Mighty Hal

I've just finished Dark Horse's TPB The New Deal by Jonathan Case. Set in the 1930's, the hero is a slightly shady white bellhop, the heroine is a mostly-honest black maid, and the eye appeal is a happily larcenous rich hottie, all involved in a crime caper against the baddie. Characterization is a little weak but the pages go by quickly and the story is fun. The racial element is present, but not overplayed. Case's artwork is gorgeous, but it's all digital. This was fine for me as a reader, sad for me as an original art collector. I'd have enjoyed getting a page or two from this graphic novel.

Really impressed by your detective work. Well done! Bad news for the OP, though. Maybe that seller wasn't so legit, after all.

Absolutely. And since male nurses were rarely shown in those early Marvel years, this is doubly significant. ?

At a glance, no alarm bells go off. If the seller is "legit", he probably won't mind if you share his name. That's a big first step on knowing if the piece is a real Kirby. If it were mine, though, I'd contact Evanier directly and ask him.

Some great information here, comicwiz. Thanks.

THAT was one great day. Loved seeing the art and hearing your story.

Not that I've heard but, honestly, there are some unusual collectors out there. (Not you and me; those other guys.) It gets muddier still when you realize we're comparing DC promo art to a Wizard cover; that probably makes a difference, too, if you're a Lee fan. As someone who doesn't collect Lee's work, I prefer the Williams-inked page. I think it's stronger all around.

Since I often don't have the comic or TPB to consider, I usually list the page number that's shown on the original art. It's not always listed but I find it on the upper part of the page about 80% of the time.

Blevins was good, wasn't he? Did he quit the biz?

Clearly, you can because hundreds do. Some are so pleased with what they've drawn, they offer their work for sale. The true complaint is about the quality of the art. If David Finch decided to draw a naked MJ, he'd have a line of buyers wanting to discuss pricing. If Skottie Young had done the same, the drawing would be adorable and go for solid money. Considering his own proclivities, Bruce Timm is probably drawing a naked MJ at this very moment. If he is, I get first dibs.

Finally, one of my peeps. The three-digit OA purchase is my sweet spot. It stings when I spend four-figures for a piece of OA. It would sting a lot more if I ever told the wife I was going five figures for a piece of comic artwork. (If I told her six figures, she'd just laugh -- and rightfully so.) No Kirby for me, no Ditko, either. That's okay. There are other pieces I'd like. So who has all of the Terry Dodson/Mantra pages that must be out there somewhere? I've been looking without success. Dodson says he might have a few left, but he isn't in the mood to check. What about the romance pages by Gene Colan? I hear crickets when I ask about them. Or the hundreds of pages from I Luv Halloween by Giffen and Benjamin Roman? My wife and I loved that series, but we had to approach the artist for a commission to get an original. They have to be out there somewhere. Don't they?

Congratulations, Jay. A very striking sketch cover.

Chrissie Zullo - $375. The cover is so darned cute. David Hahn - $225 Marat Mychaels - $175 Aaron Lopresti - $350. An artist who never gets as much respect as he deserves. Dale Keown - $650 Thanks, Jay. Fun to play.

Crickets here, but I thought I'd blow some dust off this title and post an update. I like this comic. The floppy is still hitting the stands (not big numbers; according to co-creator Jim Zub, TPB sales keep it going), Manga Entertainment has optioned Wayward for t.v., and IDW is producing a Wayward co-op board game. All according to jimzub.com.

You pretty much nailed the NYX 3 cover, so I think I'll go with your call. For the group who believes BA 12 has to go for under $100k despite an open offer at that price...is there any reason an auction house can't start the bidding at $100,000?

That's a beautiful addition to your collection. With that level of detail, it's no wonder Adams doesn't do interior pages any longer.

PRIMARY ARTIST: Todd McFarlane SECONDARY ARTIST: Greg Capullo ... is pretty much what I'm still seeing when I look at the preview.

Made a run at your Eve daily, but it ran faster. Congratulations on the sale.

So no McFarlane on the cover at all? I wonder if the original buyer knew this.

Sold. Thanks!

I've been away from mainstream comics for so long, I didn't know there was a Lex Luthor II. Always special to get a first appearance. Which brings up (off-topic), if a character appears on a comic cover and in an interior page of that same comic, am I correct in assuming that the interior page is considered the first appearance?

One fine day I'll get a scanner and show off my collection. As you can see from the pic below, I'm lousy with a camera. There are maybe seventeen fans of Keith Giffen's Trencher, but I'm one of them. The series died before a half-dozen issues were published but I miss it. As far as I'm concerned, it's underappreciated art. The good thing about underappreciated art is that it usually sells for cheap. The bad thing about underappreciated art is, it usually sells for cheap and considering the hassles involved in selling & shipping artwork, the artist has no motivation to put his stuff up for sale. Maybe this is why there's so little Trencher art out there. When this page popped up on a dealer's site, I was delighted to buy it even if the dealer couldn't tell me how it had been used, or if it had ever seen publication. To this day, I don't know.

I don't collect the artwork, so I can't help you there. I've seen other people offer "over FMV" and I've often wondered how someone determines FMV when making an offer. If the average page is $$, does it bump to $$ + 1/2 $ if Yorick is there? Then, perhaps, $$$, if Yorick and 355 are both there? Then $$$$ if it's a splash or a first appearance or a significant event? Or is each page so unique that "FMV" can't truly be determined?

My grailstone....

Another vote for Lady Killer, second series. The artwork caught my attention, big time, but the story is fun, too. I also enjoy Jim Zub's Wayward. It's currently surviving off TPB sales, but deserves to be doing so much better.