New to OA Collecting, Advice, tips? 9 9

[southerncross]

I have a question. Does anyone know the value of this page from Marvel comics presents #73? I bought it off my LCS for about $100 a few years ago. There is very little original art here in Australia and he got it in for me as I'm a fan of Namor.

I don't mind the price I paid as I just wanted an original with the character I like.

And I'm amazed how much detail is lost when you compare this with the printed page in the comic book. This is the only original art I own as collecting comics takes most of my fun money or good percentage of it.

[kav]

it's still worth about $100. Now if you had a barry smith page from that issue.....

[kav]

I see Adlard WD pages on ebay for about 3-10 times what you would pay at Splashpage art-likewise with Sean Phillips Marvel Zombies etc. Check dealers for pricing before snagging something on eBay. Always wanted a Swanderson page but they were out of my price range finally managed to snag one at Romitaman for $200. It wasn't one of their major works but I just wanted a Swanderson....

[kav]

original art is the only investment that never falls in value and shoots up fairly dramatically over a 30 year span.....

 

 

i should have qualified that-given enough time and assuming you didn't overpay for something. Don Heck pages were nearly valueless in the 80's, now theyre worth thousands. kirby pages that went for $50 back then....well, you know. "No asset is so good that it can't become a bad investment if bought at too high a price." - Howard Marks. Any original art will be worth far more after 20 years. And I shouldn't have said the 'only' investment....

[Claudio]

Is it normal to have an Artist/Inker sign the original art on front page? Will that devalue the piece? Any advice is appreciated as I am new to this side of collecting!

 

if they write a personal message however that will increase the value-the Adlard WD page I scooped up cheap has a paragraph on the back to the person he gave the page to-lucky for me the ebay seller didn't put that in the listing! It was a nice surprise when i received it.

 

Tom & Penny seem to think so

[Claudio]

original art is the only investment that never falls in value and shoots up fairly dramatically over a 30 year span.....

 

 

Any original art will be worth far more after 20 years.

 

Most original art. I have picked up some stuff Forgotten Realms stuff pretty cheap that was about 20 years old. And I am not willing to bet that these kind of results will continue for the next 20 years.

[kav]

original art is the only investment that never falls in value and shoots up fairly dramatically over a 30 year span.....

 

 

Any original art will be worth far more after 20 years.

 

Most original art. I have picked up some stuff Forgotten Realms stuff pretty cheap that was about 20 years old. And I am not willing to bet that these kind of results will continue for the next 20 years.

 

dang maybe its only the mainstream stuff....

[kbmcvay]

Question on "high end" pieces.... Assuming you like 2 pieces equally that are about the same price and one is old (say a Kirby page) and one is new (say a Jim Lee page) which would you choose and why? Is one a better investment than the other long term? I'm sure there are a lot of opinions on this.

[ashrael]

Question on "high end" pieces.... Assuming you like 2 pieces equally that are about the same price and one is old (say a Kirby page) and one is new (say a Jim Lee page) which would you choose and why? Is one a better investment than the other long term? I'm sure there are a lot of opinions on this.

 

I don't have a the budget to buy any high end pieces, but to me I would always choose the older piece. I have a few reasons:

 

1. Jack Kirby passed away and there will never be anything new from. While Kirby produced a lot of art, there will always be new Jim Lee art (assuming he continues for the next few decades).

 

2. Old art won't see the significant potential drop in value that new art could. For example, if you bought a high end Liefeld page when he was hot, how would you feel about passing up a Kirby page? (This is just an example...we all know that Lee is no Liefeld.)

 

3. While you may love the new art, that art may just be a typical page 10 years from now. ("Oh, another angry Wolverine cover....")

 

4. From a financial standing, a book or title may be considered insignificant in the future. (We love Hush now, but if no one cares about it 10 years from now that page may be significantly less valuable.)

 

There are many that are far more knowledgeable than me, but these are my thoughts off the top of my head.

 

[Speedy-D]

Question on "high end" pieces.... Assuming you like 2 pieces equally that are about the same price and one is old (say a Kirby page) and one is new (say a Jim Lee page) which would you choose and why? Is one a better investment than the other long term? I'm sure there are a lot of opinions on this.

Typically, older stuff has already stood the test of time and is not likely to tank any time soon. I'd let this factor duke it out with which I like more and find my choice in the rubble. Hopefully (usually) I like the older one more so it's no contest.

[kbmcvay]

Good answers. I tend to agree with the points you both bring forth.

[Pete Marino]

Question on "high end" pieces.... Assuming you like 2 pieces equally that are about the same price and one is old (say a Kirby page) and one is new (say a Jim Lee page) which would you choose and why? Is one a better investment than the other long term? I'm sure there are a lot of opinions on this.

 

This is not an easy one to answer IMO.

 

It's been almost 25 years since Jim Lee came into comics. I think it's a safe bet to say he'll stand the test of time.

 

But he's not Jack Kirby. they call him the king for a reason.

 

Personally, I would decide based on content, composition and personal nostalgia.

 

Not all art at the same price is created equal. Is your favorite character on one page, but not the other? Is 1 page from a "classic" run, while the other is a great example from a "B" run?

 

Is there anything special about 1 page vs another? Sick backgrounds? Was it Lee/Williams? Who inked Kirby? There are a lot of inkers that people didn't like on Kirby (ask a kirby guy).

 

At the end of the day, go with what appeals to you more, and what hits your "happy button"

 

Sorry if I answered your question with about 8 more questions, but that was the best I could do.

 

-Pete

 

 

[Speedy-D]

Question on "high end" pieces.... Assuming you like 2 pieces equally that are about the same price and one is old (say a Kirby page) and one is new (say a Jim Lee page) which would you choose and why? Is one a better investment than the other long term? I'm sure there are a lot of opinions on this.

 

This is not an easy one to answer IMO.

 

It's been almost 25 years since Jim Lee came into comics. I think it's a safe bet to say he'll stand the test of time.

 

But he's not Jack Kirby. they call him the king for a reason.

 

Personally, I would decide based on content, composition and personal nostalgia.

 

Not all art at the same price is created equal. Is your favorite character on one page, but not the other? Is 1 page from a "classic" run, while the other is a great example from a "B" run?

 

Is there anything special about 1 page vs another? Sick backgrounds? Was it Lee/Williams? Who inked Kirby? There are a lot of inkers that people didn't like on Kirby (ask a kirby guy).

 

At the end of the day, go with what appeals to you more, and what hits your "happy button"

 

Sorry if I answered your question with about 8 more questions, but that was the best I could do.

 

-Pete

 

All good stuff here. And while it's true that Lee is 99% unlikely to be a flash in the pan, there is a wealth of his OA. Tons of the vintage Kirby (Infantino, Kubert, Kane, Ditko, Swan, etc.) is gone forever...it just wasn't saved and valued like it is now. That would be a big factor in my decision...if I'm comparing something like an X-men panel page from Kirby to a sweet Jim Lee X-cover.

[Pete Marino]

Question on "high end" pieces.... Assuming you like 2 pieces equally that are about the same price and one is old (say a Kirby page) and one is new (say a Jim Lee page) which would you choose and why? Is one a better investment than the other long term? I'm sure there are a lot of opinions on this.

 

This is not an easy one to answer IMO.

 

It's been almost 25 years since Jim Lee came into comics. I think it's a safe bet to say he'll stand the test of time.

 

But he's not Jack Kirby. they call him the king for a reason.

 

Personally, I would decide based on content, composition and personal nostalgia.

 

Not all art at the same price is created equal. Is your favorite character on one page, but not the other? Is 1 page from a "classic" run, while the other is a great example from a "B" run?

 

Is there anything special about 1 page vs another? Sick backgrounds? Was it Lee/Williams? Who inked Kirby? There are a lot of inkers that people didn't like on Kirby (ask a kirby guy).

 

At the end of the day, go with what appeals to you more, and what hits your "happy button"

 

Sorry if I answered your question with about 8 more questions, but that was the best I could do.

 

-Pete

 

All good stuff here. And while it's true that Lee is 99% unlikely to be a flash in the pan, there is a wealth of his OA. Tons of the vintage Kirby (Infantino, Kubert, Kane, Ditko, Swan, etc.) is gone forever...it just wasn't saved and valued like it is now. That would be a big factor in my decision...if I'm comparing something like an X-men panel page from Kirby to a sweet Jim Lee X-cover.

 

Interesting. I bet if we did a count of Kirby vs Lee pages sold in the last year on ha.com it would be a landslide for Kirby.

 

Kirby's output was insane compared to Lee.

 

Edit:

 

Just did a quick count

 

Kirby Attributed pages: 337

 

Jim Lee: 22

 

If you say that a majority of Kirby pages sell on ha.com and a small minority of Jim Lee pages do... That's quite a discrepency.

 

IMO it's harder to find an "A" example from Lee than Kirby (because Lee did less work, plus less "legendary" runs)

Edited December 17, 2013 by Pete Marino

[theflashunc]

A lot of it comes down to personal preference. To Pete's point, I'd rather have a B or C example from Kirby than a B or C example from Lee. (I'll take a Forever People or OMAC page or even his pre-superhero work anyday over a WildCATS page.)

 

But that's entirely personal preference, and wouldn't say it's a hard and fast rule by any means.

 

But I think both bring up a good point -- Jack's not exactly making any new art, while Jim is still going to be around for a long time I'd imagine.

[AKA Rick]

Question on "high end" pieces.... Assuming you like 2 pieces equally that are about the same price and one is old (say a Kirby page) and one is new (say a Jim Lee page) which would you choose and why? Is one a better investment than the other long term? I'm sure there are a lot of opinions on this.

 

I think this question is good and the answers are complex. I'd say Jim Lee art, although expensive today, might be a better investment for the long term.

 

If you have $10,000 to spend on either artist and were to pick art to resell in 10 years, you may in fact be better off with Jim Lee since there's more buying power and the odds of his art going up at higher percentages are decent if you get his run on X-Men or Batman "Hush", but anything else is probably riskier since he has a lot of mediocre titles out there. The mediocre stuff that's cheap may be the good buys are well, the Divine Right, WildCATS and other stuff that's available for $300 or less today could be tomorrow's $1,000 pieces, a good ROI.

 

With Jack Kirby anything from the 1960's associated with Stan Lee's storytelling writing is pure classic. He's the creator or co-creator of the majority of the Marvel universe. His prices are pretty high, and just when you thought they were at their pinnacle, they continue to rise. It's hard to say if his art has a lot of room to grow and explode or will they go up with the rate of inflation.

 

It's hard to say if the aged art collectors who grew up on Kirby won't die off and the new generation will appreciate Jim Lee, J. Scott Campbell, etc. - - or if there's a middle layer era of Byrne, Miller, Perez, Simonson, etc. that will emerge stronger first.

 

It's like sports and sports cards. Some older fans love Wilt Chamberlain, other middle agers like Michael Jordan, then young adults like Kobe Bryan, now younger fans follow LeBron James. Then there's just fans of the game who like 'em all.

 

 

[Mighty Hal]

If the number of pages available is the sticking point, Jim Lee is your man. When he retires his pencils, he'll have done a lot less comic work than Jack Kirby. I have the feeling that Lee likes comics but he doesn't live and breath comics.

 

But he's not Jack Kirby. they call him the king for a reason.

 

Well, it's not like Kubert and Infantino and Williamson and Wood all got together, voted, and decided Kirby was their king.

 

He became Jack 'King' Kirby because Stan 'the Man' Lee put the nickname in place. Jack was tagged 'King' because his last name started with a 'k'. If he'd been Jack Firby, Stan might have named him Jack 'Flaming' Firby, the hottest comic artist around. Although, you probably wouldn't be saying "He's not Jack Firby. They call him 'Flaming' for a reason."

 

Kirby is gone and Kirby was great but not all of his work was great. When people speak about his major creations, Captain Victory and the Kirbyverse don't figure prominently in the conversation. Those pages aren't cheap, though, so you'll still be dropping a decent amount of coin if you add C.V. to your collection. Over time, you'll probably make money with either Lee or Kirby.

 

At the end of the day, like Pete said, buy what makes you happy. If it climbs in value, all the better.

[innocuous]

But he's not Jack Kirby. they call him the king for a reason.

He became Jack 'King' Kirby because Stan 'the Man' Lee put the nickname in place. Jack was tagged 'King' because his last name started with a 'k'. If he'd been Jack Firby, Stan might have named him Jack 'Flaming' Firby, the hottest comic artist around. Although, you probably wouldn't be saying "He's not Jack Firby. They call him 'Flaming' for a reason."

I'd still take a classic SA Firby over Lee.

 

I really like Lee's art, but some of his DC work is really priced high for being published just last month. I Albert would lower the prices, I'd be a buyer.

Edited December 20, 2013 by innocuous

[Mark 1]

Hey guys,

I don't want to start a thread about this but was wondering...

 

What kind of tape do you use to keep a double page splash together? I gather I can tape the back of the boards together?

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

Marc

[Cogansway]

I use artist's archival tape that I found at Pearl's art supply. Easy to peel off if necessary.