Weird Paper

So, like a lot of you, I've accumulated some art over the past four decades of collecting that I've not been able to find in print. It seems like as good a time as any to start a thread and geeksource these questions to the collective hivemind that is dis place.

Since I'm already here, I'll go first... This is by Trevor Von Eeden, but I don't know if it's a commission, pin-up or what. It's unusual if it's a commission, because Batman is not the central figure in the piece. It's about 13x18, mixed media. Has anybody ever seen this in print?

1 hour ago, Bronty said:

 

Duh. I was looking at my post wondering where I mentioned furniture. The analogy falls flat, though, because I don't have a couch that's worth as much as the average piece of art on my walls (nor would I). I was just speaking for myself, saying that I'm not bothered by the fact that some of the pieces on display are visually-identical prints of art that I own. I like to be able to see them, but not have to worry about fading. Obviously, if I didn't own the originals also, I would not get the same satisfaction by having repros on my walls. But as it is, they are merely visual proxies. It makes sense for me. Your results may vary.

29 minutes ago, Bronty said:

If you ever decide to sell your furniture, please give me a call?   

My furniture?

7 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

Yeah, but, in this situation, the owners are Elaine and the outsiders looking at the displayed copies are Jerry! 

Yeah, but she seems more amused by it than bothered by it. 

4 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

That's exactly what I mean. He didn't know until he knew. 

On April 2, 2018 at 8:34 PM, Bronty said:

Yeah.    Framing a copy is like the art collectors version of the couch that’s wrapped in plastic.    Sure, you’ve protected the couch (art) but you’ve lost all enjoyment of it in the process

I'm gonna play devil's advocate on this. I have some prints up, framed, in place of originals, and it doesn't bother me at all. I have the peace of mind to know they're not fading. I took 1200 dpi full-sized scans and printed them on similar-finish paper on a high-quality, eight-color Epson -- tears, tape, toning, warts and all. If you walked into the room, and didn't know some of them were prints, it would probably never occur to you. I can look at the originals any time I want, but I don't have to worry about any fading. It's a win-win. If there was some aspect to their presentation that screamed "copy," like a reduced size or pixellization, it wouldn't work. The thickness and some surface aspects of the paper are different, but it's not evident in a frame. Hell, I even got lazy on a few and printed the matte around it, complete with a bevel and faint shadow to make it look real.

1 hour ago, Ovrclck said:

I should have searched before I won this  

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jack-Kirby-Two-Gun-Kid-60-Rare-Production-Art-Cover-Monotone-/273055975990

 

 

Anything from Leadpink is worthless . It's fine if you just want something to put on your wall until it fades, and, since it's probably generated on an inkjet, it will fade.

The point to remember is that on its way from point A to point B, your valuable commodity is handled by numerous individuals who don't give a rodent's posterior about it. It's thrown, bent, stacked upon and driven over. I once sent a couple of nice mid-to-high grade Barks Duck 4-colors to a boardie in Norway or Finland (I know -- it sounds like a cliche). To package it, I hollowed out a piece of 1/2 inch gator board to make a two inch frame all the way around it and put 6mm pvc on top and bottom so that any stress it took would distribute onto the gator board. I taped it up water tight, and put it in a slightly larger box with bubble wrap around it. I could have survived any abuse short of being shot. The happy recipient told me it was the best packaged comic he'd ever received. The materials I used were scraps you can get from a sign shop, so they didn't cost me anything.

So the owner gambles on the fact that maybe somebody out there would pay silly money for this page. Isn't the downside of this sort of gamble that you possibly devalue the page in the eyes of collectors who might be willing to pay a reasonable premium for it? Add to that, if it sits indefinitely on CL, it will suffer the taint of overexposure. Maybe this is just a way to gauge a value without having to commit to selling it?

2 minutes ago, zhamlau said:

I can see 2000-2500 the more i think about it on the Hulk. But the Spider Annual might be more like 7-8k oddly enough. I found an example of that book selling for 5k with just spider-man about 3 years ago. It was a GREAT page dont get me wrong, but those Spidey/avengers pages are just so elite and desired i can see this coming close to double.

 

Heck, if that page was 3500, id buy it right now on instinct alone. Not the most scientific method I know :-)

Yeah, my gut tends to the low end frequently. My guess on the ASM Annual page was based on it actually being Heck/Esposito and not having any action. Still a great character page.

If I was a guessing man, I'd guess the Hulk at about 2k and the Spidey Annual page at 3500-4000.

14 hours ago, Panelfan1 said:

for sure its a sweet page. left a comment on CAF. in your story - you never say where the obsession came from? or what it is about it that got you interested in this piece. would love to hear more if you feel like it.  I am lucky to have a couple such items (elflord cover and xmen master of kung fu cover)- also not worth much but which I wanted for a long time and couldn't believe it when I got them.

There's not so much a nostalgic component, though I was buying the issues of Adventure and Phantom Stranger off the stands when she made her first appearance. What it really stemmed from was wanting a really nice Redondo example. There's not an enormous body of his work in the U.S. -- a few Orchid stories, Rima, Swamp Thing, the Bible book and some other miscellany. Most of it was being gobbled up by one bsd collector. I'd missed out on the few Black Orchid pages that had surfaced, but finally scored some Rima pages a few years back. Then when I saw this splash, it just punched all the buttons... the rendering, the composition, the stunning image of BO swooping into the sky, the interesting perspective of the background city... to say nothing of Nestor Redondo's inspired brushwork. Just look at the signature! That's the signature of a man who'd just contentedly latticed his fingers over his belly and leaned the chair back with a satisfied smile and the realization that he'd swung the sledge hammer and rung the bell. Collectors are driven by obsessions and this one became mine.

On January 25, 2018 at 6:09 PM, lobrac said:

SANDMAN #12 PAGE 22, well BIN'd for $1500 on January 16 on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SANDMAN-Original-Comic-Art-SIGNED-by-Neil-Gaiman-1989-Issue-12-/202191583218?hash=item2f138eb7f2%3Ag%3AjAIAAOSwhfdaXvRB&nma=true&si=2uOR%2FNN6u%2FazXo4ky32ENeJso0A%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Now back on eBay for $20K OBO:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SANDMAN-Original-Comic-Art-Issue-12-Page-22-SIGNED-by-Neil-Gaiman/162870570421?hash=item25ebd7adb5:g:n34AAOSwp-RaaloQ

What a killer find for $1500.

12 hours ago, lobrac said:

TARZAN #17 page by John Buscema, currently on eBay for $699.95 OBO:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tarzan-17-ORIGINAL-ART-PAGE-John-Buscema-1978-Jungle-Action-B-W-Marvel-Comic-ERB-/122926861237?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368&autorefresh=true

 

Sold in the Comiclink auction back in November 2017 for $175

 

https://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?id=1210823

To be fair, $175 is a bargain for a Buscema page with Tarzan. $699 is probably a bit steep, though. I'd peg that at about $300-$400.

He has done some exceptional work, but that page was probably closer to the worst of his output rather than the best. That said, you can get a very good Morrow for well under a thousand. Part is that he was underappreciated. Part was that he never really worked on any "hot" properties. There are lots of painted book covers out there, but even they don't go for crazy money.

9 hours ago, oakman29 said:

Bernie Wrightson is not only a great artist, but was a very nice guy. One of the highlights of my life was discuusing his artwork for many hours, he really gave me some great feedback on my work as well. Coming from such a master, I was humbled by his thoughts on my work. I do have a piece of his work , and I will cherish it, and the moment forever.

Yeah, Bernie was great. Very approachable. I had a conversation with him once comparing the studio guys to the Beatles. Bottom line was, nobody wanted to be Ringo. He is missed.

On the art side, I would think you could find something decent for 10k. Maybe not a top tier Swamp Thing page, and certainly not a Frankenstein, but there is a lot out there that falls within that range. I'd watch auctions.

This is me... I acquired my first piece of original art at HoustonCon 1978 -- a Murphy Anderson Planet Comics page that still resides in my collection. I didn't really add to the collection much until the mid 80s, when I was able to pick up a few pieces by fan favorites like Corben, Wrightson, Adams, Jones, BWS... then I started a business and had a kid and left the hobby for a few years. I returned in the mid 90s and picked up a few more pieces before the turn of the century. About 12 years ago, CAF and a collector friend pulled me back into art collecting and I've been at it, to the neglect of any other of my collections, ever since. My hoard ranges from 1905 to the mid 2010s. I've had a knack for finding art in odd places like flea markets and antique stores. 

There's no real focus to my collection. If I like it, it's available and I can afford it, I'll go after it. I'm not much for commissions, though I have a few. My nostalgic sweet spot is the 60s and 70s, but I've also bought art from books I've never read and artists I'd never heard of. I've been lucky enough to pick up some historically significant pages along the way -- the first appearance of the Silver Age Hawkman, the first JSA appearance in Justice League, the first pages with Adams' Green Arrow redesign and Cockrum's Ms. Marvel, the death of Sue Dibny and others.

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=3878

It was a much more active year, art-collecting-wise, than I would have expected 52 weeks ago. I always think of 2010 and 2014 as the best years for my collection, but this year gives them a run for their (my) money.

Here are my Entries for 2017.

Barry Windsor Smith - Conan #14, Page 3 - A beautifully-laid out peak-period BWS Conan page with faceless assailants, horses with beaks and giant birds attacking.

http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=9313

Bernie Wrightson - Swamp Thing #6, Page 24 - Bernie inking Bernie on the series that will always be fondly associated with him. Beautiful expressions, fantastic detail and amazing storytelling on this 11-panel page.

http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=9310

Bernie Wrightson - Swamp Thing #6, Page 25 - It's probably bad form to post two pages from the same artist and the same issue in the same category, but come on… it's Bernie's Swamp Thing! Very different than the previous page, this one has big panels and a robot fight. Bernie was the best!

http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=9311

Boris Vallejo - Warrior Woman - A wonderful watercolor over pen and ink illustration. This is a detailed preliminary from 1978 for a piece that was never done. I like the looseness of the drawing in combination with some spots of realistic detail and  Boris' marvelous soft colors. Rare full name signature. Warning NSFW.

http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=9309

Joe Doolin - Planet Comics #24 - Mars Splash Page - A few years ago, I was lucky enough to visit Jon Berk and see his amazing collection of comics and art. One of my very favorite pieces of art in his collection was this Doolin Planet splash page. The detail is astounding. I decided to take a shot at it in last year's ComicConnect auction of Jon's collection, and was lucky enough to win it. My first piece of comic book original art -- bought at HoustonCon, summer of 1978 -- was a Planet Comics page, so I've always had a fondness for Fiction House art.

http://www.comicartfans.com/LowryPiece.asp?Piece=9312

Runners up:

Joe Kubert - Brave and Bold #44, Page 28 - This was a lock until the other Swamp Thing page turned up in November. Any other year… Great Kubert action with Hawkgirl and Hawkman battling animal-looking aliens.

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1376350

John Bolton - Kull Page from Bizarre Adventures #26 - Again, almost any other year, this page from Bolton's masterpiece would easily make the list.

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1385364

Jack Davis - Aces High Page - Perfect Davis… any other year…

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1411862

Russ Heath - Rocketeer Movie Adaptation Page - Everything you could want in a page from this book, including the cover shot.

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1416382

Carl "Bunny" Schultze - 1905 Foxy Grandpa Sunday Strip - Possibly one of the earliest surviving examples of this comic strip. Found at an antique fair.

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1385291

Jim Mooney - Thundercats #5 Page - A perfect example of Mooney's distinctive style.

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1385355

Darwyn Cooke - Jonah Hex #50 Page - Wonderful western mayhem!

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1398482

Leslie Cabarga - If I Had a Million Splash Page - Won all four pages from this story at HA. Huge and beautiful in person. So fun to look at!  Out of all the great art I've been lucky enough to get all year, this may be the one I enjoy the most.

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1438098

12 hours ago, Doc Joe said:

I mean the OA .. got the comic already 

I have to wonder if it exists. If my memory recalls correctly, there was some debate as to whether it was actually Baker. An unbelievable iconic cover nonetheless. 

On December 2, 2017 at 5:32 PM, Doc Joe said:

I am truly lucky to have some of my Grails...(can one have more than one grail? I guess so...) 

Mine

1. X men 99, 130, 141

2. Judge Dredd Eagle 8 

3. Ezquerra Apocalypse War 1st DPS 

4. Invaders 1 , 4

5. Frontline Combat 2

6. Phantom Lady 17

7. ASM 3,4 

8. Vigilant Annual 2 

 

This is probably the thing I have most wanted and obtained...could not believe when there was the chance to get it 

 

Phantom Lady 17? You mean the comic, not the OA, right????

Just added a groovy Bernie Wrightson Swamp Thing page to my CAF!

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1438696

Just added a really fun 4-page underground story to my CAF.
http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerynew.asp?GCat=3878