How much does no dialogue pages affect value?

[s8zaphod]

I have pages 4 & 5 of Creatures of the Id. I like them visually I love what is on the page but there are no words spoken by characters on those pages. How do you think the possible values differ from pages with dialogue and this without? Thanks for your insight and advice.

[alxjhnsn]

For me, pages without the lettering are not as good / valuable / interesting as those with the words. Ditto for published pages where the pencils are separate from the inks.

 

Drat those computers!

[Marwai]

This part of the story (pages 4-5) is meant to have no dialogue. It should have no bearing on the value. It's 1990 Mike Allred artwork.

[malvin]

there is no right answer, for one thing, I am assuming you are comparing the same series/artist

 

e.g. comparing a modern page with no dialog, with a kirby page with dialog doesn't make sense, since the difference in value has nothing to do with the dialog.

 

now, if it was the same series/artist.. all pages will have dialog, or all pages will have no dialog, so once again, you can't really "compare" the value.

 

Sorry for the non-answer!

 

Malvin

[s8zaphod]

Yes, pages 4 & 5 aren't supposed to have dialogue. I was just asking when it comes to general collectability does pages without dialogue, are they viewed as less desirable or not as valuable as pages with dialogue. Again just generally speaking.

[s8zaphod]

Basically I have just collected a few pieces that I love but am considering selling them due to financial issues and wanted to know if there might be an automatic negative for pages without dialogue?

[malvin]

I think the short answer is yes, I know some people avoid newer pages because they want to see dialog.

 

but many newer pages with no dialog sell for big bucks, so it's not like its automatically worthless because of it.

 

Malvin

[Brian Peck]

For most its comes down to the content, character and artists. If its the same artists and characters with one page done with word balloons and another without I can see the page without dialog being worth less. But just two pages one with dialog and one without, thats like comparing apple and oranges. Its the artist and characters that will determine the value differences.

[GotSuperPowers?]

These pages are worthless. I'll cover shipping to get them to me to free them up from cluttering your home.

[mister_not_so_nice]

there is no right answer, for one thing, I am assuming you are comparing the same series/artist

 

e.g. comparing a modern page with no dialog, with a kirby page with dialog doesn't make sense, since the difference in value has nothing to do with the dialog.

 

now, if it was the same series/artist.. all pages will have dialog, or all pages will have no dialog, so once again, you can't really "compare" the value.

 

Sorry for the non-answer!

 

Malvin

 

Off-hand I can think of three series where this is not the case.

 

During their runs HELLBLAZER, FABLES and LUCIFER went form having word balloons on OA pages to not. How this affects the value, I don't know.

 

doubly sorry for the non-answer

 

Mike

[Hekla]

Another vague answer but...

 

Y: The Last Man had about 13 issues with word balloons and the remaining 47 without. The pages with dialog seem to be selling about 20-25% more than the non-dialog pages (except for the first few issues, which are quite a bit more), BUT, they are the first 13 issues (or the first 1/5th) of the series. I would think that if the numbers were flipped and 80% of the pages had dialog and 20% didn't, then the page prices would be much closer in value.

 

my 2 cents

 

however, if the published version didn't have dialog, I would think the price difference would be marginal compared to the adjacent pages. again, my 2 cents.

[Terry Doyle]

If you enjoyed the books and love the art, I wouldn't be too irritated by the lack of dialogue on the originals. For framing and display purposes, you could always have a copy of the printed page matted alongside the original (or an overlay made that re-creates the written elements).

 

For collectors of newer stuff (where the originals are minus the written word), it'll be something they accept anyway as part of the current production process..

[Eric Seffinga]

Am I the only one that feels like almost everyone here is talking around the OPs actual question?

 

Most people are comparing issues where the production process was different (i.e. did they do word balloons on the computer or not) and how it effects value.

But it reads to me like he is indicating the page in question is intentionally artistically wordless.

 

i.e like something out of GI Joe #21.

 

Which isn't to say that the whole comic has no dialogue just that this page does not. And the question is whether another page from the same book with dialogue would have more or less value than one that had none. OP can correct me if I'm reading this all wrong.

 

My answer to that hypothetical is it is all about context. As every page depicts different things, and any 2 pages can be similar or very different. Valuation is going to be based on who's on the page, what is happening. Is it a "silent" battle page without a bunch of monologing? Is it a situation where you have "talking heads" on one page having an argument, and then the next page is those same heads scowling at each other and someone walking out of a room? Sleeping? ? Taking a mess?

 

Without seeing the page in question, it's impossible to say. At least IMO.

[Terry Doyle]

Am I the only one that feels like almost everyone here is talking around the OPs actual question?

 

 

Probably not, but the original question can easily be side tracked into other related thoughts.

[Marwai]

Your main selling point for these pages would be that they are from the book where Mike Allred's Madman made his first appearance.

 

The value would hinge on that instead of it having dialogue or not. Like you said, Mike Allred wrote the pages to have no dialogue. He had to intentionally design and draw the pages to tell that part of the story visually without words.

 

Since it is page 4-5 and fairly early in the book, you may have the first / one of the earliest Madman appearances or just pages with nothing related to Madman. You'd have to read the book to figure that out.

 

 

[Kevn]

I have pages 4 & 5 of Creatures of the Id. I like them visually I love what is on the page but there are no words spoken by characters on those pages. How do you think the possible values differ from pages with dialogue and this without? Thanks for your insight and advice.

 

I don't have a copy of that book, AFAIK. If I do, it's stashed away. Do you have a scan of the pages in question that you can post? I think this is an impossible question to answer in the abstract, and you're not really looking for an abstract answer, anyway, are you?

[s8zaphod]

Here is page 4, this is part of the book where it is a different story other than the first appearance of Frank Einstein(Madman).

[s8zaphod]

Here is the next page, page 5.

[s8zaphod]

This of course also has no dialogue but is an entirely different kind of animal. Full page, key page.

[Kevn]

Thanks for posting the images, it really helps. I'm a big Allred fan, and it's cool to see this very early published work. I think the main things factoring into the value of those first 2 pages is that I don't think they include any characters he's known for, and his technique, while showing promise, is immature. I don't think the presence or absence of dialog have much bearing on the appeal of these pages.

 

You can really see Allred's cinematic approach to storytelling, and his eye for character nuance. The second page is by far the cooler page. Since the two pages work together well, you might do as well selling them as a pair.

 

Does anyone else see a Jamie Hernandez influence in these pages?