Jim Lee selling his art collection?

[comicsnyc22]

Would be interesting to see the various ages of people chiming in on this thread.

 

It would be, but I'd be more interested in understanding everyone's level of experience with OA. A little more difficult to quantify than your birth year.

[J.Sid]

Many of the opinions are nostalgia-based, and most nostalgia comes from a common age range.

 

No one born ten years ago is going to have nostalgia for Byrne or Miller the way I do from when I was ten.

 

Which is where the root of a great argument for Jim Lee can be made. He wasn't my guy, but he's been at the top of the American Comics industry for 25 years.

 

25 years-worth of ten-year olds see him as the best all-time comic artist.

25 years-worth of artists will trace his drawings in high school en route to becomming pros.

 

[glendgold]

 

For what it's worth...

 

I was joking with Jim as the hammer fell on these two pieces yesterday that I had to talk him into buying both in the '93 Sotheby's auction (which is absolutely true), and that he owes me one. We bought it together for our studio (Homage Studios) and I thought these pieces were so cool, I wanted them hanging on our walls. I kept notes and we won Pavillions of Joy for $2100, and Planetary Control Room for $6000, and it was the PCR that was my favorite. It was just soooooooo KIRBY in every way and the scale just blew my socks off. PCR had some minor condition problems, but it was the real prize in my opinion, much more that POJ. So am I surprised that PCR went for more than POJ? Not at all. Just a better and more epic piece IMHO.

 

And while I truly did have to convince Jim 20 years ago, it's not really an "I told you so" moment now. There were multiple pieces from that same '93 auction that would have been a MUCH BETTER "investment" than these two pieces. ART is a much bigger motivator to me than investment at the time of purchase. That holds true all the way.......................until it's time to sell!

 

Scott

 

That 1993 auction is what got me into collecting. I did a deal with Rich Donnelly and when I picked up my art he handed me the Sotheby's catalogue as a freebie. The auction had taken place that morning. It was mind-blowing. Still is. It's great reference material. No matter how much interesting stuff Heritage turns up, very little can match those early Christie's and Sotheby's sales for sheer volume of good stuff. (Oh, the insane 1986 Guernsey's auction, with multiple Nemos, the Batman 1 page, the single lots of 5-6 1970s covers at a time...that one wins, I suppose.)

[batman_fan]

 

For what it's worth...

 

I was joking with Jim as the hammer fell on these two pieces yesterday that I had to talk him into buying both in the '93 Sotheby's auction (which is absolutely true), and that he owes me one. We bought it together for our studio (Homage Studios) and I thought these pieces were so cool, I wanted them hanging on our walls. I kept notes and we won Pavillions of Joy for $2100, and Planetary Control Room for $6000, and it was the PCR that was my favorite. It was just soooooooo KIRBY in every way and the scale just blew my socks off. PCR had some minor condition problems, but it was the real prize in my opinion, much more that POJ. So am I surprised that PCR went for more than POJ? Not at all. Just a better and more epic piece IMHO.

 

And while I truly did have to convince Jim 20 years ago, it's not really an "I told you so" moment now. There were multiple pieces from that same '93 auction that would have been a MUCH BETTER "investment" than these two pieces. ART is a much bigger motivator to me than investment at the time of purchase. That holds true all the way.......................until it's time to sell!

 

Scott

 

That 1993 auction is what got me into collecting. I did a deal with Rich Donnelly and when I picked up my art he handed me the Sotheby's catalogue as a freebie. The auction had taken place that morning. It was mind-blowing. Still is. It's great reference material. No matter how much interesting stuff Heritage turns up, very little can match those early Christie's and Sotheby's sales for sheer volume of good stuff. (Oh, the insane 1986 Guernsey's auction, with multiple Nemos, the Batman 1 page, the single lots of 5-6 1970s covers at a time...that one wins, I suppose.)

 

It would be amazing if you could post some pages from the auctions.

[AKA Rick]

With or without 8 kids or any personal overhead, some artists aren't attached to their artwork and some like the thought of others enjoying that art, so don't like keeping their own original art, and it doesn't hurt knowing the artist already got paid by the publisher to do the work, and it's an extra bonus to sell 8 oz of paper without any emotional attachment for four or five figures. Sounds pretty smart to me...

 

If anything, Jim Lee has proven to be both a creative talent and a savvy business person, a rare double threat set of skills to possess.

 

He also can't seem to keep it in his pants.

 

Apparently some of the kids aren't his by genetics, with step-kids who I'd hope he treats with equality and love over ego and economics.

 

...but that is a great zinger!

[RabidFerret]

I think this is a very interesting topic...

 

The one thing i take from this whole discussion is that it is decidedly American. There seem to be only a handful of international artists even mentioned, and when someone like Carl Barks is brought up he's laughed at.

 

On Barks alone there is joking debate whether there are more copies of his stories in print than the Bible, because unlike guys like Jim Lee or John Byrne or Jack Kirby, his stories were translated and reprinted...a LOT. Some of his stories have been translated into 20+ languages and reprinted hundreds of times for the last 50+ years.

 

Go to an American convention and you'll see Don Rosa, the current king of ducks, sitting at a table by himself with one or two people wanting to chat with him. Go overseas and you'll see 500 people in line waiting to have him sign their books. It's another world entirely outside of America.

 

And when you open up the world at large, there are a lot of artists that would fall clearly into this discussion. France in general is known as a hotspot for some of the most talented comic artists ever, and they're not even mentioned in this discussion. Moebius was the only one I saw listed, and I'm sure it's more for his Heavy Metal work, than his Blueberry art.

 

Why has nobody mentioned Albert Uderzo of Asterix? Franquin? Herge? What about Mad artists like Jack Davis? How about Sergio Aragones? Or branch off into Japan and guys like Miyazaki and Otomo who produced massive comic works that were often overshadowed by their films. Kojima's Lone Wolf & Cub is pretty well known too:)

 

And in most of these cases these were artists that entirely dominated and influenced their respective countries for decades. Go into France in 1993 and I suspect there'd be a much larger line for Barks or Moebius or Uderzo than there was for Jim Lee, even at his X-peak.

 

And once you branch into comic strips, how does Watterson not make the top of the list as well? An argument could easily be made that Watterson influenced more artists than anyone over the last 30 years.

 

If anything this discussion underscores how little American comic book fans get out in the world and how much nostalgia and limited knowledge cloud their views:)

[drdroom]

I think this is a very interesting topic...

 

The one thing i take from this whole discussion is that it is decidedly American. There seem to be only a handful of international artists even mentioned, and when someone like Carl Barks is brought up he's laughed at.

 

On Barks alone there is joking debate whether there are more copies of his stories in print than the Bible, because unlike guys like Jim Lee or John Byrne or Jack Kirby, his stories were translated and reprinted...a LOT. Some of his stories have been translated into 20+ languages and reprinted hundreds of times for the last 50+ years.

 

Go to an American convention and you'll see Don Rosa, the current king of ducks, sitting at a table by himself with one or two people wanting to chat with him. Go overseas and you'll see 500 people in line waiting to have him sign their books. It's another world entirely outside of America.

 

And when you open up the world at large, there are a lot of artists that would fall clearly into this discussion. France in general is known as a hotspot for some of the most talented comic artists ever, and they're not even mentioned in this discussion. Moebius was the only one I saw listed, and I'm sure it's more for his Heavy Metal work, than his Blueberry art.

 

Why has nobody mentioned Albert Uderzo of Asterix? Franquin? Herge? What about Mad artists like Jack Davis? How about Sergio Aragones? Or branch off into Japan and guys like Miyazaki and Otomo who produced massive comic works that were often overshadowed by their films. Kojima's Lone Wolf & Cub is pretty well known too:)

 

And in most of these cases these were artists that entirely dominated and influenced their respective countries for decades. Go into France in 1993 and I suspect there'd be a much larger line for Barks or Moebius or Uderzo than there was for Jim Lee, even at his X-peak.

 

And once you branch into comic strips, how does Watterson not make the top of the list as well? An argument could easily be made that Watterson influenced more artists than anyone over the last 30 years.

 

If anything this discussion underscores how little American comic book fans get out in the world and how much nostalgia and limited knowledge cloud their views:)

 

Well, I agree with your conclusion, but for the record, I proposed Herge and Tezuka for the top five, & also cited Moebius as my top pick from France, based partly on his double achievement in Western and Fantasy genres. Would you put Miyazaki and Otomo above Tezuka?

[Bird]

Top 5 is insanely difficult. My thoughts were

 

Moebius

McKay

Foster

Crumb

Kirby

 

Where's Frazetta? I don't know? Jim Lee doesn't live on this block though.

 

To me I would Barks in a category with Schulz and Gary Larson types. Influential and insanely talented and wonderful artists but not individuals I think are top 5. Their popularity and influence is far reaching but the work does not reach me artistically like those at the top of the list.

[RabidFerret]

Oh yes, sorry if I missed a couple! I guess I was more just pointing to the fact that they weren't a larger part of the continual discussion, but more mentioned in passing.

 

As for Tezuka, yes, he may rest atop the Japanese influences, but I think it's again touching on era since he was earlier.

 

Otomo had a very big impact thanks to his 1-2 punch of an Akira comic and movie that both redefined what could be done in comics and animation and had a had a huge influence on even American artists like McFarlane, which I'm not sure was the case for Tezuka.

 

Miyazaki is more of a footnote in the discussion since he has limited comic work and is known almost entirely for his animated films, but as least as far an artistic influences, may be the top Japanese name of the last 20 years.

 

I really don't know who would even make a true top 5 or 10 list for me, but I know it would be a lot tougher than just picking through Americans:)

[theflashunc]

What about Mad artists like Jack Davis?

 

I have a deep and abiding love for Jack Davis stuff. I tend to think his departure into commercial art for Coca-Cola et al might have some impact on how he's remembered -- didn't spend his life in comics, etc etc.

 

My first newspaper job out of college was in the town where he now lives. He used to do the cover illustration for our Georgia Bulldogs section every year gratis -- simply because he's a huge Georgia football fan. Our publisher literally had dozens of his drawings spilling out of every corner of his office, and had no idea what he had. Just thought Jack was some local Dawgs fan who could draw good pictures.

 

The mind boggles...

 

 

 

 

[drdroom]

Nice story! Jack Davis is an interesting proposition. I sort of think he's as good as my top 5 but not in my top 5 because of the "influential" parameter-- I don't see as much direct influence. Plenty! But not as much. I always wished he had stayed on at silver age marvel for a while. He would have been amazing on X-Men or Spider-Man.

[Bronty]

Jack Davis is OK, but if we are going to talk about EC artists non-usual-suspects division, I much prefer Johnny Craig.

[drdroom]

Craig is great but you can't claim he's as influential as Davis. The look of his humor work is recognized all over the world.

[Bronty]

Fair enough so in that context I understand, but at the end of the day I only consider "influence" to be one facet upon which to judge someone's art.

[drdroom]

Absolutely!

[Koa]

Does anyone know a good webpage to find jim lee prelims and unpublished stuff?

[drdroom]

Does anyone know a good webpage to find jim lee prelims and unpublished stuff?

You've got a nerve, changing the subject to Jim Lee.

[Koa]

Does anyone know a good webpage to find jim lee prelims and unpublished stuff?

You've got a nerve, changing the subject to Jim Lee.

 

Well, I was going to go on a rant about how I feel marc silvestri is one of if not the the best 21st century action/superhero artists right now and singlehandedly usher in a new era of artistic idolization if he'd just buckle down and give 100% to a top monthly book for a year but alas nobody cares

[Cogansway]

For what it's worth...

 

I was joking with Jim as the hammer fell on these two pieces yesterday that I had to talk him into buying both in the '93 Sotheby's auction (which is absolutely true), and that he owes me one. We bought it together for our studio (Homage Studios) and I thought these pieces were so cool, I wanted them hanging on our walls. I kept notes and we won Pavillions of Joy for $2100, and Planetary Control Room for $6000, and it was the PCR that was my favorite. It was just soooooooo KIRBY in every way and the scale just blew my socks off. PCR had some minor condition problems, but it was the real prize in my opinion, much more that POJ. So am I surprised that PCR went for more than POJ? Not at all. Just a better and more epic piece IMHO.

 

And while I truly did have to convince Jim 20 years ago, it's not really an "I told you so" moment now. There were multiple pieces from that same '93 auction that would have been a MUCH BETTER "investment" than these two pieces. ART is a much bigger motivator to me than investment at the time of purchase. That holds true all the way.......................until it's time to sell!

 

Scott

 

Hey Scott, it's John. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't both Jim and Rob Liefeld sell key issues from their runs at Marvel in that same Sotheby's Auction? I thought it was X-Men #1 for Jim and X-Force #1 for Rob and that they both sold incredibly well. Is my memory correct? if not this auction than another big one in that time frame of '92 to '94. Any maybe it was different issues that were broken up and sold. A few variable but my brain is completely shot yet!

[Pete Marino]

Just thought I'd bump this since it looks like the 1st round of his stuff is hitting heritage now....