heartened

Not likely, but maybe I'll be wrong. Those with an "extra" $350k (and those guys are just all over the place) wouldn't likely put it somewhere where there's no return on profit. There's a real good chance those same folks have to SELL something to get liquid. After all that's what we're talking about here - sunk cash for something that won't (in that collector's lifetime) be converted back to cash. Highly unlikely. Even the Steve Geppi's of our hobby prefer to MAKE money on our hobby vs. SINKING it forever. A breakup is much more likely (see Mark McDermott entry in the encylopedia). Even with prices all out there and there never being any conservative forces or potential price retreats this book will top at $200k, probably less. Most folks don't have raw cash at that level and Mastro ain't taking credit cards or promises (not to mention CGC trade). Even fewer folks are willing to trick their bank into a a fresh mortgage just to pull out cash and speculate on the break value. If you've a house with $200k to pull out of it - would you? To buy some Spidey pages, nice as they are? More importantly, would you still be married the next day? All the real players at this level, that give a [embarrassing lack of self control] about funnybook art, are thinking these same thoughts and all but two will walk away. The two that remain will determine the auction price, but not more than $200k. I'm not looking to join the lousy naysayers group, but having myself offered some supposedly top stuff over the years (@ the 10k+ level) has taught me how much hot air there is in this hobby. Any of you that haven't played there would be amazed how few are standing after you mention a "real" cash (vs. cash/trade or all trade) on-the-spot price. The hobby pyramid narrows dramatically as to number of players once you cross the $2000/$2500 mark for immediate cash no time payments. Another tier is crossing $5k, where 50-75% of remaining players drop off, crossing $10k means talking to under 10 people. There's a long stretch from $10k to $200k (or whatever). As always "cash is king" because it offers unlimited opportunity, all other methods are "problematic" due to inherent limitations and so full of "apparent value" bs. Even time payments and credit lines bear hidden (for either the buyer or seller, or both) "time value of money" constraints to be factored in. No special math needed for straight cash on-the-spot. But I could be alllll wrong! I agree with much of this, but there are definitely a lot of people who can and do spend over 10K without blinking. Your figure of "under 10 people" is way off. There are certainly at least 50 people at the over 10K level, if not more.

Can you provide a scan?

Thanks for all the kind words guys. It wasn't cheap, but it was one of those pages that when you see it, it takes about a nano second to say "I'll Take IT!!" Like you said it had every element anyone could want. Chris Caira A superb page, Chris. Impeccable taste, as usual.

While I tend to agree that the Ditko superhero stuff is his most pricey, I don't know if you can place Dr. Strange far behind ASM. While his Strange is behind ASM in popularity, his output on Dr. Strange was very small compared to his ASM output. Ditko produced approx(pencils and inks) 828 pages for Amazing Spider-Man, Ditko produced apprx(pencils and inks) 298 pages for Dr. Strange. Most of the Dr. Strange stories were either 5,8,9 or 10 pages each with none being longer than 10 pages. Ditko's ASM stories were all at least 20 pages in length. So while Spidey might be more popular than Dr. Strange, he also has a 3 to 1 lead on all Ditko pages that were produced. If the supply were equal I would agree with you ASM pages and Dr. Strange pages of similiar quality would be ASM #1 and Strange #2. But the dearth of Dr. Strange pages in existence and the rarity of quality pages to the market close the gap considerably. For similar in costume action pages I have seen Dr. Strange pages be the equal to sometimes, and at times the superior of, similar quality ASM pages....and that is do to simple relative scarcity. The rest of what you said makes sense. Best, Chris Caira Hi Chris, You're using logic! You know that has no place here Ditko Dr. Strange pages were, if I recall correctly, pricier than his ASM pages for some time, for the reasons that you state. About four or five years ago, however, Spidey's popularity made those pages more valuable, even with the 3:1 supply ratio favoring the Dr. Strange pages. In other words, while there are 3X as many ASM pages, there are 20X as many ASM collectors! And, for that reason, the ASM pages will continue to escalate in price at a higher rate. Just my opinion.... time will, of course, tell.

Ditko prices are maximum on his Marvel superhero works, namely ASM, Dr. Strange and Hulk (in descending value/price/popularity) order. Solid interior pages of each of those, featuring nice panels of the main character, would run 10-12K, 8-10K and 3-5K. Splashes would run, in my estimation, 40K, 25-30K and 15K (respectively). His non-Marvel work is less popularity, whether that is fair or not... it just is. As such, my guess on the above splash would have to be around 15K. Although nice, it would not reach the level of a comparable quality Dr. Strange splash page. Best,

Thanks, Keith. Will do.

Hey Keith, Is Garry Leach living in the US, or in Britain? Where did you get him to do those? I would love for him to sign the Miracleman art I have of his.

Well, it sounds to me like you got duped. This happens in all hobbies, including comic books, but it's maybe more prevalent in original comic art because there's so much lack of readily-available information. Of course those buying from you will say that the demand is low. Your counter should have been: yeah, but the supply is lower, and demand will increase because it was a very popular character/series, and eventually those "kids" who read it will grow up and grow more nostalgic. Dealers and buyers will always play their side, but you've got to play the other side so you can come to the middle somewhere. Miracleman art has always been in demand, even way before you sold these pages/sketches. It's become more in demand lately, but the cat's already out of the bag. Case in point: I bought the cover to TMNT #3 several years ago. There was NO demand AT ALL and there REMAINS no demand. But, I paid a serious chuck of money for it because the seller had enough info to realize what he was sitting on. I didn't even bother saying "there's no demand, it's a lost title/character, etc." because we both knew that it was as good as gold. And I paid accordingly. I hope you get those pages back again. Sometimes things do come full circle, so here's hoping!

The DD 1 Mass copy is a 9.2. Best,

I think everything 80s is hot right now, and will remain so until we kids of the 80s grow out of our mid-life crisis. And, most of us are only in our 30s right now, so we're talking 10-20 years. I'd expect prices on most 80s items, including original art, to continue to grow. MM is a classic example from the 80s, and the lack of reprinting adds to the already high appeal (early/first Alan Moore, excellent art, controversial stories, "adult" content, etc.).

Just like comic books, there is demand for original art from the comics. There are many collectors, including myself, who solely collect the original art, and no longer collect the books themselves. Prices and values are variable, depending on artist, title, issue, page number (or splash page or cover), image, etc. Prices can range from basically nothing (20 bucks) to tens of thousands of dollars.

I, for one, am glad to have this forum space. I grew up reading mainly during the early and mid-80s, so I'm pretty comfortable here. So, uh... what should we talk about?