Nexus

The hobby has gone Tradd mad. The mania has not subsided...it's only intensified. Just reported two recent sales to CAF Dealer Market Data. The cover for SILVER SURFER: BLACK #5 sold for $40000 and his 8-page story for BATMAN BLACK & WHITE #1 sold for $50000. Both direct offers. Here are some clean scans...enjoy!

Following that chat with Tradd, his auction piece for our charity (The Lu Family Fund) sold for a record for us: $19,500! Truly remarkable for an unpublished piece. We are very grateful to everyone who bid (most especially the winner, of course!). And thanks most of all to Tradd, who went above and beyond in delivering a stunning piece for us. In all, we raised $80,611 from the art auctions for our charity. Here are the top 5 results (click link to view art): 1. Tradd Moore SPIDER-MAN/MS. MARVEL $19,500 2. Nick Dragotta BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE $12,500 3. James Jean PORTAL INTERIOR $11,000 4. Yuko Shimizu SANSHO THE BAILIFF $6,500 5. (tie) Ian Bertram LITTLE BIRD $3,200 / Katsuhiro Otomo AKIRA $3,200 Our gratitude to all the artists and everyone who participated. Thank you!

For the Tradd fans, we just did a chat with him on our site: http://www.felixcomicart.com/chatdetail.asp?cId=29 Fans asked questions and Tradd gave his usual thoughtful answers. And perhaps even better, we share some never-before-seen original art! It was a blast. Enjoy the transcript/art!

There was a frenzy on the secondary market after we sold the art that I really thought would have subsided by now. It hasn't. It only seems to have gotten worse. I've never seen anything like this before. It baffles even me. Having said that...it still feels too new to include here. The people who are hunting it know what it's worth to them. Let's wait a bit, at least for a public sale or two to solidify things for everyone. I did just broker a deal for a cover, and once that deal is done, I will make the purchase price public. You guys can then decide if that means anything relative to page values.

Sorry, have been swamped, so haven't had a chance to chime in. I did forward this thread to the buyer (as well as another one on Facebook). He's amused by all the speculation with regards to his motives. I doubt he'll post anything, so I'll just say that he didn't make the purchase for any tax reasons, nor will he be breaking up the issues and flipping the pages. On the latter point, I wouldn't sell a complete issue, let alone a complete series, to a flipper, anyway. As for the museum, I understand the skepticism. From my POV, though, given the buyer's track record, I personally wouldn't bet against it happening. A matter of when, not if, IMO. Also, comic art is only a part of the overall plans for this museum. Albert talks about his attempt to purchase the entire WATCHMEN series when it was released in 1986. Now that would have been something. Of course, that certainly would have been broken up over the years if he had been successful. In this case, I truly expect the entire KING IN BLACK series to be kept together. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. As with so much, only time will tell.

Fast-forward to 3:20. Off-camera, discussed with Bob about why it was deemed necessary to include Chop-Chop. Especially that version. Suffice to say, we see things differently. He addresses it a bit in the video. An incredible jam piece (maybe most impressive ever?), and a real trick to pull off. The horrifically racist caricature, then, is...unfortunate. It just didn't need to be there. I know of at least one big collector to whom this is no big deal at all. Hell, it might even be a plus for him. But I also know others who won't bid because of it. You won't be seeing it in my CAF, regardless!

Happy Holidays everyone from the Felix Comic Art Podcast. We’ve got a surprise for you: It’s the very first episode of our premium edition show, which we call SECRET STORIES OF COMIC ART. SECRET STORIES OF COMIC ART is our fundraiser for The Lu Family Fund and has been available as exclusive content for donors. In partnership with Paltown.org, The Lu Family Fund provides direct financial assistance to cancer patients to help them receive specialized care. Our goal is to improve survivorship and help redefine standard of care treatment. I’ll have more to share later, but for now, I want to express my gratitude to all our friends and listeners who have donated to our charity. In just a few short months, The Lu Family Fund has become far and away the largest single contributor to Paltown’s overall mission. Our first episode of SECRET STORIES OF COMIC ART features our most popular guest ever, Albert Moy. If you enjoy our show, please consider making a tax-deductible donation on our page at Paltown.org. Any amount is greatly appreciated. And if you’re interested in hearing the rest of this series, write me for more details. Thanks everyone. And now…the return of Albert Moy. Like you’ve never heard him before. (Please note: This episode will only be up for a limited time, per our agreement with Albert.) http://www.felixcomicart.com/podcastdetail.asp?pId=46

Would love to own a Miller DD cover, but very few actually do it for me. I liked the DD #166 cover as published because of the new logo and corner box art. Really popped compared to the old one. But that's no so important when it comes to the original art. As it is, DD #166 is very much a B cover to me. (It also happens to be one I do like from that second tier.) As the A covers aren't going anywhere, this is as good as it gets. And as it turns out, B costs six figures these days. Speaking for my own collection, I would take an A page over a B cover, straight-up. I would most definitely take two A pages then, over a B cover, if they cost the same. It's all crazy, regardless. Wonder what an A cover would fetch now.

I've owned several Darrow pieces over the years. I've also gotten to know Geoff a bit over the last 10+ years. We've talked at length about his art, and I've shared that here in the past. Unfortunately, I think a lot of old posts are now gone. In any case...the vellum he used for HB is sadly susceptible to degrading. It's most evidenced in framed pieces that were exposed to light (mat burn is more extreme than with bristol). The vellum tans to various shades, depending on conditions. As well, spotting may appear. No, this is not the same vellum that was used here. He was buying his from a French manufacturer. But it's no longer being made (partly I suspect due to its fragile nature). Supplies ran out years ago. So you won't see any new Darrow art on the same material. If your piece looks pristine, it may be a more a recent drawing. You should match up with the published image. For better or for worse, Geoff has not only made duplicates of the unpublished art he sells at conventions, he's also recreated published art, as well. I own the cover to HB #3 (with view of Nixon through a hole in the head)...except it's a recreation. The person who originally bought it didn't know that it wasn't the published version. There are many examples of this. Geoff will do a tweak here and there to differentiate, but at first glance, no one would know. The recreation I own is in excellent condition. The newer vellum has a grayish tone. I know the difference because I had owned a vintage piece that had significantly yellowed over the years. Attached is a piece from a Comiclink auction a few years ago. You can see that the vellum is noticeably discolored. No idea how it'd been stored over the years, or under what conditions, but doesn't appear to have been framed, at least. So this could have just happened as a function of time. On the plus side, it's a sign that it's an actual vintage piece. Silver lining?

Love Steve's art. An all-time favorite. I just stick to Nexus, though, as there's plenty there to keep me busy. Here are a few:

More with each passing year. Since I've been in the hobby.

What happens when you build a world-class collection in record time...and then have to dismantle it just as quickly? Our guest for this episode is Cristian Casares, who besides having experienced a lifetime's worth of collecting in a few short years, is also the fan behind the epic DARK KNIGHT RETURNS #1 recreation project. And if you want to hear all about Tradd Moore's SILVER SURFER: BLACK, Cristian played a major role in how that art got sold, too. All that and more...it's almost two hours of solid original art talk! Our website is www.felixcomicart.com. Sign up for our newsletter for exclusive announcements and opportunities, including awesome giveaways! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook to see and discover the best in modern comics art. Leave a rating/review for the show on iTunes...we'll read it on the next episode! Thanks and enjoy the show! http://www.felixcomicart.com/podcastdetail.asp?pId=45

There's no one guy who can represent comics like Stan did. To me, at this point in time, the one who comes the closest is Robert Kirkman. In terms of convention appearances, where Stan was a ubiquitous presence for the last 20 years preceding his death, it seems like Frank Miller, Jim Lee, and Kirkman are now being positioned to assume that same headlining guest role. But again, there's no replacing Stan.

Glad folks enjoyed the panels, thanks for that. And, of course, thanks to Bill for hosting...and all his efforts for the hobby! Was glad to get Tradd for the show, especially for the fans here. He simply doesn't do these things, so was very lucky when I got him to commit. The turnout was great, with good questions. He told me after that he enjoyed it! I suspect this video will have legs in Bill's channel, and keep racking up views. I've already talked to Bill about a panel for the next CAL. Looking forward to it!

Wow, you hung around to the end! Thanks to everyone who popped by today, it was fun!

Comic Art Fans (CAF) is the hub for all things comic art and is, IMO, the single biggest reason for the hobby's explosion over the past 20 years. I've been a premium member of CAF from the day I joined as a new collector back in 2005. So I'm very happy to say that I will be participating in two panels TODAY (Saturday, November 14th) for this weekend's Comic Art LIVE event on CAF! My first panel is at 1PM PST/4PM EST with our very own resident superstar, TRADD MOORE! You can view the panel on YouTube or Facebook. And even better, the panel will be interactive, so you can ask any questions you have about Tradd's career, his art, the smash success of SILVER SURFER: BLACK, his favorite shoes, whatever! This is Tradd's FIRST ever solo panel...you don't want to miss this! There just *might* be a surprise art reveal, too! And if you still haven't had enough by then, I follow up with my second panel at 2PM PST/5PM EST with CAF bossman BILL COX! Bill thinks this is going to be a chat about the state of the hobby/market, what the future may hold for comic art, blah, blah, blah...well, I've got other plans! Mainly, praise Bill for all the great work he's done over the years for our favorite art form! So if you want to see this shameless display, check us out on YouTube or Facebook! Who knows, maybe we'll talk about that other stuff, too. And again, we're open to all your questions! Have a great show this weekend, everyone, and see you at the panels! Felix www.felixcomicart.com

We had a fun chat last night with supercollector David Mandel on my site...if you missed it, you can catch up with the transcript here!: http://www.felixcomicart.com/chats.asp Thanks to Dave and everyone for joining, it was a blast! We’ll be doing this again soon with another guest, see you then!

For all the Tradd fans out there...his new personal site is up!: https://www.traddmoorecomics.com/ We also have a fun event planned with him coming up soon. Will announce when ready!

Have you listened to the exclusive podcasts with Albert and The Vacuum yet? The crazy thing is that they BOTH brought up this cover, independently. It's like something was in the air... When the art then showed up with Scott Dunbier to be scanned for Jim's Artist's Edition, Albert told me "It's going to Heritage." He knew. Based on nothing except his observation that whenever something buried like this becomes public, the next step is sale.

Hey everyone, a couple of notes: 1. Many collectors know The Vacuum privately, but he prefers to keep a low profile, publicly. Also, "The Vacuum" is more fun to say than his CAF handle "JL". 2. His CAF is representative of his taste, but is just a sliver of his overall collection. 3. SECRET STORIES OF COMIC ART is an off-shoot of my regular podcast that's exclusive content for those who have donated to my cancer charity. For more information, write me. 4. My regular podcast, The Felix Comic Art Podcast, can be found here: http://www.felixcomicart.com/podcast.asp Also, on iTunes. Check it out if you haven't already. If you like it, you'll *love* SECRET STORIES. 5. There are 3 episodes released of SECRET STORIES so far. Featuring arguably the 3 biggest collectors in the hobby: Albert, David Mandel, and The Vacuum. More episodes to come! Thanks, talk soon!

Far from the most impressive piece in his impossible collection...but for him, his most important one. Find out why! Our chat with the reclusive super-collector known as the The Vacuum drops TODAY! Episode 3 of our exclusive SECRET STORIES OF COMIC ART podcast! SECRET STORIES is our fundraiser for the cancer charity Paltown.org. Thanks to our generous listeners, we have raised over $25K for this important patient/caregiver advocacy group. To donate, and to get access to the show, write me! Thx! www.felixcomicart.com

Thanks for the mention. I just want to note that things were selling out on the site long before Tradd became so hot. We opened up the site in 2014; our first drop was for Bryan Lee O'Malley and 100 pieces sold out in 48 hours. That also includes Tradd's work, before SSB. Three years ago, for example, I put up his UNPUBLISHED issue of SUICIDE SQUAD...and yes, it still sold out, despite being unpublished: http://www.felixcomicart.com/ArtistGalleryTitleDetails.asp?ArtistId=587&Mag=SUICIDE+SQUAD We're around 90% sell through overall. Scroll down the last three months of newly added art, for a snapshot: http://www.felixcomicart.com/newitems.asp Note that Tradd's work only shows up once. Everything else has still sold very well. To whatever degree there's speculation going on, I'll just say that commissions also sell out, and NO ONE speculates on commissions. We'll take long lists, too, upwards of 60 requests. Also, most of what we sell is not Big Two. My observation is that fans appreciate the high level of craft from our artists, and our art is still priced low enough (in the vast majority of cases) that it's relatively affordable. Fans can still collect for the sheer pleasure of it, without having to get too caught up in values. I regularly host chats with collectors on the site: http://www.felixcomicart.com/chats.asp The conversations there are VERY different from the ones that happen here. Almost no talk of vintage art (perhaps not a surprise), but also very little (if any) talk of values. It's really just about the art. The fans are excited by the art and also by the artists. I believe a lot of OA collectors here collected slabs, first. So much of their collecting ethos is informed by that. Whereas there don't appear to be too many of our customers who care about slabs at all. Some do, but I think the majority don't. They read books, discover artists on social media, and then buy the art as a result of that. The idea of speculating/flipping slabs isn't part of their DNA, so then it doesn't factor into their OA collecting. Another four cents from me, sorry!

My two cents... I don't know if there are bots being used, but I do know that there will always be those who will try to gain an edge. That's just the nature of competition. All I can say is that there isn't a single buyer who gets what they want at every drop. I'm not sure there's anyone who's even successful half the time these days. No one's found a fool-proof way yet to "win" every time. The flip side is that no one "loses" every single time, either. It's win-some, lose-some, across the board, for those who try their luck at drops consistently (I'm not counting those who have been to the site once and are 1-1 or 0-1). I don't impose limits. But those who have been at this for a while know that their best chances are to order one piece at a time. Those who stock their carts with multiple pieces, usually lose out because so many other buyers have ordered those same pieces individually already. What generally happens is that anyone who is able to get multiple pieces, is able to do so because the initial frenzy has subsided. Those who order indiscriminately and try to pick/choose after the dust has settled, I will cancel their entire order. If someone orders multiple pieces, and is successful in getting all of them, then they are responsible for paying for all of them. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, the piece(s) then go to the next person who requested it. Lastly...we don't get a lot of flippers buying from us. Whether it's because they know I don't like it, or there's no opportunity, we very rarely see it. In terms of complete issues, I wouldn't sell one to someone I believe is only buying it to break it up. I know some are looking ahead to Tradd's next project. If that were to happen, barring some extraordinary circumstance, I just wouldn't sell another complete issue to them, again. Maybe that was four cents...

This piece is oversized, at 18"X24" (what we call our "Wall Power" option for commissions). $10K was the rate when this commission was arranged. For his latest list, the rate was $12K for for two characters in our Wall Power option. And since AKIRA was mentioned in another post, Tradd's doing a Wall Power AKIRA commission on this current list. Will share here when it's done.

Thanks! I never had much use for social media personally, but for business...if I'm in, I might as well max it out. I've noticed a lot of other dealers, reps, and even collectors have been following suit there. And in other ways, too. I believe it makes for a better hobby for artists and collectors. A lot more content being created, at the very least. As well, younger, newer collectors have largely been underserved, IMO. As much as anything else, it's a matter of self-preservation to bring in new blood. That is, and will always be, where I direct a large percentage of my efforts.