Old art-for-sale ads

[Lee B.]

While I am in a posting mood, I wanted to let you know I added scans of 12 old art-for-sale ads to my CAF gallery:

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryRoom.asp?GSub=70452

 

Please note I do not own and am not selling this art; the scans are just for your enjoyment.

[Pirate]

if only i had collected art instead of 90's drek. I guess I never thought of that avenue as a teenager.

[AKA Rick]

It looks like art prices turned the corner right around 2000 (that 1997 ad for Ron Lim's Silver Surfer cover for $200, now probably valued at $2,000), and as recent as 1990, if the right pieces were bought, the right pieces were available that today, 20 years later could easily return 50x the purchase price (that 1989 ad for Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four #15 page for $250, now probably valued at $12,000).

 

With the economy still weak and the medium itself of comic books not as popular amongst kids today as it was in the 80's (when it was affordable and before the internet and the digital medium), I'm uncertain if comic art in general has hit a pinnacle inboth value and popularity, or if there can be a nostalgic renaissance towards the artwork of today.

 

There seems to be somewhat of a good optimistic sign on the bottom not falling out with the recent sales of 80's material like The Watchmen and Frank Miller's Daredevil and Dark Knight as well as 90's material like Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man.

 

I'm still curious to see what has longevity from today. There seems to be too many self-proclaimed (by the publishers) "epic" storylines like "Fear Itself", "House of M", Infinite Crisis", etc. - and any "deaths" are now seen as temporary gimmicks as are the trends of producing multiple variant covers (Dynamite seems to do the most) for everyday common issues as opposed to when it was done selectively. Are the exceptions to the rule going to be possibly storylines like "Blackest Night" and "Civil War", and as for variants, pretty much just artist driven, such as only pieces by popular artists like a J. Scott Campbell, but every other artist and variant cover becomes uninspired common stock generating little interest or value.

 

Even art itself has changed over the years, being stripped down. No more text, sometimes uninked, and some pencils are even no longer fully rendered with "x" marks to designate where the inker should digitally fill in the inks... and now some artists are going digial so that there doesn't even exist any original penciled art.

 

The demographics of "who collects comic books?" has changed over the years, both the children and investment speculators seem to be gone. And even the hobby or industry itself is less about "collecting", meaning seeking out back issues, seems to be hurt by things like collected edition trade paperbacks, immediate reprints/variant cover releases, and renumbering of series (ending legacies and relaunching with #1's), creating a more of a "comic book reader" culture than a collector environment.

 

I hope the appreciation of art from both aspects, of value and interest continues, as part of the fun is the nostalgic view of what art used to cost and what it's valued at today just like the original posting here shows.

[Mephisto]

Does anyone know where the ad from the 1990's for Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion 7 is on CAF. I saw the ad on CAF amfew years ago.

[Lee B.]

Hi Mephisto! I just posted the cover in question. I used to keep all the old ads posted on the "boards" section of CAF. When that feature was eliminated several years ago, I decided to just post a selection of ads in my CAF gallery every month. Due to the interest, I will try to update the posts more often. I probably have over 1,000 scans, thanks to collectors like Chuck Costas and others who have supplied me with CBGs, old catalogs, etc. FYI, the Kaluta cover is from a 1998 ad in Comic Buyer's Guide.

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=767936&GSub=70452

[MONSTER]

It looks like art prices turned the corner right around 2000 (that 1997 ad for Ron Lim's Silver Surfer cover for $200, now probably valued at $2,000

 

I'd love the opportunity to buy that cover for $2000.

 

if only i had collected art instead of 90's drek. I guess I never thought of that avenue as a teenager.

 

I'm right there with you. All the money I flushed way in the 90s on action figures and comics that I should have been spending on comic art.