babsrocks31

I know what you mean. He had sustained runs on a lot of well regarded second tier titles, like Micronauts and Birds Of Prey and many more. But never had a prolonged run on the hot A-list book. He was certainly capable though. I think it was just timing for him.

There is info on Butch's instagram. I was lucky enough to get on the list for this Oracle piece. Butch was a huge part of Birds of Prey. Your commission will likely also come with fantastic tales of working in the industry, and the turnaround time (for me) was less than two Months.

I don't think there is any one way to collect. Many people here have posted the rules they follow, some governed by their heads and some their hearts. I try to pick and choose things that work for me from the bounty of examples already posted.

Or even the worse, dealers that leave up pages without marking them sold OR unsold.

Latest version with most of the writing handled by Tynion and Ram V. Most of the art by Alvaro Martinez and Amancay Nahuelpan. These pages are inks by Raul Fernandez over Alvaro Martinez Blueline pencils. Just spreading some love about my favorite recent big two title. Best thing DC has done in years.

Has Tannarak appeared in anything recently?

Some of my faves from Birds of Prey. Babs and Dinah out on the town, and Babs having a quiet moment to herself on vacation. Plus, a double page splash of Babs defending herself despite her wheel chair. All by very underrated artist Casey Jones. Barbara Gordon: Are you kidding? I was a demon on the dance floor! I've closed every club in Gotham!

I agree that justadude's posts are unnecessarily wordy, but they have made decent points. And you may want to accept that most responders so far have pointed out modern art is far from all the same. The 80's can be your favorite and they were the quite versatile, but most posters have agreed: modern art is no more 'samey' that most decades. You aren't going to convince us all. You have your taste and it's fine. No one is going to attack your taste. No need to die on a hill testing down modern artists.

Biggest point you hit on for me is this: It's very interesting that splashes and covers are the "biggest" pieces in a medium so reliant on storytelling via panels, gutters, eye movement, layouts etc. I love a good cover or splash, but my favorite pages tend to be interiors actually. That one page in a issue that has some great character moments, or where every panel is a home run...

Zatanna lamenting her spell techniques by Esteban Mareto.

You make a valid point that is 100% accurate, but I must say I think Isherwood is underrated haha.

Weighing in as someone who could likely never afford the Kirby market but understands the distinctions between those calling themselves dealers and collectors. Collectors are generally people looking to collect what they "want". If you and another collector have pieces each of you want, you are likely to make a fair swap provided the value of the pieces isn't ridiculously one sided. Dealers, however, are generally in it for the money. So as many others have stated, expecting an equal swap with them is probably not realistic. You will always have to offer more. This info applies to lots of hobbies, not just ours.

She sure did. That might be my favorite piece of hers!

C'mon have some funnnnnnn!!! You could still keep your biggest pieces confidential!

I have a feeling he doesn't understand. Or, is just saying that because they don't want to do this for me (but I feel that is less likely and don't want to imply that). I'm sure the big two do tell people this as a failsafe, but then actively ignore it. Anyway, the fellow is Pavel and I got the email from Otto's website. Please let me know if anything comes of it on your end.

Update: I contacted Otto's agent via his website and asked about art sales or commissions, and they said he is not permitted to sell any art of DC characters as he is under contract with their corporation and the characters are copyrighted by DC.

In the 80's browsing the racks was essentially the only way to consume comics. Now, there are sooooo many titles from sooooo many publishers. Sure, if you just look at the main rack in a comic shop you might see a lot of the same, but if you dig deeper (and you won't really have to dig), you can find different stuff. If you want to say the 80s was one of the most versatile decades for art go for it, but that doesn't mean all modern art is the same. And most decades have had common characteristics amongst lots of the art. Maybe the 80s was different, but then that is the outlier, not modern art. Heck, just thinking for ten seconds: Mike Perkins, Bruno Redondo, Kyle Hotz, Paul Pelletier, Alvaro Martinez, Jorge Jimenez, Nathan Gooden, Joshua Cassara, Tim Seeley, Elsa Charretier, Otto Scmidt, Lucas Werneck, Casey Jones, Joshua Williamson, Dan Brereton, Fernando Blanco, Matteo Scalera, Sean Murphy, Amancay Nahuelpan... are all artists with at least semi distinct styles, some of which borrow a lot from the master's and some less. And there are tons more waaay more unique. There's a ton of modern art out there so perhaps you are looking in the same spot and seeing the same stuff. You don't have to like modern art. It's probably not a coincidence that you don't mind Bilquis, who has a bit of a throwback style. Maybe that's more your thing. That's okay. I think this thread is a bit unfair to the hardworking artists of today, though. Edit: I agree on corporate art (though bland is a matter of taste). But comics are a huge medium now. Of course lots of art looks similar, but lots also looks unique.

As another poster said, the "primary" style of every decade is similar. This has been the case for every decade since... Well ... Comics became a thing. There is a plethora of good to great artists out there. Some are big names, many fly under the radar. It's certainly up to taste to determine if you prefer the current "style" or more alternative approaches, or just prefer a style from the past... but don't sell modern artists short! Edit: Just one example of a fantastic modern artist is Alvaro Martinez. And there plenty more of differing styles. Edit again: I'm not sure what the OP means by "video game" inspired art, as games themselves have lots of different art directions. If they mean a lot of TNA... Well, that was the case in the 90s much worse than now. If they mean sort of animeish, that is a small fraction of video game style...

Has anyone had luck getting original art from Otto Schmidt of any kind? He was the artist on DC versus Vampires, and has done fun work for other titles over the years. Most of his comic work is digital, but he does do some pencil sketches and some pencil work too. He has no website or dealer that I can find. I've never seen his pages for sale. He has a strong social media presence. A few years ago I sent him a nice twitter DM asking if he would do a commission based on his work from DC versus Vampires or sell me some art from the series. He responded that yes he would, but then when I followed up about it, he told me to wait until he drew the art on his own and I could just buy it off him. Another poster warned me that he never would and that it was pointless trying to get commissions from him. Just seems odd that he won't sell his sketches or monoprints either. Of course, it's his art and his choice, but also never says "I don't sell my art". He just kinda vaguely says he will and then never does... Anyone have any luck with Otto? He is a fun artist who seems like a nice person. It's a shame.

Right, but promotion to whome? To us, the art buying public consumers, or are many reps actually working with publishers on behalf of artists? That's what I wonder. Like, if DC wants so and so to draw a 6 issue mini series on man bat are they going through so and so's rep to arrange that? Or, is the artist arranging it and the rep is helping the artist sell the pages associated with the series and handle related commission requests.

I was uneducated in the law aspects, and appreciate that insight. Thank you. This is a point of interest to me. That is, what roles "reps" actually play in the comic art field. I wonder to what extent they set prices or dictate much of anything aside from selling pages and arranging commissions.

I realize I am resurrecting a years old thread, but I often enjoy and respect your insights and I'm curious... Do we know if reps really do act as agents? Like, are they negotiating artists salaries for their work on books, submitting samples to publishers, and lobbying for their artists to get runs on major titles all the while negotiating fees with the big two and arranging con appearances? Because I think of agents for actors and athletes as quite different than reps for comic artists, but perhaps I'm way off and they are actually similar. Or are they more so handling the artists interactions and jobs with the public? I'm genuinely curious how much you and other experienced collectors know about what reps actually do for their artists. Have a good one!

Nailed it.

I recently reached out to Matt Haley via Instagram to get some commissions that turned out great. He also takes requests via his website. For someone with pretty extensive history in comics, his rates were beyond reasonable and his turnaround times were even greater. I know Matt mostly works in film now, but I recently reread his Batman: Batgirl One Shot and his art was awesome. Here are examples of his work for me.

Thank you for the info! I appreciate it.