BuraddoRun

I know it varies widely, but generally speaking, what's an acceptable offer to make a rep for a piece without being insulting? I've currently got 2 pieces on hold from 2 different reps that I'm paying listed price for. I didn't ask for any discount, but rather asked for layaway plans that work for me and both graciously agreed. But there's a 3rd piece I'm eyeing from yet another rep that is from a comic that is over 5 years old now, and to my knowledge, not drawn by a currently "hot" or big legacy artist. I don't think asking for both layaway AND a discount is good form, so I'll most likely wait until I've paid off my current holds and save up enough for an immediate purchase. But if I do that, and make an offer, how much of a discount should I ask for without being rude? How do you even ask? I don't want to sound disingenuous if I say how much I love the art or seem like I'm begging. I just want to see if they'll go down some to make it more affordable for me.

I was gonna say this, too, minus the guarantee. For something like this, I would imagine someone had the goofy bright (dull) idea to ask him to sketch Batman VS Clayface in the vein of The Animated Series. Still, this looks BAD. Regarding drawing or signing anything for the $$$, some artists are like that. We'd like to think every artist, especially the greats, hold their work to a certain standard, but some simply...don't. It may seem to some like they're selling out or whatever, but really, it's just a job. They have talent, and they use it to make a living. I have a friend that's an author (not in comics, though he's also a comic fan) who has very strong opinions regarding his work. He wants to write well, cares about his books, and writes fiction that he enjoys and hopes others will as well. But he says he'll write whatever, including unplanned and uninspired sequels, and would be fine with butchered conversions to film or whatever, so long as he gets paid. He cares, but not to the point where his stuff is sacred. And that's just simply him using his talents to make a living is all.

Do you still read comic books? Did you start collecting OA after you stopped reading, or during? If you stopped reading, why do you still collect comic book art? Do you only buy art for books you've read or artists you love because you've read stuff from them before, or do you also buy stuff from artists you're not familiar with or books you haven't read? Is nostalgia you're biggest collecting drive or do you look for new art as well? I know that's a lot of questions, but I guess I'm just curious about different collectors' connections to books, artists, artwork, and the source material itself: the comic books. I still purchase and read comics, both new and old. I've been in and out of collecting books over the years, but COVID-19 has sort of pushed me into reading more, since I'm at home more. For me, my comic book OA collecting started with nostalgia. I want pieces from my favorite books, of my favorite characters, and done by my favorite artists. But since I read current stuff as well, I am discovering new artists and books I enjoy. Also, looking through some art, I might see something that looks cool and get interested in picking up some back issues to read. I think, in fact, that I DO want to at least read every issue that I own a page from. So far, I've done that. Either I read the issue in the past or picked it up after picking up the artwork. Sorry if this topic feels a little scattered, but how about you? Do you still read comics? Do you buy what you read (or have read) or do you just buy stuff you like without concerning yourself with any personal connection to it? And are you mostly a collector of older stuff, newer, or both?

I think this thread is very helpful. As a new collector, I simply don't have much experience with most of these reps and websites, so it's nice to hear from other collectors their opinions and experiences. Also, I'm simply not familiar with a lot of places where I can peruse and purchase art, so this topic helps with that as well.

I know nothing about them, but they certainly look cool.

I know he's refined his style, but I kind of like some of his older stuff, like when he was doing The Tenth.

But keeping receipts somewhere is still a good idea, right, for provenance?

That's a neat little story! And yes, stories are great to share. We probably like them because we're all here as collectors of comic book art, and comic books themselves are neat little stories. Anyhow, that's cool! You made a new friend in an artist you're a fan of, and now he's a fan of yours as well. Good stuff all around.

I think I've got it! The elements: Earth, Wind, Water, Fire

I tried, I really did, but I have no idea. I'm not familiar with Woodring, but congrats on completing your theme!

Well, I hesitate to add to this topic because my budget isn't super high, but I'm sure not seeing any available Power Pack interior pages by June Brigman. Some dealer sites have them listed but when I've inquired, they say they've already sold them. Even the covers, which I'm not ready to commit to, are rare. I inquired about 1 and was told it had already sold. Another shows in different places as available. But anyway, I'd love to add interiors, even just 1, to my collection. I'm currently reading the old series and really enjoying it, and she is the definitive Power Pack artist in my opinion (though Bogdanove did them justice as well). She helped create them, after all.

If you found a piece by an artist whose work usually goes for a premium and/or you really love their art, but that piece was terrible, would you buy it? Like many (most? all?) of us, I love Byrne's work, and would love to acquire a piece someday, but I'm looking at Fantastic Four # 282 and some of the artwork looks...just wrong. Really it's the kids in the issue, especially Franklin. He doesn't look like a child at all. He looks like an adult with dwarfism. His head is too big, his body is too wide, and his clothes are 2 sizes too large. I know artistic interests are subjective, but to me, Franklin looks awful throughout the entire issue. I would not buy, say, Page 1 of this book, were it to become available to me within my budget, except to either flip for a profit or put up for trade, despite Byrne being on my wishlist, How about you? Would you buy bad pages from good artists? *Edit: Hmm...I just realized this is similar to the other topic. LOL. I guess it's a bit more specific. I just saw that Byrne art and was inspired. LOL

How many of the 6 have you gotten?

What kinds of pieces are some of your grails? Do you like specific covers, splashes, pages, or whatever because the images themselves are awesome? Do you look for first or other iconic appearances of your favorite characters? Do you have favorite comics that you just want to own a production piece from? Do you want a piece from your favorite artist? Some other sentimental reason?

I bought a piece that has admittedly terrible art that I don't like. But, the page itself has one of my favorite superhero teams on it, and there are some cool historical (character-wise) anecdotes to it that just made me want to own it. And despite the ugly art, looking at it in person still makes me appreciate the work behind it. I just like looking at the little details in all of my OA. Here's a link to it in my CAF gallery: https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1657108

I have a question about some OA I've seen from around the 80's from Marvel. Some of the boards have been cut at the top and around the corners, but outside of the artwork box. Why was that done?

***Edit - I s***Please delete this topic. I made a post in the stickied "new collector" thread. This isn't something that needs to be a new thread. Thank you and sorry..

I consider them different.things. Sunday gags are always 1-page stories. Finding a 1-page story inside a comic book is more rare.

This reminded me of a thread on a blu-ray forum I visit. This one someone posted was pretty hilarious, I thought:

The bolded part is especially saddening, but true. You see this in animation now, since that is almost fully digital now. Yes, painted cels was a time consuming process, but cartoons of old have left a legacy of beautiful art that can't be matched by cg.

I'm actually surprised that we still get a fair amount of physical artwork used for publication. We get less pencils + ink, and that's a shame, but we still have a lot to collect. Maybe there's just a fair amount of artists who still like pen and paper.

It's probably not very exciting to look at, just warning you. Heh. But here's my gallery: https://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=160990

It took a little longer than I expected it to, mainly because I added descriptions to every piece (10 total right now: my 6 pencilled and inked pages that are my main focus right now, 1 prelim, and 3 penciled/inked comic strips), but my collection is uploaded and my gallery open. I went with the photograph suggestions. I just used my phone. @Varanis, I'll take you up on the PM offer. Thank you for your help! Thank you all! Hopefully I can work this out and get the cover I'm after!

Thanks for all the advice, everyone, and assuaging my fears. I found a piece for sale that I'm REALLY interested in, but it's higher than I've ever paid for OA before. It's also nicer, a cover. I guess I should try and scan my OA and get it up on CAF soon as well. I don't have a big enough scanner! But thankfully, I live close to a FedEx copy center.