ComicLink Auction: Thoughts?

[DJRome]

I think the SW cover will hit it's reserve when all is said and done. I won't be the one buying it, but my gut says that someone will.

 

 

[Bronty]

Infantino star wars first run pages sell 2500-4500 dollars from what ive seen. I know its an odd cover (only of the only conceptual covers on the run) but it still an Infantino US published first run cover. Very few of those in existence. I thought it would sell 28k, and i think thats still happening.

 

OK - well, I'm surprised by that, I would have valued it lower, but then I don't like SW in general so I'm biased towards low values on this type of material.

[comix4fun]

Infantino star wars first run pages sell 2500-4500 dollars from what ive seen. I know its an odd cover (only of the only conceptual covers on the run) but it still an Infantino US published first run cover. Very few of those in existence. I thought it would sell 28k, and i think thats still happening.

 

OK - well, I'm surprised by that, I would have valued it lower, but then I don't like SW in general so I'm biased towards low values on this type of material.

 

 

There's a reason first run Star Wars pages sell for so much, and it's not just nostaglia. Most of that original art was and is in the possession of one guy, with a big ranch named after one of the main characters.

 

Interior pages from that original story are as rare as covers.

[Bronty]

Ah OK. I have long been aware that Georgie kept painted OA to various SW merch but I didn't realize he kept the comic pages as well. I suppose I should have guessed.

 

Thanks Chris.

[Bronty]

 

Interior pages from that original story are as rare as covers.

 

Define "original story"? Are you talking about the first four or six issues or whatever that adapted the film, or first run interiors in general?

[comix4fun]

 

Interior pages from that original story are as rare as covers.

 

Define "original story"? Are you talking about the first four or six issues or whatever that adapted the film, or first run interiors in general?

 

 

Everything that told the original trilogy stories for sure (except for some examples that I've seen that he doesn't own), and anything else that he liked or thought was important.

[Bronty]

Yeah, and the artists were generally thrilled too because he was paying good money. The artist for the Howard the Duck movie poster told me Lucas paid him 10k for the original at the time. That's quite a lot of dough in 1986.

[comix4fun]

Yeah, and the artists were generally thrilled too because he was paying good money. The artist for the Howard the Duck movie poster told me Lucas paid him 10k for the original at the time. That's quite a lot of dough in 1986.

 

 

And all the contracts/agreements authorizing artists to create images for print or ads for Star Wars that I have seen over the last 15 or so years include a right of first refusal that all art has to be offered to Lucas before it can be sold to anyone else and only if he passes then it can be offered to the public.

[Bronty]

Yeah, and the artists were generally thrilled too because he was paying good money. The artist for the Howard the Duck movie poster told me Lucas paid him 10k for the original at the time. That's quite a lot of dough in 1986.

 

 

And all the contracts/agreements authorizing artists to create images for print or ads for Star Wars that I have seen over the last 15 or so years include a right of first refusal that all art has to be offered to Lucas before it can be sold to anyone else and only if he passes then it can be offered to the public.

 

Yeah I'd heard that and unless I miss my guess that's been in place longer than the 15 years. Just saying George isn't cheap about it or at least wasn't in the past. They may have to offer him the art first but they were/are well compensated for the inconvenience from the couple anecdotes I've heard from artists. Of course, my info is 20+ years old here so I don't know what he's paying now.

[Tokay]

I based my guess on the fact that the cover sold for $7,170 seven years ago, and another similar cover sold for the same amount five years ago. We'll see…I think it's a neat cover!

[comix4fun]

Yeah, and the artists were generally thrilled too because he was paying good money. The artist for the Howard the Duck movie poster told me Lucas paid him 10k for the original at the time. That's quite a lot of dough in 1986.

 

 

And all the contracts/agreements authorizing artists to create images for print or ads for Star Wars that I have seen over the last 15 or so years include a right of first refusal that all art has to be offered to Lucas before it can be sold to anyone else and only if he passes then it can be offered to the public.

 

Yeah I'd heard that and unless I miss my guess that's been in place longer than the 15 years. Just saying George isn't cheap about it or at least wasn't in the past. They may have to offer him the art first but they were/are well compensated for the inconvenience from the couple anecdotes I've heard from artists. Of course, my info is 20+ years old here so I don't know what he's paying now.

 

 

I am sure it's been in place longer than that, given what he's got in the collection. 15 or so years is just the amount of time artists have been consulting with me on the agreements. The stable of talent really expanded with all the authorized prints coming out of the Star Wars Celebration conventions.

 

George is certainly not cheap. Artists can quote whatever price they want to him. He may accept or reject the piece at that point. I doubt he's seeing every single one offered (it is possible I guess), but his staff is/was right on top of it. Some of the numbers are very healthy.

 

 

[Bronty]

So that's how you buy all those shiny things - Lucas money

[vodou]

Yeah, and the artists were generally thrilled too because he was paying good money. The artist for the Howard the Duck movie poster told me Lucas paid him 10k for the original at the time. That's quite a lot of dough in 1986.

 

 

And all the contracts/agreements authorizing artists to create images for print or ads for Star Wars that I have seen over the last 15 or so years include a right of first refusal that all art has to be offered to Lucas before it can be sold to anyone else and only if he passes then it can be offered to the public.

 

Yeah I'd heard that and unless I miss my guess that's been in place longer than the 15 years. Just saying George isn't cheap about it or at least wasn't in the past. They may have to offer him the art first but they were/are well compensated for the inconvenience from the couple anecdotes I've heard from artists. Of course, my info is 20+ years old here so I don't know what he's paying now.

 

 

I am sure it's been in place longer than that, given what he's got in the collection. 15 or so years is just the amount of time artists have been consulting with me on the agreements. The stable of talent really expanded with all the authorized prints coming out of the Star Wars Celebration conventions.

 

George is certainly not cheap. Artists can quote whatever price they want to him. He may accept or reject the piece at that point. I doubt he's seeing every single one offered (it is possible I guess), but his staff is/was right on top of it. Some of the numbers are very healthy.

 

Definitely a case where you want to do the original physically versus all digitally. Even if it's a printout that's "enhanced" physically! (And yes one big deal artist did/does this and no - I'm not naming names!)

[AKA Rick]

Plus, truth be told... every piece is just as rare as the other piece in terms of being all "one-of-a-kind" on the scarcity population report.

 

What separates valuation is of course the supply and demand aspect of who (and how many people) want it and what the marketplace will bear in terms of who's willing to pay the most to take possession.

 

I think this cover here is fairly appealing because aesthetically it has a nice (albeit goofy) theme with Darth Vader playing with all of the main characters.

 

Not being a notable issue however I'd be quite impressed if it sells for the $25k reserve speculating anyone who is interested would just pass on it hoping to then maybe make an offer after the auction ends for a lower price in the sub-$20k range.

[artdealer]

Infantino star wars first run pages sell 2500-4500 dollars from what ive seen. I know its an odd cover (only of the only conceptual covers on the run) but it still an Infantino US published first run cover. Very few of those in existence. I thought it would sell 28k, and i think thats still happening.

 

OK - well, I'm surprised by that, I would have valued it lower, but then I don't like SW in general so I'm biased towards low values on this type of material.

 

 

There's a reason first run Star Wars pages sell for so much, and it's not just nostaglia. Most of that original art was and is in the possession of one guy, with a big ranch named after one of the main characters.

 

Interior pages from that original story are as rare as covers.

 

I don't think Lucas owns as much Star Wars comic art as you think. Back in the day, I had all of Chaykin's share from the books as well as the covers. Lucas never attempted to contact Howard or I to buy any of it.

MI

[zhamlau]

I will say, Mandel has the cover to 1. If that ones not in Lucas' archive I would bet there is a lot that isnt.

 

Him and Spielberg own a lot of comic art, and im sure he probably is one of the top collectors of his own comic art, but i dont think he has a majority of it from any era.

[westform]

I think you are talking about Chaykin Star Wars pages at those prices. Infantino not so much.

[comix4fun]

Infantino star wars first run pages sell 2500-4500 dollars from what ive seen. I know its an odd cover (only of the only conceptual covers on the run) but it still an Infantino US published first run cover. Very few of those in existence. I thought it would sell 28k, and i think thats still happening.

 

OK - well, I'm surprised by that, I would have valued it lower, but then I don't like SW in general so I'm biased towards low values on this type of material.

 

 

There's a reason first run Star Wars pages sell for so much, and it's not just nostaglia. Most of that original art was and is in the possession of one guy, with a big ranch named after one of the main characters.

 

Interior pages from that original story are as rare as covers.

 

I don't think Lucas owns as much Star Wars comic art as you think. Back in the day, I had all of Chaykin's share from the books as well as the covers. Lucas never attempted to contact Howard or I to buy any of it.

MI

 

 

I know he and his people have made a concerted effort, when pages from the original trilogy stories have popped up to obtain them. That tells me they probably didn't automatically get them back at the beginning and that they started writing it into agreements lager as the they are in their modern agreements with artists and publishers.

 

That changed over time and it became a point (seeing the competition for the original trilogy story pages) to rectify the situation both retrospectively and from that point on.

 

I don't know when that decision was made, perhaps it came years subsequent to being published and returned to the artists.

 

 

[zhamlau]

Chaykin first run pages are pretty nuts, you never see them for sale. No idea what they would sell for now. About 4-5 years ago I saw some decent pages sell 2000-2500. Since then no idea what they woudl go for now, 6-8k each? more? Nothing comes to market cause no one wants to sell anything good star wars anymore. Thats why Cynthia Martins look like steals at 400 a page with "eh" content and guys 8000 for late run Ron Frenz average content covers.

 

Heck, the last public sale i saw of an Infantino US 107 run Page in auction was an inventory page that i dont even know if it was published, and sold for 2000 over a year ago.

[comix4fun]

I will say, Mandel has the cover to 1. If that ones not in Lucas' archive I would bet there is a lot that isnt.

 

Him and Spielberg own a lot of comic art, and im sure he probably is one of the top collectors of his own comic art, but i dont think he has a majority of it from any era.

 

 

 

Well, I do know that Lucas owns all the art he wants to own that's been published in the last couple of decades for sure. If it's out there in the wild from that time period, it's because he passed on it.

 

He did pass on a fair amount that he had the potential rights to buy though. Of the couple dozen artists I've helped out it was a little more than 50/50. It seemed he had to like it and like it as the price it was being offered.