Hold onto your hats for the May Heritage auction....

[dem1138]

Initially I thought, "no way this approaches 200K." Now, I'm not so sure. 200K doesn't only seem possible, it seems likely.

 

Current Bid: $100,000

w/ Buyer's Premium (BP) : $119,500

 

There is something about DK art that just leaves me cold. I have never seen a DK page that has made me say "Hey, this is something I would love to own".

 

Stephen

 

I can't explain it beyond nostalgia. If you were really into reading/collecting comics and the Dark Knight came out, it was a watermark moment. The art blew everyone away at the time and it was nothing short of a revolutionary moment against the other revolutionary moments of the era including the rise of the Independents (which was sparked by TMNT, which was sparked by Miller).

 

It makes perfect sense to some of us and no sense to others.

 

[stinkininkin]

Initially I thought, "no way this approaches 200K." Now, I'm not so sure. 200K doesn't only seem possible, it seems likely.

 

Current Bid: $100,000

w/ Buyer's Premium (BP) : $119,500

 

There is something about DK art that just leaves me cold. I have never seen a DK page that has made me say "Hey, this is something I would love to own".

 

Stephen

 

I can't explain it beyond nostalgia. If you were really into reading/collecting comics and the Dark Knight came out, it was a watermark moment. The art blew everyone away at the time and it was nothing short of a revolutionary moment against the other revolutionary moments of the era including the rise of the Independents (which was sparked by TMNT, which was sparked by Miller).

 

It makes perfect sense to some of us and no sense to others.

 

I disagree with you in a sense David. I would kill to own this DK splash, and I have always been a fan of Millers work, but when you say the art blew people away, I'm not sure that sentiment is either true or drives the prices on DK art. It really was the story, and the new wrinkle that Miller added to a somewhat shopworn Batman mythology that appealed the most to me. The art itself, especially the black and white originals are sometimes empty and crude and occasionally ugly, which seemed to be a perfect fit for the story! Most of the collectors I know tend to focus on the moments in the story that the original depicts and less on the art itself. Don't get me wrong, I think there are some beautifully drawn pages in DK, but not beautiful in the way that an average man on the street would call beautiful. It was contextually beautiful. And yes, some 30 years later, some of that context is of course nostalgia driven.

 

Does that make sense?

 

Scott Williams

[dem1138]

Scott,

 

It certainly does. But from my experience and from my peers that picked up the book at the time, we were really too young to appreciate the story. It was the art that enthralled us (and still does today).

 

--David

 

[alxjhnsn]

I read it years after it came out - it was published during my comics break - and I thought the art matched the story really, really well.

 

It's not art that I love (big Swan fan; the anti-Miller), but it's art that I thought did a great job of telling the story.

 

I guess I'm saying that I can't separate the two in my mind.

[Speedy-D]

I read it years after it came out - it was published during my comics break - and I thought the art matched the story really, really well.

 

It's not art that I love (big Swan fan; the anti-Miller), but it's art that I thought did a great job of telling the story.

 

I guess I'm saying that I can't separate the two in my mind.

I'd take this over the Miller page

 

[jimjum12]

It certainly redefined the paradigm....it started strong and finished strong.....and dared to question the Iconic. For me it was both the art and story that I loved....it was almost a "stream of consciousness" thing. That said, I'd still rather have the Kirby Olympus page, GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[alxjhnsn]

I'd take this over the Miller page

 

So, would I. And if I may say so, it looks mighty fine on my den wall.

[tth2]

Initially I thought, "no way this approaches 200K." Now, I'm not so sure. 200K doesn't only seem possible, it seems likely.

 

Current Bid: $100,000

w/ Buyer's Premium (BP) : $119,500

 

There is something about DK art that just leaves me cold. I have never seen a DK page that has made me say "Hey, this is something I would love to own".

 

Stephen

 

I can't explain it beyond nostalgia. If you were really into reading/collecting comics and the Dark Knight came out, it was a watermark moment. The art blew everyone away at the time and it was nothing short of a revolutionary moment against the other revolutionary moments of the era including the rise of the Independents (which was sparked by TMNT, which was sparked by Miller).

 

It makes perfect sense to some of us and no sense to others.

 

I disagree with you in a sense David. I would kill to own this DK splash, and I have always been a fan of Millers work, but when you say the art blew people away, I'm not sure that sentiment is either true or drives the prices on DK art. It really was the story, and the new wrinkle that Miller added to a somewhat shopworn Batman mythology that appealed the most to me. The art itself, especially the black and white originals are sometimes empty and crude and occasionally ugly, which seemed to be a perfect fit for the story! Most of the collectors I know tend to focus on the moments in the story that the original depicts and less on the art itself. Don't get me wrong, I think there are some beautifully drawn pages in DK, but not beautiful in the way that an average man on the street would call beautiful. It was contextually beautiful. And yes, some 30 years later, some of that context is of course nostalgia driven.

 

Does that make sense?

 

Scott Williams

(thumbs u Very well put!

[Dr. Manhattan-migration]

This is certainly a very exciting piece, a really great splash displaying the greatness of Miller's dynamic art. There are others I'd prefer but this is so iconic, coloured or otherwise!

 

I'm guessing over 2 big ones for this and it may even touch 1/4 Million ! Very exciting auction an incredible piece.

[Bronty]

I read it years after it came out - it was published during my comics break - and I thought the art matched the story really, really well.

 

It's not art that I love (big Swan fan; the anti-Miller), but it's art that I thought did a great job of telling the story.

 

I guess I'm saying that I can't separate the two in my mind.

I'd take this over the Miller page

 

 

with all due respect... come on. unpublished pencils (?) versus a splash from one of the classic books of all time? That's not even a fair fight. I like swan, I like that piece, but come on. You may like the swan better artistically and that's fine, it takes all kinds but I can think of 100,000 or more reasons you'd prefer the miller

[Speedy-D]

I read it years after it came out - it was published during my comics break - and I thought the art matched the story really, really well.

 

It's not art that I love (big Swan fan; the anti-Miller), but it's art that I thought did a great job of telling the story.

 

I guess I'm saying that I can't separate the two in my mind.

I'd take this over the Miller page

 

 

with all due respect... come on. unpublished pencils (?) versus a splash from one of the classic books of all time? That's not even a fair fight. I like swan, I like that piece, but come on. You may like the swan better artistically and that's fine, it takes all kinds but I can think of 100,000 or more reasons you'd prefer the miller

I'm not talking about value. If it's just about value, there's not much point in the discussion. All else being equal, a beautiful Curt Swan Superman drawing would do more for me than a whole lot of things that would normally cost me more money.

 

Also, I wanted an excuse to plug Alex's awesome score one more time.

[Bronty]

I read it years after it came out - it was published during my comics break - and I thought the art matched the story really, really well.

 

It's not art that I love (big Swan fan; the anti-Miller), but it's art that I thought did a great job of telling the story.

 

I guess I'm saying that I can't separate the two in my mind.

I'd take this over the Miller page

 

 

with all due respect... come on. unpublished pencils (?) versus a splash from one of the classic books of all time? That's not even a fair fight. I like swan, I like that piece, but come on. You may like the swan better artistically and that's fine, it takes all kinds but I can think of 100,000 or more reasons you'd prefer the miller

 

Well, we're talking personal taste, and what you have fond memories of. Ignore the fact that the Miller art is worth so much $- just imagine what you would rather have if it was yours forever, and never allowed to sell it.

 

I thought Miller's DK was one of the best comics of all time, I just love it- and I think that splash is great- but for me personally, if I had a choice between the two- I'd rather own something like the cover to Ultra Klutz #21 than that DK page

 

I hear you I just can't agree with you either artistically or financially But I understand where you're coming from

[chrisco37]

Scott,

 

It certainly does. But from my experience and from my peers that picked up the book at the time, we were really too young to appreciate the story. It was the art that enthralled us (and still does today).

 

--David

 

I'll back Dave up on this. The first time I read it I thought, "What's the big deal?".

 

In any case, I love the page. Not my absolute favorite from the series, but a great splash none-the-less; I'd rank the "Horse splash (forward facing) as my favorite page of the series. Next would be the "Helicopter splash". 3rd the "Re-intro spash".

 

I wouldn't be shocked to see it hit 200K. It'll hit 150 easy, I think.

[alxjhnsn]

with all due respect... come on. unpublished pencils (?) versus a splash from one of the classic books of all time? That's not even a fair fight. I like swan, I like that piece, but come on. You may like the swan better artistically and that's fine, it takes all kinds but I can think of 100,000 or more reasons you'd prefer the miller

 

My preference is Swan because I like the way he draws and because I have a sentimental attachment to his work; I definitely recognize the difference in cost of the pieces. Heck, I was the first on this thread to say that this piece would go for big $. Here's the relevant quote from way up there:

Fred Ray's / Jerry Robinson's Batman 11 went for $195K in 2005 in a Heritage Auction.

 

Miller's cover for DD 188 went for $101K in 2010.

 

I'd say this has a chance to set a new Heritage record.

 

Still if I had the chance to pick one piece to take home and never sell - this Miller or say Tom Horvitz's recreation of Adventure 333 by Swan, I'd have another Swan on the wall.

 

Love the thread and can't wait to see the final price (likely to ~300x what I paid for my Superman and ~60x the most expensive piece that I own).

 

The better financial choice would be to take the DK page - no doubt about it.

 

PS. It's funny. Whether the piece is published or not has little impact on me. I know that I'm in the minority there as well, but it does open options to me.

 

[tth2]

PS. It's funny. Whether the piece is published or not has little impact on me. I know that I'm in the minority there as well, but it does open options to me.

It`s too bad more OA collectors don`t share this view. Then OA might get more respect from the fine art world.

[comix4fun]

PS. It's funny. Whether the piece is published or not has little impact on me. I know that I'm in the minority there as well, but it does open options to me.

It`s too bad more OA collectors don`t share this view. Then OA might get more respect from the fine art world.

 

 

 

Seeing what some of the fine art world respects, I am ok with my hobby going on without it.

 

 

I am fully aware of the role nostalgia, familiarity, and place in the history of the comic book universe that the OA market is built upon and I am completely a peace with it.

[adamstrange]

PS. It's funny. Whether the piece is published or not has little impact on me. I know that I'm in the minority there as well, but it does open options to me.

It`s too bad more OA collectors don`t share this view. Then OA might get more respect from the fine art world.

 

 

 

Seeing what some of the fine art world respects, I am ok with my hobby going on without it.

(thumbs u I think that Andy Warhol may have summed it up best "Art is what you can get away with."

[Bronty]

ha! well put indeed

[Bronty]

PS. It's funny. Whether the piece is published or not has little impact on me. I know that I'm in the minority there as well, but it does open options to me.

It`s too bad more OA collectors don`t share this view. Then OA might get more respect from the fine art world.

 

 

 

Seeing what some of the fine art world respects, I am ok with my hobby going on without it.

 

Totally agree.

[MCJ]

Well, the question of whether this lot would break $100,000 has been answered. Now we're in the $10,000 bid increment stage, not for the faint of heart:

 

http://comics.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=7033&Lot_No=92134

 

The next 100K candidate I'd wager is the Kirby splash page from Captain America #100 coming up in Clink's May auction:

 

http://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2Fauctions%2Fpreview%2Easp%3Fcode%3D2011may%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26pg%3D14%23Item%5F883481&id=883481