FrankJP Posted November 13, 2011 Author Share Posted November 13, 2011 I would like to thank everyone so far for all their advice, it will definitely help! I still need to pick up a few storage supplies, so far just a couple portfolios, 19x13 and 11x14, but want to pick up some more bags/boards to put them in as well. I did a thread a couple months back that had some good ideas on that. I purchased a cover from Joe Benitez, should have it soon. He's at the top of my list and am very excited about it. I've been looking for awhile at a couple of other pieces by a couple other artists I like, closing in on a couple of things. It's more modern stuff, which is what I enjoy and makes me happy. I have started looking at some older pieces, from characters I really like, and all, but still a lot to learn so definitely going to wade slowly. Thanks again for all the help, and always open for more tips/advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaratondefense Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 This CAF intro is interesting: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=46578 I don't agree with everything written, but it is true that newer collectors in this hobby should always have their guards up. There are some nice collectors and dealers in this hobby, but there are a lot of snakes out there that deal with OA too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC in SC Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 My take on this hobby, after a year in it and more than 15 years collecting rare and signed books, is very simple. Reread this thread from the beginning. There's loads of good advice in it. Keep a budget, plan your purchases, and buy what you enjoy. Unless you're looking for a specific page or cover, there generally are plenty of excellent examples of your favorite artist's work. For those super rare items, like Infinity Gauntlet splash pages or Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon pages or Frank Cho's Liberty Meadows art, expect to pay for them. So if there is something on your list that you know to be super rare, have the funds set aside somewhere when you go looking because when you find it, you must be prepared to jump on it immediately. Some items will sit for years, but those rare and highly desireable pieces may not sit for even 30 minutes. When the chance comes, go for it. It's about the fun of comics and the love of their art. Let it take you back to the days when you were 8 years old and reading Spider-Man in your pajamas. Good luck and enjoy this hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cujobyte Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Definitely great advice in this thread! Do not go overboard, as I did. Spent way too much, way too fast. Go slow, research, and just enjoy the hobby as I do now. Noob19 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mycroft Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Don't buy Mark Bagley New Warriors pages...those are mine! (hahahah...but seriously) You should keep an eye on ebay. I bought one a few weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodey Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 I do keep an eye on ebay. But I'm picky about which pages to get. I only get pages that have NW in their costumes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mycroft Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Two good links for beginning collectors (like myself) Dollars and Sense: All You Need To Know About Buying Original Artwork How To Buy A Piece Of Comic Art : Finding the Right Comic Book Art for You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin76 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 The first post's advice is terrible and clich'e. Always "go for the gold". Obtain artwork that the artist is famous for, then buy the best example you can. Simple (example) Todd Mcfarlane = Spider-Man Neal Adams = Batman Bernie Wrightson = Swamp Thing Frank Miller = Daredevil You get the idea. The buy the best shot of that character you can afford, If you can't afford a splash, go for a half splash or a great panel page with excellent shots of that character. (is he in every panel? Can you see his face? ) Yes it's expensive, But always buy quality and you can't go wrong. Who the inker is also matters. No one else should be inking Mcfarlane and no one else should be inking Jim Lee except Scott Williams. You get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashrael Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 One thing that I make sure I do is read the story that the art comes from. There have been plenty of time when I see an incredible splash page, but then I read it in the context of the story and (1) it is the only decent page of art in the entire book or (2) the story is . Some may disagree that story is important, but to me it is vital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mycroft Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 One thing that I make sure I do is read the story that the art comes from. There have been plenty of time when I see an incredible splash page, but then I read it in the context of the story and (1) it is the only decent page of art in the entire book or (2) the story is . Some may disagree that story is important, but to me it is vital. I agree. Buy OA mostly from books you've read (before is best). I have done otherwise sometimes, but it's not as pleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankJP Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 Thanks again for all the advice, it's a big help to hear from folks who have been in the field. I know I've made my fair share of mistakes when diving into something new, so avoiding the pitfalls will make this a much more fun experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKA Rick Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I will offer a word of advice I wished I'd heard more clearly and still to this day wished I abided by... Don't buy based on boredom or impulse, nor a perceived "it's cheap, it's only $##.##" I've got so many pieces in my collection, both commissions and published pages that are a tad mediocre that I purchased because either I was bored and hadn't made a purchase in a while so was craving to buy something, anything... or it was a late night and surfing the web and finding stuff that was relatively cheap. I will say this as an example... It's easy to say "It's only $100" ten times, then get 10 pieces you're somewhat not passonate about... or you could add those together, and get one single $1,000 piece that you'll appreciate and treasure. Heck, even 5 $20 pieces by unknown artists VS one $100 piece by an artist you like when it comes to commissions. Pace yourself out. Save up for when what you want becomes an available opportunity you'll be ready to afford to take advantage of it. Quantity isn't always better than Quality, so if finances are of concern or not wanting to have a collection riddled with mediocrity, then just save up and stay focused to your collecting goals without deviating too far off the characters, art or whatever genre you collect. It's hard to sell off junk or stuff not too many people want, so not only are impulsive buys sometimes hasty lapses in judgment, but are bad investments too. Noob19 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodey Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 And I will add to this...stay away from the OA sites after a night out at the bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephisto Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 And I will add to this...stay away from the OA sites after a night out at the bars. Oh Rodney! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wktam Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 The hobby comes with many ups and downs. I try not to get frustrated about "the one that got away". The great thing about this hobby is that there will always be another great piece available if you wait patiently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malvin Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 The hobby comes with many ups and downs. I try not to get frustrated about "the one that got away". The great thing about this hobby is that there will always be another great piece available if you wait patiently. And sometimes you don't even have to wait patiently. There is always something around the corner! Malvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTIcollector Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 The first post's advice is terrible and clich'e. Always "go for the gold". Obtain artwork that the artist is famous for, then buy the best example you can. Simple (example) Todd Mcfarlane = Spider-Man Neal Adams = Batman Bernie Wrightson = Swamp Thing Frank Miller = Daredevil You get the idea. The buy the best shot of that character you can afford, If you can't afford a splash, go for a half splash or a great panel page with excellent shots of that character. (is he in every panel? Can you see his face? ) Yes it's expensive, But always buy quality and you can't go wrong. Who the inker is also matters. No one else should be inking Mcfarlane and no one else should be inking Jim Lee except Scott Williams. You get the idea. My advice would be more like "Always Go by the Golden Rule of Collecting". That Golden Rule, as you've heard from others, is "buy what you like". I respectfully disagree that the "go for the gold" approach to buying art is the right approach for everybody. For some people, this might be the way to go. For investment, this is good advice. But this approach is not the right approach for every collector and it's certainly not for me. Telling a collector to "only buy the really nice ones" is like telling a comic book collector to "only buy first appearances and keys, and only buy 9.8 or better." For some collectors, that approach works. Other collectors might prefer an entire run in 9.2 (or 3.0) to owning just a single book in 9.8. It's all a matter of collector preference. If everybody just went "for the gold", then Amazing Spider-man #2 in 8.5 would be selling for a quarter. I decided in the mid-1990's that I wanted to own a piece from each of my favorite artists and characters. I bought what I could afford: I got a Starlin Captain Marvel page, a Smith Conan, an Adams GL/GA, a Watchmen page, etc. The pages I got were okay, but not prime examples. Sure, I would have loved a NICER Starlin CM, a nicer Adams GL/GA, and a nicer Smith Conan. Rather than buy all of the pieces I did, I could have held off and bought a single nice splash. However, if I had held out for only nicer pieces, my collection would be much smaller and I never would have acquired one of each of my favorites. Now my collection is complete. I don't buy original art any more becasue I accomplished my mission and I'm happy with what I have. It is important to recognize that the really nice peices, with iconic images from top-name artists, are always more liquid that the lower-tier, less-expensive pieces. When somebody is buying solely for investment, "go for the gold" can be good advice (but still not the right advice for everybody in all situations). However, if a collector is following what I call the Golden Rule of Collecting, then future liquidity should not be as big a consideration as other factors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTIcollector Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Here's the advice I recently gave to somebody who asked me a simliar question. 1) Buy what you like. For any potential purchase, ask yourself, "if the bottom of the market fell out tomorrow, wiping out any monetary value the art has, would I still be happy that I bought this art?". If the answer is yes, it's a good piece to buy. If it's no, keep waiting for the right piece. 2). Published original comic book art is nearly impossible to fake well. Sketches can be faked with relative ease. Let that inform your purchasing decisions. Personally, I rarely ever buy sketches. 3). Invest in some Mylars for art. They are not cheap, but they are essential if you plan on keeping your art for a long time. 4). Be very careful when having art framed. I paid that I thought was a reputable framer to frame my Bolland Animal Man cover, and I found out years later (after the framer was out of business) that they had glued the cover down to foam core board! 5) Read the "New to OA Collecting" thread on the boards, which has good advice. Always get plenty of advice, which gives you lots of informed opinions from others who have been there. Then choose which advice is right for you. After a while, you'll have enough experience under your belt that you'll be able to offer advice as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weird Paper Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 The first post's advice is terrible and clich'e. Always "go for the gold". Obtain artwork that the artist is famous for, then buy the best example you can. Simple (example) Todd Mcfarlane = Spider-Man Neal Adams = Batman Bernie Wrightson = Swamp Thing Frank Miller = Daredevil You get the idea. The buy the best shot of that character you can afford, If you can't afford a splash, go for a half splash or a great panel page with excellent shots of that character. (is he in every panel? Can you see his face? ) Yes it's expensive, But always buy quality and you can't go wrong. Who the inker is also matters. No one else should be inking Mcfarlane and no one else should be inking Jim Lee except Scott Williams. You get the idea. When I see a post like this, I'm always curious about the poster's own collection. What about it? Link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronty Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 4). Be very careful when having art framed. I paid that I thought was a reputable framer to frame my Bolland Animal Man cover, and I found out years later (after the framer was out of business) that they had glued the cover down to foam core board! yuck that gives me the heebie jeebies. Luckily most of what I collect is on thick illo board so hopefully no one would ever see any need to glue it down to anything, but yikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
