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Rick2you2
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Posts posted by Rick2you2
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On 10/25/2023 at 10:20 AM, Dr. Balls said:
"If the key driver of reboots is nostalgia — then the key driver of nostalgia is loneliness."
I am probably more nostalgic than most people I know, and I can tell you the single-most driving factor to why I look to days gone by is QUALITY.
Whether it's quality of what I'm reading, watching, buying, eating or engaging in - modern iterations pale in comparison to "how things used to be". And yes, that's pretty old timey-sounding, but my hobby is one of the few things that allows me to engage with other people - and my hobby is filled with nostalgia and things from yesteryear.
Reboots? Those are likely being done because the studios lack creative vision or foresight to develop strong properties. The author of this loves to lay it on the doorstep of the nerd, but if you're looking to ask why we keep seeing reboots, you just take a look at the idiotic CEOs of these media companies, who - seriously - only care about the bottom line. If a reboot of Lion King moves the chains 1%, they're going to make it. It has nothing to do with (apparently) lonely, nostalgic people.
If you like quality, let me recommend the Korean shows on Netflix as well as Wiki Rakuten. I am addicted now, and don’t mind the subtitles.
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On 10/25/2023 at 9:32 AM, tth2 said:
Americanizing a foreign TV show is nothing new. "House of Cards" and "Three's Company" are just two examples of British shows that were redone for American audiences.
I am aware of that. Same with All in the Family. The point is simply another example of Greed.
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On 10/24/2023 at 7:15 PM, malvin said:
Now that I think about it more, is a better order:
Greed -> lack of originality -> Movie reboots
Malvin
Add the TV reboots like Frazier and the upcoming American re-writes of K-dramas to the list (“Crash Landing on You” and Squid Game are planned, for example).
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On 10/22/2023 at 6:58 PM, paqart said:I don't understand commissions at all. I recently did a story for an anthology published by Graham Nolan. At one point, he asked all the artists if we'd be doing commissions. I couldn't imagine why, so I said no. A few others, including Graham, did them.
There a few reasons I'm not interested in making them as an artist, nor in buying them as a collector.
As an artist:
- I don't like working with non-professional clients. Some might be wonderful to deal with, but I've run into so many that are unreasonable that I won't take the risk.
- Outside of the natural context for comic book art, the "story" behind a commission tends to be uninteresting. An exception to this are cover recreations.
- If it comes out well, hardly anyone will see it. If not, the collector will be annoyed with himself or me, or both.
As a collector:
- They lose value immediately
- They weren't published, so no one will have seen the image
- Outside a comic book, the art almost always lacks vitality
- The tendency is to pose a character either without an environment, or in an environment that doesn't make sense.
First, you can get images by artists who haven't done a character before. Second, you get to play. Here is a female version of a Phantom Stranger I had done at a con by Colleen Doran:
Things like this aren't intended, at least in my case, to make money.
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On 10/21/2023 at 1:11 PM, batman_fan said:
This may be my last Charles Schulz pick-ups
If you get really lucky, maybe you can win some Garfield strips.
- alxjhnsn and batman_fan
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On 10/18/2023 at 6:37 PM, The Voord said:
I'd probably rank them 10, 4 and 5, in that order.
I get that you much prefer 5 and 10, but no guarantee either of those will become available in the foreseeable future (and if they did, you might be eclipsed in the bidding)! As such, if you need an example for your collection, I'd say # 4 is not too shabby an option (and better than no examples).
Not trying to convince you either way but, as I said before, you asked for feedback.
The problem with all these covers is that the covers are better than the underlying art. I do like 5 better than 4 in part because I have seen a post of the original art for 5. These are all dependent upon additional work after Lee’s work which made them better. Compare Lee’s art for no. 4 with the cover for example.
One of the “nice” things about my niche is that the character isn’t that popular. So, I can often get art at a better price than if the same artist drew, say, Batman. On the other hand, if I really like a piece, I won’t be out-bid (unless I suspect market manipulation). With these, I could be outbid.
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On 10/16/2023 at 8:55 PM, Rick2you2 said:
Fair point. More positive comments than I expected. I guess I should take a shot.
The other 3 are much more interesting, but they aren’t up for auction.I think the following 2 are much more interesting Jae Lee covers. If one of these had come up instead of the one from issue 4 I think, I would definitely be in (unless the second one was heavily computer generated).
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On 10/17/2023 at 10:27 AM, delekkerste said:
Speaking of Jae Lee, I saw that Albert had some Jae Lee pages priced at TWO figures (as in <$100).
I’m sure you know that It isn’t just the artist; it’s the subject matter which matters. Look at the price differential between Byrne’s X-Men vs. his Next Men.
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On 10/16/2023 at 7:10 PM, The Voord said:
I'm not forgetting, and am balancing the two. You did ask for feedback, quote:
"So, if you have something really good to say about it, please do so. If not, by all means comment anyway."
Where you asking for feedback to argue the toss or hear a different perspective?
I'm no Phantom Stranger-guy, so can only react to what you're displaying in terms of an illustration, which I thought was an intriguing design. Good cover designs should intrigue . . . and make you want to buy the book.
If it's not for you . . .
Fair point. More positive comments than I expected. I guess I should take a shot.
The other 3 are much more interesting, but they aren’t up for auction. -
On 10/16/2023 at 2:44 PM, alxjhnsn said:
Thinking about it, perhaps an acetate overlay with the missing trade dress and piece of white to make the Phantom Strange fade like on the printed cover would make it more interesting.
If you look at the other Jae Lee covers, this one is a poor 4th, I think. I’ll probably skip it even if it cheap. The other 3, however, are a different kettle of fish.
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On 10/16/2023 at 1:42 AM, Will_K said:
Going back a few years, I haven't been a big fan of seeing so many Jae Lee commissions where the figures are in profile. Also, not a fan of the Phantom Stranger's dislocated arm. Is Constantine's smoke supposed to represent something or spell out a word ? Very distracting.
And ignoring that, from a sartorial point of view, Constantine's pant leg seem to be draped all funny and there are way too many breaks.
I always enjoy a little deconstruction of a piece. As for the smoke, I honestly don’t remember the story even though I have it. To me, they look like symbols. Until DeMatteis took over the writing, the stories were execrable.
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On 10/16/2023 at 1:38 AM, The Voord said:
At first glance, in R2Y2's post, I thought I was looking at some kind of illustration of 'The Shadow', lol!
Yeah, the final cover presentation makes more sense . . . and I actually quite like this!
Don’t forget, we are looking at the cover art, not the actual cover. The cover is better than the art. I’m also a little biased because I know what the other 3 look like, and this one disappoints. But, that’s the reason I posted it; I have very real ambivalence about a piece from a good artist that I don’t think is up to snuff.
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There are some very nice things at auction this time. What I am about to write about is not one of them. Not awful, mind you, just not really nice. My collective question is whether anyone sees merit to this piece I am missing.
About 7 years ago, this cover by Jae Lee was listed for sale for $1,300 (I think). I didn't buy it then because I was unimpressed with it. I think the composition is unbalanced, the action is virtually non-existent, and the smirking Phantom Stranger looks like he was inhaling what President Clinton claimed he never did. It is also only one of four covers he did on this run (and the worst of them), but, I haven't seen the others for sale (except one other cover around the same time for $200 more which I skipped as well).
Having a completist instinct, I am debating whether I should go for it, and if so, how much. Frankly, I don't think its worth much more, if at all, than it was originally priced. But that is for a different day.
So, if you have something really good to say about it, please do so. If not, by all means comment anyway.
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On 10/15/2023 at 1:43 PM, artdealer said:
“Wide-ringing knowledge of a dealer”….. Isn’t that an oxymoron?
It doesn’t take much knowledge to be a dealer. No dealer can tell what’s going to sell in the future, or even in the present. They think they can, but really all they are doing is pricing the art, throwing it against the wall to see if it …
Not knowledge. Greed/taking advantage.
I was thinking more about combinations of artists in different runs, in which there is a rough market out there, but no one happens to be a fan of Devil Dinosaur on that auction. In the follow up reports on auctions there then appear to be some good deals, according to the writers.
But, you obviously know better, and I have definitely seen some prices which wouldn’t stick even with glue on them.
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Not everyone has the wide-ringing knowledge of a dealer, or particularly wants everything even if a virtual bargain, or is willing to invest for the long term. And, not everyone is involved in all potential auctions.I have passed on things which don’t match my collecting goals, like the adult gag cartoons that Anthony’s sells, but someone must be. I would also not buy a Byrne X-men page even while acknowledging its excellence. But you put up a Phantom Stranger page, and I will give it a lot of scrutiny.
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On 10/15/2023 at 4:53 AM, tth2 said:
If a piece doesn't go for a strong price at an auction, then it was most likely won by a dealer and will be repriced much higher. The chances these days of an even remotely desirable piece slipping through the cracks between both collectors and dealers are slim.
So the moral of the story is if that if a collector really wants a piece, then bid above what you think a dealer will bid, otherwise when it appears again it will be with a dealer and will have an even higher price tag stuck on it.
To be candid, that is the way I have always set my bids. But, the other side is also true. There has to be some “meat on the bone” left for a dealer to buy, so unless it is a piece where the marketing is developing, and a dealer would know more than a collector abut prospective growth, you should always do better if everyone else who is bidding is a dealer.
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On 10/14/2023 at 8:52 PM, Will_K said:
I don't get it. You say Giffen disliked the Phantom Stranger. Also, he didn't create the character. Why is he an authority on who or what is the Phantom Stranger ?
Even in the 80's Secret Origins series, they had an issue with 4 different origins:
https://www.comics.org/issue/42350/?
He was an insider who also wrote stories. He seemed to have a more formal status than that at DC, mentoring artists among other things, but I don’t actually know anything. Whatever it was, it gave him access to not-readily-available DC information. In my case, he just blurted it out after I told him what I had learned in prior decades. Kind of like an unexpected tip.
About those 4 stories, I am fairly certain that none of them are true. If there was a “master plan” in place all those years, which may not be the case, they are red herrings intended to make the reader think something different than the truth. If you look at issue 42, which was added to the Second Series years after it ended, you will notice that Deadman found evidence of 3 of the 4 stories in the Phantom Stranger’s brain. That would make no sense unless they are planted stories.
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On 10/14/2023 at 4:51 AM, grapeape said:
This......... is everything.
Clearly, Jayne Mansfield’s chest wasn’t buried with the rest of her.
- grapeape and batman_fan
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On 10/14/2023 at 5:31 PM, alxjhnsn said:
I have never liked the Judas solution to the mystery.
I’ll keep the correct answer a secret for now; someday I’ll write a tell-all. But I will give one hint. The key question is not who the Phantom Stranger is but what he is. There may not be a who.
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On 10/14/2023 at 11:23 AM, alxjhnsn said:
Sounds like Kieth. Congrats
He also confirmed something which was unexpected: who the Phantom Stranger was supposed to be. No, not Judas.
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A Keith Giffen story.
I had met Keith a number of times, and on one occasion he told me he wouldn't do a Phantom Stranger commission because he really disliked the character. Too cold and distant he said (some truth to that, no thanks to many writers). In any event, I learned that an artist I knew he had mentored had given birth. So, between shows (of a few months), I decided to pick her up a baby present and bring it to the next show. She wasn't there, which probably shouldn't have surprised me, but Keith was there. I told him I had a baby present for X, and he offered to bring it over to her later. He was also sitting around with empty time on his hands, and he decided to scribble some sketches. He was also aware of my interest in the Phantom Stranger, he knew me by then. All of a sudden, he started scribbling a sketch. You guessed it: the Phantom Stranger. And here it is. By the way, he signed it twice, at my request, because his penmanship was so bad it was illegible. He scowled, but did it anyway.
- davidtere, alxjhnsn, F For Fake and 1 other
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On 10/12/2023 at 11:01 AM, buttock said:
His last post on Facebook was:
"I told them I was sick...
Anything not to go to New York Comic Con
Thanx
Keith Giffen 1952-2023
Bwah ha ha ha ha"
Epic.
I had seen that, and was planning to post it.
message from Romain SOMEONE IS SELLING MY ART ON CAF !!
in Original Comic Art
Posted
I always agree to pay the extra charge. When dealing with artists, I automatically add it even if they don’t ask.