Latverian Tourism Board

The description only says “hand drawn,” but without specifics. It’s poorly/cleverly written, too, in order to create subject verb confusion so people can’t really say it’s signed by Jack Kirby, since they threw Cap in there first. Following the language, it was signed by Captain America, and then they outed his secret identity as Jack Kirby! Oh noes!!!! You can also read it as claiming nothing definitively. Why is eBay letting this go? Odd. I know people here have logged complaints.

Tradd day! Man, seeing his art up close, you GET it. CAF link

Is creating a “hinge” something a collector could (should?) do on their own? Carefully? I have an EC horror page where a panel was drawn twice, and taken off sometime in the past. I wanted to attach it to be able to see both easily (and keep the pieces together, I currently have it on the next portfolio page).

You know, Bill might be right. I think the inking is different, and I missed it with the image similarities. Good call, Bill.

I found one on one of my collectibles It’s a lunchbox. The others look familiar, too. I’d bet they are on other 80s-90s Marvel Super Heroes line collectibles. I don’t have a thermos in this one, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the other top Spidey image was on the thermos. I’d also add it’s a pretty collectible toy line, so hold onto that art, buddy.

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That Kong is stupendous

That guy is pretty jazzed about original “Faberge” Brut. Is it sad that I watched? (I know it’s sad)

I’ve actually come to the conclusion that the market will be healthy going forward. I’ve spent the last year in a balancing process on my overall collection (comics, toys, and art, too), trying to look into that crystal ball to guide my moves. It’s not a finished conclusion yet, but I think I’ve drawn some market parallels. Excuse me if this isn’t exactly the discussion, but I feel it’s where the discussion will eventually go. I am not going to talk about what I’m excising and selling, because that would just confuse the message, and start a debate on what to move away from. First, the OA market. It’s finally here. What do I mean? I mean, it’s followed a similar value trajectory as the other, older collectible markets, and is finally maturing. My grandpa used to tell my dad he was nuts to spend $5 on a comic, now the market values are fully appreciated and realized from a mature market. The prices have moved to create a striated market, with value points from $1 to $1,000,000. People can buy in their range, get what they want, and gripe about what’s “too expensive,” as they do. A fully realized market with price points for all collectors established over decades of sales and corrections. Not so long ago, the most expensive art and cheaper art were close to each other in price. 30 years ago, you had $10 dollar pages and $5000 Kirby splashes (A decade or two before that, and Art was still being thrown out). That was a growing, immature market, imo. Now, OA has the same market price stratification that you find in comics; a robust, mature market. I’ve been hearing about the collapse of “enter collectible type here” market for decades because “enter price-based and supply-based argument here.” We all talk, and the message spreads. The major difference between the markets, is that OA is a one-of-a-kind art market, and comics/toys is only scarcity/demand based. That is why they are starting to look so different. So, I think we are in the end of the Wild West purchasing period, with lots of material and prices shooting up to properly reflect the quality art on the market, both new and old. IMO, we are 5-15 years away from a new market paradigm with mostly new art on the market, and dealers or collectors having to entice out a lot, or most, of the expensive A older stuff. We’re almost there now, it seems. New stuff will realize it’s market price more quickly, like Tradd or Sean Murphy. It’s not a death-knell, imo, but a sign of mature stabilization. As for the new collectors, look at your own trajectory, if you’re reading this and have lots of 5 figure or 6 figure value art. You learn, you age into bigger purchase ranges (there is a hint of that purchase maturation process in the posts above), and your “eye” changes. As Grape Ape pointed out above, he entered the art market, then moved to his segment. We all do, and now there are segments for us all. I did not see that as I started years ago only looking for Secret Wars or a Kirby/Byrne. If a comic book can be worth $1 million, why not the original art that comic book is made from? It’s uncomfortable, and changing, but I see us all adjusting. Stuff is getting snapped up like crazy, and creating the value we all need, over time, to keep growing our collections. Obviously, I could be 100% wrong, but I don’t see the heat death of our collecting universe on the immediate horizon, for the overall market. I would start balancing, tho.

That Iceman piece is awesome! The Iceman figure is one of the rarest and most expensive from the SW line. Your art here is a lot cooler, and more sought after, than you think.

I have some Zeck Secret Wars pages. Big fan of his work. Two sequential pages, and the second was inked by him, too. Sad Galactus is about to eat his home. Crooked-headed Ultron—courtesy of the Hulk—as he is defeated by the Wasp. Guest appearance by Art Adams.

Sabra! Somber Hulk! CAF link! Exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!

Fair enough. I’ll serve up something with a little higher difficulty level next time.

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Thanks, Rick. As always, I appreciate the advice. I won’t be concerned for storage to this point, then, and start upgrading the protection for my big pieces. I guess there’s no point in wearing 3/4 of a condom.

I have mine in Itoyas, but I’ve never considered mylar, too. Aren’t Itoyas acid free and archival? Is it necessary to put them in both? I keep them in my dark, cool collectible room, FYI.

If your wallet stays hard for more than four hours, see your art dealer.

Of course. Duh. I was leaving Spectacular out of the acronym, and getting confused.

Stupid question that my dumb brain can’t seem to suss out. What is PPTSS by Sal Buscema?

It was hard to pick 5, but I think I have my submissions. I submitted 3 in the panel page category, ‘cause I’m a panel page kind of guy, along with a cover and a commission. So, without further ado: Fantastic Four #16 cover (2020) Nick Bradshaw Thing + Monsters = Clobberin’ Time! Jae Lee Wolverine vs Batman Commission Wow...That really escalated fast! Avengers #269 pg14 (1986) John Buscema Double knuckle sandwich, order up! :ding: Secret Wars #9 pg23 (1985) Mike Zeck Seems extreme. Have you considered a protein shake instead? Fantastic Four #250 pg20 (1983) John Byrne Ever wonder what it sounds like when the Thing chucks Colossus through a wall?

I think the main difference over the last 20 years has been the price increase! While I do now purchase in a couple of the tiers you’ve set, I’d imagine a lot of posters here do not, and don’t have input on these tiers. I understand it would get too broad in scope at the lower levels to make that list, but I would guess that’s where the majority of collecting happens for the casual readers, lurkers and forum members, hence the lack of input from them. Of course, I’m newish here, so could be way off. For my part—not that anyone should care—I only commented on the one aspect I felt like I was knowledgeable enough to add anything, and my question was quickly addressed. I am a jack-of-all-trades collector that has transitioned into an OA collector over the last 4-5 years, and am learning the ropes, so to speak. I bought secret wars pages, but that was mostly the extent. I prefer to let the knowledgeable people inform, and soak up their info, rather than muck up the process with input that has to be “fixed.” That could be the thought process for some others, too. Thank you to all of you doing this, though. It’s very helpful to see prices and the thinking behind the prices, and is very much appreciated.

This is a great idea for a live panel. I still regret not buying that Kirby Days of the Mob page you were selling earlier in the year with that spoke-style layout. It was beautiful Kirby art, and only around 2-3K. Some of these romance pages I’ve seen around are really opening my eyes, too.

Just a few week bump. 😁

PUBLISHED Infinity Entity #4 pg11 (2016) by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer