Jerry Weist's Comic Art Price Guide 3rd Edition (2011)

[Mmehdy]

According to the guys at the booth, I think they said late November...I dont know if that is when it is being printed or released, but it looked real good to me

[Terry Doyle]

I bought the second edition. When that saw print it was immediately obsolete as a price guide.

 

I expect the same with the new edition.

 

As a record of sales prices - along with the photos and accompanying articles (which should make for interesting reading) - it will be well worth buying.

 

I look forward to its publication.

 

 

[PastePotPete]

The book is now available, and with free shipping at that, here is the link:

 

http://comics.ha.com/Weist/

 

The prices are just one part of the book, it is really a comprehensive guide to collecting comic art.

 

Just to name one feature I find useful: for each newspaper strip all of the artists and their runs are listed, e.g. you can see at a glance when John Cullen Murphy took over from Foster on Prince Valiant. when Gary Gianni took over from him, etc.

 

I also like the fact that Jerry covered plenty of the lesser-known strips that I daresay most collectors are not that familiar with, for example you know Popeye and Prince Valiant but how about Priscilla's Pop, Pussycat Princess, or Race Riley and the Commandos?

 

It's also much more comprehensive than earlier editions, it's a big, hefty 574-pager.

[glendgold]

My copy shipped yesterday.

 

I saw the guide in San Diego -- it looks like an improvement over previous versions, in that its range is broader (more artists, more strips) and it's informational, letting you know, as mentioned above, when various artists left strips, what eras are most prized, that kind of thing. Also, in addition to price ranges, they give you some actual action results which...well, at least it's an indication of something or other. A generally accepted price at one point in time? Something like that.

 

The reproductions taken from Heritage's archives look good. But there are a lot of shots of art, particularly in the strip section, that at first glance looked a little hasty. I might change my mind about that when I have more time to spend with it.

 

Also, the thing is the size of a phone book. There seem to be some informative essays for newbies and for the rest of us.

 

 

[Mmehdy]

It would be nice if they could maintain a current database and update it all the time on line, even if you had to pay a yearly fee would not be bad. What I saw in San Diego, Jerry outdid himself, this need to come out every two or three years, BUY A COPY every OA collector will benfit, just like the comic book collectors did with overstreet.

[comix4fun]

It would be nice if they could maintain a current database and update it all the time on line, even if you had to pay a yearly fee would not be bad. What I saw in San Diego, Jerry outdid himself, this need to come out every two or three years, BUY A COPY every OA collector will benfit, just like the comic book collectors did with overstreet.

 

 

He'll be missed.

[bocaratondefense]

It would be nice if they could maintain a current database and update it all the time on line, even if you had to pay a yearly fee would not be bad.

 

There is a current database available on the CAF, with ebay transactions and some auction history including Heritage. (Of course, there is no way to record private transactions that take place behind close doors.)

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/MarketDataSearch.asp

 

The most current information is free. If you want older pricing history there is a small yearly fee.

 

 

[Mmehdy]

Thanks for tip, but thank you JERRY, for all the great deals you have given me and the great advice...you were always a rock...this by far is the best of all the prices guides on art...VERY WELL DONE JERRY

[AvengersFan]

Ordered mine after seeing the link here, the girl who answered at heritage was very nice and I recieved an email today saying its on the way. Great service, and I can't wait to read it.

Jay

[NightGallery1]

I ordered a copy from Heritage yesterday - can't wait for it to arrive.

[bocaratondefense]

My copy of the price guide arrived in the mail today. The book is massive 574 pages. One half the book is devoted to strip art, and the other half is devoted to comic art. Some of the articles are interesting guides to beginners in the hobby and others provide some context to why Jerry Weist created this book.

 

The price guide is completely useless. I am not familiar with the prices for the newspaper strip art, but the price ranges for comic art are not accurate at all. It is possible Mr. Weist did not have access to sales history, but prices for Kirby, Ditko, Adams, Buscema, Miller, Romita, McFarlane, Bolland, Byrne and Perez look like they were from one decade ago.

 

The book does have some individual examples of actual recent sales, but these are all taken from the Heritage history. More comprehensive information can be found by searching the Heritage past auctions database. This book might still be worthwhile as a souvenir, but collectors looking for a price guide will be better served looking at the Heritage website and the CAF online marketdata.

 

 

 

[comix4fun]

My copy of the price guide arrived in the mail today. The book is massive 574 pages. One half the book is devoted to strip art, and the other half is devoted to comic art. Some of the articles are interesting guides to beginners in the hobby and others provide some context to why Jerry Weist created this book.

 

The price guide is completely useless. I am not familiar with the prices for the newspaper strip art, but the price ranges for comic art are not accurate at all. It is possible Mr. Weist did not have access to sales history, but prices for Kirby, Ditko, Adams, Buscema, Miller, Romita, McFarlane, Bolland, Byrne and Perez look like they were from one decade ago.

 

The book does have some individual examples of actual recent sales, but these are all taken from the Heritage history. More comprehensive information can be found by searching the Heritage past auctions database. This book might still be worthwhile as a souvenir, but collectors looking for a price guide will be better served looking at the Heritage website and the CAF online marketdata.

 

 

 

 

Sounds like I should be using this guide to show sellers when I go to buy their artwork.

 

 

 

It's funny, but I guarantee you there's more than one guy I know that will be doing just that.

[Claudio]

 

 

 

Sounds like I should be using this guide to show sellers when I go to buy their artwork.

 

 

 

It's funny, but I guarantee you there's more than one guy I know that will be doing just that.

 

[Mmehdy]

Look this is a price Guide and it is a heck of lot better than nothing for 10 years if you think your guide is worthless mail it to me so I can give it to beginning comic art collector who can appreciate it. This guide establishes a floor for collectors, some folks just cannot ever be satisfied. Jerry did a great job with the limitations he had to work with.

[bocaratondefense]

Look this is a price Guide and it is a heck of lot better than nothing for 10 years if you think your guide is worthless mail it to me so I can give it to beginning comic art collector who can appreciate it. This guide establishes a floor for collectors, some folks just cannot ever be satisfied. Jerry did a great job with the limitations he had to work with.

 

 

How do you know the guide is helpful if you do not even own a copy? A priceguide with outdated prices from ten years ago is not a heck of lot better than nothing, as prices for original art have changed dramatically in the past decade.

 

When I started this thread almost one year ago, I was really looking forward to Jerry's priceguide. At that time, 95% of the responders said such a priceguide would be a complete waste of time. I ignored those posts and bought a copy for myself anyway. You know what? The majority in this instance was correct and there are better resources for finding current prices.

 

 

 

[CollectingFool]

Its an entertaining book but whether you like it or not it is pretty useless as a price guide. I think there are enough people here with enough years experience in the hobby that can tell you and have told you just that.

 

You can use it to inform yourself on some artists you may not have known about.

You can use it to look at the pretty pictures.

You can use it to learn a little more about Mr. Weist himself

You can use it instead of searching through the Heritage archives which is where (from what I've seen) most of the information came from.

 

You can NOT use it as an accurate guide of values. For every 5 artists I look up maybe ONE is in the ballpark. Not just underpricing either. Some artists are way over-estimated from what I saw.

 

No matter how much people wish it were true, there is no easy way to gain knowledge in this hobby. Experience, networking and ingenuity are the only way to get things done. That is of course unless you happen to be one of those big wallet guys and then the art will find you. For the rest of us little fish in the shark tank, there are no short cuts.

 

 

[Mmehdy]

Give me an example in your opinion of the overpricing you are talking about

[CollectingFool]

The earliest one in the book I saw is on page 46. Neal Adams Ben Casey art. The dailies are way over. I think this is a good example because enough of these sell publicly that many here should be able to confirm the price is way out of whack.

 

 

 

[Tony S]

Look this is a price Guide and it is a heck of lot better than nothing for 10 years if you think your guide is worthless mail it to me so I can give it to beginning comic art collector who can appreciate it. This guide establishes a floor for collectors, some folks just cannot ever be satisfied. Jerry did a great job with the limitations he had to work with.

 

 

How do you know the guide is helpful if you do not even own a copy? A priceguide with outdated prices from ten years ago is not a heck of lot better than nothing, as prices for original art have changed dramatically in the past decade.

 

When I started this thread almost one year ago, I was really looking forward to Jerry's priceguide. At that time, 95% of the responders said such a priceguide would be a complete waste of time. I ignored those posts and bought a copy for myself anyway. You know what? The majority in this instance was correct and there are better resources for finding current prices.

 

Actually, Mmehdy doesn't say HE doesn't own a copy of the price guide. He says if you think your copy is worthless send it to him and he will give it to a beginning art collector.

[glendgold]

Did you read Jerry's preface? I don't have my copy in front of me, but he was up front about saying he doesn't mean to establish prices -- and he gives a pretty good argument for what the guide is and what it isn't. There's a long piece about how, given that art is unique, prices will never be something you can get from a guide that's static. You'll note that sometimes when he gives a high-end price on something, he also gives actual auction results way way way higher than the high end.

 

I'm impressed at the scope of artists listed.

 

That said, I agree that some prices could have been researched better. And I do have some ideas for the next edition (in, I suppose, 2022, if we can use history as a guide). At some point one of the introductory pieces mentions that the goal was to let collectors know when exactly Segar left Popeye and whatnot, which is really and honestly a terrific idea. But I note that information isn't exactly there. Nor do you know by looking at the guide which Spirit sections Eisner worked on, nor which Lil Abners Frazetta did, nor when Wally Wood left Sky Masters (for instance).

 

It would be nice to have an article on frauds, bogus art, fakes and whatnot.