Adam Hughes/Alex Toth/Jose Luis Salinas

[CollectingFool]

Hey folks,

 

I haven't been on here in a while so I thought I'd drop in and see what's going on. I just updated my CAF and website with pieces from three artists I've been concentrating on for some time. If interested, you can see my CAF here:

 

http://cafurl.com?i=1188

 

And my website is with my signature.

 

BTW, I figure I'll ask.. I know most people collect comic book art. What's the general feeling on strip art? I'm not just talking about the prices for the expensive stuff like Schulz, I mean what do you all think about the quality of the artwork? The availability? The collectibility (if that's even a word)? I ask because I see my tastes slanting away from comics and more towards strips and I'm wondering if I'm the only one. I view this as mainly a comic book art group so I'm curious what the opinion here will be. How many are even aware of what's out there?

 

 

[*paull*]

Ruben,

 

That is some awesome Toth and Raboy work. Wow....

[adamstrange]

I view this as mainly a comic book art group so I'm curious what the opinion here will be. How many are even aware of what's out there?

 

I have several pieces even though I'm primarily a comic collector. I definitely enjoyed looking at what you've put on display in your CAF!!!!

[NelsonAI]

 

I've picked up a few pieces of comic strip art along the way. Nostalgia usually comes into play as it may be from a strip I read as a kid (i.e., Blondie).

 

Like comic books, the quality and prices of the comic strip art can vary widely. There are clearly expensive pieces out there by some great names (Herriman, Foster, Raymond, Schultz, etc.). However, there are also a lot of "unknown" or "forgotten" strips in the marketplace but that makes them affordable.

 

Cheers!

N

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NightGallery1]

Hey folks,

 

I haven't been on here in a while so I thought I'd drop in and see what's going on. I just updated my CAF and website with pieces from three artists I've been concentrating on for some time. If interested, you can see my CAF here:

 

http://cafurl.com?i=1188

 

And my website is with my signature.

 

BTW, I figure I'll ask.. I know most people collect comic book art. What's the general feeling on strip art? I'm not just talking about the prices for the expensive stuff like Schulz, I mean what do you all think about the quality of the artwork? The availability? The collectibility (if that's even a word)? I ask because I see my tastes slanting away from comics and more towards strips and I'm wondering if I'm the only one. I view this as mainly a comic book art group so I'm curious what the opinion here will be. How many are even aware of what's out there?

 

 

I picked up an E.C. Segar Popeye daily from 9-5-32 about 4 or 5 years ago. The moment I saw it I knew I had to have it. It reminds me of my favorite nautical ghost story "The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford. I've also got a Bushmiller Nancy dated 9-5-42. Both can be seen in the book 'The Comics Before 1945' by Brian Walker. The only other strips I own are some Dark Shadows dailies. Loved that show back in the '60s.

 

I don't limit myself to comic art. My taste is eclectic, but I know what I like when I see it.

 

 

[docdave37]

HI Ruben! Quite honestly, I think strip art is a bit more sophisticated than comic art (although I like and collect both). I recall Al Williamson relating the pecking order of artists: comic artists at the bottom, followed by strip art, illustration art, then fine art.

 

Great selection of Salinas dailies in your gallery. Now there is an artist who is still undervalued and underappreciated. I just bought a GREAT example that I will post on my blog site.

 

Turning to strip art after years of comic art collecting seems to follow the normal arc of collecting life.

 

Best!

 

DAVE

 

PS: Did you see that Jack Gilbert bought that sensational KRAZY KAT out of ILLUSTRATION HOUSE for 36.8K---a record price for b/w/ Kat.

 

 

[jjonahjameson1]

Turning to strip art after years of comic art collecting seems to follow the normal arc of collecting life.

 

I think the good doctor hit the nail on the head with that statement and I couldn't agree more with him. As we age/mature/become more sophisticated in our collecting pursuits, I think you will find more of us leaning towards strip art.

 

Personally, I love your Salinas stuff and I also *LOVE* your Williamson X-9's.

 

Props to you, Ruben, you've got good taste!

[delekkerste]

BTW, I figure I'll ask.. I know most people collect comic book art. What's the general feeling on strip art? I'm not just talking about the prices for the expensive stuff like Schulz, I mean what do you all think about the quality of the artwork? The availability? The collectibility (if that's even a word)?

 

While there is certainly a lot of drop-dead gorgeous strip art out there, particularly from the 1930s-1950s, for me these are characters and storylines that I don't have any particular nostalgic connection to. Even though I have ended up collecting a fair bit of comic book artwork from before I became a serious comic fan/reader/collector in 1983, the creators and/or characters depicted have largely remained in the spotlight up to the present day in both comics and other media.

 

Even though the Tarzans and Flash Gordons of the world still have a lot of name recognition, there hasn't been a lot done with those characters in recent memory. That is even more true if you look at, say, Krazy Kat, who I bet has almost zero name recall outside of the comic book community (heck, even within the general comic collecting community, I'm sure most wouldn't know what the heck a Krazy Kat was). I suppose if I were to collect strip art, it would be of strips that I have enjoyed from my teenage years through my adult life (e.g., Bloom County, Calvin & Hobbes, Dilbert, etc.) and, of the three I just mentioned, I think only the BC stuff is on the market at all.

 

I suspect a lot of people are turned off by the limited supply/market for strip art. Like you alluded to in another post, more people in this hobby are wholly or partially motivated by financial reasons than will admit it, and not being able to profit from strip art as readily as comic book art has probably played a factor in the relative lack of popularity of strips. If you were to see an increase in prices, trading activity and overall popularity of strips, I'd bet you see a whole lotta people suddenly becoming strip "collectors".

[comicartcom]

Hi Ruben.. I hope all is well by you!

 

comic art or strip art.. well as someone else mentioned previously.. most people do collect solely based on "nostalgiac rememberance", so for younger folks... older strips to which they have no nostalgiac recollection are a non-starter for them

 

However there are also people (like me) who collect not just from a nostalgiac perspective, but from a historical perspective as well.

 

The side fact that I was familiar with old Flash Gordon strips and Krazy Kat strips from rumaging around in old stuff as a kid in NYC in the 1960s was an added benefit to understanding the material.

 

Toth and Salinas are two of the very best artists of their respective fields and would be welcome in most collections.. but if you never read any of that stuff, and you prefer artists like Rob Leifield, Jim Lee & Todd MacFarlane - you probably can't get a kick out of old comic strips because the underlying philosophy of the art is not the same and by itself would be a turnoff to you

 

You as a more sophisticated collector Ruben should certainly have Raymonds and Fosters in your collection... If you don't by now.. I'm kinda surprised.

 

Rich=========

[comicartcom]

oh.. to the member looking for Calvin & Hobbs, Bloom County & Dilbert art.. that material is definitely available on the secondary market. I may even have a Dilbert.

Let me check!

[Lambo]

oh.. to the member looking for Calvin & Hobbs, Bloom County & Dilbert art.. that material is definitely available on the secondary market. I may even have a Dilbert.

Let me check!

 

Uh...there are Calvin and Hobbes available on the secondary market???

[comicartcom]

I've seen a few over the years..

[CollectingFool]

... should certainly have Raymonds and Fosters in your collection... If you don't by now.. I'm kinda surprised.

 

Hey Richie, I didn't know you were on this forum..

 

Yes, of course I have Raymonds and Fosters. I'm limited by price and availability of course but I have examples I'm happy with. Frazetta too. Still need the right opportunity/timing to align to get a nice Herriman and McCay but they are on the list as must haves (eventually!).

 

Also looking more and more at classic illustration art. It's what I got into as a kid before I even knew comic book art was available. I started collecting comic book art because the illustrations I wanted were way over my range. Now with the way comic art has blown up, some of that illustration art seems downright reasonable.

 

 

[comicartcom]

yes I am Ruben, I just don't usually have very much time to post or even stop by.

 

and what I thought was a Dilbert panel I discovered was something else entirely once I came down to my warehouse to get some work done on movie posters

[Wonderworldcomic]

Ruben,

 

The market has changed enough that the best strip art is a bargin compared to years ago.

 

Back then, I could afford only so-so examples of the classic strip artists. A Nemo or Buck Rodgers Sunday would take more then my year's comic art budget.

So I gave up and sold off my 1950 Foster Sunday (without the Prince) and an okay 1939 Jungle Jim Sunday (which went for a great Ditko Spidey #9 page) to help me buy more, better quality comic book artwork of 1960s-1980s.

 

In the last year however, I have gone back to strip artwork... By parting with one 1970s Kirby cover, I was able to win an early 1930s Popeye Sunday and a Frazetta Sunday.

 

It even looks like the best comic book art will be going for multiples of the best strip artwork as the market moves forward.

 

Best,

Rich

[comicartcom]

Rich

 

you're correct in alot of ways.. To me, the whole comic book art market for 1960s up is entirely out of whack. However we have to keep in mind the generational issues here.

 

For instance, the old collectors of the 1960s thought what we were paying in the late 80s was nuts, so I can be subjective when I look at those facts

 

some things you need to pay attention in comic strip art:

 

the artists like Foster, Raymond, & Hogarth (plus others) will always be collected and therefore should at least maintain a value, however many lesser known artists & strips - no matter how good - will lose value against real infationary values

 

If I were just starting now and I wanted strip art, I would go for the top artists if I was going to be money consious.

 

If however I was only concerned with putting a collection that I could care less if it had any investment value.. I would fire away & buy whatever made me feel good

[Wonderworldcomic]

Buying what you like is always the best way to go.

 

But comparing values does help you decide which to choose among what you like.

 

Mike B. liked both Ditko and Romita Spidey art, but he focused on Romita because at that time he could have 5 or 10 times more Romita pages instead of one Ditko.

 

Later on though, the market place agreed with Mike and valued the Romita pages closer to the Ditko spidey art.

 

Best,

Rich