So...

[Wally's Comics]

How easy is it replicate OA???

 

 

Meaning, when you buy a piece of OA, how do you know for

sure that it is 100% legit???

 

 

 

 

 

[Mighty Hal]

It helps if you can trust the guy selling you the piece.

 

I'm pretty sure that my Aaron Lopresti/Red Sonja covers were legit because Lopresti sold 'em to me. I prefer to buy from the artist, when possible, but so many of the artists now use representatives that it's become increasingly difficult to do that.

 

But the artist's rep is a legitimate source, too. Since Fanfare-se reps JG Jones, I'm hoping that the cover they sold me (thanks, Tom!). There are some great dealers for OA and I trust most of them.

 

On eBay, it's more of a challenge. But artists, inkers, and "close friends of the artist" sell on there, too. Marat Michaels -- an artist himself and a close friend of Rob Liefeld -- sells his work and Liefeld's work there, Ben Dunn sells his work there, David Lapham's associate sells his work there. Probably a hundred others, too.

 

Forgeries still seem rare but they're out there. One of the best resources is this board. There are some Giant Brains among this group and they usually know when something doesn't pass the sniff test.

[Royd]

I'm a new member of this board but I'm guessing that I'm known to at least a few here and I've been a member of Comicart-L since it's inception. As a result, when I recently started selling art on behalf of comic artist Colin Wilson (2000AD, Blueberry, Point Blank, Battler Britton, Star Wars etc.), I was able to reassure prospective buyers/collectors that they could check my reputation at Comicart-L and also with the artist directly (Colin has a website where he can be contacted and he also posted my details as his art rep).

 

Your query is a legitimate one because on a number of occasions, members of the Adam Hughes Yahoo group (which I moderate) have raised concerns regarding the validity of certain pieces on ebay which Adam and/or his partner, Allison have confirmed as fakes. Thus, as suggested above, if you have any concerns, post here or find out if the artist posts to a group or forum/board and check with him/her Best,

 

Royd

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=111

[wurstisart]

It is a scary thought....honestly.

[Satya-migration]

With sketches, it's very hard to tell whether something is legit or not, especially with artists like Adam Hughes, Charles Schultz or Bill Watterson, whose basic sketches sell for a lot. Apparently the European art market has a lot of tentative forgeries by Franquin, for instance, whose basic Spirou and Gaston sketches go 300 EU and above.

 

With pages and covers, I would think that the possibility of a forgery goes down quite a bit. For one, the effort required to forge a "key" page, one that will be put up for sale publicly ( for maximum returns) is immense - the comic art collecting community is merciless about details. Anybody can run a detailed comparison because the original comic is out there, and the chances of a single error in line thickness giving the forgery away is immense. The bigger risk lies in the fact that one does not know where most pages are. Try forging a page that is hidden away in someone's collection, the person blows the whistle and there goes all the effort you've put in.

 

 

[Eric Seffinga]

People are talking about forgeries like it's an easy task.

 

To the untrained eye it may well be, but anyone that's seen the real deal in their life can usually spot enough red flags to sound off the warning bells.

 

Think of it in handwriting terms.

If you spent enough time working at it, you might get competent at faking my wife's handwriting. You might could pass it off at a bank or elsewhere as hers. If you showed it to me, I would very likely notice it was not right. When I sign something, I don't think about it, I just do it. If I try to replicate someone else's absent minded gesture, it fails miserably. It may look like it at first blush, but you can see that the spontaneity is wrong. It looks forced and coerced into existence.

 

This is usually the first tell-tale of the forger. Then there are materials. In densities, brush marks, pencil, paper etc. Most artists favor certain tools. Older art is harder to fake because many of the papers, pencils and such have gone the way of the dodo.

 

The list goes on and on. The more familiar you are with an artists output, originals and work, the more comfortable you will be. For the novice? Get educated before you buy. If you can buy published pieces or direct from the artist, it's your best bet.

 

-e.

[mrpunch0]

With sketches, it's very hard to tell whether something is legit or not, especially with artists like Adam Hughes, Charles Schultz or Bill Watterson, whose basic sketches sell for a lot.

 

Actually ... those three artists are examples of ones that are easier to catch forgeries of. They have enough of a following that when a bad one hits the market, the fans spot the forgery pretty quickly.

 

General rules:

 

AH - if you have a question about the authenticity of an AH sketch, ask at the Yahoo group. Also, scan CAF to see if you find the sketch. Ask the owner if it is for sale. Forgers like to rip off scans from CAF and trace them.

 

Schultz - Not my area of expertise at all - but the forgeries I have seen all look terrible. It's really hard to duplicate his "shaky" line and make it look natural.

 

Watterson - If it's up on eBay, it's a fake.

[Royd]

As the owner/moderator of the Hughes-Fans Yahoo group for nearly 10 years, I can echo the comment that it's now far more difficult to pass off a fake AH! piece thanks to input from Adam and Allison! Best,

 

Royd

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=111

 

 

With sketches, it's very hard to tell whether something is legit or not, especially with artists like Adam Hughes, Charles Schultz or Bill Watterson, whose basic sketches sell for a lot.

 

Actually ... those three artists are examples of ones that are easier to catch forgeries of. They have enough of a following that when a bad one hits the market, the fans spot the forgery pretty quickly.

 

General rules:

 

AH - if you have a question about the authenticity of an AH sketch, ask at the Yahoo group. Also, scan CAF to see if you find the sketch. Ask the owner if it is for sale. Forgers like to rip off scans from CAF and trace them.

 

Schultz - Not my area of expertise at all - but the forgeries I have seen all look terrible. It's really hard to duplicate his "shaky" line and make it look natural.

 

Watterson - If it's up on eBay, it's a fake.

[Mephisto]

I found it interesting that a cover I've had since 2007 was offered on Heritage in 2008. http://comics.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=830&Lot_No=93494&src=pr#Photo

So I thought myself, OH mess! But when I pulled out the actual published TPB and compared it to my art versus the one on Heritage I realized mine matched the published TPB cover while the Heritage one was inconsistent in many places and must have been a strong prelim. Would be nice for a perspective buyer to be told that.

[comix4fun]

I found it interesting that a cover I've had since 2007 was offered on Heritage in 2008. http://comics.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=830&Lot_No=93494&src=pr#Photo

So I thought myself, OH mess! But when I pulled out the actual published TPB and compared it to my art versus the one on Heritage I realized mine matched the published TPB cover while the Heritage one was inconsistent in many places and must have been a strong prelim. Would be nice for a perspective buyer to be told that.

 

 

I remember that piece...didn't it get pulled from the auction?

Somewhere along the line I have a recollection of that happening.

 

C

[Mephisto]

I was kind of wondering if it got pulled since it was marked as Not Sold.