Richard Rae & The curious case of the Mike Royer light-boxed artworks . . .

[ashsaytr]

...this dudes a tool!... f'in person_having_a_hard_time_understanding_my_point

[comix4fun]

He responded to my post, I guess his feelings got hurt...awwwww.

 

Taking my Royer lightbox and going home....!!

[comix4fun]

Now he's trying to put negative comments on my pieces....bet he wishes he was a premium member now.

 

A low IQ and questionable morals...what a combo.

 

[Terry Doyle]

Now he's trying to put negative comments on my pieces....bet he wishes he was a premium member now.

 

A low IQ and questionable morals...what a combo.

 

Well, there's always that old friend, con-cider, for him to turn to . . .

 

[comix4fun]

Now he's trying to put negative comments on my pieces....bet he wishes he was a premium member now.

 

A low IQ and questionable morals...what a combo.

 

Well, there's always that old friend, con-cider, for him to turn to . . .

 

 

 

The best part is he chose probably the greatest con sketch that Adam Hughes has ever done and called it a "mess drawing" and then went right to my Neal Adams Batman page and called him the most overrated artist of the last 50 years.

 

I should have left those up, so the world can marvel at how someone who's obviously blind can still be an art critic, but I took pity on him and saved him from the barrage that would have come down on him.

 

Silly little dickie, I don't think he realizes what he's trying to do when he pokes at me. I just had my anti-bull-mess shots so nothing he says has a chance.

 

 

[ashsaytr]

should have left up the comments so people can find the retards site and comment themselves....this guy sucks~

[Claudio]

He responded to my post, I guess his feelings got hurt...awwwww.

 

Taking my Royer lightbox and going home....!!

 

Now if he will just leave.....

[ShaneTurgeon]

You're all a buncha geek-bullies. For shame.

 

 

[batman_fan]

Speaking of comments, I received an insightful comment on my Tales of Suspense page recently:

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=24993&GSub=36790

 

I thought the name of the commentor sounded familiar, and I confirmed my suspicion by checking here. I was about to offer this crummy Romita Sr. example to Mr. Rae for $200, but maybe I should reconsider....

 

Wow, what a total D-bag! And for the record, I think it is an amazing page!

[Terry Doyle]

Anyone following this thread will be aware that, in recent days, D*i*c*k Rae has re-surfaced (did he ever go away?) trying to sell of trade one of the two George Wilson LOST IN SPACE paintings he swindled from my Spanish friend, Joan Gispert.

 

I left a suitable comment on D*i*c*k’s CAF image of the LIS painting (advising would-be customers that the painting was obtained through deception).. He subsequently removed the image – but not before he made a tit-for-tit comment on one of my CAF pieces.

 

Further nonsense ensued from D*i*c*k Rae (see Chris Caira’s posts) . . . but all this recent flurry of activity reminded me that some weeks back I’d received a private mail from one of our members advising that D*i*c*k Rae had also obtained work from long-time strip-illustrator, Rich Buckler. Work that was never paid for.

 

Searching CAF, I came across Rich’s galleries and sent him the following message:

 

“Hi Rich

 

Can you help me, please? I heard that an Australian artist named Richard Rae commissioned you to do some inking work for him and subsequently didn't pay you for the work.

 

Can you confirm, or otherwise, please? Reason I ask, is that it's emerged in recent months that Richard Rae has been actively practicing deceptions with other collectors and swindling them out of money and/or artwork.

 

Hope to hear from you.

 

Terry Doyle”

 

Rich, responded very promptly with the following message:

 

“Hi, Terry

 

I don't know if this helps, but yes, I have had dealings with Richard Rae that were not exactly on the up and up.

 

My experience with him is that he is a good talker, promises a lot, and does not keep his word. Lies and b*u*l*l*s*h*i*t--that's how I see it. That kind of nonsense always results in whoever deals with him getting less money or value than promised.

 

He comes off as likable, sincere and honest in his communications, but the result is always something that involves changing the deal with lots of back peddling and excuses. Maybe he means well, maybe he is actually a hopeless bungler, or possibly a deliberate and conniving swindler--I'm not sure. But my advice is don't do business with him.

 

I know he deals in comic art originals and that he is actively seeking to raise money for publishing. Collectors should beware. I am sorry that I actually did get duped into contributing to one of his publishing ventures. If he is actually not at fault in my dealings with him that went south--well, how come it has been over a year now and he still hasn't straightened anything out yet?

 

Do me a favor, please. Fill me in on more details about the trouble he is presently causing. And before you quote me on any of this, ask me first. I am still feeling sour over my past dealings with him. God knows what damage he is doing now. A shame, since he is a very talented artist and very creative. Such a waste.

 

Anyhow, that's my take on things. Helpful?

 

Take care—RICH”

 

I replied to Rich, providing a link to this thread.

 

Rich subsequently made the following response:

 

“Hi, Terry

 

I checked out that link you gave me. Please be advised that the Steranko/Buckler drawing of Captain America was light boxed by me (from a photstat) and then inked. It is not a Steranko original. It was fun to do, and I am a big Steranko fan--but I never once in my career ever inked a Steranko original, and this was the next closest thing.

 

This was one of the first pieces I did for Richard Rae. It was supposed to be for his private collection and then later used for promotion and to get some attention for his new publishing efforts (which I was helping with in the capacity of inker). If it is ever offered for sale or trade, of course this should all be mentioned.

 

Anyhow, it's not a Steranko original--it's a Rich Buckler re-creation of an unpublished Steranko drawing. Please pass that info on to collectors you know.

 

Feel free, by the way, to bother me if any authentication is needed on other pieces where I might be helpful. To misrepresent art for sale and cheat collectors and fans is pretty "low-life" stuff. And buying and selling stolen goods is downright evil.

 

I have to wonder, though, how and why Mike Royer did those light box "originals." I don't know Mike personally, but I don't think he was deliberately creating forgeries. Maybe he fell for the same pitch I did--that Rae was a big fan and wanted the commission for his own personal collection. This guy Rae is a good talker and can be very convincing. That's how he gets over on people.

 

Hope I have helped out a bit.

 

Take care—RICH”

 

I have asked Rich if I could quote him directly from the e-mails he sent me and the above appears with his consent.

 

D*i*c*k Rae lies low for a while . . . then he re-surfaces to try to swindle more people out of their art and/or hard-earned cash.

 

I consider it important to continue monitoring his activities.

 

My sincere thanks to Rich Buckler for helping to unearth further wrongdoings by Mr Rae.

 

 

[Speedy-D]

Good for you man, keep on him! Rich has never been anything but a stand-up guy whenever I've dealt with him, I have no doubt he's completely innocent in any Rae-related dealings.

[comix4fun]

He just called me a "Nutter".

 

 

Is that Australian for "bulle detector"?

[Terry Doyle]

He just called me a "Nutter".

 

 

The scoundrel!

[Terry Doyle]

He just called me a "Nutter".

 

 

The scoundrel!

 

Hang on a minute . . . it's worse than that . . . he called me a nutter, too!

[Speedy-D]

He just called me a "Nutter".

 

 

Is that Australian for "bulle detector"?

 

I believe its British slang

 

nutter: a crazy person

Ah, I figured it was fellow who was ... um ... "quick" with the ladies.

[thehumantorch]

Royd...you out of all these people I'm most surprised with you...with someone like Terry I can understand his negative actions but you...for you to enter into this attack is simply...well enough...Joan along with anyone I have done deals with have always been offered returns, but these attacks on me have hurt...so I now re-tract any promise made to Joan or anyone regarding Kirby/Royer "originals"...so if Joan or anyone wanted to trade back she along with anyone else can thank this forum for me now not having any more contact with them...or this forum...so I hope all of you "fair" judges (ha) are now happy.

 

Reading this thread for the first time. This post by Mr. Rae is disgusting and

shows how dishonest and out of touch with reality he is.

 

I have a very small OA collection and I've never met any of you and thus

have no axe to grind but it is obvious that Mr Rae is attempting to 'trade up'

by misrepresenting his art and his promises of returns are worthless.

 

 

For the record I have one Kirby/Royer page that Kirby and Royer actually

worked on. It is beautiful.

 

[BrianHoward]

I normally try to stay out of the fray, but the damage being done across they hobby by one person is just too much in this case.

 

I've shared the details of my misfortune with Mr. Rae privately to a couple of boardies. I've been asked to post them publicly, so I will.

 

I was mainly reluctant to post all of the information because I didn't want to speak for Rich Buckler and wasn't sure if anything had changes regarding that aspect of my story... It's clear that it hasn't changed.

 

I alluded to a bad experience with Richard Rae in the early pages of the thread. Romain contact me asking for some more details. Romain is a friend of mine, so I had no problem sharing them with him.

 

 

Here is what I wrote:

 

I met Richard years ago when he contacted me about consigning his collection of OA. Although he didn't provide too many details on what he had, he did show me some nice pieces including an Eisner painting and some other stuff. He made multiple calls to me and would go on for hours (literally) talking up his collection.

 

He sent me a few pieces to get started, but priced them so high it was really impossible to sell them. He requested an advance in exchange for committing to consign his entire collection and sell through me. He asked for key comic books so I sent him an Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spiderman #1, Hulk #1 and some other books.. At that time I had in my possession much less in value from him... After I was unable to reach his unrealistic expectations he asked me to send back the pages I have so he could send me more..

 

I sent them back (aside from one Stanley Pitt piece which is worth much less than the value in comics I sent him)... He told me that the Pitt piece was a gift and does not pertain to any deals we were doing..

 

After MONTHS of contacting Richard and asking him when I should expect the packages he claimed to have sent, he told me that he was going to sell his entire collection at auction in Australia.. I asked him to send me back the comics I had sent as an advance, he told me that he sold them!! Not only did he violate our agreement that he would sell through me, but he took the advance I sent him and profited from it.. Leaving me with nothing.. Less than nothing actually.

 

He refused to acknowledge any wrong doing and never compensated me for the items I sent him.. I kept trying to work with him until one day he told me that he sold everything at auction for $380,000... Something we now see was not true.

 

As far as I'm concerned Richard Rae scammed me and ripped me off big time... He owes me at least $5000 to cover the difference between what I sent him an the Stanley Pitt piece that I still have (which I don't want and offered to send back in exchange for my books or the money)..

 

While all of this was going on (before it started getting really bad), Richard told me about a project he was working on.. A comic book he was trying to publish and he asked me if I knew any artists through my connections in comics, art and running comic book conventions in NYC... I happen to be friendly with Rich Buckler and Richard had always expressed fondness for his work.. So I introduced Rich Buckler to Richard, hoping that they could work together..

 

Months later I see Rich Buckler at a show and he informs me that Richard Rae had scammed him.. He had him do a bunch of pages for this 'project'... Buckler sent them to Rae and Rae never paid him for the pages.. He also refused to return them to Buckler.. This embarrassed me greatly, as I respect Rich Buckler and I was the person who referred him to Richard..

 

It seems that everyone Richard deals with gets screwed.. I'd warn your friend.

[Terry Doyle]

I normally try to stay out of the fray, but the damage being done across they hobby by one person is just too much in this case.

 

I've shared the details of my misfortune with Mr. Rae privately to a couple of boardies. I've been asked to post them publicly, so I will.

 

I was mainly reluctant to post all of the information because I didn't want to speak for Rich Buckler and wasn't sure if anything had changes regarding that aspect of my story... It's clear that it hasn't changed.

 

I alluded to a bad experience with Richard Rae in the early pages of the thread. Romain contact me asking for some more details. Romain is a friend of mine, so I had no problem sharing them with him.

 

 

Here is what I wrote:

 

I met Richard years ago when he contacted me about consigning his collection of OA. Although he didn't provide too many details on what he had, he did show me some nice pieces including an Eisner painting and some other stuff. He made multiple calls to me and would go on for hours (literally) talking up his collection.

 

He sent me a few pieces to get started, but priced them so high it was really impossible to sell them. He requested an advance in exchange for committing to consign his entire collection and sell through me. He asked for key comic books so I sent him an Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spiderman #1, Hulk #1 and some other books.. At that time I had in my possession much less in value from him... After I was unable to reach his unrealistic expectations he asked me to send back the pages I have so he could send me more..

 

I sent them back (aside from one Stanley Pitt piece which is worth much less than the value in comics I sent him)... He told me that the Pitt piece was a gift and does not pertain to any deals we were doing..

 

After MONTHS of contacting Richard and asking him when I should expect the packages he claimed to have sent, he told me that he was going to sell his entire collection at auction in Australia.. I asked him to send me back the comics I had sent as an advance, he told me that he sold them!! Not only did he violate our agreement that he would sell through me, but he took the advance I sent him and profited from it.. Leaving me with nothing.. Less than nothing actually.

 

He refused to acknowledge any wrong doing and never compensated me for the items I sent him.. I kept trying to work with him until one day he told me that he sold everything at auction for $380,000... Something we now see was not true.

 

As far as I'm concerned Richard Rae scammed me and ripped me off big time... He owes me at least $5000 to cover the difference between what I sent him an the Stanley Pitt piece that I still have (which I don't want and offered to send back in exchange for my books or the money)..

 

While all of this was going on (before it started getting really bad), Richard told me about a project he was working on.. A comic book he was trying to publish and he asked me if I knew any artists through my connections in comics, art and running comic book conventions in NYC... I happen to be friendly with Rich Buckler and Richard had always expressed fondness for his work.. So I introduced Rich Buckler to Richard, hoping that they could work together..

 

Months later I see Rich Buckler at a show and he informs me that Richard Rae had scammed him.. He had him do a bunch of pages for this 'project'... Buckler sent them to Rae and Rae never paid him for the pages.. He also refused to return them to Buckler.. This embarrassed me greatly, as I respect Rich Buckler and I was the person who referred him to Richard..

 

It seems that everyone Richard deals with gets screwed.. I'd warn your friend.

 

A big thank you for posting this, Brian.

 

When I first started this thread, I often questionned myself as to whether or not I was being a bit hard on Rae . . . thinking, perhaps, that my friend Joan might not have been entirely up-front in everything communicated to me (bearing in mind that there are two sides to a story).

 

Along the way, any doubts I may have had were quickly dispelled and it quickly became obvious that scamming Joan was only the tip of the ice-berg.

 

The more I learn about Rae, the more disgusted I become by his actions.

 

He sent me a private mail, yesterday, hinting at possible legal action against me and requesting my telephone number - so we could talk, 'man to man'.

 

I'm usually quite calm and collected in my responses, but the reply I sent him was brutal and to the point:

 

"You're not a man, you're a thieving bast*rd.

 

So sue me!

 

I don't talk to pieces of sh*t."

 

Apologies for posting this quote on the forum, but this has reached a point where all attempts at reason are totally lost on Rae. He is totally without shame or remorse for the damage he has been inflicting on other collectors.

 

I feel sorry for everyone who has been ripped-off by this character.

[Mr.Rae]

A number of things have been said here about my dealings and about myself personally and while I have taken much of the comments tongue-in-cheek because I fully support the rights of everyone to voice their opinion whether it be in my favour or not...I feel that this personal vendetta by Terry has gone to far.

 

While I know that what I say here will be twisted and it will not make any difference to the on-going attacks...I also feel strongly that two descent innocent people have been dragged into this mess that has been created by Terry...so I feel that it is appropriate that I make a clear comment regarding this abuse.

 

( 1 ) The accusation that I cheated Joan...to be clear...Joan wanted to trade assorted art with me for some Kirby/Royer originals...Joan and I had many emails going back and forth and finally a deal was reached...the trade took placed and she sent me her art and I sent her what she wanted...end of story...but clearly not quite.

 

Via this forum I found out “for the first time” that Joan was not happy with our trade/deal...at any time she could have contacted me direct and voiced her concerns but instead she took her complaint public...while I do not expect any of you to understand, this action by her got my back up right away.

 

So...I contacted Joan directly...and what did I do?...I pointed out to her that I am taking this matter very seriously (as I should)...and I directed her to contact me right away to sort the problem out so she was happy...I was willing to do a reverse trade but of cause she had already traded or sold off the items I had traded with her...and this was clearly my fault as well...I don’t think so.

 

At no time did I tell Joan that the art she traded for were Kirby originals...I couldn’t say that because they are not!...they were and are Kirby/Royer originals...and yes I know this pisses off the blue-blood collectors but this is what they are.

 

The original art is NOT Kirby, nor is it Royer...it is Kirby/Royer...so just live with it!

 

(2) Mike Royer art...let’s be very, very clear about this...I did not tell or instruct Mike Royer to do a series of light boxed drawings of Jack Kirby art...however I did ask him to do two light box drawings for me over two Jack Kirby scans that I downloaded from the net, one of Dr. Doom without his mask and the other of the Red Skull (both bloody great stuff)...I then also purchased a number of other Kirby/Royer originals direct from Mike and every one of them looks fantastic.

 

At no time have I ever said that these drawings were original Kirby drawings...because they are NOT...they are original Kirby/Royer drawings...if anyone has any misunderstanding about this then all they have to do is “ask”...I just tell it like it is...at no point do I attempt to deceive, why should I?...it would only come back and bite me later...so there is no point to do it in the first place.

 

Mike’s reply in this form is just like Mike...extremely professional and honest...and from my dealings with him that’s the kind of man he is.

 

Mike is an excellent talent and I personally feel it’s a shame that many people think of him as just an inker for Kirby...Mike is much, much more...he is a “real” artist...and in my opinion for him to have to come into this form and explain himself because of some pom art collector is a disgrace...but Mike did do it in style.

 

(3) My dealings with Rich Buckler...as a professional and as a rule I don’t make comment about the people I am currently dealing with...as my financial dealings with Rich have not been concluded I will not make any further comment...however...in saying that I’d like to make this comment for the record...

 

I have been busting my balls here in Australia to kick-start a local comic industry for more years than most of you guys have had hot dinners...and the last few years have been bloody tough because I’m demanding a lot from local creative’s as well as printing houses and assorted publishers...I’m really sorry that things don’t move faster...but we have not had a comic book industry here in Australia for well over three decades...and while this is not YOUR problem I’ve made it mine...now...I don’t mind if you “amazing” comic collectors don’t help...I don’t expect help...but it would be really helpful if you could JUST STOP ATTACKING ME!...gee...that’s a lot to ask.

 

(4) My spelling...now this has even made me laugh...a lot of what you guys have said about me in this form has honestly hurt me (like any of you care)...so I type just to get my message across and spelling comes second...ops...sorry...but please feel free to divert from the real issue/s and just attack me again...please don’t hold back...maybe my nose is to big or my eyes are to close together...or maybe I’m not the right colour...oh God...is that how you spell “colour”...?....or is that the Aussie spelling and I should go yank and spell it “color”...?

 

(5) This forum...It is my opinion that you guys really do need to “get a life”...I’d like to think that forum’s like this can be helpful for everyone...but it has just allowed one very lonely overweight guy who’s only importance in life is he has some nice original artwork done by other people to assert what little power he does have over the rest of you...please feel free to follow the geek...I on the other hand will always do what is right...now...we get to the real problem...

 

(6) Terry’s problem with me...well...where do we start...so here is this guy who clearly has “mother” issues, no question about that...and his a “pom”...good grief!...but let’s look at his attacks on me, please go back and read everything...this guy has basically ignited a small problem into a major problem, and why?...is he the CAF police?...any of the issues he has raised could have been dealt with directly, but he choose to attack me publicly (think about that)...yes I’m being a little “over-the-top” about Terry, he has accused me of cheating people...for Christ sake how do you think that makes me feel...I’ve never cheated anyone in my life and this guy just twists everything around...and I guess you guys will just keep on helping him...well...have any of you got the balls to get back to the topic!!!... remember that?

 

My opus: well...clearly you guys are a “guys-club”...I have no intention of joining your club (I have a life)...please feel free to attack...but...I am a good person...

 

[Speedy-D]

YES YES YES!!!! HE"S BACK!!!

 

:whee: :whee: :whee: