discount and won’t want to give more. Then check his buying history. See what he buys. If it’s OA, he is probably knowledgeable and maybe more willing to deal. How long between listing and markdown? Big gap or small? Check his rating. Look for comments. They sometimes tip off the kind of person he is.

Here, she knew better. She decided to buy some F’ng fugly sconces, which she naturally had time to shop for, rather than this. Ever see a Spirit page melt, as droplets of water/ink ran down when it was picked up? One with a clever masthead on it, too. I moved out about a month later.

The alternative, which in my case I would have heartily recommended, would be to boot your wife. Mine didn’t get around to replacing a sump pump when it was needed. The resultant flood destroyed a number of my pieces, and damaged some others. And so, “the hunger” never ends.🤬

Or, they can ask the artist directly if they would sell a piece rather than wait for the artist to decide.

Dillin has been cooling off for at least several months. My best guess is that newer collectors don’t share its nostalgic appeal with older collectors. Over the longer term, I don’t see likely growth for these (but in fairness, I don’t like the artwork style).

But that may mean he didn’t sell it but was a consignor. That’s a Hell of a difference.

Crude art to match the dumb dialog. “Three times the number of fingers on both hands!” Wow. I guess the natives have no word for 30. And “white-winged boats from the ocean” mean the natives didn’t know what a sailboat is either. Pass. I’d rather watch reruns of Jungle Jim.

Race commented on the Comiclink Spring thread that some pieces didn’t do as well at auction as he expected. Perhaps this is the beginning of the long-anticipated slowdown/turnaround.