Speculators: Which Original Art / Artists are Undervalued/Overvalued?

[Guardian Comics]

Always thought Mike Mayhew stuff was VERY underrated.

 

 

 

 

Jim

 

OK - I'm convinced about Mayhew. Those are some awesome pages! I'll have to go look about and see if there is anything of his I like for sale.

 

I sold the top one last year. I am selling my Venom painting by him in the August Clink auction.

 

And I still own the bottom one

 

Quite possibly the only thing I'll ever own that will never be for sale.

 

Jim

[Maccai3]

i have 2 pieces of original art, Mat Broome from Batman No Mans Land vol 4 and Jock from The Black Mirror. Jock's art is brilliant, pricing is generally $100 to $600

 

 

this isn't the one i have, love his ink smudges though

[sborock]

I think that The Stuff Of Legends artist Charles Paul Wilson III is a steal at the moment. I was able to pick up some amazing pages for $60-$100 a piece at Motor City. Not only is his work very original and detailed, but it is also from a comic with an amazing storyline.

 

But, hey, I could be wrong. Not everyone has the same taste in comic art as I do.

[Tony S]

Always thought Mike Mayhew stuff was VERY underrated.

 

 

 

 

Jim

 

OK - I'm convinced about Mayhew. Those are some awesome pages! I'll have to go look about and see if there is anything of his I like for sale.

 

I sold the top one last year. I am selling my Venom painting by him in the August Clink auction.

The Venom painting is not up on the August CL preview yet, but I'll certainly watch for it and give it a look when the auction starts. Thanks for the heads up.

[Mephisto]

Always thought Mike Mayhew stuff was VERY underrated.

 

 

 

 

Jim

 

OK - I'm convinced about Mayhew. Those are some awesome pages! I'll have to go look about and see if there is anything of his I like for sale.

 

I sold the top one last year. I am selling my Venom painting by him in the August Clink auction.

The Venom painting is not up on the August CL preview yet, but I'll certainly watch for it and give it a look when the auction starts. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Yeah I still haven't mailed it yet. Probably will do it in the next week or so.

[Rodey]

Mike Mayhew! How could I forget him! I keep eyeing one of his Fear Itself pages with Speedball. But I keep wondering to save my cash for a Bagley New Warriors page. Oh the dilemma!

[Claudio]

I keep hearing people say Mayhew is underrated but is he undervalued? Seems like his stuff commands a decent price.

[Maccai3]

Nate Van Dyke has a really cool style, i like his work

 

[Rodey]

I keep hearing people say Mayhew is underrated but is he undervalued? Seems like his stuff commands a decent price.

 

I guess that's the rub. Do I want to spend $350+ on a Fear Itself page even if he is underrated?

[malvin]

I keep hearing people say Mayhew is underrated but is he undervalued? Seems like his stuff commands a decent price.

 

I'm with Claudio, and maybe I am missing something, by my definition, someone underrated is undervalued, if his stuff commands a premium (and I don't mean asking prices, I mean actual sales) I don't think he is underrated.

 

Malvin

[Mephisto]

I keep hearing people say Mayhew is underrated but is he undervalued? Seems like his stuff commands a decent price.

 

I'm with Claudio, and maybe I am missing something, by my definition, someone underrated is undervalued, if his stuff commands a premium (and I don't mean asking prices, I mean actual sales) I don't think he is underrated.

 

Malvin

 

If you are going by actual sales prices and not asking prices then my experience with Mayhew pieces specifically at auction do not sell for all that much compared to other modern artists of the last 10 years.

[Rodey]

I keep hearing people say Mayhew is underrated but is he undervalued? Seems like his stuff commands a decent price.

 

I'm with Claudio, and maybe I am missing something, by my definition, someone underrated is undervalued, if his stuff commands a premium (and I don't mean asking prices, I mean actual sales) I don't think he is underrated.

 

Malvin

 

If you are going by actual sales prices and not asking prices then my experience with Mayhew pieces specifically at auction do not sell for all that much compared to other modern artists of the last 10 years.

 

With that logic, he is then underrated.

[delekkerste]

I keep hearing people say Mayhew is underrated but is he undervalued? Seems like his stuff commands a decent price.

 

I think there are a number of artists working today who are doing amazing work - Lee Bermejo, Marco Djurdjevic, Paolo Rivera, etc. I'd probably put Mayhew in the next tier, but still up there.

 

That said - are artists like these undervalued? I tend to think no - though the quality of the art is often superb, these guys are generally working with long-established characters whose mythology has largely been written, and I don't necessarily see people looking back in 20 years and thinking about current creator runs and storylines in the same way as they nostalgically look back at, say, Lee/Kirby FF, Frank Miller's DD or Claremont/Byrne X-Men, etc. I think that, if you're looking to speculate/invest, you're better off sticking with the stuff that has the best chance of standing the test of time, and that means focusing on the most important artists' work on the era-defining characters, titles and storylines.

 

On the other hand, if you're just looking to buy and enjoy some nice art at a fraction of what blue chip pages are going for these days, then the world is your oyster - there's a lot of great newer material that can be had, as well as less popular/expensive older material and niche material. A friend of mine who shares an interest in 1970s era Warren art, for example, keeps marveling at how attractive prices are compared to blue chip Marvel and some DC art. He happens to think that prices will have to eventually rise in sympathy (I'm personally not convinced), but, even if they don't, you can build a pretty decent collection for what just a few Marvel blue chip pages will run you these days.

 

One last point - the area of OA that I would most definitely NOT be speculating on, if I were so inclined, is blue chip mid-80s through early '90s art. I think those areas are squarely in the nostalgic bullseye of the Gen X and early Gen Y generations who grew up with that art and are/have been hitting the sweet spot in terms of careers and desire to relive their youths. I'm talking about DKR and KJ pages, Watchmen, McFarlane Spidey, Lee/Silvestri X-Men, etc. I'm not saying don't buy these pages if you love and want to collect them, but I think we're at the point of peak demand for that material and this is probably the least overlooked, most fully priced segment of the OA market now (which the upcoming Heritage sale will undoubtedly confirm).

[Claudio]

I keep hearing people say Mayhew is underrated but is he undervalued? Seems like his stuff commands a decent price.

 

I'm with Claudio, and maybe I am missing something, by my definition, someone underrated is undervalued, if his stuff commands a premium (and I don't mean asking prices, I mean actual sales) I don't think he is underrated.

 

Malvin

 

If you are going by actual sales prices and not asking prices then my experience with Mayhew pieces specifically at auction do not sell for all that much compared to other modern artists of the last 10 years.

 

With that logic, he is then underrated.

 

Not necessarily. This hobby is really bolstered by nostalgia and not artistic merit. The modern artists who do command higher prices at auction are ones that have worked on memorable runs. I don't know of many artists in the last 10 years who do very well at auction unless they can hit that nostalgia nerve.

[Claudio]

I keep hearing people say Mayhew is underrated but is he undervalued? Seems like his stuff commands a decent price.

 

I think there are a number of artists working today who are doing amazing work - Lee Bermejo, Marco Djurdjevic, Paolo Rivera, etc. I'd probably put Mayhew in the next tier, but still up there.

 

That said - are artists like these undervalued? I tend to think no - though the quality of the art is often superb, these guys are generally working with long-established characters whose mythology has largely been written, and I don't necessarily see people looking back in 20 years and thinking about current creator runs and storylines in the same way as they nostalgically look back at, say, Lee/Kirby FF, Frank Miller's DD or Claremont/Byrne X-Men, etc. I think that, if you're looking to speculate/invest, you're better off sticking with the stuff that has the best chance of standing the test of time, and that means focusing on the most important artists' work on the era-defining characters, titles and storylines.

 

On the other hand, if you're just looking to buy and enjoy some nice art at a fraction of what blue chip pages are going for these days, then the world is your oyster - there's a lot of great newer material that can be had, as well as less popular/expensive older material and niche material. A friend of mine who shares an interest in 1970s era Warren art, for example, keeps marveling at how attractive prices are compared to blue chip Marvel and some DC art. He happens to think that prices will have to eventually rise in sympathy (I'm personally not convinced), but, even if they don't, you can build a pretty decent collection for what just a few Marvel blue chip pages will run you these days.

 

One last point - the area of OA that I would most definitely NOT be speculating on, if I were so inclined, is blue chip mid-80s through early '90s art. I think those areas are squarely in the nostalgic bullseye of the Gen X and early Gen Y generations who grew up with that art and are/have been hitting the sweet spot in terms of careers and desire to relive their youths. I'm talking about DKR and KJ pages, Watchmen, McFarlane Spidey, Lee/Silvestri X-Men, etc. I'm not saying don't buy these pages if you love and want to collect them, but I think we're at the point of peak demand for that material and this is probably the least overlooked, most fully priced segment of the OA market now (which the upcoming Heritage sale will undoubtedly confirm).

 

I completely agree with you. I also think that a lot of these new artists do incredibly detailed work and they can't keep a monthly schedule and that hurts their exposure and appeal. Lee Bermejo and Marco Djurdjevic don't really have a steady put out that many pieces and I haven't even heard of Paolo Rivera. Like I said, if these people cannot build build up a decent following, their art is just pretty pictures. There is something different about holding a Bermejo piece in your hands and a Kirby piece.

[Pirate]

Barry KItson undervalued

[Nexus]

That said - are artists like these undervalued? I tend to think no - though the quality of the art is often superb, these guys are generally working with long-established characters whose mythology has largely been written, and I don't necessarily see people looking back in 20 years and thinking about current creator runs and storylines in the same way as they nostalgically look back at, say, Lee/Kirby FF, Frank Miller's DD or Claremont/Byrne X-Men, etc. I think that, if you're looking to speculate/invest, you're better off sticking with the stuff that has the best chance of standing the test of time, and that means focusing on the most important artists' work on the era-defining characters, titles and storylines.

 

Sounds a lot like DKR, KJ, WATCHMEN...

 

One last point - the area of OA that I would most definitely NOT be speculating on, if I were so inclined, is blue chip mid-80s through early '90s art. I think those areas are squarely in the nostalgic bullseye of the Gen X and early Gen Y generations who grew up with that art and are/have been hitting the sweet spot in terms of careers and desire to relive their youths. I'm talking about DKR and KJ pages, Watchmen, McFarlane Spidey, Lee/Silvestri X-Men, etc. I'm not saying don't buy these pages if you love and want to collect them, but I think we're at the point of peak demand for that material and this is probably the least overlooked, most fully priced segment of the OA market now (which the upcoming Heritage sale will undoubtedly confirm).

 

Sounds a lot like Miller DD and Claremont/Byrne X-MEN...

 

 

[miraclemet]

I keep hearing people say Mayhew is underrated but is he undervalued? Seems like his stuff commands a decent price.

 

I think there are a number of artists working today who are doing amazing work - Lee Bermejo, Marco Djurdjevic, Paolo Rivera, etc. I'd probably put Mayhew in the next tier, but still up there.

 

That said - are artists like these undervalued? I tend to think no - though the quality of the art is often superb, these guys are generally working with long-established characters whose mythology has largely been written, and I don't necessarily see people looking back in 20 years and thinking about current creator runs and storylines in the same way as they nostalgically look back at, say, Lee/Kirby FF, Frank Miller's DD or Claremont/Byrne X-Men, etc. I think that, if you're looking to speculate/invest, you're better off sticking with the stuff that has the best chance of standing the test of time, and that means focusing on the most important artists' work on the era-defining characters, titles and storylines.

 

On the other hand, if you're just looking to buy and enjoy some nice art at a fraction of what blue chip pages are going for these days, then the world is your oyster - there's a lot of great newer material that can be had, as well as less popular/expensive older material and niche material. A friend of mine who shares an interest in 1970s era Warren art, for example, keeps marveling at how attractive prices are compared to blue chip Marvel and some DC art. He happens to think that prices will have to eventually rise in sympathy (I'm personally not convinced), but, even if they don't, you can build a pretty decent collection for what just a few Marvel blue chip pages will run you these days.

 

One last point - the area of OA that I would most definitely NOT be speculating on, if I were so inclined, is blue chip mid-80s through early '90s art. I think those areas are squarely in the nostalgic bullseye of the Gen X and early Gen Y generations who grew up with that art and are/have been hitting the sweet spot in terms of careers and desire to relive their youths. I'm talking about DKR and KJ pages, Watchmen, McFarlane Spidey, Lee/Silvestri X-Men, etc. I'm not saying don't buy these pages if you love and want to collect them, but I think we're at the point of peak demand for that material and this is probably the least overlooked, most fully priced segment of the OA market now (which the upcoming Heritage sale will undoubtedly confirm).

 

I think availability by era also falls in line with what you've said. mid-80s/90s art is far more available (keeping the prices down for non-iconic work) than its earlier counterparts.

 

For iconic I think Curt Swann Superman pages are amazingly affordable considering they are of one of the most recognizable characters of all time, they are from an era where art was not saved as much as it is now (though there seems to be a "decent" amount of Swann stuff out there on the market) and Swann is one of the key names to draw Superman.

 

Go earlier into the 60s and all prices jump up regardless of the talent or subject matter. Go up to the 80s and you have more product available but there's a big dichotomy between the "key" pages and the non-key pages. The only speculation there is to follow the same trending of the comics. Thanos is hot now, so Starlin/Perez/Infinity pages should be headed up. Same with Bane and so on...

[miraclemet]

Barry KItson undervalued

 

(thumbs u well priced, well drawn, and lots of good subject matter can be found if you are looking in the right places.

[Rodey]

I see where you are going now. Then how about Norm BreyFogle?