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first purchase - advice

Started by kaylab,

20 posts in this topic

kaylab

kaylab

Posted
Posted

 

I've read through a few threads here, but wanted to get some more thoughts from the crowd... thanks in advance.

 

I sold of small portion of my graded collection in 2013 (runs I wasn't going to finish, etc) to free up funds for OA purchases. My goal is not alot of art, just a few quality pieces. So now I'm considering a Neal Adams Superman cover, but am struggling to decide on a final offer price. I've gone over Supes covers on CAF, and also what's listed in the past sales of Heritage, are the any other good references for me to review? To anyone who's bought Adam's, what went into your decision and final offer?

 

thanks!

 

bk

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alxjhnsn

alxjhnsn

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As you know, exploring the archive at Heritage Auctions is the best place to start.

 

For more data, join the Comic Art Fans site, pay for Market Data access, and access eBay and other auction sites as well as Heritage. It will go way back if you buy the top level of service. Get an account and try their search facility, too.

 

Finally, you can search current dealer sites. There is a list of dealers on this board and the Dragonberry site has a list as well.

 

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comiconxion

comiconxion

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A few things will figure into the value:

- Is this an "A" example (like Superman #233) or average "B" or "C" examples? If you're looking for comps, make sure you're comparing similar quality examples. Characters and composition are the two main determiners of how good the piece is.

- Who is the Inker? Is it someone who is a good fit with Adams (like Giordano) or does the inking detract from it?

- Are there any stats on the art (not the logo)? Stats as part of the art can be distracting and would downgrade a piece.

- Has the piece been "shopped around." This impacts the perceived value of a piece - if it's been available for multiple years at the same price and no one has purchased it, then the perception is that it isn't worth that price to the majority of the market. And, it can make a piece harder to sell. If you do search dealers' sites and you see comparable pieces that have been sitting, assume the "real value" may be something a little (or significantly) lower than their asking price.

 

My 2 cents.

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Trev

Trev

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Just buy the best example you can at a price you feel comfortable with

 

This is great advice and certainly can make life easier -- though it may mean looking harder and longer. For me that is part of the fun on an art acquisition. Then again, I am a lower end collector, so ymmv.

 

I really wanted a Byrne page, but there is no way I can afford an x-men page, though I would love one. So I ended up with a more modern Byrne Marvel interior page that I got a decent deal on. Took me a while searching to find it, but happy to have any Byrne page, honestly.

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Nexus

Nexus

Posted
Posted
A few things will figure into the value:

- Is this an "A" example (like Superman #233) or average "B" or "C" examples? If you're looking for comps, make sure you're comparing similar quality examples. Characters and composition are the two main determiners of how good the piece is.

- Who is the Inker? Is it someone who is a good fit with Adams (like Giordano) or does the inking detract from it?

- Are there any stats on the art (not the logo)? Stats as part of the art can be distracting and would downgrade a piece.

- Has the piece been "shopped around." This impacts the perceived value of a piece - if it's been available for multiple years at the same price and no one has purchased it, then the perception is that it isn't worth that price to the majority of the market. And, it can make a piece harder to sell. If you do search dealers' sites and you see comparable pieces that have been sitting, assume the "real value" may be something a little (or significantly) lower than their asking price.

 

My 2 cents.

 

There are "A" examples...and then there are "AAAA" examples. SUPERMAN #233 is so revered that it really should be viewed as an outlier, as there's no other Adams Supes cover that comes close. IMO, that is the most valuable Adams cover, far greater than even any Batman cover. Which is just another indicator of how exceptional it is, given that Adams Batman > Adams Superman otherwise.

 

(My point being that buyers shouldn't peg values relative to #233's perceived worth when trying to come up with a comp.)

 

But I do agree with everything else you write here. Good luck to the OP!

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stinkininkin

stinkininkin

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A few things will figure into the value:

- Is this an "A" example (like Superman #233) or average "B" or "C" examples? If you're looking for comps, make sure you're comparing similar quality examples. Characters and composition are the two main determiners of how good the piece is.

- Who is the Inker? Is it someone who is a good fit with Adams (like Giordano) or does the inking detract from it?

- Are there any stats on the art (not the logo)? Stats as part of the art can be distracting and would downgrade a piece.

- Has the piece been "shopped around." This impacts the perceived value of a piece - if it's been available for multiple years at the same price and no one has purchased it, then the perception is that it isn't worth that price to the majority of the market. And, it can make a piece harder to sell. If you do search dealers' sites and you see comparable pieces that have been sitting, assume the "real value" may be something a little (or significantly) lower than their asking price.

 

My 2 cents.

 

There are "A" examples...and then there are "AAAA" examples. SUPERMAN #233 is so revered that it really should be viewed as an outlier, as there's no other Adams Supes cover that comes close. IMO, that is the most valuable Adams cover, far greater than even any Batman cover. Which is just another indicator of how exceptional it is, given that Adams Batman > Adams Superman otherwise.

 

(My point being that buyers shouldn't peg values relative to #233's perceived worth when trying to come up with a comp.)

 

But I do agree with everything else you write here. Good luck to the OP!

 

Not sure I would agree with you there Felix. I agree that the Superman 233 cover is iconic, and I mean no disrespect to it's current owner, but as an Adams fan, I can think of at least a half dozen Batman/Detective covers I would rather own and pay more for than the Supes 233, not to mention several Green Lantern covers, Xmen covers, etc. I'm just one collector, but I wonder what other people think, as I may be underestimating the 233 cover.

 

Scott

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Nexus

Nexus

Posted
Posted
A few things will figure into the value:

- Is this an "A" example (like Superman #233) or average "B" or "C" examples? If you're looking for comps, make sure you're comparing similar quality examples. Characters and composition are the two main determiners of how good the piece is.

- Who is the Inker? Is it someone who is a good fit with Adams (like Giordano) or does the inking detract from it?

- Are there any stats on the art (not the logo)? Stats as part of the art can be distracting and would downgrade a piece.

- Has the piece been "shopped around." This impacts the perceived value of a piece - if it's been available for multiple years at the same price and no one has purchased it, then the perception is that it isn't worth that price to the majority of the market. And, it can make a piece harder to sell. If you do search dealers' sites and you see comparable pieces that have been sitting, assume the "real value" may be something a little (or significantly) lower than their asking price.

 

My 2 cents.

 

There are "A" examples...and then there are "AAAA" examples. SUPERMAN #233 is so revered that it really should be viewed as an outlier, as there's no other Adams Supes cover that comes close. IMO, that is the most valuable Adams cover, far greater than even any Batman cover. Which is just another indicator of how exceptional it is, given that Adams Batman > Adams Superman otherwise.

 

(My point being that buyers shouldn't peg values relative to #233's perceived worth when trying to come up with a comp.)

 

But I do agree with everything else you write here. Good luck to the OP!

 

Not sure I would agree with you there Felix. I agree that the Superman 233 cover is iconic, and I mean no disrespect to it's current owner, but as an Adams fan, I can think of at least a half dozen Batman/Detective covers I would rather own and pay more for than the Supes 233, not to mention several Green Lantern covers, Xmen covers, etc. I'm just one collector, but I wonder what other people think, as I may be underestimating the 233 cover.

 

Scott

 

I certainly respect your Adams expertise (not to mention your collection and collecting eye). I agree that there are better drawn covers...but I really do think that head-to-head, #233 beats any other Adams cover at auction. And I LOVE all those other covers you're talking about, too.

 

Of course, you can chalk that up to my own personal bias; SUPERMAN #233 is THE Adams cover for me (even with the possible Anderson involvement). Nothing represents the DC of that era to me more than that cover.

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Terry Doyle

Terry Doyle

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Posted
again, thanks for the thoughts folks...

 

So here is the image in question, I'm hoping there is no harm in showing this... Not in that "A" range of quality, but nonetheless it is nice and it is the first Supes cover by Neal, so that is cool.

 

H1118-L47968463_zps0b3f1548.jpg

 

This is a really nice cover; I'd certainly be proud to own it! (thumbs u

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Nexus

Nexus

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Posted
thanks for the help guys, if I do make this purchase I'll let you know.. if not, I'll continue my search :)

 

How did it go? :popcorn:

 

For whatever it's worth, I thought the price was very fair. Ideally, there'd be more actual art on the cover, but it's still a striking piece and memorable from my days as a comic collector.

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drdroom

drdroom

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Posted
A few things will figure into the value:

- Is this an "A" example (like Superman #233) or average "B" or "C" examples? If you're looking for comps, make sure you're comparing similar quality examples. Characters and composition are the two main determiners of how good the piece is.

- Who is the Inker? Is it someone who is a good fit with Adams (like Giordano) or does the inking detract from it?

- Are there any stats on the art (not the logo)? Stats as part of the art can be distracting and would downgrade a piece.

- Has the piece been "shopped around." This impacts the perceived value of a piece - if it's been available for multiple years at the same price and no one has purchased it, then the perception is that it isn't worth that price to the majority of the market. And, it can make a piece harder to sell. If you do search dealers' sites and you see comparable pieces that have been sitting, assume the "real value" may be something a little (or significantly) lower than their asking price.

 

My 2 cents.

 

There are "A" examples...and then there are "AAAA" examples. SUPERMAN #233 is so revered that it really should be viewed as an outlier, as there's no other Adams Supes cover that comes close. IMO, that is the most valuable Adams cover, far greater than even any Batman cover. Which is just another indicator of how exceptional it is, given that Adams Batman > Adams Superman otherwise.

 

(My point being that buyers shouldn't peg values relative to #233's perceived worth when trying to come up with a comp.)

 

But I do agree with everything else you write here. Good luck to the OP!

 

Not sure I would agree with you there Felix. I agree that the Superman 233 cover is iconic, and I mean no disrespect to it's current owner, but as an Adams fan, I can think of at least a half dozen Batman/Detective covers I would rather own and pay more for than the Supes 233, not to mention several Green Lantern covers, Xmen covers, etc. I'm just one collector, but I wonder what other people think, as I may be underestimating the 233 cover.

 

Scott

 

I'm with you Scott, in fact maybe more so. The 233 does very little for me. I can think off the top of my head of Superboy covers I'd rather have, House of Mystery covers, a Phantom Stranger cover, Spectre, Strange Adventures... but some (many) collectors really like "iconic" and the 233 is that in spades.

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batman_fan

batman_fan

Posted
Posted
again, thanks for the thoughts folks...

 

So here is the image in question, I'm hoping there is no harm in showing this... Not in that "A" range of quality, but nonetheless it is nice and it is the first Supes cover by Neal, so that is cool.

 

H1118-L47968463_zps0b3f1548.jpg

 

This is a really nice cover; I'd certainly be proud to own it! (thumbs u

 

+1, thats a really nice cover

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kav

kav

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i think a female on the cover would be better-i consider this one better than the 233-if it was available that is

Superman+243+-+00+-+FC.jpg

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