Watchmen #1 page 1

[Nexus]

This page has been available privately for a few years now. I like the page, but didn't think it was worth anywhere near what the seller was asking. It seems many of you think more highly of this page than me. I do appreciate no reserve auctions, so hope the seller does well.

 

+1, I actually don't care for the Watchmen artwork at all even though it came out during my heavy reading time. I didn't really even care for the story that much. It is okay, but I would be hard pressed to put it in even my top 500 story lines. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

You're definitely not alone. Is there any OA that is universally loved? Besides boobie art?

 

Most artists who collaborate with Moore (there are exceptions, like Brian Bolland) tend to have their contributions overlooked. Gibbons isn't flashy, but I've really come to see that he was the perfect guy for the job. Here's a recent essay about his WM art:

 

http://comicscomicsmag.com/2010/10/9-panel-grids.html

[Nexus]

This page has been available privately for a few years now. I like the page, but didn't think it was worth anywhere near what the seller was asking. It seems many of you think more highly of this page than me. I do appreciate no reserve auctions, so hope the seller does well.

 

What was the seller originally asking for?

 

I'll post that after the auction. Like everyone else, I'd like to see where this auction finishes on its own, without any external influence.

[Galactus]

This page has been available privately for a few years now. I like the page, but didn't think it was worth anywhere near what the seller was asking. It seems many of you think more highly of this page than me. I do appreciate no reserve auctions, so hope the seller does well.

 

What was the seller originally asking for?

 

I'll post that after the auction. Like everyone else, I'd like to see where this auction finishes on its own, without any external influence.

 

I remember seeing this page along with 5 others at the original owners house in London quite a few years back. He had purchased them from Comic Showcase when they were first released and had paid £100 ($155) each for them i believe.

 

I really wasnt into Watchmen at all at the time, so i passed on even making him an offer

[lb jefferies]

Here's a recent essay about his WM art:

 

http://comicscomicsmag.com/2010/10/9-panel-grids.html

 

Thanks, Felix. This was a great read.

[markseifert]

This page has been available privately for a few years now. I like the page, but didn't think it was worth anywhere near what the seller was asking. It seems many of you think more highly of this page than me. I do appreciate no reserve auctions, so hope the seller does well.

 

I'd be hard pressed to think of a more important interior page from the modern era. If I was going to go all out on a modern interior, this would be one of the very few I'd do it for.

[Catwoman_Fan]

There's not too much going on and no main characters...

 

No main characters?

Hrm.. I see a first appearance of Rorschach, without his face of course. Plus we have a voice over from his journal. He's arguably the main character of the series.

[comix4fun]

There's not too much going on and no main characters...

 

No main characters?

Hrm.. I see a first appearance of Rorschach, without his face of course. Plus we have a voice over from his journal. He's arguably the main character of the series.

 

 

 

It's the 1st appearance of Walter Kovacs (in cameo).

 

Akin to first Bruce Wayne, 1st Clark Kent, 1st Peter Parker....not Batman, Superman, Spider-Man.

 

It's not quite the impact of THESE PAGES, is it?

 

 

 

There are literally DOZENS of pages from Watchmen that get the juices flowing more than this page. It's a nice page, don't get me wrong, I love the dialogue more than anything else, but there are FAR BETTER Watchmen pages out there. Most of the pages from Issue #6 beat it, and Dave Mandel's 3 page sequence from issue #5 blow it away as well. I'd take any of Felix's or Ron's or several others pages before it.

 

 

[Claudio]

There are literally DOZENS of pages from Watchmen that get the juices flowing more than this page. It's a nice page, don't get me wrong, I love the dialogue more than anything else, but there are FAR BETTER Watchmen pages out there. Most of the pages from Issue #6 beat it, and Dave Mandel's 3 page sequence from issue #5 blow it away as well. I'd take any of Felix's or Ron's or several others pages before it.

 

 

I pretty much agree. Not sure about there being dozens or other pages I would rather have but there are a lot that are more appealing. I am not sure if it matters though. At current prices, I am probably not a buyer of any pages.

[heartened]

There's not too much going on and no main characters...

 

No main characters?

Hrm.. I see a first appearance of Rorschach, without his face of course. Plus we have a voice over from his journal. He's arguably the main character of the series.

 

 

 

It's the 1st appearance of Walter Kovacs (in cameo).

 

Akin to first Bruce Wayne, 1st Clark Kent, 1st Peter Parker....not Batman, Superman, Spider-Man.

 

It's not quite the impact of THESE PAGES, is it?

 

 

 

There are literally DOZENS of pages from Watchmen that get the juices flowing more than this page. It's a nice page, don't get me wrong, I love the dialogue more than anything else, but there are FAR BETTER Watchmen pages out there. Most of the pages from Issue #6 beat it, and Dave Mandel's 3 page sequence from issue #5 blow it away as well. I'd take any of Felix's or Ron's or several others pages before it.

 

 

Hey, those look familiar.

 

[Stringer]

It's really the novelty of the page number than the art. That said, if I had the cash, I would be all over this!!!

[jbud73]

The two features in this page are the Motif in panel 1 and the fact that its the first page from probably the story that redefined comics in the modern age (for better or worse is debatable), but 'comics aren't just for kids anymore' was cemented here.

 

The art is of course not worth 5 figures; the historical significance and the nostalgia, I guess we'll see how far that goes.

[Nexus]

A Heritage press release about the auction of this page:

 

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=29438

 

When I talked to him in 2006, Joule was interested in selling his pages to help finance a TV show he was developing. That seems to have changed, but everything else is consistent with my memory of our conversation.

 

The page is up to $16.7K with a couple of days to go.

[theloveforart]

Holy Moly... if Gibbons art demands these prices i better get on the Rob Liefeld bandwagon, there is money to be had.

[Bonds25]

Cool article. (and I can't believe the page originally sold for $150!)

[blowout]

Cool article. (and I can't believe the page originally sold for $150!)

 

It is worth keeping in mind though that all these pages went on sale at the same time the book came out, and were quite expensive compared to other art at the time.

 

Who knew how big Watchmen would become.

[Galactus]

Cool article. (and I can't believe the page originally sold for $150!)

 

It is worth keeping in mind though that all these pages went on sale at the same time the book came out, and were quite expensive compared to other art at the time.

 

Who knew how big Watchmen would become.

 

Its also worth noting that at the time that these pages were £100-£150, i was buying from that same shop early Silver Age in what would now be 8.0-9.0 grades for £15-25.

 

I would see these pages repeatedly over the course of 2-3 months and pass on them every time due to the price. On one visit I remember looking at a particular page and thinking to myself that it was too expensive and that i would rather pick up the early run of <#20 JLA's that he had on the wall. Issue #3 was priced at £25 (8.5) and the rest were on a sliding scale down to #20 which was £10.

[chrisco37]

Cool article. (and I can't believe the page originally sold for $150!)

 

It is worth keeping in mind though that all these pages went on sale at the same time the book came out, and were quite expensive compared to other art at the time.

 

Who knew how big Watchmen would become.

 

Its also worth noting that at the time that these pages were £100-£150, i was buying from that same shop early Silver Age in what would now be 8.0-9.0 grades for £15-25.

 

I would see these pages repeatedly over the course of 2-3 months and pass on them every time due to the price. On one visit I remember looking at a particular page and thinking to myself that it was too expensive and that i would rather pick up the early run of <#20 JLA's that he had on the wall. Issue #3 was priced at £25 (8.5) and the rest were on a sliding scale down to #20 which was £10.

 

Yep. "Shoulda, coulda, woulda"....isn't that what the hobby is all about?

[rob_react]

Holy Moly... if Gibbons art demands these prices i better get on the Rob Liefeld bandwagon, there is money to be had.

 

Yeah, snap up all the Rob Liefeld Watchmen pages you can find. It's a winning formula.

[TheWatcher]

Holy Moly... if Gibbons art demands these prices i better get on the Rob Liefeld bandwagon, there is money to be had.

 

Yeah, snap up all the Rob Liefeld Watchmen pages you can find. It's a winning formula.

 

I wonder what the Comedian would've looked like with dozens of ammo pouches all over his costume

[clemso]

Cool article. (and I can't believe the page originally sold for $150!)

 

It is worth keeping in mind though that all these pages went on sale at the same time the book came out, and were quite expensive compared to other art at the time.

 

Who knew how big Watchmen would become.

 

Its also worth noting that at the time that these pages were £100-£150, i was buying from that same shop early Silver Age in what would now be 8.0-9.0 grades for £15-25.

 

I would see these pages repeatedly over the course of 2-3 months and pass on them every time due to the price. On one visit I remember looking at a particular page and thinking to myself that it was too expensive and that i would rather pick up the early run of <#20 JLA's that he had on the wall. Issue #3 was priced at £25 (8.5) and the rest were on a sliding scale down to #20 which was £10.

 

Yeah I remember Comic Showcase, OA wasn't all that back then. Comic Showcase had a lot of Killing Joke art as well.