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

[delekkerste]

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...

 

 

What to buy is only part of the equation - what is just as important is when to buy and how much to pay. My point was that, from a financial perspective, there's not likely to be a lot of long-term demand for a lot of the more recent work, even though some of the quality of art is fantastic. So, from strictly a financial perspective, you want to stick to the blue chip material that has the best chance of standing the test of time. But, that doesn't mean that no price is too high for quality - you have to buy smartly if you want to see price appreciation over any reasonable period of time.

 

As for my other point that mid-'80s through early '90s art has been and remains the most overheated segment of the art market right now because of the demographic/nostalgia reasons I mentioned, I stand by that 100%. And, I know some bigger collectors than me who believe that as well - one of them expressed this sentiment to me just the other day, pointing to KJ and DKR pages in particular. Don't get me wrong - the art is spectacular, but I think we're in a period (which, admittedly, could last for a while) where we are at peak nostalgic demand for this material, and prices already reflect that (and, hence, would not be my first choice to speculate on, being the topic of this particular thread).

[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...

 

 

What to buy is only part of the equation - what is just as important is when to buy and how much to pay. My point was that, from a financial perspective, there's not likely to be a lot of long-term demand for a lot of the more recent work, even though some of the quality of art is fantastic. So, from strictly a financial perspective, you want to stick to the blue chip material that has the best chance of standing the test of time. But, that doesn't mean that no price is too high for quality - you have to buy smartly if you want to see price appreciation over any reasonable period of time.

 

As for my other point that mid-'80s through early '90s art has been and remains the most overheated segment of the art market right now because of the demographic/nostalgia reasons I mentioned, I stand by that 100%. And, I know some bigger collectors than me who believe that as well - one of them expressed this sentiment to me just the other day, pointing to KJ and DKR pages in particular. But, feel free to disagree - after all, it takes two sides to make a market!

 

I get all that and don't even disagree (completely). I'd agree more if you said it was ALL overheated due to nostalgia/demographics. But it seems you're making a distinction between Byrne X-MEN/Miller DD and DKR/KJ/WM as "blue chip material", favoring the former over the latter. If anything, the latter group is more highly regarded than the former. That's especially important in terms of "standing the test of time". Also, throwing out the one outlier $448K DKR sale, going by public sales, Byrne X-MEN and Miller DD have sold for more than DKR/KJ/WM.

 

As for "when to buy" and "how much to pay"...is any of this stuff getting any cheaper? It may or it may not. But Kirby FF (another example you cite), certainly hasn't.

 

(None of that, btw, is meant to be an endorsement for buying anything for its potential price appreciation.)

 

[Nexus]

As for my other point that mid-'80s through early '90s art has been and remains the most overheated segment of the art market right now because of the demographic/nostalgia reasons I mentioned, I stand by that 100%. And, I know some bigger collectors than me who believe that as well - one of them expressed this sentiment to me just the other day, pointing to KJ and DKR pages in particular. Don't get me wrong - the art is spectacular, but I think we're in a period (which, admittedly, could last for a while) where we are at peak nostalgic demand for this material, and prices already reflect that (and, hence, would not be my first choice to speculate on, being the topic of this particular thread).

 

The bold part was added after I already replied to the original post. To address that point, I'll use your Kirby FF example again: We are arguably past peak nostalgic demand for Kirby FF, but prices have only been going up. I'm sure we could come up with many other examples as well. I won't speak to the sustainability of it. But I also wouldn't assume that all OA value is strictly determined by nostalgia.

 

 

[delekkerste]

I get all that and don't even disagree (completely). I'd agree more if you said it was ALL overheated due to nostalgia/demographics. But it seems you're making a distinction between Byrne X-MEN/Miller DD and DKR/KJ/WM as "blue chip material", favoring the former over the latter. If anything, the latter group is more highly regarded than the former. That's especially important in terms of "standing the test of time". Also, throwing out the one outlier $448K DKR sale, going by public sales, Byrne X-MEN and Miller DD have sold for more than DKR/KJ/WM.

 

I don't disagree with the characterization of the market being overheated as a whole. That said, because guys we both know who grew up with the McSpidey stuff, for example, have started to hit their peak nostalgia and career strides in life, we've seen a lot of mid-80s to early '90s material in particular heat up in recent years, just as we saw guys like myself gravitate towards Miller DD and early '80s material when we started hitting our nostalgic/career strides a while earlier. While that material is still hot, DKR, KJ, Watchmen, McSpidey, etc. is in the absolute bullseye kill-zone for nostalgia and market frenzy right now - there's nothing hotter.

 

As for non-outlier sales, DKR panel pages routinely fetch $20-$50K each, KJ pages even more, so, apples to apples, this stuff is priced much more expensively than the more plentiful Miller DD or Byrne X-Men. But, that's neither here nor there. All I'm saying is that, as per the original intent of this thread, these are probably the last places you want to speculate as prices are very rich already right now. You could even argue that DKR pages are on the wrong side of the peak now given that all the recent supply has more than sated demand at the lofty levels we were seeing.

 

As for Watchmen, I remember in my early years of collecting OA when people thought of the series as being more writing-driven and didn't really care for the art. Similarly, people didn't really care about early Kirby X-Men pages like the complete issue #1 story which could have been had for, if not pennies, then nickels and dimes on today's dollar. Those were the kind of market inefficiencies that I/we should have jumped on. I don't think people jumping on board $155K Kirby pages or $40K/$15K ho-hum DKR/WM pages, respectively, now are going to necessary make out all that well financially (again, the purpose of this thread)...though, at least they'll own some cool art!

[delekkerste]

The bold part was added after I already replied to the original post. To address that point, I'll use your Kirby FF example again: We are arguably past peak nostalgic demand for Kirby FF, but prices have only been going up. I'm sure we could come up with many other examples as well. I won't speak to the sustainability of it. But I also wouldn't assume that all OA value is strictly determined by nostalgia.

 

Because Kirby FF is what kicked off the Marvel Age of Comics, people of all generations continually go back to it. Or, at least they used to in my day - I suspect that, with each passing year, it becomes more difficult to absorb all the history and continuity and fewer people do so. But, there are certainly enough people of my generation and older who discovered that material through back issues, reprints, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe & Marvel Saga, origin retellings, storylines that referenced and emerged from those early plotlines, etc. So, I think it's wrong to assume that people in their 40s, for example, can't be nostalgic for that material. Not to mention the fact that we just got 2 Fantastic Four films and there has been a resurgence of interest in Kirby in general as Marvel mines all their old material for cinematic gold (along with all the TPB re-issues, etc. that go along with it).

 

Even so, aside from the outlier FF #55 page sale, even the eye-popping recent Avengers #3 page sale is less than where B+ DKR pages were selling recently and a good KJ page would be even higher. I didn't say Kirby wasn't hot - of course he is - but mid-80s to early '90s material is on another level of hotness entirely, because that's where a lot of the new demographic/nostalgic money has been flowing as these collectors hit the prime time for the first time, whereas collectors have had years to adjust to Kirby prices.

 

I'm not saying that OA is all about nostalgia - it's probably at least half, though. And, when nostalgia and demographics combine powerfully for the first time, watch out - that's exactly what we've been seeing in Bronze Age/early Copper Age material over the past decade and in mid-'80s material for the past several years. The upcoming Heritage auction will confirm that early '90s material is the new new thing (if that Bagley cover at Heritage wasn't the first indication of x-treme frothiness for that era!)

 

 

[AKA Rick]

I think Mike Mayhew's best work is NAMOR #5 Cover

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=676318&GSub=16633

 

His pencil work seems to command that $2,000 - $3,000 range for penciled covers.

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=679516&GSub=99240

 

I see similarities between Mike Mayhew and Greg Land in the photo realistic and referenced renderings, but Greg Land commands between $1,500-2,000, for penciled/inked covers, so slightly less than Mayhew:

 

http://www.fanfare-se.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=9263&ArtistId=120&Details=0&From=TDetail&Mag=Black+Widow

 

http://www.fanfare-se.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=5733&ArtistId=120&Details=0&From=TDetail&Mag=Sojourn

 

I also see similarities between Mayhew, Land and Greg Horn too.

 

http://greghornjudge.com/Marvel_Comics_art_gallery_Greg_Horn.htm

 

Greg's work is priced slightly higher than Mike Mayhews, and is in the $3,000-4,000 range for penciled covers.

 

In looking at Mayhew's work, the marketplace value pieces command, coupled by the availability of his art (artist direct via CAF and at conventions), the pricing seems to be valued right. As for his status, his talent is amazing and to me is underrated in terms of the quality of his work compared to his art peers and what you see on the comic book store shelves today. I think there would be a demand and consuming audience for Mike Mayhew and he should be doing covers for Marvel, DC, Zenescope, Dynamite, Image and other publishers on a regular basis.

 

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.

 

[NelsonAI]

Speculators ....

[Nexus]

Similarly, people didn't really care about early Kirby X-Men pages like the complete issue #1 story which could have been had for, if not pennies, then nickels and dimes on today's dollar. Those were the kind of market inefficiencies that I/we should have jumped on.

 

Yes, we should have...if we wanted to collect Kirby. X-MEN #1 was broken up...2008 or so? What were your views on OA values then?

 

Because Kirby FF is what kicked off the Marvel Age of Comics, people of all generations continually go back to it. Or, at least they used to in my day - I suspect that, with each passing year, it becomes more difficult to absorb all the history and continuity and fewer people do so. But, there are certainly enough people of my generation and older who discovered that material through back issues, reprints, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe & Marvel Saga, origin retellings, storylines that referenced and emerged from those early plotlines, etc. So, I think it's wrong to assume that people in their 40s, for example, can't be nostalgic for that material. Not to mention the fact that we just got 2 Fantastic Four films and there has been a resurgence of interest in Kirby in general as Marvel mines all their old material for cinematic gold (along with all the TPB re-issues, etc. that go along with it).

Along those lines, DKR, WM, and KJ continue to sell (and sell well) in TPB and hardcover formats. There are new readers/fans everyday. Whether they ever decide to collect OA is another issue, but for now, Claremont/Byrne X-MEN and Miller DD do not sell in the same numbers (if at all...Byrne X-MEN may actually be out of print)...so potential new collectors being created for those works is even less of a possibility. And I would say that WM is more of a must-read for comics readers these days than Kirby FF.

 

Essentially, I don't believe you can point to Byrne X-MEN and Miller DD as investment-worthy blue-chip material while at the same time, saying DKR/WM/KJ are not. They may not be, but if they're not, then neither are Byrne X-MEN or Miller DD.

 

The upcoming Heritage auction will confirm that early '90s material is the new new thing (if that Bagley cover at Heritage wasn't the first indication of x-treme frothiness for that era!)

 

If '90s material is the new thing, and it will follow the same trajectory as the previously hot Bronze and Copper material, then now IS the time to buy. The appreciation won't be as great as for those collectors who bought even earlier, but check out where those '70s and '80s titles were a few years ago...that could be where the '90s stuff is now.

 

Anyway, if now's not the the time to buy, then when would be the time to buy? Is it going to get cheaper? Or easier to acquire? When? Of course, most artists and titles will fall out of favor and/or be forgotten and values will fall. I just don't think that will be McSpidey anytime soon (and I say that as someone who doesn't care all that much about McFarlane).

 

I'll finish with an observation of the hobby. Those who have done best in the hobby are those who bought quality material and held onto it. They didn't flip at the first opportunity. But that means they had to love what they collected. Nobody who collects or buys based on which artist is "undervalued" or not, is going to hold onto anything for the long haul. If they don't love it, they're not going to keep it. If they try to sell it, they will likely take a hit. People can lose their shirts very easily in this hobby. Just my opinion.

[jick]

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.

 

I agree with Kitson being undervalued. But I have been looking all over for a good example of his Azrael work to no avail. Not many good pages/splashes/covers available. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it.

[delekkerste]

Yes, we should have...if we wanted to collect Kirby. X-MEN #1 was broken up...2008 or so? What were your views on OA values then?

 

My view was that I was working with two other individuals to buy the complete story before Weakley got his hands on it, but, for various reasons, the deal didn't get done.

 

In 2008, I thought that most asset prices, including OA, had peaked. And, in fact, that has largely been the case, though trophy assets, goosed by force-fed easy money flooding the system, in many cases climbed to new highs even as lower-tier asset prices (including the vast majority of art & collectibles) remain below 2008 levels.

 

 

Essentially, I don't believe you can point to Byrne X-MEN and Miller DD as investment-worthy blue-chip material while at the same time, saying DKR/WM/KJ are not. They may not be, but if they're not, then neither are Byrne X-MEN or Miller DD.

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa, where are you getting this from? I never said that the former were blue chip and the latter are not. They're all clearly "blue chip" - I just pointed out that the prices on the latter are positively molten while prices on the former are merely sizzling. Heck, Miller DD prices are more like a little toasty at best by comparison these days.

 

 

Anyway, if now's not the the time to buy, then when would be the time to buy?

 

5, 10, 15, 20 years ago? Think about it - OA must be the only market around where people think it's a great time to be buying after prices have already gone-up more than 100-fold in some cases during last 20 years.

 

 

I'll finish with an observation of the hobby. Those who have done best in the hobby are those who bought quality material and held onto it. They didn't flip at the first opportunity. But that means they had to love what they collected. Nobody who collects or buys based on which artist is "undervalued" or not, is going to hold onto anything for the long haul. If they don't love it, they're not going to keep it. If they try to sell it, they will likely take a hit. People can lose their shirts very easily in this hobby. Just my opinion.

 

So, I guess you're the target audience for the "past performance is no guarantee of future results" disclaimer. No doubt that those who bought and held the good stuff did well in the past. But, then again, they weren't buying $60K Severin splashes, $155K Kirby pages, $448K DKR splashes or half-million dollar McSpidey covers (or whatever the #1 is going to go for), were they? You seem to think that current trends are sustainable; I happen to believe that mean reversion is inevitable and that if you expect to use the same "buy & hold quality at any price" strategy that worked in the past with prices where they are today, I say good luck to you on that, sir!

 

That's not to say that great OA will become available on the cheap anytime soon. I expect a lot of overpriced purchases to remain buried in collections, occasionally being traded away (I'll trade you 2 $150K Kirby pages for 4 $75K Buscemas) to avoid taking that hit in cold, hard cash. I don't expect this to occur overnight, and whether we've even reached the ultimate height of kraziness or not (probably not just yet), who can say. When we look back in 20 years though, I bet the 2012-2032 period will prove to look much different than 1992-2012 in terms of the price trajectory for the OA market - we're at a MUCH different starting point, so to expect similar results I think is just

 

Anyway, I'm still buying because I'm trying to build up a collection that I'll enjoy hopefully for decades to come. As a concession to market realities, I'm spending less than I otherwise would be (yes, it may look like I'm spending a lot, but it's all relative, isn't it) and am focusing more on material that I both like and that I think will remain relevant. I'm also buying more panel pages with less room to fall in absolute dollars, because everyone seems to think their covers have gone up 50% over the past year (spillover from the various outlier sales we've seen); I think expectations will come back to reality over the next year or two. Anyway, if you like McSpidey or DKR or KJ and want to own examples because you love them and will enjoy the art, I enthusiastically encourage you to open up your checkbook. But, this thread is not about buying what you love and paying whatever price it takes to get it.

[Jimmy Linguini]

I think there will be a large market in original art from the following people,

 

Marco rudy (swamp thing, superboy artist)

Jeff lemire (sweet tooth)

Lenard Kirk (x-men, x-force, sells a lot of original art at 20 bucks a page)

 

[jeBailey]

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.

 

I agree with Kitson being undervalued. But I have been looking all over for a good example of his Azrael work to no avail. Not many good pages/splashes/covers available. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it.

 

Barry had two Azrael covers with him in Seattle as they had been in his Attic for many years. Barry sold them cheap also. I asked him the price twice just to make sure I heard him correctly. If the guy who inquired about them had passed I would have brought them home with me.

 

John

 

 

[Nexus]

Essentially, I don't believe you can point to Byrne X-MEN and Miller DD as investment-worthy blue-chip material while at the same time, saying DKR/WM/KJ are not. They may not be, but if they're not, then neither are Byrne X-MEN or Miller DD.

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa, where are you getting this from? I never said that the former were blue chip and the latter are not. They're all clearly "blue chip" - I just pointed out that the prices on the latter are positively molten overheated while prices on the former are merely sizzling. Heck, Miller DD prices are more like a little toasty at best these days.

 

OK, all blue-chip. But not all investment-worthy. From your first post in this thread:

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

Again, if DKR/WM/KJ are questionable values (and they very well may be), then so are Byrne X-MEN and Miller DD. And I don't believe the former is any more molten hot than the latter, not when X-MEN and DD covers sell for $100K+ and an X-MEN interior hit $65K.

 

Anyway, if now's not the the time to buy, then when would be the time to buy?

 

5, 10, 15, 20 years ago?

 

Isn't this what you believe every year? Certainly 5-10 years ago!

 

You seem to think that current trends are sustainable;

 

My turn for "whoa, whoa, whoa"! When did I say that? I'm on record as saying I don't know if any of this is sustainable; certainly not at the same growth rate of the last 20 years. And I would never advocate OA as an investment.

 

I do believe the collectors who have done best are the ones who HAVE bought and held. That's easy enough to see. That does NOT necessarily include the ones who are buying NOW. Although I do think they're better off buying and holding art they like, in general, than speculating.

 

...whether we've even reached the ultimate height of kraziness or not (probably not just yet), who can say.

 

Yes...who can say. Agree there. I also agree (again) that any appreciation won't match the same percentage growth of the last 20 years. But in terms of absolute dollars? Who can say.

 

Anyway, I'm still buying because I'm trying to build up a collection that I'll enjoy hopefully for decades to come. As a concession to market realities, I'm spending less than I otherwise would be (yes, it may look like I'm spending a lot, but it's all relative, isn't it) and am focusing more on material that I both like and that I think will remain relevant.

 

You have, and have had, tremendous buying power. You've been involved in the hobby for at least 10 years. Yet, your collecting has been (relatively) conservative, a reflection of your general bearish outlook throughout the years. Low risk, but at the same time, if you have wanted to build a collection, you've missed a lot of opportunities. And those same pieces will cost you that much more to acquire now. You've been in this long enough to have spent the pennies, nickels, and dimes to today's dollar. Nothing goes up forever, so at some point, you'll be right. But you haven't always been right. Extremely well-written and entertaining...but not always right. It's OK...it humanizes your greatness.

[delekkerste]

OK, all blue-chip. But not all investment-worthy. From your first post in this thread:

 

I think you're misinterpreting what I said in the worst possible way. All I said is that, if I were speculating in OA today, I wouldn't be buying the super-heated mid-'80s to early '90s favorites which are in the absolute nostalgic/demographic killzone right now. I never said that these weren't blue chip pieces of art or that they weren't investment-worthy at the right price. My point was just that I believe that this segment is particularly overheated, even relative to some of the other hot areas of the market right now like 2-up Kirby pages (and again, I'm far from the only one who feels that way!)

 

 

Again, if DKR/WM/KJ are questionable values (and they very well may be), then so are Byrne X-MEN and Miller DD. And I don't believe the former is any more molten hot than the latter, not when X-MEN and DD covers sell for $100K+ and an X-MEN interior hit $65K.

 

Again, totally misinterpreting what I wrote, Felix! I made no distinction between the inherent "worthiness" of the former vs. the latter. What I did write is that I didn't think current creator teams featuring artists like Bermejo, Djurdjevic, etc. would be as well remembered and longed after nostalgically as classic team-ups like Lee/Kirby FF, Claremont/Byrne X-Men, etc. since the mythology of those characters has largely been written already (DKR/WM/KJ are all one-shots or limited series and wouldn't have made good examples even if I didn't believe they were the most overheated segment of the hobby). Also, at no point did I state that Kirby FF, Byrne X-Men and Miller DD were what I actually did consider to be the blue chip art that I would be speculating on - that was strictly your inference.

 

 

Isn't this what you believe every year? Certainly 5-10 years ago!

 

I'll be the first to admit that my crystal ball isn't perfect (but, no, as conditions change, my opinions change, and I know I've been more upbeat about prices than many, including probably yourself, over the past year or two - I just don't think that the current self-reinforcing bubble dynamic will prove to be sustainable in the long-run). In any case, most of what I've predicted over the past 5-10 years has come to pass - just look at the investment thread in The Water Cooler for proof of that. Even in comics, I think most will now readily acknowledge that the vast majority of books are now past peak pricing. Clearly the market for OA has remained more resilient, but I suspect that's largely because the last downturn was so short and collectors just rode it out - let's see what happens over the next year or two when the next shoe drops.

 

 

My turn for "whoa, whoa, whoa"! When did I say that? I'm on record as saying I don't know if any of this is sustainable; certainly not at the same growth rate of the last 20 years. And I would never advocate OA as an investment.

 

Sorry, I just inferred that from your comments about "when would be a better time to buy (if not now)" and from your comments about people doing the best who bought and held onto quality. Obviously, nobody expects prices to rise another 100-fold in the next 20 years, but I bet a lot of people think that the good stuff can still rise at a compounded annual rate of 10, 15, 20+% between now and then. I think it's more likely that we'll see mean reversion and that, in inflation-adjusted terms at least, we won't see gains anywhere close to double-digits over that time horizon.

 

 

You have, and have had, tremendous buying power. You've been involved in the hobby for at least 10 years. Yet, your collecting has been (relatively) conservative, a reflection of your general bearish outlook throughout the years. Low risk, but at the same time, if you have wanted to build a collection, you've missed a lot of opportunities. And those same pieces will cost you that much more to acquire now. You've been in this long enough to have spent the pennies, nickels, and dimes to today's dollar. Nothing goes up forever, so at some point, you'll be right. But you haven't always been right. Extremely well-written and entertaining...but not always right. It's OK...it humanizes your greatness.

 

...actually I've been in the hobby 9 1/2 years and much of that time I was focused on collecting certain things that I liked - Warren art, Modern GGA, fantasy paintings, etc. No doubt, I missed a lot of opportunities to buy blue-chip Marvel art at lower prices, though that wasn't necessarily due to bearishness, it was due to other collecting priorities. Thankfully, I more than made up for those lost opportunities elsewhere, which has allowed me to continue buying.

 

In any case, you're correct - I'm far from always right. As I'd put it: "Sometimes wrong, but never in doubt."

[MisterX]

I'd love to ask a bunch of dumb noob question, but instead I'll just...

 

 

[Khazano]

This is coming from the perspective of a collector of strictly modern age comic art for the past 12 years whom got seriously into the hobby at the age of 17.

 

Things I think from the modern age generation that are sure fire bets? For the most part, it has very little to do with the artist and everything to do with the body of work how well the work was received and how memorable it will be in the years to come...

 

Planet Hulk (This is without a doubt the best bang for your buck out there... Its an amazing and memorable storyline with a large fan following that's gonna go down as one of the classic hulk runs in the years to come..)

Astonishing X-Men

Mcguinness Superman

Batman Hush (This has already kinda hit it's peak though...)

Preacher

Y The Last Man

Ultimate Spider-Man (OK, Im a bit bias with this one...)

Ultimates 1 & 2 (The Hitch stuff...)

Death of Superman (This is already hitting fever pitch when just four years ago I was paying peanuts for these pages)

Kubert X-Men pages pre issue 40 (So when they still had word balloons)

JMS/Romita JR Spider-Man pages (Especially from early on...)

Civil War pages (What I consider the climax of the Joey Q marvel era)

Tim Sale Long Halloween and Dark Victory

Wieringo Fantastic Four pages (These are still reeeallllyyy under valued considering how rare Mike's art is and this being the best FF run in modern times IMO)

Oh... And anything Batman related by Bruce Timm....

 

 

 

What do I think is over valued?

 

Now would be a good time to sell your Walking Dead art...

Jim Lee's current JLA stuff is a massive gamble... Especially if DC retcons everything back to normal in a few years...

 

This is just my two cents from my observations over the years...

 

Oh and not sure where it was mentioned, but it was debated that collectors of this current generation might loose interest in the silver age stuff... To that I say, NO WAY.Personally, once Im at a place in my life where Im making enough money to play in those waters, I'm hopping in with both feet even though I have zero nostalgia attached to it. It's history, plain and simple. Especially the "blue chip" stuff. I recognize that and Im sure many other collectors my age do as well...

[Tokay]

First Mary Jane Watson appearance up to $30k in the sparkle city ebay auction!?!?!?!

[bryan91]

Death of Superman (This is already hitting fever pitch when just four years ago I was paying peanuts for these pages)

 

 

You have got some great Covers from this storyline!

 

 

[charleycor]

I agree with many on Khazano's list above (although I'm not sure Preacher is "undervalued" with the prices we have seen).

 

I would add pages from the following - mostly because the art is good and the stories are great:

 

John McCrea Hitman pages (particularly those inked by Garry Leach)

 

Starman pages by Tony Harris and also Peter Snejbjerg

 

Scalped by R.M. Guéra

 

Animal Man pages by Chas Truog

 

Doom Patrol by Richard Case

[Pirate]

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.

 

I agree with Kitson being undervalued. But I have been looking all over for a good example of his Azrael work to no avail. Not many good pages/splashes/covers available. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it.

 

Barry had two Azrael covers with him in Seattle as they had been in his Attic for many years. Barry sold them cheap also. I asked him the price twice just to make sure I heard him correctly. If the guy who inquired about them had passed I would have brought them home with me.

 

John

 

 

which two were they John? I need two more to have what I think are the best 4.