Nexus

Finally, I'm going to share clean, unwatermarked scans of all pages from our DOCTOR STRANGE: FALL SUNRISE #1 drop here. Love it, hate it, or indifferent to it...here's what all the fuss has been about:

Some more, again for anyone who is still curious. I was maybe the first guy to buy art from Tradd after discovering his work in his first comic series, THE STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE. This was in 2012. I was instantly a fan. A couple years later, I became an art rep. And a couple of years after that, he joined. At that point, he was still pretty unknown to collecting community at large. So that summer, we shot this video at SDCC 2016 as a way to introduce his art to a larger audience: This one's only 5 minutes long; you'll get to see a lot of collectors in it as they view Tradd's art in person for the first time. Note, this is an older style. It's crazy...but nowhere near as bonkers as he would get with SILVER SURFER: BLACK and even further still with DOCTOR STRANGE: FALL SUNRISE. In November 2020, we did this talk for Bill's Comic Art LIVE event. This was closest to SILVER SURFER: BLACK, for anyone who likes that work especially. But again, I think Tradd comes off well, which only helps people become fans of his work:

As the seller of the art, I'll add my two cents for background/context. Not looking to change anyone's mind. Not much in here that I disagree with, anyway! Will new art hold its value? Some will, some won't. Only time will tell. But if you were passing up John Byrne X-MEN art in 1980 because you believed it was overpriced for new art, and the artist was still young and there would be more supply coming...you probably wish you had a do-over. Tradd's art IS priced high. Hence, the discussion his sales inevitably inspire. I think there was a similar thread here when we sold his SILVER SURFER: BLACK art circa 2019/2020. That art has since taken as much as a 10X multiple in value. I'm not saying DOCTOR STRANGE: FALL SUNRISE will follow a similar trajectory. BUT this art isn't just being chased by newbies who don't know any better. It's a veritable who's who of BSD collectors, new AND old, who have been after the art. These are guys who otherwise collect Frazetta and Wrightson and the like. After we did our livestream video last week, I heard from almost all of them asking about the upcoming drop. Including MULTIPLE well-established dealers! Which should tell you how they see things going from here. As for the disconnect between comic values and art values. Yes, generally speaking, art values follow comics. A valuable comic = valuable art. A comic that has a low value means there's low interest...and thus, there SHOULD be corresponding low interest in the art. But there are exceptions. Two I can think of are Michael Golden and Travis Charest comics. DOCTOR STRANGE #55 is Michael Golden's acknowledged tour-de-force. You can still find it in dollar boxes. But the art is worth a mint to OA collectors. Same with Travis' books. All dollar bin fodder. We would also all kill to own a page. So then goes Tradd's comics. I'm sure you can all come up with your own similar examples. To the extent any non-fan cares to learn more, I do encourage you to check out the livestream we just did with Tradd. He's a genuinely good person. Very intelligent and thoughtful, too. I think it comes through:

We are beyond excited to announce that TRADD MOORE will be appearing on our YouTube channel TONIGHT, Tuesday, April 25th, at 7PM PDT/10PM EDT! You do not want to miss this rare live appearance by our young genius comics creator. We will be discussing the art from his first official solo series effort, the recently released DOCTOR STRANGE: FALL SUNRISE. This will be the first public showing of the original art, as Tradd will share his thoughts and process for each page of the first issue. You can also consider this an art preview. Because Tradd has decided to make the entire DOCTOR STRANGE: FALL SUNRISE #1 available for collectors! You read that correctly. After years holding on to all of his art, he is letting go of this monumental #1 issue. This opportunity will happen soon; help prepare yourself by tuning in! Tradd will also answer questions you may have about his art and career. So come join us tonight at 7PM PDT/10PM EDT at this link: The Felix Comic Art Podcast LIVE (Episode 2): TRADD MOORE And, yes, there will be a free prize for a lucky viewer...an original Tradd Moore sketch! Good luck all, see you soon! Felix www.felixcomicart.com

Is it only dealers who gouge? I take it you've never witnessed a Comic Art Live event... From what I've seen in my time in the hobby, most collectors become dealers when they decide to sell.

We agree on this. Felt that way then, still feel the same now. Only thing weaker is the "$85K offer" claim.

No worries, not offended. If someone prefers the Wolverine books, that's fine. It simply says to me, though, that that person likes Wolverine as a character more than Daredevil. It's also probably means that they like Claremont's writing on WOLVERINE more than Miller's on DAREDEVIL. Which would also be fine! But again, IMO, a preference for the Wolvie limited series over Miller's DD run is for reasons other than appreciation of Miller as a creator. Just my opinion...sorry if that offends you;)

Anyone who chooses Miller Wolverine over Miller DD is a Wolverine fan more than a Miller fan.

Comic art content junkies, you score TWICE today! I've been trying to get this collector on the show from the beginning...and this year, I sent two of my guys to Hawaii to get him! It's one of my favorite collectors (and people!) in this hobby: the esteemed Richard Martines!: https://www.felixcomicart.com/podcastdetail.asp?pId=61 We also bring back our ORIGINAL ART SHOW AND TELL series on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0e_q1JAb3w0 There is one universally respected collector in this hobby, and that's Richard. And finally, he's on the show. Enjoy! Felix www.felixcomicart.com

I, for one, support this theory that Rich Henn and Harlan Ellison are the same person. I mean...has anyone here ever seen the two of them together in the same room? Didn't think so. Also, "Dr. Balls" is actually H.G. Wells.

While all the board drama was going on yesterday, I was actually meeting Marcus for an art exchange. He was on his way to visit a lonely senior and wish him a happy birthday. Replete with balloons, gifts, and a cake. Proving to me, once again, just what a sweetheart Marcus is. And I might have continued to believe that...if it wasn't for Herbie/Race. Now, I know the truth: It was all a ruse. No one is THAT nice; there's always an ulterior motive! Clearly, Marcus is trying to shoehorn his way into a will. And maybe help himself to a bowl of hard candies when the old duffer had his back turned. How could I have been so blind!! For that matter, someone needs to run a toxicology test on that cake! To our venerated elder in the photo...I hope you're OK. To Marcus...you should be ashamed of yourself. To SPAM a lonely old man with gifts and cake is actually elder ABUSE! To Herbie/Race...thank you. Thank you for opening my eyes. Also, thank you on behalf of all the wackjobs in this hobby. They are not alone and they now have someone to look up to. And a happy birthday to Lance.

There's quite a bit of CGI in FURY ROAD: That's just a taste. Very liberal use of CGI throughout. Just saw THE ROAD WARRIOR on the big screen again a couple of weeks ago. I try to catch that in the theater every chance I get. Appreciate it more and more.

Somewhat responsible? I'm OK with wholly responsible. Because the rise in prices for modern art comes from building the market for modern art. Which comes from identifying and promoting the key artists of the current era, the ones who will have the best chance to stand the test of time. All comic art started off as modern art; If Felix Comic Art was around 40 years ago, I would have sought to rep Frank Miller, Steve Rude, Michael Golden, Walter Simonson, Howard Chaykin, Jaime Hernandez, Dave Stevens, David Mazzucchelli, Brian Bolland, George Perez, Matt Wagner...those were the young guys who got me excited back then (there were others, these are just the ones that jump to mind). The artists I'm repping today are the ones who are getting me excited now. As with that '80s group, not everyone will be a legend 40 years from now. But if comics are still a thing in 40 years, I'd bet they all have a better than average shot. I'm not surprised there was sticker shock at the Titan pages. I priced them as high as I reasonably could. Why? Because I knew there would be a clamor for them by first appearance collectors. That anyone might be grousing about the pricing is because there's seemingly no meat left on the bone for "investment". The irony here is that one of the critics of Titan in this thread had asked me for time payments before the drop. If the prices were to his liking, and he was able to get a page, I have no doubt he would instead be touting Titan as the next big thing. As it is, almost all the pages have sold. I'm confident that the remaining few will eventually get picked up, too. As I said before, the artist has only one chance to sell the art. With how nutty things have gotten, I actually told Ryan that he should just hold onto this issue and wait to see what happened. It's no skin off my nose to skip the immediate sale now, because as is stands, I'd get to share in the potential upside down the road anyway. But the the inker, Cliff, preferred to sell now. So we did. I think I know who your rep friend is, and if I'm right, he's been very open that he's hoping to replicate my model for his particular niche. (I appreciate his honesty and I wish him the best.) If you don't think the art is worth the asking price...then don't buy it. Quite simple. How is anyone getting "ripped off"? By now, it's fairly evident that other reps are copying what I've done, to whatever extent they can. The honest ones, like your friend, will admit it. But that's really just the superficial stuff. In the end, it all comes down to the artists. And it will be up to collectors to know the difference between a James Harren, and a James Harren clone. Until then, of course that rep will continue to push prices. Eventually, I do believe the market will sort things out. As collectors (and yes, I'll also include myself in that group), we decide. Not the rep.

Let there be no mistake: At some point, EVERYONE sells in this hobby. This isn't a binary proposition, that collectors either sell or don't sell. Whatever issue you may be inferring, it has nothing to do with collectors selling their art. Because we will all sell. It's just a matter of how much and when. The manner in which art is sold, though? That will vary. On the plus side, there's less of the obvious snakey behavior that used to be more prevalent. But at the same time, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. There are great people in the hobby. There are not-so-great people in the hobby. Like everything else in life.

IIRC, I referred to him as "the most prominent and influential person in the hobby". Which I do believe he is. Everyone can listen and decide for themselves how they feel about that. Over the years, I have been very open with how I feel about HA bidding on their own auctions. But this is just how things are. We either accept it or we don't. There are other things I don't like about the hobby as well. But the things I DO like outweigh those. So I'm here for now. I imagine that's how it is for pretty much everyone in the hobby. Like so many others, I suspected Jim had gotten the cover. And I was going to ask him about it. I did not expect that he would volunteer it. Still appreciated that he would share that. Over the course of the two podcasts with Jim, I think there's enough stuff for people to consider, if they listen carefully. And again, decide for themselves.

I missed this one earlier. I am a rep, not a dealer. Yes, there are dealers who are also reps. But I'm just a rep. Otherwise, yes, not mutually exclusive. Most of the dealers I know are also collectors. I was referring to the ones who don't admit they're dealers. This may not be you, but most collectors I know will engage with other collectors differently than they would with dealers. So the stealth dealers would prefer to preserve their phony amateur status. You're still relatively new, so likely everyone who is in the hobby is all the same to you. That's OK; enjoy this time of innocence while it lasts.

Post your follow-up questions. I'll bring them up next time. Invite everyone else to do the same if they wish!

At San Diego Comic-Con 2017, we managed to secure a chat with the most influential figure in our hobby: Jim Halperin of Heritage Auctions. At San Diego Comic-Con 2022...he returns. And he saved a blockbuster scoop just for the occasion. We follow up our talk with Jim with a round table breaking it all down. Joining me are veteran panelists Andy Robbins and Yo Kuri: The Felix Comic Art Podcast (Episode 51): Jim Halperin, Part 2 It's two straight hours of pure comic art conversations. Like you'll get nowhere else. Enjoy! Felix www.felixcomicart.com

I forgot to mention: It was 132 requests that were logged by the site in the first minute. There were apparently many, many more collectors who weren't even able to successfully submit their requests because they got error messages. So that number would be even higher than 132 if the site could have handled it. So even drawing with two hands wouldn't solve this issue. Another illustration of how crazy all this has been: When we announced the opportunity, I was offered $500 to guarantee a spot on the list by a collector. Meaning, I would get paid $1000 total. $500 for the sketch, and $500to keep for the "favor". I declined. I appreciate how much this person wants one, but that's not how we do things. He then tried at the drop with everyone else. He was unsuccessful. He asked me afterward where he placed. So I counted. He was 130 out of 132.

On Wednesday, I opened up Daniel Warren Johnson's sketch list to my newsletter subscribers. There were 10 spots available at $500 each for a 6X9 sketch. The first 10 people to submit their request through the site would make the list. I have to manually disable the listing on my site in order to close the opportunity. I tried to do it as quickly as I could, but the site was running slow, even on the backend. It took me one minute from the listing going live to close it. In that single minute, we received 132 unique requests. For 10 spots. We actually received a much higher number of total requests, if we would include people who submitted their request multiple times. In terms of individual unique requests, though, it was 132. I counted. Bill Cox can verify. Who knows how much higher that number would have been if I had waited longer to close the listing? All to illustrate the difficulty in getting a sketch from DWJ. And the difficulty for us in making everyone happy.

Regardless, you're still selling all of an artist's work...because you haven't been able to get a sketch. So if you had gotten a sketch, you'd presumably still remain a fan. Still don't get it. Right. You say that now, and it *sounds* good...until we actually do implement a lottery. And you don't win. And as we run more lotteries with other people winning, we're then back to square one here with the agita. It's never a "good" system until you get the art. So there is no good system, because there's no system that guarantees you'll win. And until you win, there's just going to be this building resentment. Or to put it another way: I'll always be the bad guy to someone, until everyone gets what they want. Which is impossible. It's never going to happen. There's only so much art, there can only be so many commissions. Don't know what else to say. (I'm going to add as an aside that I don't take this as a personal dig, and that I consider D2 to be reasonable and polite relative to some others who have a beef with not getting art they want. That I deal with on a near-daily basis. Some people take it personally, for whatever reason, when none of this is personal at all.)

First off, if it's not fun, then don't participate. It's not worth the stress as you describe. I totally understand if people decide to stop following. But...as I said re: the Dueling Dealer show, it's impossible to make everyone happy. I just have to make ENOUGH people happy. So far, enough people are happy. Still, please tell me how you would do it differently. You're not the first one to grouse about how this is done. But I get the feeling that unless the person complaining gets the art they want, at a price they want to pay, any system will suck. I've been in your shoes, btw. For lots of artists. Including Adam Hughes. The situation was exactly as J.Sid describes. Another guy was Art Adams. I really wanted an Art Adams commission or sketch. The commission list was "full until he's dead" as his former rep informed me. So that left sketch lists at shows. And I always ended up getting beat out by others. They simply out-hustled me and wanted it more. Frankly, I could only make shows very infrequently, and had no interest chasing him around the country for a shot at his list. So I decided to live without an Art Adams sketch. I didn't then go home and sell off all my Art Adams comics or whatever. I was still a fan. I didn't need a sketch to remain a fan. I really don't get that at all. To each their own, I guess.

Wow, thanks Hekla! It's funny because I see the podcast as anything but professional. I'm not a professional interviewer. It's just two guys shooting the stuff about the hobby. That's what I set out for the show to be, allowing everyone to listen in on a conversation. Glad you're enjoying it! To the original topic, though, I would just say that no matter what issues folks may have with the DD show, the bottom line is it has a sizable audience, and they sell a lot of art. They're accomplishing what they've set out to do. I can see folks are divided on the comedy routines, but more people appear to like them than don't. From my point of view, at least they're trying to entertain and NOT just be a de facto QVC operation for comic art. Ultimately, it's impossible to make everyone happy; they're making ENOUGH people happy. Also, the DD show is just part of that channel. Bill is doing other shows, too, so can't say it's all just "low-brow" content. Seems like there's a little something for everyone. Even if you consider the DD show a negative, the overall channel is a net positive. My opinion only, as always.

First off, let me assure you that you are not being annoying. I'm asking people who are interested to write me; they are not obligated in any way to commit. So, zero problems if they don't. For now, though, I don't think I'm going to change anything in how we've been handling commissions. Mainly because it works, and I'm a "don't fix it if it ain't broke" kind of guy. Maybe there's a better way, and maybe I'll eventually adapt to a different system...but for now this works. Lists always fill up fast...why mess with a proven formula? Also, to a lesser degree, I'm keenly aware of how many other reps are trying to replicate our model (some to the point of outright plagiarism) and so prefer not to share everything publicly if I don't have to. I realize there are proxies who will inquire and share the information, but I don't have to make it any easier than it already is. Anyway, keep writing whenever you feel like it, it's no bother at all.

Sorry, been playing catch-up since Heroes, so haven't had a chance to answer this. Comix4fun pretty well lays it all out. Or as another friend puts it, dealers who REALLY don't want anyone to think of them as dealers, in order to preserve their phony amateur status. But there's also a specific example I can think of: Many years ago, there was a high-profile collector who would ingratiate himself with other collectors, especially new collectors. He'd very freely offer his advice on what pieces they should buy. The art would usually be with a dealer. How generous of this guy to share his experience and knowledge and advice, right? From one collector to another? Except this guy was the consignor of that art with the dealer. It was his art being sold through a dealer proxy. Which he never disclosed. When I called him out on it, he lied as he does. The dealer then lied to back up this lie. It's actually a thread here on the boards, if someone wants to dig it up. I don't like this guy. He apparently goes around saying now that I don't like him because I "don't like other people selling art for a profit". Which is total nonsense. I couldn't care less what people sell their art for. I just don't like people who do stuff like the above. Which I'll add is just one example in a long list of hobby horror stories. So if you ask me where I draw the line, it's right up to that guy. I'll be at SDCC in two weeks and happy to chat with anyone about any of this if they want!