Nexus

On 5/3/2024 at 9:50 AM, grapeape said:

Massively successful Tradd Moore art drop today under the care and direction of the great Felix Lu. I think by 9:30 am every page except the page 30 splash was on hold. I bet by the time I post this that crazy good splash goes on hold and Felix has another slam dunk sellout. If you haven't seen the Doctor Strange 2 pages yet, they are spectacular. Hurry. Page 30 still a chance!

 

 

Thanks Grape! Page 30 is now gone.

Our first DOCTOR STRANGE: FALL SUNRISE drop for Tradd was exactly one year ago. Definitely got the tongues wagging here and elsewhere. One year later, it's no big deal anymore. Been there, done that, I guess.

On 5/4/2024 at 11:12 AM, TupennyConan said:

Sure but which covers are known to exist? CAF, HA archives, dealer sites, etc., like the DD186 here http://panelpageart.com 

Pretty sure I've seen them all now, either in person or in scans, with the exception of #158. That I can remember.

#167 just surfaced in the last couple of years after being buried for about 40 years. Still the same owner, he's just gotten re-engaged with the hobby and showed it to me. Anyhow, they're all out there. If I had to bet, #158 is probably out there, too.

For those who enjoyed our last post-auction reaction livestream with David Mandel, we're back with Part 2 tonight:

He's done my podcast a billion times so it's my turn to repay the favor to David Mandel on his show, The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of:

It's billed as a comic art/movie prop crossover, but what it really is, is a peek into the mind and thought processes of a new collector. There are so many parallels and shared traits between the two hobbies that OA collectors should be able to relate. It's also the first ever unboxing on the show. Check out what I got as my first movie prop...and if I fall hard like I did for OA. (If you're familiar with what I collect art-wise, it will all make sense.)

Thanks to Dave and Ryan!

On 3/20/2024 at 10:16 AM, vodou said:

I've kinda-sorta looked several times and just cannot find it. Link please?

https://www.comicconnect.com/item/1031005?tzf=1

On 3/19/2024 at 6:02 AM, delekkerste said:

This one (pleasantly) surprised me. Having paid a very big price for the JSF cover I bought a couple years ago, I was glad that this one did not bomb.

 

 

A big number for JSF, yes, but also not entirely surprising IMO. These covers just don't show up that often. And ones where he's in his mask/gear even less. If I didn't already have my cover, I'd have chased this one to this level (with full awareness that I'd never see that money again...JSF might be a worse long term buy than NEXUS).

There was a great ZOT! cover in this auction, as well. Also incredibly evocative of this very special era. I imagine a lot of collectors of this previously tightly-held material will be letting go of it more and more before too long. So while this number isn't surprising today, it would surprise me 10 years from now. Just feels like the page will be turning on '80s indie sooner rather than later.

On 2/16/2024 at 6:51 PM, J.Sid said:

Great thread. I used to think I would be strong, but then a grail-ish piece from my childhood showed up for sale from "Seller/Dealer/Website X"

It was bad. I held out for a long while. But it was one of those stupid scenarios where they raised the price a couple times after it didn't sell. In the end I swallowed my pride and paid up. It was during the pandemic surge and I didn't want the price to get raised even higher!

Passed this test early on. There was a definite "grail-ish" piece being offered by a now-defunct auction house during one of their comic art sales. Not an auction, just a straight sale. Would have bought it in nearly any other circumstance...but there was a chance the art had been consigned by a well-known snake in the hobby. He had been known to use this auction house as an outlet for his sales, to preserve his phony amateur status. I didn't know for sure if the art was his consignment. But just the chance that it was put me off enough already. So I passed. No regrets.

On 2/23/2024 at 9:33 AM, jjonahjameson11 said:

Looks like we're in for a treat with this upcoming auction...so many pieces from diverse genres, artists, and budgets.  Now at nearly 900 OA lots, including this recently added beauty!

Wow, this is a surprise. Originally from the Rick Loshiavo collection. He was to WEAPON X what Dave Mandel is to DKR. The best WEAPON X collection ever assembled. Pages, splashes, covers...he had it all. All the great W-X pieces that have emerged over the past several years were originally from his collection.

This was one of the first he ever let go, around 2006. I traded it a few years later to the current owner, who's now had it longer than either Rick or me. Won't be trying to get it back, so best of luck to bidders.

The Felix Comic Art Podcast is back with a rare new episode! Featuring special guest, The Prince Of All-Media, DAVID CHOE!

Yes, David is famously a big comics fan. But even more relevant to us, he's a big comic ART fan. And a big comic art collector.

Check out a Choe chat like you've never heard before in our latest episode!:

https://www.felixcomicart.com/podcastdetail.asp?pId=65

And then check out our companion ORIGINAL ART SHOW AND TELL video with Dave on our YouTube channel where he shares some favorite pieces from his collection:

As you'll see, the man has great taste! Thanks to Dave for one of the most fun shows we've ever done. And thanks to you all for checking it out...enjoy!

On 10/26/2023 at 9:34 AM, Fischb1 said:

So you bought a page for 900, then, by your own admission, flipped it within a year or two for more than double (2k), and this happened before the Covid run-up....then, soon after, all the pieces went up in value and now the buyer is trying to do what you did (flip it for more) and you're resentful? Sounds like sour grapes to me. 

Your take on this does come off like a case of sour grapes for the consignor. But what I believe the OP was trying to say is that the dealer may have taken the cover on "consignment" and then immediately "sold" it...to himself. At perhaps below market value. And is now flipping it himself 18 months later. At a much higher value. Read his post again.

Or maybe that's not what happened. Whatever the case may be, consignors should have the right to know who bought their art. IMO.

On 6/24/2023 at 9:59 AM, delekkerste said:

You can say it's their fault for re-selling so soon or paying so much in the first place...

Yes. You can.

On 6/22/2023 at 10:47 AM, Bronty said:

Well its an indy book from the 90s of some acclaim.    I seem to recall one interior page going for even more than that.

I don't play in that market but the price seemed reasonable to me, as though it could have gone for something more.

Clowes/EIGHTBALL is squarely in my wheelhouse. And I had zero interest in that cover. But EIGHTBALL covers rarely pop up so for anyone looking for one, this has pretty much been it for a while. There are some collectors who pegged it even higher, based on where other Clowes art has sold. I could definitely see that for more desirable covers (I understand there are much higher offers for some of the "best"); this one finished about where it should, IMO.

On 5/1/2023 at 4:59 AM, KirbyCollector said:

Appreciation of art is not linked to price. I've been in many of the world's most famous museums and seen the most famous works you can name, but the $400 Swedish landscape which hangs in my living room gives me just as much joy as the Picasso I saw in Paris last November which just sold for $22M. Prices do not dictate whether someone should appreciate art any more or any less. 

 

Good for you. I feel the same. Has nothing to do with what we've been talking about.

On 5/1/2023 at 4:59 AM, KirbyCollector said:

I said "tulips and NFTs" because I spend all my day in the finance market and there are things going on which tell me we have about two years (or less) left before the bottom falls out -- and by fall out, I mean a complete stock market crash followed by a decade of little to no gains, huge bank failures (to include very large ones like Capital One) and a possible repeat of the Great Depression. In that situation, as we have seen over time, the most speculative items priced at the very top take the largest loss. Now, you may very well be right -- your high net worth, elite buyers may be insulated from all this and prices will remain where they are. But considering the fact the wealthy are heavily invested in stocks and things like commercial real estate, it may be hard for them to avoid what is coming. 

Yeah, OK, but again...then it's ALL tulips and NFTs.

Anyway, in the scenario you describe, and I've considered the possibility, too...an OA collection with zero $ value is still going to rank amongst the least of my worries.

On 4/30/2023 at 7:35 PM, KirbyCollector said:

I simply don't see the need for theatrics. The comics world is and has been filled with some of the most humble, self-effacing people I've ever met, from artists to dealers to collectors. The art does all the speaking, imo. Tradd's art spoke and buyers bought, great.

Heh. That's nice of you to say now, but before it was all "tulips, NFTs, and speculating". With a two year expiration date on the art.

You don't like that I've pointed out that the fan/collector base is wide and deep and includes some of the top collectors of our hobby. Who are unlikely to let this crash, as you predict. Not anytime soon, anyway.

Happy to let this play out over the next two years. SILVER SURFER: BLACK was four years ago. Beat similar naysayers' outlook already. And actually, even mine.