BuraddoRun

I really love those personal touches that come with art sometimes. Like you say, it's a nice bit of history. Nice pickup!

It's crazy to see collectible markets like comics and baseball cards rise and fall, too. Baseball cards were hot stuff in the 80s, then fell to nothing in the 90s, but I guess they're hot again. I dunno. I only buy cheap singles and a few new packs each season because I'm goofy and like to make a notebook of "my" players from my fantasy teams. LOL

^ This is literally the reason. That's why Japanese heroes do nonsensical stuff like this: But there's a method to the madness. Looking cool attracts customers to a comic book. We judge them by the cover. If you want to make it practical, look at it like the Japanese TV hero shows. Showing off your cool pose before you attack your opponent strikes fear in their hearts! Back to covers, even if the interiors are crud (not in Jim's case, of course), a good cover will still pull people in. Back to practical real life (or shows) again, the same can be said for fighting. Take Johnny from The Last Dragon: But seriously, it really is all about the cool pose, not practicality. A cover is just a showcase. Cool characters, cool poses, cool art!

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerydetail.asp?gcat=160990

I think it's funny how so many collectors purchase things that have functionality, but don't actually use the item. I understand collecting, of course, and I understand wear devalues things, but it's still weird, right, to own something meant for use and not actually use it? Collectors are weird. We're weird! LOL. This hobby is easy, though, because what we buy is meant for display, so taking care of it is inherent in its use. We want it to stay looking nice, after all. But for a lot of the junk I buy nowadays for entertainment, if I don't plan to resell anytime soon, I just use. It's mostly knickknacks, though: keychains, pins, coasters...just "collector" throw-ins with movies or video games. If i get a cool shirt that fits, I'll wear it. I don't have to preserve everything!

Specializing is difficult for me, simply because I have a broad range of interests. Still, it might be fun to pick a theme and try to collect broadly within that theme. Limits force creativity, after all. This is basically what I'm doing. I'm thankful to have made a few purchases recently (I haven't updated my CAF just yet and am still awaiting a package) that were things on my wishlist, so that helps a lot. I don't want to buy stuff just for momentary satisfaction. I want to get pieces I will love months and years in the future. This is something that worried me when I started getting into this. There's so much out there already picked up, and the big pieces I loved as a kid are either all gone or super expensive. But surprises pop up now and again. And I'm learning that this hobby requires lots of patience. Also, thankfully, there is still new art being produced, and a lot of that isn't too hard to get if you go for it. The 2nd thought is something to consider, but I actually stared my overall art collecting with animation cels, and various card commissions. I have a few other random commissions too, but nothing huge there. But I'm here specifically for comic art. It's certainly a larger barrier than it used to be, and I'm pretty late to the game, but this is a hobby where people do move on, or get new tastes, or trade up, or have to sell out of necessity, so the well isn't dried up yet. I think the color version is nicer, anyway. Just consider it him completing the piece for you.

Yeah, I was thinking that, which is why I went back to look at it again...and it was sold. Maybe I should've bought it when I had the chance but again, I'm just not looking for sketch covers right now. It is a cool cover, though, and I hope the owner really enjoys it. Plus, I still have a final piece on layaway I need to focus on paying off, so there's that. No regrets!

I'm sure a lot of new collectors do this but, I got a little carried away with wanting to build up my comic art collection. Within the span of a few months, I bought a few pieces on eBay, put things on layaway with 3 different dealers/reps, reached out to a few CAF gallery owners, and contacted a few artists directly. On the bright side, I've learned a lot very quickly (also posting and talking with people here, of course), got some nice pieces to add to my collection, and met some cool people. On the other hand...well yeah, like the title says. The good news is that I'm slowing down now. I paid off 2 out of the 3 layaway pieces, and should have the 3rd paid of well before the agreed due date. Of the people I contacted on CAF, only 1 responded positively, and that happened to be someone that had some unlisted stuff that was high on my want list. We worked out a deal and now I'm just waiting to get those pieces in the mail. As for the artists, I'm waiting while the ones that responded have me on hold for a later date when they're able to sell the art I inquired about. That gives me some time to save up. And now, I'm looking at stuff here and there, but closing the wallet for the most part until I get caught up. LOL. The other good thing is that I've been selling off some things (non art related) that I don't want anymore that's helping me with these purchases. Anyhow, have any of you done things like this? I'm sure it's common for new collectors, and probably for many seasoned collectors when they feel an itch as well.

I didn't like that Thor cover they seemed to really like that had Blake transforming into Thor. K Gearon commented in my CAF gallery shortly after I got my collection posted up. He's a fellow fan of Damion Scott's work on Batgirl. Seems like a nice guy. Fun show. I'll have to catch up on the past episodes and keep up with new new ones.

Very cool that you have the whole setup, including the painted background. A lot of times, when cel setups like this are sold, the background is a laser scanned copy. Nice piece!

Just a fun side note about Magic collectibilty, I recently discovered a thing called artist proofs, which I know exists in other forms, but for Magic, this means a card with a blank back that is given to the artists who do the original art for them. The standard number that is given for each card is usually only 50 copies. In the past, they were meant as sort of giveaways or business cards, but it became a thing where artists would do original sketches or even mini paintings on them and sell (or give) them to fans. Anyhow, I have a small number of these proofs since I've been expanding my original art interests. Here's one I got from Douglas Shuler, one of the artists for the original set, on the back of a Force of Nature. As for Pokemon, Magic is still the top CCG, but Pokemon is 2nd and still has a strong following worldwide. It may not seem it, but the card game has been out for almost 25 years now, and the franchise longer. I see expensive auctions for cards a lot, so $200K for a sealed box doesn't surprise me. Anything that is popular with a large group of people will have its share of fans willing to drop top $$$ on rare memorabilia.

I considered pulling the trigger on The Watcher Original Sin sketch cover that dropped, but I'm not really looking for sketch covers right now. And of course, NOW it's sold. Good and unexpected piece. I'm glad someone out there bought it.

I don't know how I misread previous comments when I posted this, but I did. For some reason I was thinking we were talking about Uncanny # 275. That's the one I picked up in the grocery store and is one of my top 5 Lee/Williams covers. Of course it's a gatefold, too. I got X-Men # 1 at my comic shop when it came out, and while of course that's awesome too, I prefer this one.

I watched that video earlier today (technically yesterday, now), and now I'm here and I see this topic. That's crazy, and scary, but I'm glad the OP got his art back and that CAF and people here helped him out. Good looking out, y'all!

Coincidentally, I just picked up Marvel Comics Super Special # 22 for $1 a couple of days ago. I hope you find some leads for a page!

This is one of my favorite X-Men covers, personally, definitely top 5. I still remember picking up the newsstand edition in a grocery store (maybe Safeway?) when I was a kid. This Wolvie/Cap/Widow cover we're talking about is not in my top 5, but it is definitely AWESOME, and won't surprise me if it hits or surpasses that 250K we're guessing.

And there's something to say for the fact that the stuff you helped create is in others' hands to enjoy. It's pretty awesome that you're an art collector yourself, but equally awesome that you didn't hold all of your stuff and have shared (even through selling) it with other grateful collectors out there.

If anyone here likes to pick up Blu-rays and wants The Black Hole, it's a Disney Movie Club exclusive. It came out about a year ago I think.

I store mine in portfolios, or rather, my 1 portfolio. LOL. I keep them sorted by comic or character(s), non-alphabetically. There will be some shifting to be done as I get new pages, but my small collection is very manageable at the moment with less than 15 pages. Heh.

And I'm under 50, and yep, never really cared for Kamandi, though I do have an issue or 2 in my comic collection.

I agree with ShalowDan about wanting to know the story behind the change, and with everyone about it not affecting value. Nice page!

I actually considered buying Issue # 250, because I thought it was cool he made it that far. Plus, I do like his art (hope to one day get a Spidey page). But, y comic store was out of them, and it wasn't high enough on my list to hunt it down. Still, it sold out, so someones bought it.

Fun fact: a couple of close friends of mine entered a contest a few years back concerning Gold Digger. They were doing a swimsuit special (they've done a good number, apparently), and wanted submissions. At that time, my friends were aspiring comic book creators (now they're into film), so one drew, inked, and lettered, while the other wrote a short story. And...they were one of the submissions that got published! But, despite the fact that I do own that one issue of Gold Digger, I can't say I actually helped keep it in print. My friends got a few free copies and they gave me one.

Do you have a book to put it in? Itoya, I mean. I had a rolled up large calendar (different material than comic board, of course) that I put in my poster-sized Itoya (that yes, I actually use for posters) for a month with a heavy box on top, and it flattened. I don't know about potential ink smearing with yours, though.

"He told Mr. Redden that he discarded the painting, which he disliked."