X-Men2 Splash

[Galactus]

Looking at the splash, it looks real nice, and given the DD cover sale recently (which in my opinion is no where near as nice as this), can this not be a $100k+ piece ?

 

One has nothing to do with the other. You are trying to link the two using artisitic merit or aesthetics.

 

Ruben that is exactly what i was trying to do (mostly just to ilicit a responce). I understand exactly how popularity of a piece or of an artists increases the price of a piece, and that age or desirability of a comic does not equate to a higher price for its original art. Otherwise we would have the scenartio of all early art being more valuable that the later issues (much like it is with a comics (obviously with a few exceptions)).

 

I was (as you said) trying to weigh up the artists measure of the piece and its composition, which as far as early Kirby splash's go, (in my opinion) is very good. So as Hari said (and i concuur) this alone makes it a $100k piece to me, maybe a little bit more.

 

That all being said though, until someone stumps up the cash, this piece does not have enough comparative sales to make a decisive benchmark price for the piece.

 

[Bronty]

awesome viking post ruben

[batman_fan]

Can we say the same of the Ditko Spiderman/Molten Man splash? I love it myself, but at that price point, too rich for my blood.

[Galactus]

there are probably only a handful of people who have the interest in early X-Men at this level

 

Hey Hari,

 

Actually, your post supports my point to a degree. As you say, only a handful of people can play at this level. As you know this piece has been kicking around for a little while now. Anyone in the hobby now that can afford it has already made the decision to pass on it. I don't know about you but once I decide something isn't worth it to me, I don't suddenly get interested again unless the price makes it feel like a bargain.

 

So, what does that leave? Someone new looking for an impressive piece or someone trading/selling a bunch of stuff to finance it. If it does sell, I think there's a good chance it will be the latter.

 

There's nothing in this hobby like "uncovering" an important piece and showing it off to people. I think that collecting high is the reason a lot of people go over-the-top on some pieces. Once that initial high is gone, pieces are resold and you better hope you find someone to whom that experience is worth the amount you're asking.

 

Ruben i dont think its a case of everyone who has seen it has decided to pass on it. I know that from my perspective i was/am tied up with another deal that was arranged prior to this coming along. At the previous price of $150k it was beyond what i thought it was worth but at $100k, i will consider it seriously when my current piece is finished, albeit with a mixture of trade thrown in.

 

Also when you mention the high prices involved with new pieces, you are correct to a degree. This argument is used by people (like myself) as one of the many reasons why they should keep their collection off line and away from show, as the "freshness" factor does a lot to sell a piece. That being said , all the pieces on CAF are on show and there are a heck of a lot of those that i would have in a heartbeat if they were available, and the fact that they have lost their new appeal is irrelevant.

[Galactus]

Can we say the same of the Ditko Spiderman/Molten Man splash? I love it myself, but at that price point, too rich for my blood.

 

From my perspective, its a nice splash, but not a great one. At that price point i would prefer a lot of other pieces that whilst not Ditko, are great pieces by their respective artists.

[westform]

My opinion, and I have owned the xmen2 splash and currently own a Ditko asm splash, is that the Asm splash is a much, much, better deal/thing at the current price, and I could almost guarantee that the Asm splash will move while the xmen....? They are both quite nice, but Spidey v. Molten man by Ditko for 75k seems like an out the door price. If they were both priced at 75k, I'd have to think for a moment but still would jump at the Spidey. This is a case at least for me, where the later comic run of xmen just trumps the early stuff. I'm sure there are purist early guy types in droves out there but for me, the xmen started with Cockrum in the 70's.... and man was I a lucky kid to be there salivating for that first issue and blown away when it finally came out.

[clemso]

Love your analogy Ruben, very entertaining. Although splash pages were drawn designed to introduce a story. Its is a rare thing of beauty when said drawing appears almost poster like in composition. X-Men 2 splash does have that quality. I used to own the X-Men 5 splash which i think holds up favorably in a head to head for Kirby's best X-Men splash out of the11.

I also remember when Tony Christopher sold his collection and one of the pieces that i was looking to trade/buy was the complete book to X-Men 6. It has some fabulous interiors and was a fair price .. BUT!!! that splash of the X-Men out of costume having tea was a deal killer.

 

Is X-Men 2 splash worth $100K? In the current economic climate, probably not. If it was me. i would black hole it for a couple of years. Too many negative comments about said value of splash have hurt this piece. Its becoming tainted, but it still remains to me an exceptional piece of Kirby art. If I won the lottery, i would be on the phone to Mike. If anyone has a full size copy. i would love to at least pretend to own it (;-)

[CollectingFool]

I also remember when Tony Christopher sold his collection and one of the pieces that i was looking to trade/buy was the complete book to X-Men 6. It has some fabulous interiors and was a fair price .. BUT!!! that splash of the X-Men out of costume having tea was a deal killer.

 

I was never a Kirby art collector so I don't know Tony personally. I remember when he decided (or his wife decided) it was time to sell I got a phone call:

 

"Hey Ruben, this guy with tons of Kirby stuff is selling off a bunch of stuff. I'm going to go see him tonight. Do you have any money?"

 

"Yeah, I have some money available"

 

"How much can you have in hand today?"

 

"Today? Probably $5K or $6K in cash. Why?"

 

"Oh, well, I was going to bring you with me but only if you had at least $10K in cash. I'll let you know what I get."

 

And that was my missed opportunity to go see the grand Tony Christopher sell-off. I think the mentality was that with $10K we could get together and do a bulk deal but with $5K I would be picking and chosing and be more competition than help. That's the way things go in this hobby. $5K might not seem like much today but back then you could buy quite a bit of artwork with that kind of cash. When was that exactly, 1998? 1999?

 

I believe the X-Men 6 was bought by a dealer and broken up a month later. There was another deal involving an Action 1 that people talked about a bit. So much art came out the Kirby market actually stagnated for about a year. Once the bulk of the stuff got squirreled away prices started to stabilize but it was amazing seeing all that stuff come out at once.

 

[stinkininkin]

I also remember when Tony Christopher sold his collection and one of the pieces that i was looking to trade/buy was the complete book to X-Men 6. It has some fabulous interiors and was a fair price .. BUT!!! that splash of the X-Men out of costume having tea was a deal killer.

 

I was never a Kirby art collector so I don't know Tony personally. I remember when he decided (or his wife decided) it was time to sell I got a phone call:

 

"Hey Ruben, this guy with tons of Kirby stuff is selling off a bunch of stuff. I'm going to go see him tonight. Do you have any money?"

 

"Yeah, I have some money available"

 

"How much can you have in hand today?"

 

"Today? Probably $5K or $6K in cash. Why?"

 

"Oh, well, I was going to bring you with me but only if you had at least $10K in cash. I'll let you know what I get."

 

And that was my missed opportunity to go see the grand Tony Christopher sell-off. I think the mentality was that with $10K we could get together and do a bulk deal but with $5K I would be picking and chosing and be more competition than help. That's the way things go in this hobby. $5K might not seem like much today but back then you could buy quite a bit of artwork with that kind of cash. When was that exactly, 1998? 1999?

 

I believe the X-Men 6 was bought by a dealer and broken up a month later. There was another deal involving an Action 1 that people talked about a bit. So much art came out the Kirby market actually stagnated for about a year. Once the bulk of the stuff got squirreled away prices started to stabilize but it was amazing seeing all that stuff come out at once.

 

What a great story Ruben! So who was on the other end of the phone?

 

Scott Williams

[CollectingFool]

What a great story Ruben! So who was on the other end of the phone?

 

The names have been withheld to protect the guilty.

[westform]

By the way, just checked Burkey's site and no longer see the ASM splash......

[batman_fan]

By the way, just checked Burkey's site and no longer see the ASM splash......

 

crud, just when I found a buyer for my kidney and left nut.

[bocaratondefense]

Do you know whether the Ditko splash sold for the $75000 asking price or whether the consignor pulled it? That splash is another piece that may have been hurt by overexposure.

[westform]

I don't know if it sold or not. But I wouldn't be suprised if it sold at that price. Like I said before, it seemed like a real sale price to me. And, I think he had said those prices were good for a week, so not sure why the consignor would pull it early..., (in fact, not sure it was on consignment)

[bocaratondefense]

I'm not sure whether it was on consignment either, but the splash was offered in the past twelve months at SDCC, CLink, Wonder Con, Anthony Snyder, Romitaman, etc. So I assumed it was consigned to various dealers rather than actually change hands so many time. Additionally Mike usually keeps sold pages on his website marked as "sold" or as "on hold", so having it disappear altogether from the website is unusual.

 

 

[westform]

I've seen pieces especially high end pieces disappear from Mike's website. Could be another dealer or dealer/collector who wants it to go away for awhile before reselling, or just a collector who thinks it's been 'out there' too much and wants it taken down. Anyway, Mike and Spidey go hand in hand so it's not a stretch that he now owns it... (or owned it). I think the splash is really nice and would put it up there in grail status for most folks, but it's all real money so who knows...

[bocaratondefense]

NEW SALE PRICE:

 

http://www.romitaman.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=6002&Details=1&From=Room

 

Yours now for only $145,000...

 

 

NEW NEW SALE PRICE:

 

http://www.romitaman.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=6002&Details=1&From=Room

 

Yours now for only $110,000...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It looks like the X-Men splash is now going to be auctioned by Comic Connect.

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=693270&GSub=104819

 

 

Hopefully there will be no reserve, so we can finally see what the thing is really worth.

 

 

 

 

[clemso]

"The splash to the first issue is rumored to have been sold for $250,000.00 several years ago, in our opinion, this piece is a far superior full splash page of the team."

 

Interesting rumor, anyone know more to this, would be a record sale for Kirby if true.

[bocaratondefense]

Is the X-men #1 splash also inked by Paul Reinman?

 

 

 

 

[Nexus]

"The splash to the first issue is rumored to have been sold for $250,000.00 several years ago, in our opinion, this piece is a far superior full splash page of the team."

 

Interesting rumor, anyone know more to this, would be a record sale for Kirby if true.

 

Maybe Metropolis could get it appraised on HOLLYWOOD TREASURES. That would be awesome entertainment.