jjeanius

I just cannot get over the prices on Walking Dead. It makes no sense to me whatsoever, and if I still had 'em, I'd be selling 'em hand over fist.

A word of caution to those who think this is not a bubble, and that WD will continue to appreciate forever and ever...

The sales of WD are not driven by casual viewers. Casual viewers are not suddenly collecting comic books because of this show. Reading the TPBs because of the show...? Perhaps. Suddenly dropping everything to invest hundreds of dollars in the floppies based on what happens (and who appears) on TV? Very very doubtful. Casual viewers are not watching the season finale, and then jumping up, exclaiming, "Oh my God! The five second clip of that chick with the sword...I bet she's on a comic book somewhere! I have to have it! And...not only do I have to have it, but I need to pay top dollar for a high grade example...preferably signed and authenticated!"

That price jump on a CGC 9.8 from $450 pre-finale to $670 the very next day? That was sold from one comic book collector to another slightly slower comic book collector, both of them probably overcome by the universal WD hype. The only people getting whipped into a frenzy here are other comic book collectors. And, if anything, this is most similar to a game of musical chairs. We'll see who gets a seat, and who's still left holding their overpriced WD comics without a chair when the music stops.

While they may have JUST announced that Saga sold out, I seriously doubt that they JUST found out. I think the announcement of the sell out is manipulated every bit as much as the print run itself. Image is very good at marketing their new books, and this is all part of it.

For once I agree with Branget. They know in advance that their books are selling out at the distributor level, and they could increase the print runs accordingly if they felt like it. They have figured out, though, that the "buzz" of being a "hot book" headed for a 2nd print does more for promotion than having enough copies of issue 1 to satisfy demand. IMO, they intentionally underprint #1 so that they can conveniently release a 2nd printing the same week that #2 hits stands. This inflates demand for a book that has SOLD OUT, and also guarantees that the first issue is on shelves for a longer period of time than it would be with just a first print. Add in the number of collectors who can't pass up a variant cover, and they probably sell enough extra copies of the book in the long run to justify returning to press 3 and 4 and 5 times....

ah, I get it...this was a forecast for next week, not a current weather report.

"heating up on eBay"...? Where is that? I see one sale for $2.49.

I am sure Saga will be great, but I don't see it catching anyone by surprise. There will be a fairly sizable print run on this one.

I'm interested in why people continue to believe cover A (beauty) will outsell and remain more popular with half the number of issues. I can't think of one issue that supports this line of thinking. It would be different if cover B (beast) was a 2nd print.

I don't get this at all either. I understand that, all things being equal, most seem to prefer the Beauty cover (though I think they are both pretty awesome). Regardless, though, things are NOT equal. Only thing I can fathom is that it's just not common knowledge yet (and I haven't seen any seller make mention of the disparity in print run yet). If the book remains hot, I fully expect the Beast cover to be selling for more than Beauty before long. Beast cover seems like a steal right now at $10 when Beauty routinely sells for $20+.

yes, well...not every Kirkman book is Walking Dead. How's the back issue market on Capes, Battle Pope, the various Marvel books he has written? Or do you believe that all books by the same author are destined to perform exactly the same? So...then Alan Moore's Supreme is interchangeable with Watchmen, correct?

I think it would be fun to start the year with a set budget for spec, and then see who can do the best with it. Sell a book for a profit, and your bank increases. Sit on a loser (or sell for a loss), and it decreases. Always wondered how well I could do if I kept track of something like this....but just haven't bothered yet.

A few new Bagley USM splashes this week...

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=860998&GSub=126552

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=860999&GSub=126552

Most people don't seem to care for the USM 159 splash as it's a bit more "abstract", and not just a big fat Spidey splash. I think that's actually why I like it so much!

Perhaps.

I don't see the fascination with the cover to issue 4. It's cool, and it's creepy, but I don't think it will have any effect on sales.

Maybe I also just have a tendency to look at covers as an art collector. I just know that I would never hang that one on my wall. There's just not much to it.

So...if the 2:1 ratio is correct, that means 6838 or so of the Beast cover, and 13,676 of Beauty.

I am interested to see how much the numbers drop on issue 2...and then how much they go up on issue 3.

Just went to the new Clyfford Still Museum in Denver yesterday. It's totally worth a visit, not just to see all the art and artifacts, but also to use all the educational resources there which chronicle the evolution of Abstract Expressionism and other art movements of the 20th century in a larger historical context.

I had the opportunity to visit the Still museum about a month ago, and I totally agree...I absolutely loved it. It's a wonderful experience to see such a vast and coherent body of work all in one building...seeing the art in that context certainly adds to the appreciation of the work and the artist.

A couple of the more enormous canvases were obviously extremely impressive, in that they fill your whole field of vision to the point that they feel more like part fo the landscape, as if it is an environment that you can enter and become a part of. This was honestly not all that surprising. What WAS surprising to me was how much I appreciated some of the much smaller works on paper. I also appreciated the museum's observation that the smaller works on paper weren't always prelims for larger works on canvas. Sometimes the works on canvas came first, and sometimes the works on paper were a destination in and of themselves.

I definitely look forward to visiting again in the future...and highly recommend it to anyone that might find themselves in Denver with a little bit of time to kill.

Then go to Euclid Hall for some eclectic and exciting beer choices. :-)

Growing up in the late '80s/early '90s, it didn't get much better than Whilce Portacio's all-too-short run on Uncanny X-Men. And for me, the highlight of that run was the debut of Bishop. For that reason, art day's don't get too much better than THIS.

Good way to roll into the weekend. :-)

These are my SDCC pickups. I know, I'm supposed to be SELLING, not BUYING...but these pages were just too nice to pass up.

These two just arrived today. Not Fables, but they have a great story behind them, and I love the art nouveau look. Can't wait to see the published version.

prelim...

...and final.

Cool! Great story, congrats!

More and more, I find myself focusing on painted artwork rather than pen and ink interior pages. I find I'm more likely to hang them on the wall if they've got some color. :-)

Here's the latest addition to CAF...

http://cafurl.com?i=4105

Just added a few pieces to CAF...

A new addition...

...and a personal favorite. :-)

I did some reading...and one site says sunlight can act as a bleaching agent on yellowed varnish (attributing the yellowing to exposure to heat), and another site says that exposure to sunlight can cause the varnish to yellow. One thing seems to be clear, though...everything I've read points to the fact that varnish inevitably yellows over time (though this obviously is an accelerated example of that), and the good news: varnish is made to be removable. So if/when it really becomes an issue, it's good to know that the process can definitely be reversed. In the meantime, though, I'm fine with it as long as it doesn't get worse. At this point I don't think the painting is worth enough to warrant the cost of having it fixed.

That black suit Spidey is SWEET! :-)

You could contact a museum for restoration info. I would bet they have reversal and preservation techniques as well as specialists you could call. Might cost more than the painting though.

Cool, thanks. You're probably right. Still, good to look into...

That's an amazing painting...I hope to all Hades that Jeremy changes the varnish he uses though.

 

Geddes is a real up and comer though. Awesome piece!

Thanks! From what I understand, he's already changed his varnish. From what I understand, he had changed varnishes just prior to doing this painting, and was doing very dark pieces, so didn't realize the effect it would have on lighter colors. It seems to only affect (or is only noticeable on) white areas. Someone contacted Jeremy about this (mine is not the only painting that exhibits this yellowing), and he actually said that putting it in a sunny, well-lit area would actually lighten the painting a bit...but does this make sense to anyone else? I would think it might have the opposite effect. Either way, it doesn't really bother me much, especially since it looked this way when I saw it for the first time...I just hope it doesn't get worse. And I wouldn't mind reversing the process if possible...but I don't even know if that's an option.

Thanks Chris! It was actually the cover to an IDW black and white horror mag that was a bit of an homage to both EC and Eerie.

I love the way it looks like he's either just killed the guy...or just stumbled across the body. Of course, the suggestion is pretty strong that he's just admiring his handywork. I'm just waiting for him to look up at me and start talking.

I just picked these two up yesterday, and I'm really glad I did. :-)

First up, Officially the largest piece in my collection... by a longshot!

and... a Fables painting. Kinda. Sorta.

Just got this one in today, all the way from Bogota, Columbia!