ShallowDan

Linda Ronstadt herself must've been bidding that one up. That has to be a record for a Simpsons cel, I'd imagine.

Reason #801 that I should probably just suck it up and finally sign up with FB... If you don't mind me asking, Bronty, since you seem fairly tuned in to this scene, do you happen to know if any original artwork from Gottlieb artist Gordon Morrison's is out there? I have a couple of backglasses of his (Dragon and Genie) and have always been a sucker for the comic book style he brought to pinball. I've long been curious if any of his original art is still around.

Wow! That's legitimately shocking to me. I would figure most any/all artists (at least U.S.-based ones) would have a pretty good familiarity with Baroness. Vega just seems more out there, where unless you're fairly deep into vidya games, I could understand you not knowing him by name.

Out of curiosity, what's the breakdown on the percentage of artists who know who Vega is, versus those for whom you have to explain/provide references? I'm guessing it might be somewhat dependent on the age of artist, but I've long been curious if you get more of a "who?" response, or a "oh, cool idea" response when you ask for him.

something, something glue-stains.... something, something that stat suddenly makes more sense....

I wasn't aware of the bolded, but definitely hope that's the case. As I said, it just felt as if they automatically inserted a house bid to trigger my max. Although in their defense, in both cases I had mentally figured what the pieces were worth, then added just a bit of fat for my final bid. So, the counter-argument would be that I just nailed the FMV right on the nose. Maybe one day when I've had a few too many, I'll take a stab at Rick's FMV x5 suggestion (only to find out that someone else is doing the same thing on the same exact piece )

Congrats! I'd say that if you had to get something from an artist that you weren't crazy about you could do a LOT worse than this. The page has a nice composition/layout. Consider her the prettiest of the homely girls.

I'm not sure if it's a viable option or not, but I would be curious to know if he might be willing to take the idea and flesh it out just a bit as a commission project. As you say, it's a fairly simple sketch, but I'm sure he could capture a similar feel with a slightly more detailed piece. I say that admittedly having no idea what his commission rate is (or whether he even offers them), but it was an idea that came to mind as I considered your dilemma.

Yep, I know this gets into vaguely conspiratorial territory, but always keep in mind that Heritage is explicitly allowed to bid on items. I always bid live when possible, but the two times I put in proxy bids (on relatively minor items where I figured there wouldn't be much action) I won, but at a price that was right at the max bid I had submitted. Another tip, but if you have small children and/or cats, make sure you disable live bidding, until they're coming up on something you're actually planning to bid on. I had a near scare with an accidental four digit bid on something I had absolutely no interest in years ago when I first was getting started with Heritage!

I can understand your motivations with something like this, but I would probably save the "piece I hate" for the last part of the collection I was assembling. Unless your funds are such that this purchase would be using the equivalent of change found behind the sofa cushions, I'd say first focus on that which you like. ...although in my case poorly-timed, ill-advised purchases do have a way of bringing to light something that I really want (once the other funds are officially spent)

Big thanks for sharing the pics and process for all this! It's a very snazzy way to have everything accessible.

Interesting... I never would've thought about that, but I suppose it does make sense from their perspective. Thanks for sharing you experience. I've always been curious about the process.

Correct (or at least that's my read of the OP's question). And all things being equal, I wouldn't personally value a "pencil only" cover any less than another cover of similar quality that was penciled/inked. If I understand your post, you would value a penciled/inked cover at 50-100% more than a penciled-only cover (once again, all things being equal)

With these things I always try to keep in mind the volume of items they handle on a weekly basis. When you think of it in those terms, it's not too surprising that they come up short on the description of some items. BUT, in these cases I'm always left wondering whether the consignor has any idea of all about what they have. Is it a situation where they've given the information to Heritage, but Heritage didn't include it with the listing, or does the current owner have no idea what the item is and just sent it off to be auctioned?

If I'm understanding the OP correctly, the "pencil only" cover is the published cover (at least for the piece in question). It sounds as if there are a few issues of the run which were solely based on pencils - that's to say these pages were never inked at all. If this is correct, I'd personally judge the piece on its own merits, sort of like Rick2you2 suggested. That's to say that for me, the quality of the image would solely determine what I'd be willing to bid/value each piece at. I've seen some really tight/polished pencils in situations where they were intended to be the final product, and wouldn't value them any less than something slightly looser that was then inked.

I'm not sure who owns the original pencils (I found this Dragon's Lair finished pencil on Pinterest a while back), but my understanding is that the paintings are based off of Bluth's work. But you're right - he didn't paint them. For those who might be wondering about the use of these original images, at the time of the games' release, Bluth and Cinematronics released 1-sheet size posters, as if these were theatrical releases and not arcade games. These paintings were used to illustrate the posters. I'm guessing $35K-ish for the DL poster, with Space Ace landing around $12.5.

Don't take it too seriously. Given the subject of the thread, that picture might even be framed and hanging on the wall! Anyway, I'm a to-each-his-own type guy. I do have some things framed, but waaaay more unframed. That's partly a matter of certain things not really lending themselves to being on permanent displayed (with wife/kids taken into consideration). Plus I also always go the museum glass / archival matting route, which for many pieces means that the framing costs as much as (or more than) the piece itself. And me being in the frame shop is an exercise in the paradox of choice. It can drive me crazy comparing every combination/permutation of 20 different off-white/cream mats and an equal number of frames... But I love seeing pictures of folks framed artwork (I LOVE the gray matting that Brian Peck used for the inked pieces on page 3). So thanks for sharing yours - they look great and I'm sure they bring a smile every time you see them.

I know that the packaging label on E Gerbers' sleeves (at least the archive series ones) state that they protect against UV fading. I don't think I'd want to put it to the test, though.

And now you have me going down the rabbit hole of Marvel Mystery covers (I call #46!). And please do share a sharper/better pic when you get one. We'd all love to see it.

When it first popped up, silly me spent a half hour mentally sketching out the financial rejiggering that a $10-12K buy might require. At this point, I'm guessing it easily tops $35K. It's obviously not as beloved/remembered, but I'm curious to see where the Space Ace piece ends up. With it coming after the Dragon's Lair piece, there might be some folks desperate for a consolation prize.

...and just like that, someone's PM's are going to be blowin' up with requests! VERY cool job, Alex: it's both instantly recognizable as your work, while still staying completely true to the original. I love it. I had no idea you were on CGC (very rarely browse the actual comic side of the boards), but have long been a fan. Thanks for sharing this.

Hi, everyone! Since the board (or at least the OA side) doesn't really have an official "introduce yourself" thread, I figured this would be as good of a place as any for an introduction. If nothing else, it'll serve as a single post everyone can point to years from now when you're all trying to decide the exact point at which things all stared to go wrong. Anyway, I'm Dan, live in NE Georgia, and have collected illustration art since around 2011/12. My particular tastes are a little out of the mainstream, but I do have a love of comic art. I've browsed the CGC OA forums on-and-off for years, so although I'm officially new, it sort of feels as if I've known many of the names/personalities here for a long time. I'm looking forward to jumping in the occasional thread here and adding my 2 cents where I can. No real questions at this time (unless someone can explain the Carl Barks market to me); I just thought this thread would be the best place for a first post.