Why is Jimmy Cheung so expensive?

[Elijya]

I'd love to get some Jim Cheung stuff, but why is it so damn expensive? I remember him from late X-Force like ten years ago, then he does Young Avengers and hasn't worked on a regular book since, just a couple of minis like mid level Civil War and World War Hulk tie ins. Young Avengers was popular, but not THAT popular, and only 12 issues. And while I love his art, he does use the same faces and isn't as detailed as a Jim Lee, David Finch, etc. , but for some reason his art can reach into their same price range. Anyone explain this?

[comix4fun]

I'd love to get some Jim Cheung stuff, but why is it so damn expensive? I remember him from late X-Force like ten years ago, then he does Young Avengers and hasn't worked on a regular book since, just a couple of minis like mid level Civil War and World War Hulk tie ins. Young Avengers was popular, but not THAT popular, and only 12 issues. And while I love his art, he does use the same faces and isn't as detailed as a Jim Lee, David Finch, etc. , but for some reason his art can reach into their same price range. Anyone explain this?

 

 

Personally, I think Cheung is a genius. I get what you are saying about some art prices but comparing one artist to another will just drive you nuts.

 

Some rules of thumb I have picked up over the years of collecting (your mileage may vary):

 

1) "more detail" doesn't mean always mean "better art" (for examples of how less can be way more see Alex Toth and Mike Mignola)

 

2) If "using the same faces" meant that art should be devalued then John Byrne artwork should be a dollar a page by now. Using a similar face in the hands of a capable artist isn't the worst thing in the world.

 

3) Storytelling is an underrated and important part of valuation (at least for me). Cheung tells his story sequentially better than most artists working today and between that and his drafting skills it makes every page just jump out at you.

 

4) Since every piece of art is unique it's almost impossible to say "X artist should cost more than Y artist". Most of the time I wind up buying the art I like and if it's overpriced in my mind then it's not worth owning to me.

 

5) In the case of Cheung, the fact that he has not done a ton of work has made for lessened supply. So little supply that it cannot meet demand. In fact Jim hangs onto many of his best pieces. Trust me, I have tried to get some of his best pieces out of him. That makes prices rise as well.

 

If you look at guys like Alex Ross, and Jim Lee and even Finch there is so much of their artwork on the stands in the last 4-5 years that fans basically have their choice of what they want. There is so much artwork out there for some guys, and at such high price levels, they can't possibly find enough fans to buy it all. Cheung is on the opposite side of this.

 

But Cheung''s covers are $1500-2000 while Finch is $3000-5000 and Lee is $5000-$25000 (for more modern stuff even higher for classic X-men covers), so he really hasn't hit the same price levels on a regular basis. For as good an artist as Cheung is I think he's under-appreciated, under-noticed, and under-valued. I still don't have my first piece by him but it's not for lack of trying.

 

Best,

Chris

[micmack]

I've seen Jimmy's panel pages on CAF (that he was selling himself) to be fairly reasonable in price. Now that he's with Spencer and we see some cover prices, they don't seem out of whack.

[Par2ch]

Jim = MODERN AWESOMENESS

[yellow954]

I got a commission from him at mini mega con and everytime I look at it i say "damn " and it was just a head piece .... I think he is well worth the money

[AKA Rick]

Most of the time... Supply + Demand = Market Value Rate/Price ...eventuality most items overpriced out of the gate end up collecting enough dust that prices adjust, especially if it's either directly from the artist or through a busness rep, as opposed to a collector who can afford to maintain pricing control.