Varanis

Less quantity, more quality.

On 12/8/2022 at 12:36 AM, Varanis said:

I have no idea anymore.

So far so good on my goal this year.

On 5/2/2023 at 9:41 PM, Michael Browning said:

Where do you get those crazy numbers? I don’t know how SSB pages could sell for 8-10x what they were sold for because the resell prices would be Frank Miller DKR numbers.

I know people who've bought and sold them. From what I've seen, SSB pages have a floor around $25-$30k right now. Maybe $15-20k for the absolute worst pages. Felix sold the better pages for $3-4k originally.

I've personally sold 4 non-SSB Tradd pages and made 3x, 6x, 8x, and 10x. 

On 5/1/2023 at 7:36 PM, JC25427N said:

Have any of Tradd's art from his previous drop with Felix turned back up on the market? Felix said earlier "SILVER SURFER: BLACK was four years ago. Beat similar naysayers' outlook already. And actually, even mine." Does this mean they have been resold since then and gave a positive ROI? 

But regardless, I would imagine and hope that whoever is spending in this range on these pages are firmly set in their interests and know what they like and aren't so fickle as to suddenly want to move the page, aka are another "unicorn" who decided to buy these pages forgoing considerations of a ROI (or if they really are seeking ROI, maybe they just know what they're doing and see growth potential that most others don't, like what (maybe?) happened with SS: Black)

Plenty of his non-SSB Tradd art has traded hands publicly and privately. In my experience it all sells for 3x-10x what Felix originally sold for and it's not hard to find buyers. SSB is typically 8-10x+. Felix priced the Doctor Strange drop around 25-35% under SSB secondary, which I think makes perfect sense. The book is unproven but the art is comparable in aesthetic to what we got in SSB.

I'm not sure how not receiving a lowball offer on a Tradd piece on a DOND Facebook post means anything. It's not like the poster would have sold at that price. I'd pay $250 any day for a Tradd page, but I'm not going to insult someone by making an offer like that. I'm not sure I even saw the post in question and I frequent DOND daily. It may have been taken down too quickly for the right buyers to see. 

2022 may have been my lightest year for OA yet, but still had a ton of great pick-ups.

My biggest and best was probably this Cosmic Ghost Rider variant cover by J Scott Campbell.

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1859670

I post the majority of art I get on CAF. I think sharing is the best part of the hobby. I do think it's fun to keep some pieces in reserve to post later and keep conversations going during periods I may be buying less art. I also don't feel any urgency to post some of my smaller pieces. Those can be fun to save to share at in person gatherings as well. One somewhat odd disadvantage to posting I've run into is that I have 1 piece posted that is singularly more desirable than anything else in my collection. Almost without fail, it's inquired about if I ever engage in a trade / sale conversation even if the value disparity is exponential. This has made for a few awkward interactions and possibly in a case or two scuttled a deal. That was something I did not anticipate when sharing the piece and makes me regret I did somewhat.

I have no idea anymore.

On 8/19/2022 at 9:20 AM, jjonahjameson11 said:

Repeatedly.  Do it once per year for 10 years and you have a very nice collection.

$10k for a luxury purchase is a staggering amount of money of many people who are generally doing very well in life. While many of us on these forums may be able to make that sort of purchase repeatedly, I think it's important to put in perspective that such a thing is very much not the norm for 99% of people.

I really like Cosmic Ghost Rider. Took 3 years, but I likely have one of the most comprehensive single character collections in the hobby. Highlight for me is having the 1st appearance page, 1st cover appearance, and 1st self-titled issue cover. I also have 14 out of 16 of all published self-titled covers along with a slew of other excellent pieces including a complete issue. It's a weird niche, but it makes me happy.

My CAF gallery - https://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=135928

On 7/29/2022 at 1:28 PM, Will_K said:

Some time around the start of the pandemic (??) , on CAF Live (youtube) Bill was asking members to be moderators that would (at a minimum) identify pieces that violated CAF terms and conditions ( https://www.comicartfans.com/termsconditions.asp , item 6).  They (or Bill) would ask the gallery owner to at least check the "Restricted" (NSF) box.  And eventually, the piece could be deleted from CAF altogether.  Bill mentioned a discussion with at least one European collector who basically said "Anything goes" (at least in Europe).  I don't recall hearing much after that.  But whatever the case, it looks like there's been a serious drop off in "enforcement" lately.

I'm one of those moderators. It's a group of volunteers and activity has definitely decreased. I'll work to pick it back up.

On 7/29/2022 at 11:07 AM, cstojano said:

I am struggling to understand how this page is in any way a 1st appearance page?? What am I missing?

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1735963

It's from a 1st app issue. Jordan usually uses "birth page" to indicate a true 1st app page. I think it's fair to qualify a page as from a 1st app issue - that is a very legit desirable trait to a lot of collectors. I'm not the biggest fan of the term "birth page," so I try to use "1st appearance" for true 1st app pages and "1st appearance issue" if it's not the literal 1st page the character appeared on. 

On 7/29/2022 at 12:54 PM, Race said:

To paraphrase Syndrome from The Incredibles, "When everything is special, nothing is." I would pay Bill to include a feature which would allow one to delete comments, frankly. I'd rather have no comments on a piece of mine than be one out of the twenty (fifty?) pages Marcus comments on daily. 

Marcus is fantastic. He increases engagement on the site tremendously, makes people feel good about their art, and often has insightful or funny comments. I don't understand what there is to dislike about Marcus' commenting.