Benedict Judas Hel

I am not sure what the rules concerning artwork with partial nudity are on this site but I decided to play it safe and censored the latest commission I got in. I love the 80’s Fighting Fantasy gamebooks (particularly the original 21 books) but being in the original art collecting hobby for 2-3 years makes me slowly realize that I will probably never own the original illustrations I want the most as they will most likely be out of my meager means. Therefore, I recently decided to get homages of my favorite ones done starting with the mirror demon by Iain McCaig which appeared in the 1984 book, Deathtrap Dungeon. This is the rendition done by Mike Hoffman: The original illustration:

They are personally not for me because if I ever commissioned one, I would know it’s not the original. I much rather prefer cover homages because I have the sense and awe of the original plus the benefit of owning an original:

I got in 1992 Marvel Comics Presents #102 page 1 (pencils by Rick Leonardi and inks by Jimmy Palmiotti) today purchased from Mr. Leonardi himself: As it appears in print:

I don’t have a “collecting goal” per se as I am a very small fish in a very large sea. I can’t say “I’m going to own an Art Adams X-Men page” or a “I’m going to own a Ditko Spider-Man page” because I don’t have the funds necessary for such a purchase and most likely never will. I just have more of a generality: I’d like to purchase awesome splashy villain art…maybe an original Garage Pail Kid card art painting and a Fighting Fantasy gamebook interior illustration. Oh, and maybe certain Cracked Magazine Interiors or covers. Have I realized it yet? To an extent, but I could always use more (except for the GPK, Fighting Fantasy and Cracked Magazine art of which I have none at the moment)…

Yes, pictures would be nice.

I don’t mind his comments on any page of mine either. It’s cool that anybody takes the time to leave a message on one of my gallery pages. I also make sure that I give a “thumbs up” to their comment and a response as well. It’s just common courtesy to me. But I personally don’t like the term “birth page” and the concerted effort to make that term “happen”. “First appearance” is good enough for me and I don’t see a need to change it.

Cool! Glad things are looking bright!

Yup, that’s a lesson I learned from my early Ebay buying days: “Never post about an item until it is in your hands”.

Is Rob Liefeld art popular? I thought people were buying his art ironically? I personally don’t understand the popularity myself either but I don’t assail anyone for how they choose to spend their money…legally.

I got in this ultra 70’s art from Luke Cage, Hero For Hire #12 Page 12 featuring Chemistro: Published page:

My personal reasoning was since #1 and #13 are the same and since I prefer the black costume over the traditional look, I chose it instead of #1.

Yes, I am content with my collection so far. Since I have a strictly limited budget ($2500 or less), it helps to be hyper focused on my collecting goals and standards. Hence, every piece I add has to be one I love because funds I use for one piece may come at the expense of another future piece. So every piece has to be great (in my eyes).

I prefer showing the entire board when I frame. When I had my first original art piece framed, unfortunately, I opted for hiding some of the board because it cut unevenly at top (as these pieces often are) but have since changed that with the subsequent pieces I have had framed.

I didn’t buy anything this year as nothing really moved me in my usual price range ($250-$1000) towards a purchase but the event did place me in contact with a seller I’ve bought from before on a piece that he had on his CAF gallery that fit my collecting specifications excellently and I was very interested in. It was over my comfort zone in price but he was willing to take off 10% and accepted timed payments so I took the plunge. And I do agree that I like the feature of sellers being able to contact potential buyers via saved artworks so possible transactions are made more likely.

I got in 1987 West Coast Avengers #17 page 16 original art by Al Milgrom and Joe Sinott which is the first piece in my collection from a comic (not a guide) I bought fresh off the newsstand and still own to this day: As it appears in the comic:

Here is my first auction win (outside of Ebay)…Rattler by Rich Buckler and Josef Rubinstein from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #10 Page 55. Another C-list villain from a B-list criminal organization (The Serpent Society) for my collection: As it appears in the comic:

I got in this 12” x 16” Vega commission by Ron Randall today:

I added to my collection of obscure villains from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition series with Kiber the Cruel by Bob Wiacek and Josef Rubinstein, a D-List Black Panther adversary who only lasted 3 issues before getting killed: As it appears in issue #18:

Thanks. Well, it’s been a few days and nothing from ComicConnect so I just printed their invoice and included it with my check that I mailed to them. I’ll wait and see if there are any issues. They say 3-4 weeks for shipping so I hope to get the art by then.

Thanks for the breakdown! I appreciate it. This being my first interaction with ComicConnect, I elected to pay via check (since they wanted to charge 3% extra for PayPal or credit card payments) and when I received the invoice, there was no charge for shipping or taxes…just the actual amount for my winning bid. Is this normal for ComicConnect auctions?

Well, that’s on top of the 15% buyer’s premium soooo 35% total?

I purchased my first auction win (besides Ebay) in this series and I felt I overpaid by 20% for the particular piece. But I justified it by saying I only purchase a piece maybe 2-3 times a year and my collecting field is so specific and narrow that I could afford this specific indulgence. So hopefully the art transfer will be smooth and without incident.

I got in this 10 1/2” x 12 1/2” Baroness commission by Stefano Cardoselli:

I got in this 8” x 10” Vega commission by Dan Brereton: