Aahz

In regards to the original topic of supply of material, there probably is a reduced supply of some stuff, but I keep coming back to how much stuff from the 80's and 90's I don't see. Let's take a non-esoteric example - Iron Man. The "original" Iron Man series ran from 1968-1996 in 332 issues. How many of those pages/covers (estimate ~7000) etc do you see in collections, auctions, or dealer sites. Even with loss to fire, shredder, etc, there are a lot of pages that are sitting in a stack somewhere.

I think what surprises me (other than the obvious) is the speed of ratcheting up the value of a first appearance. I think it has usually taken decades for a piece of art to be lifted to this level based on a character's appearance.

I am not an Aquaman collector but was turned on to Paul by a friend. I bought this pencils only cover because ... just ... wow. His site is well set up, service is great and timely, and the prices are incredibly reasonable given the quality of the art.

No it can't all go up constantly, but the market can remain strong. There will be stratification.

I've been a collector since the early 90's. I hope this is not wishful thinking, but I think the market will remain strong. Why? 1) There are still a lot of outlets for comic books, even if it isn't through the traditional comic book store. Trade paperbacks and resales on amazon and places like half price books continue to push product out. Also, school have actually added graphic novels and manga to their libraries. It might not be Conan, but the sequential art form is not discouraged or looked down on as it was before. 2) There is a lot of great story material in those books. The fact that Hollywood has been unable or unwilling to convert these to shows or movies over the years (because of special effects, cost, etc) does not mean that they won't on an increased basis now that Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix are funding their own productions ... you need content. The success of Disney/Marvel is spurring this on. Will this go back to the Golden Age War and Western stories, unknown, but new content is always needed. 3) Even though it already exists, there is the international market. Europe has a long and strong tradition of sequential art, even if it is different than the US tradition. Go outside the US, and everyone knows, Bugs Bunny, Scooby, Doo and Spider Man. That interest can only grow. 4) If you enjoy comic books or any of this "pop" media, OA is a one of a kind piece that you won't get from buying a movie poster or a comic book etc. It's a rush for most people to own a one of a kind item. Does that mean they will convert into a collector, maybe not, but the piece will be out of circulation. In terms of collecting, I have expanded way beyond nostalgia and get stuff that grabs my fancy ... new and old.

A Hempel Sandman page was at auction recently; there are Shelton pages out there for sale, including the whole "Fineous Gets an Abortion" story. I think the Golden Micronauts is pretty rare. There was an interview on CAF Live recently about the new Artists edition.

A little late to the game, but slowly building my walls of art in the office. This way I get to look up and enjoy while working.

Love the Spectre pages. Actually have the cover to Spectre 26 and have been thinking about framing it

Got it. Again, I don't care as much about the pricing. I have what I consider a key page from later in the run ... well it's key to me. :-) It was more about understanding the rubric. Thanks for indulging my question!

Fair point. Technically the Kirby Sandman series is the original one, but I meant the original Gaiman series that which has 75 issues and is commanding high prices. There were a number of Sandmanesq spinouts and followups that I am not including. I'm just looking at the pricing rubric and its 4X (or something), I'm trying to determine 4 times what ... what is the base price in these cases ... a non-key page from within those 75 issues? a non-key buy the same artist in those issues? etc. I don't really care about the prices, but I'm curious how a rubric like this can work on a collectible with so many variables.

OK, Stupid question, and I am sorry if I missed this in these posts somewhere, but how have you determined the base costs to begin with? Consensus? For example (looking at the Sandman pages), I recently got a regular story page from the original series with no main characters for $700, which I thought is was an ok price. So would that viewed as a base page that falls under the "C" level?

From Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction - Curtis/Marvel.

I think it depends on how you collect. Is it a character, or an artist, or a book, or a theme. Some collections lend themselves to broader purchase options ... so there are no real grails. I was lucky to get one of my grails early on. I actually wanted two consecutive pages from Sandman ... I got one. I have never seem the other and doubt I ever will. I think if you identify your grail as a "good" Kirby page from fill in the blank book or run on character, for example, it makes sense to save up, since you have more chances to find it. If you are looking for a specific page ... may not be worth waiting.

Magnecom put out a one shot back in 1993 Aesop's Desecrated Morals, done by Doug Wheeler and a bunch of different artists. I'm looking for pages.

More general than specific. What is the best way to find more "esoteric" pages? Covers and high $$ ones are obviously easier to track. I'm starting to find pages that I find interesting that are probably resting in budget piles. Thoughts?

I would worry that someone intends to make a fake with it.

From the Bronze Age

I would be curious how many collectors have gotten into this with an investment mentality. Many of the collectors of the 80's and 90's got their fill with comic book speculation, so probably shy away from that mentality when collecting art. Is the art I own ever going to be as much as a Picasso or "investment" art ... not a chance. However, I am not going to put as much thought into it as this article suggests I should to get my ROI. To quote the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, "I just like my haystacks Bobby."

This topic has probably been covered at some point, so my apologies. I just go to thinking, there is a lot of art that I have never ever seen in some one's collection or for sale. I'm not necessarily talking about high end pieces. So I figured 1) there must be a lot of art in the hands of dealers that is no circulated often; 2) there is a lot of art that was just lost or destroyed at some point; or 3) there is a lot of art collectors that do show their art or collect quietly. For example, early on in the history of Vertigo, there was a one shot graphic novel called "Mercy." I've seen a grand total of 1 page, which I bought at the Baltimore Comic Con probably 10 years ago (see attached). Where's the rest of it? Just made me wonder.

Two page splash from Promethea ... JH Williams. I generally like the plain black frames for a lot of my comic art, but this silver, vine frame seemed to highlight the art more.