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ASM 121 vs ASM 328 on the OCAL

Started by glenbru,

92 posts in this topic

Kevin76

Kevin76

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I'm a huge Mcfarlane fan as anyone but I never cared much for the 328 cover, much rather have the 316 or the Spidey 1 cover instead. I'd take the ASM 121 over the 328 cover because of it's historical purpose. So this 121 vs 328 battle will cover down to cover art vs history.

 

 

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glenbru

glenbru

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Let's also not forget that, before last July's Heritage auction, the consensus was that the Spider-Man #1 cover was McFarlane's best and most valuable Spidey cover (I think most people would still agree with that, the nutty #328 sale result notwithstanding). That is probably the most iconic cover of the past 25 years and it fetched a comparatively reasonable $358,500. I absolutely think this cover should be worth more than both the DKR #3 splash and the ASM #328 cover. IMO, it should be worth more than the ASM #121 cover as well.

 

It's easy to say that, "the ASM #121 cover is a better cover than the ASM #328 cover, so why couldn't it sell for more". But, it's a far less clear-cut comparison when you compare the ASM #121 to the McSpidey #1 cover, especially when the latter sold for much less than the far inferior #328. hm

 

I think the ASM 121 vs the Spider-Man 1 is also a good comparison. I think most of us felt at the time that 358k was a deal for that cover which fell short of expectations. On the other hand I doubt you could buy the Spidey 1 cover from the current owner for the same price or more than the ASM 328. I think time will prove the Spidey 1 cover to be more valuable than the ASM 328. And I think the same could be said of the 121. I guess we'll find out soon where the 121 will go.

 

 

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VintageComics

VintageComics

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Let's also not forget that, before last July's Heritage auction, the consensus was that the Spider-Man #1 cover was McFarlane's best and most valuable Spidey cover (I think most people would still agree with that, the nutty #328 sale result notwithstanding). That is probably the most iconic cover of the past 25 years and it fetched a comparatively reasonable $358,500. I absolutely think this cover should be worth more than both the DKR #3 splash and the ASM #328 cover. IMO, it should be worth more than the ASM #121 cover as well.

 

It's easy to say that, "the ASM #121 cover is a better cover than the ASM #328 cover, so why couldn't it sell for more". But, it's a far less clear-cut comparison when you compare the ASM #121 to the McSpidey #1 cover, especially when the latter sold for much less than the far inferior #328. hm

 

I understand that it's all a matter of how hard the nostalgia strings are pulling on the bidder's hearts.

 

I just personally never thought the #328 cover was a "stand out" cover. SM #1, ASM #300 and #121 are all "stand out" covers to me.

 

Just a matter of opinion. I personally would never compare the two (#121 and #328).

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VintageComics

VintageComics

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I think the ASM 121 vs the Spider-Man 1 is also a good comparison. I think most of us felt at the time that 358k was a deal for that cover which fell short of expectations. On the other hand I doubt you could buy the Spidey 1 cover from the current owner for the same price or more than the ASM 328. I think time will prove the Spidey 1 cover to be more valuable than the ASM 328. And I think the same could be said of the 121. I guess we'll find out soon where the 121 will go.

 

 

I'm agreeing with this.

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Nexus

Nexus

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I think the ASM 121 vs the Spider-Man 1 is also a good comparison. I think most of us felt at the time that 358k was a deal for that cover which fell short of expectations.

 

Only when compared to the DKR splash's $442K. If not for that, $358K would have been seen as a massive number for that cover.

 

But again, I find it to be a faulty comparison. Do buyers mentally compare values in the hobby? Yes, even when they know better. That sort of rationalization is common and we've all been guilty of it. However, the ones who really push the notion are sellers, who automatically peg the value of anything decent they have for sale to record numbers. If the #121 finishes below the DKR splash, no doubt some observers will also frame that as a "disappointment". In reality, a Romita ASM cover has as much to do with the DKR splash as it does with an Archie cover, but you'll never hear any seller make THAT comparison.

 

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J.Sid

J.Sid

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One of the most insane things that go on in this hobby is when collectors of different ages compare different artists' works (from different eras) against each other.

 

No Romita cover had ever sold (publicly anyway) for $100k until after the DD 188 cover did. I can just imagine Romita fans who never read Frank Miller's work saying to themselves "If a Daredevil cover by that Gil Kane wannabe Miller just sold for $100k, then an ASM cover by Romita has to be worth at least that much"

 

I know guys who hate Jim Lee. Every time Jim Lee material shows gains in public auctions, they all adjust their (mental) values of other artists they feel Jim emulates.

 

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AKA Rick

AKA Rick

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This is very TRUE.

 

It's makes some older collectors sound like they're those stogy guys who complain about "the music of today" or hate CD's versus LP's, and can't understand why people love pop music or hip hop, compared to their own tastes in rock n' roll or the blues. Makes the old collector's sound like they're calling the new ones "young whipper snappers" and the new ones calling the old ones "antiquated geezers"

 

I think with original art, it's always supply and demand and takes two to tango and create that perfect storm bidding war.

 

I think historical precedent of sales factor in, but are guides more than to be used as absolutes or rules.

 

I don't think you can compare artists against each other so easily, and even compare an individual artists body of work against itself.

 

Personally, for McFarlane, there's a lot of other covers "I, personally" prefer over Amazing Spider-Man #328's cover with the Hulk... I'll even list which covers I'd rather have than that one... #301, #313, #316, and oddly enough, one of my favorite McFarlane covers is Marvel Tales #232 which I'd take over ASM #328 any day, again... personally... which a majority of collector's would probably ridicule.

 

I like Amazing Spider-Man #121's cover, and because I am of that era, I probably place a higher nostalgic value to that issue's story and importance to me personally.

 

That's the beauty of art, it's appreciated by the eye of the beholder, and for art collecting / investing, it's a matter of who has the most passion and money at the time and if there's 2 opposing forces with near equal passion vying for it, that's when the prices increase to record shattering numbers.

 

I only hope one day, to either afford one of those pieces or have a piece I own sell for amounts like these pieces with people debating on how much it'll sell for astronomically...

 

 

 

One of the most insane things that go on in this hobby is when collectors of different ages compare different artists' works (from different eras) against each other.
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romitaman

romitaman

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actually the asm 43 cover sold for over 100k about 4-5 YEARS AGO in a phillip Weiss auction........ The ASM annual 3 cover by romita sold for over 100k and then cash and traded TWICE after that for the 175k range.... (long story on that...lol) I know this because i moved it...... and the asm 49 cover sold for 167k last summer at Heritage and right after the auction the buyer was offered 217k for it through heritage.... so i'd say the asm 1960s cover market is fairly strong...and never fear..i dont collect asm romita covers at all... i'm Romita-interior-man... lol

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Nexus

Nexus

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If nothing else, we now know for sure that pegging pre-auction estimates to the DKR splash and/or the ASM #328 cover isn't particularly useful. For that matter, don't bother making any post-auction comparisons, either. Those were bizarro sales...better to realize them for what they are, rather than try to extrapolate those results across the hobby.

 

Also...where the bidding stood at any point during the auction for the #121 cover vs. #328 clearly revealed nothing as well.

 

Congrats to seller and buyer. A healthy price for a landmark cover. Win-win!

 

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stinkininkin

stinkininkin

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If nothing else, we now know for sure that pegging pre-auction estimates to the DKR splash and/or the ASM #328 cover isn't particularly useful. For that matter, don't bother making any post-auction comparisons, either. Those were bizarro sales...better to realize them for what they are, rather than try to extrapolate those results across the hobby.

 

Also...where the bidding stood at any point during the auction for the #121 cover vs. #328 clearly revealed nothing as well.

 

Congrats to seller and buyer. A healthy price for a landmark cover. Win-win!

 

Yeah, but I wonder if the ASM 328 cover didn't have an influence on whether the seller would put his ASM 121 cover up for auction in the first place. Perhaps there was no relationship between the 328 and what the 121 would ultimately realize but the 328 might have put stars in the eyes of the seller. With that said, would the seller actually be a little disappointed in the final price, even though it's a really strong price?

 

Like you said, congrats to both the buyer and seller.

 

Scott

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glenbru

glenbru

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I think the seller is happy. I remember a time when he would have traded the cover for 25k, the original painting to the KISS album cover LOVE GUN, and a Romita Spider-man panel page.

 

I was willing to make that deal with him, at the time, quite a number of years ago. The problem was I couldn't find the KISS painting. Oh well.

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