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Estimate on Calvin & Hobbes sketches

Started by ComicsAndCode,

55 posts in this topic

CollectingFool

CollectingFool

Posted
Posted
Although it's possible that Ohio State may eventually sell off a few C&H strips, I don't expect them to completely liquidate the collection.

 

Same goes for the Schulz family. They get TONS of cash from royalties. Only reason to sell the art would be to make room and now that they have a museum, they can just ship the artwork there.

 

 

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Babin

Babin

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Posted

 

Charles Schulz's run on Peanuts is about 5 times longer than Watterson's run on C&H. The family/museum combined own a significant percentage. Mrs. Schulz isn't going to be around forever, who knows what the kids will do with the stuff. Actually, the stuff that is out there probably equals or exceeds Watterson's complete run on C&H. That doesn't keep Peanuts prices from getting crazy.

 

 

Crazy is the word. No way those prices hold up in the long run - except on the very early pieces and certain iconic strips. And yes, we buy art because we love it, but above a certain price point it has to be a reasonable investment.

 

I collect Doonesbury stuff, but I only own two original strips for this very reason. Even at the more reasonable prices that Trudeau sets for the pieces he releases (it used to be $450 daily, $1200 Sunday), far too much of it exists for me to feel comfortable using it as a way to preserve value for my kids. Some of his posters are much rarer -- and cheaper -- as are sketches of characters other than Zonker or Mike.

 

That said, if anyone has Trudeau pencils or painted work, let me know.

 

 

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Nexus

Nexus

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Posted

I wouldn't go anywhere near them, even if they looked authentic...and these don't. The one in the middle, especially, looks like a fake. There was an animation art gallery in LA that had similar ones a while back. Despite their willingness to provide a COA and guarantee them (30 days, I think), I decided to pass. The odds aren't good.

 

The surest way to know you're getting the Real McCoy is to get a strip. For me, given the costs, it means crossing it off my wantlist and moving on.

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Crowzilla

Crowzilla

Posted
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I'm certainly no expert like the others on this thread, but the image of Calvin in the first "sketch" is an exact copy of the first panel from the November 24, 1985 Sunday, so I'd go with a "no" on it.

And where there is one bad one...

 

(plus the second one just looks really funky with it's heavy lines, and both characters look off)

 

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pinupcartoonguy

pinupcartoonguy

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Methinks that Watterson almost never did these kind of pinup/posed type sketches. I'd be much more comfortable if it was personalized in some way that didn't mean anything except to the person who was on the receiving end.

 

In one of the Bloom County book, there's a great drawing portraying Breathed selling out to licensors.

 

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Smokinghawk

Smokinghawk

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When you say "all the Watterson sketches out there," it worries me that you're not familiar with the reality of those sketches. Watterson simply doesn't, and never has, distributed sketches to fans or for sale. 99.999% of all "Watterson sketches" out there are fakes. There are fewer than a dozen known authentic Watterson originals in the public, according to the director/curator of Ohio State's gallery. Most of them are in the hands of two people: Berkley Breathed and Lee Salem (head of Universal Syndicate and Watterson's friend). The rest are possessed by Watterson's parents, and about 3-5 other people, period.

 

His Sundays will not enter the marketplace. Watterson donated them to the gallery of Ohio State University, where they contractually remain in trust. They cannot be sold, ever; Watterson has made darned sure of that. If OSU ever sells them, or even leaks one, they are in HUGE legal trouble. Watterson's agent is a pitbull about going after violations.

 

Dare I say that this quest for Watterson Sketches will be fruitless, and at best result in the purchase of forgeries only.

 

A better option would be to hunt for authentic C&H products that are rare, such as press packets, publisher's sheets, syndicate posters, syndicate Christmas cards, etc. Those are rare but do exist and show up on eBay occasionally.

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Smokinghawk

Smokinghawk

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Sorry, those are fakes. Watterson's mother never held any such "private auction." In fact, she's one of Bill's "protectors" on privacy and marketing issues, and naming her as the source was a stupid move by the seller. She's perhaps the LEAST likely person, apart from Bill and his father too, who would supply this stuff.

 

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Crowzilla

Crowzilla

Posted
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And here is the wording of the release about loaning his art to OSU. Given the number of originals in this loan, that leaves precious few originals available to the marketplace.

 

Universal Press Syndicate: News Release

 

Kansas City, MO. (06/03/2005) Bill Watterson has placed more than 3,000 original Calvin & Hobbes comic strips from his personal collection on long term deposit at The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library.

 

According to the library’s curator, Lucy Shelton Caswell, “Bill Watterson is unusual among cartoonists since he kept virtually all of his original comic strips. The collection he has placed here is unusually complete. We are delighted to have this archive.”

 

The original Calvin & Hobbes comic strips are available at the Cartoon Research Library under its special collections use regulations. For further information, contact the library by email at cartoons@osu.edu or by telephone at (614) 292-0538. An illustration is available upon request.

 

Researchers interested in seeing this work are encouraged to make arrangements in advance.

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ComicsAndCode

ComicsAndCode

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Here are a few sketches that were presented to me. Think they are authentic? Is there any way to tell with a high level of certainty?

 

c_h_1.png

 

c_h_2.png

 

c_h_3.png

 

Fake. All of them.

 

Scott

 

I am very sure that these are fake, especially as the individual is reluctant to provide COA, but how can you be sure just by looking at them that these are not authentic? My apologies for not being so keen on Watterson's distinctives.

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Weird Paper

Weird Paper

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Posted
The line is too thick and deliberate on all three. the 2nd one is especially bad. zero expressiveness in that one too.

 

That is the perfect description of what is wrong with those. There is a naturalness that you see in legitimate sketches that can be impossible for other artists to fake. It's that comfort level between artist and subject that can't be faked (or at least not easily). You can see this in almost everything the Gallery on Baum sells. Even if you aren't familiar with the artist being represented, you get a sense that there is something not quite right about the piece.
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