christosgage

Chris Samnee kept his art for a very long time, only selling sketches and commissions. After a while he started selling some stuff...covers for books he didn't also do the interiors for, and some shorter runs like Captain America. I believe with his growing family and large body of work space was becoming an issue. Not sure what his policy is now. He's really fast, so I can see it stacking up! Interesting about the Kuberts...I have encountered an artist or two who went to the Kubert school and also keep their art because he advised them to. I believe Andy Smith is one. I think a lot of artists keep a few pages here or there that they are attached to for whatever reason. When I was doing Avengers Academy with Tom Grummett, one issue started out with a splash of Hercules, naked, demonstrating throwing a discus to the students. The joke was that, as an immortal, he couldn't keep track of what was acceptable behavior in the modern era, and he was recreating the first Olympics as they took place, with nude competitors. Tom said his wife informed him she wanted that page! LOL.

Very sorry to hear about Conrad's passing. I didn't know him well at all but he seemed like a very nice guy. The Godzilla cover in my avatar was purchased from him...my wife (then girlfriend) heard me talking about it when I got back from SDCC (this would have been around 1998) and she tracked him down and arranged to buy it from him. When I heard the whole story I really appreciated the way he worked with her instead of being inaccessible or condescending to someone who wasn't steeped in the hobby. He will be missed. Condolences to all his loved ones.

Such a sweet guy. We weren't close by any means but he was a close friend of some of my friends so we kind of knew each other, and every time he saw me at a con he greeted me like a long lost brother, inviting me to come sit behind his table and catch up. Wish I'd gotten to know him better. Same with John Paul Leon, George Perez and others we've lost recently. I'm mad at myself for letting my natural introversion and shyness, especially around people whose talent intimidates me, get in the way of what might have been a valued friendship. I'm at the age where I'm finally realizing the people matter more than the art. (Unless they're jerks. But those are few and far between.)

Thank you! I just got the last page from that story off his site. And thank you very much for your support!

I did not...sigh...or Ninjak! So much wonderful art, so little money...

Nice! Mind if I ask where you got these and if they have any more? I wrote this story and would love to have a page. (By the time I thought to ask Dave he'd sold them...sigh...my own fault!)

I'm not sure there is such a thing as "normal" in this hobby. But if the dealer is reputable you can probably find out why they're choosing that method and work something out. For example, if they're trying to avoid the credit card processing fee, you can offer to pay extra to cover it yourself.

I will preface this by saying that there are much more experienced Frazetta experts than me who I would defer to. That said, I personally would ask the seller some questions, like: are they a member of the Frazetta family or the museum's board? If not, how did they get the things they are selling? (A bunch of similar painted prints.) And how much of the color is hand-painted by Frank Frazetta? The whole image or just the streaks in the background? My gut says this is legit in the sense that the seller is associated with the Frazetta family and the signatures are real, but it's unclear how much actual original artwork Frank Frazetta actually did. If he hand-painted all the color then I feel it could be worth the money, depending on how much you like it. If it's just the background streaks that are hand painted, I personally wouldn't buy it...I'd spend a bit more and get a penciled figure study or something. But your mileage may vary!

It's not D&D per se, but I think close enough. I can honestly say I never thought I’d get to own original art by pioneering D&D artist Erol Otus (painter of the aforementioned DEITIES & DEMIGODS cover). But I was lucky enough to get this: An original sketch on the back of an Artist Proof Magic the Gathering card he did the art for. A Lovecraftian monstrosity…exactly what I wanted from him! I couldn’t be happier. (Front of card also included for fun.)

Yeah it's not a secret that they have it. I assume they get offers all the time.

I'm Schrodinger's content. If I never got another piece I'd be happy with what I have. But at the same time I'm definitely not about to stop looking, and could name hundreds of pieces I'd love to have.

My mistake...thanks for the correction!

Some TSR art has survived. There's a store in Canada (The Beguiling, maybe?) that displays the original cover painting to DEITIES AND DEMIGODS. And a prominent OA collectors has the original cover to the first Monster Manual.

Take Herb Trimpe's name out your f***in' mouth! In all seriousness though, I love Trimpe's art with all my heart, with the exception of his 90s experimentation with a more Image type style. I realize that's not totally objective and nostalgia is involved, but I don't think it's just that.

Ditko, of course. What's out there is either stolen or from the inker, as I understand it. Chris Samnee used to not sell his published work, but as his body of work has gotten bigger he's sold some stuff, like Captain America pages.

I agree that commissions are not a good choice if you're trying to flip something, but I can tell you why I purchase commissions. One, it's a way to support the artist, which I like to do whenever possible. With some of the older artists, they no longer have vintage pages to sell and likely sold those pages many years ago when they had little value. Now they sell for a lot more and the artist gets nothing. So getting a commission is a way to support them and thank them for their work. Two, I enjoy having an artist whose work I love creating a piece specifically for me. I have two George Perez commissions I love dearly. Third, you can get things that just aren't available as published pieces. For example, a Marvel character vs a DC character. Of course there's a risk of not liking the result. That comes with the territory. It's also why I tend not to spend too much on commissions. But I've gotten awesome ones from Perez, Ramona Fradon, Joe Sinnott, and others. It's just something better done for love than money.

With the issues the post office has had in the past year or so, I am planning to ship some art by another carrier. I tried to research this but can't find a decisive answer. Do UPS or FedEx limit the amount of insurance they will cover art for? Thanks!

Here's my only Ditko, from his first issue of ROM, inked by Bob Layton. I dig the Dr. Strange style setting.

Going back to the original question of how many collectors there are who play in the six figure range, there are folks who may not be super active in the hobby, but when they are, they go big. Like Robert Rodriguez (the director) and that dude from Metallica, both of whom buy Frazetta paintings. I don't think I'm competing with them for Trimpe Godzilla art but they're out there.

I buy what I like, so if I consider something "bad" I wouldn't buy it. I could see being a big enough fan of an artist that a page of their early work, when they were still finding their feet, that many might consider inferior, is desirable as an example of how their process evolved. Also, nostalgia is a big part of our hobby, so a page that might not represents the artist's best work might have special memories for a particular collector, if they read it as a kid. But ultimately, "bad" is in the eye of the beholder. I once owned a BWS page from Conan #10 and got it signed by him at SDCC. He lamented that in one panel he'd drawn Conan, in his words, "totally bloody cross-eyed." And when I looked, yeah, he had a point (it wasn't glaring, but it was there)...but I still loved the page. The heart wants what the heart wants.

This is kind of how I felt about the Hulk #180 pages that recently were up for auction. Great pages just from the standpoint of being Trimpe Hulk, but even if I was in the market for such pages I wouldn't pay a lot extra just because Wolverine first appeared on the final page of the issue.

I've been thinking about this topic and it seems to me that prices only really go down under the following situations: 1) The fan base "ages out." I seem to recall another thread in which Pogo strips were discussed. I don't know much about them but the consensus seemed to be that prices have dipped due to the people who remember Pogo having gotten older and in some cases dropped out of the hobby, while younger collectors don't seem to care. Unlike with a character like Spider-Man, where someone like me who grew up with Ross Andru would nevertheless love a Ditko page, the fact that Pogo didn't impact multiple generations has affected the value. 2) A large amount of art has flooded the market. Either a collector with a large collection is selling or the artist/their estate is selling a lot of their work. Those who want an example have a lot to choose from. 3) There was some external reason for a price jump and now there's a correction. Sometimes you see this with characters who are appearing in movies, and when the hype fades after the release there's a drop. Or the market was basically propped up by two collectors with the same interest who were very competitive, and one drops out for whatever reason. In these cases the prices don't usually go back to "bargain" territory, but there's a correction. The only example I can think of recently (granted, I don't pay a ton of attention as I can't compete with the big guys) is Sal Buscema ROM pages. For a while they were cheap, then it seemed like every page that hit the market went for a lot, then Sal sold most of what he still had and the couple of guys who were driving the demand eased off. So while it's not as cheap as it was, it's more reasonable now. (Not so Ditko pages.) I've also heard that Barry Smith Conan pages are soft, but every time I see one listed it's more expensive than the last, so maybe that's just in prices actually realized.

He's extremely prolific, that might have something to do with it. Collectors who just want an example of his work (as opposed to a specific story or issue) have a lot to choose from.

First con sketch I ever got, 25 years ago!

I like the splash, but as you're a Phantom Stranger collector I can see how you wouldn't. His figure is the worst part of it and looks kind of wonky. especially the face. But I dig the mummy and the setting. As a PS collector I can see why you'd want a representative piece from the artists who worked on the book, even ones you're not wild about. So my advice is keep it, enjoy it to the extent you can, and when/if you need to sell or trade something, it's a piece you won't find it hard to part with. Same if you find a Talaoc page from the series you like better to take its place. I understand your impulse...I love Herb Trimpe's Shogun Warriors art but I also bought a splash by Mike Vosburg even though I didn't especially like it (I didn't hate it either, and I like Vosburg's art on other stuff, just not this book) mostly because I like the characters and it showed all three robots and it was reasonably priced. I parted with it a couple years later and don't miss it.