Nexus

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.

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:
 

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!

On 1/12/2023 at 8:48 PM, Bronty said:

Felix, I don’t often disagree with you but we all have our own experiences reading these books and I’m sorry but it doesn’t make me or anyone who prefers the wolverine books any less of a fan than anyone else.  

I just enjoyed the wolverine books more - on average - as a kid than the DDs…sorry if that offends you!   ;)

Some of the daredevils are amazing , don’t get me wrong - but at the same time, some of them just aren’t that compelling.    The issues before he took over the writing aren’t all that interesting, for example, except as an opportunity to watch him grow.   They are early in his career and it mostly shows although they improved quickly.   Now, I recognize that I may hold that opinion partly because the first (English language) comic I ever owned was wolverine LS #2, and I didn’t read the daredevils until much later, but the run doesn’t feel fully formed and cohesive to me.    Some brilliant parts no doubt.   But personally, it just never grabbed me the same way it may have grabbed you. 
 

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;)

On 9/6/2022 at 7:11 AM, Taylor G said:

Mad Max: Fury Road was done without CGI because George Miller also hates it.  He even wanted to do it without color.

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.

On 9/1/2022 at 4:43 PM, New School Fool said:

I thought I'd chime in on this, albeit very late as I have recently had an experience which echoes what @Xatari mentioned above. 

I also agree that @Nexus is somewhat responsible for the rise in prices. I was shocked at the drop prices of those Titan pages and they caused quite a stir in the channels I frequent. I was quite surprised that nothing was mentioned here until now.

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.

On 9/1/2022 at 4:43 PM, New School Fool said:

I actually have a friend who is a rep and we talked about Felix prices before I saw this post. They mentioned the same anecdotes: 'If you don't like it, don't buy it' and 'it's good for the artist' etc. And that's true. I asked why do I feel so bitter about it if that's so? They mentioned it's the sting of being priced out.

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.)

On 9/1/2022 at 4:43 PM, New School Fool said:

That, I don't completely agree with. I think it's more the fact that I don't think the art is worth the asking price and buyers are probably getting ripped off. Now, don't get me wrong, I have great respect for Felix and what he's done for the hobby. My first piece of OA was through Felix. and I've managed to pick up a few through him. There was one transaction though that left me feeling that I bought into the hype and wasn't worth the price I paid (but hey-ho), and then, as some others have mentioned, things seemed to have escalated from there.

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"?

On 9/1/2022 at 4:43 PM, New School Fool said:

Felix isn't the only one though. Earlier this year I paid for a piece by a repped artist that is relatively new to the industry. I doubt anyone here as any pieces by them. I paid, what I felt was, slightly more than the piece was worth. The artwork was too good to let go so I swallowed the cost. Less than a year later, I enquired about a piece by the same artist that is arguably not as good as the one I bought previously. prices for this artist have now more than doubled than what they were 10 months ago. I would understand if the piece was groundbreaking, but unfortunately it wasn't. The artist's work was also initially priced fairly high...I can't help feel that the rep is being manipulative. I've dealt with artists increasing their prices in the past but +120% in less than a year is just crazy.....and this is for a relatively new artist!

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.

On 6/23/2022 at 11:25 PM, Xatari said:

I guess I don’t see dealers and collectors as mutually exclusive. You, yourself are both. There is no judgment in that. 

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.

On 8/10/2022 at 7:36 PM, J.Sid said:

The "Conspiracy Theorist / Devil's Advocate" in me has quite a few follow-up questions, but hey, at least some uncomfortable topics were broached.

 

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!

On 7/16/2022 at 9:53 PM, J.Sid said:

You need to teach that guy how to draw with his other hand too, so you guys can double his output.

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.