Dr. Strange 4 panel page = Two J. Buscema covers?

[Lee B.]

Hi all! This is my way of saying that I recently added 46 scans of old John Buscema art ads to my Comic Art Ads website (www.comicartads.com).

 

It is always interesting to see the asking prices for various pieces of art from the same catalog, for example, a 1990 Graphic Collectibles catalog that offers page 27 from Dr. Strange #4 for $150.00, and also offers two John Buscema covers (Thor #259 and Fantastic Four #122 (Galactus cover)) at $75.00 each:

 

http://comicartads.com/content/thor-259-cover

 

I'm having a hard time imagining how this makes sense today, even though the Dr. Strange page certainly must have been great with the cameos by the members of the Defenders (at least illusionary cameos).

 

I guess back in 1990, Frank Brunner was hot, and John Buscema was not.

 

Anyway, please feel free to poke around on the site and see all the cool John Buscema art that was up for grabs in the 1990s. Cheers, Lee

[J.Sid]

That's funny. Sounds like Buscema, Romita, and even Kirby have had their periods where OA collectors were less-than-excited about their work. Now that we look back with a little perspective, we can more easily see whose work had real impact and has stood the test of time.

 

There are plenty of hot modern artists today who we'll be saying the same things about 10 years from now. "Look at this auction back in 2005-- you could've bought two John Byrne covers for the price of one Frank Cho pin-up"

[Brian Peck]

Damn should have bought that covers and the other Buscema art but I was a poor college student.

 

Oh well at least I own the pencils to that cover. John used Thor 259 for Chapter 9 of How to Draw Comic The Marvel Way

 

[vodou]

I guess back in 1990, Frank Brunner was hot, and John Buscema was not.

Lee, Brunner was always a boutique 'name' artist going back to when Dr. Strange and Howard the Duck books were coming out new. Same sort of pull that Byrne and Perez had in the 1980s. And the Image guys in the 1990s. Buscema was essentially another house artist (in perception). The 1 panel = 2 covers formula makes perfect sense in light of this, as nostalgia explains most everything in this hobby.

[Lee B.]

Great comments everyone! "Hotness" certainly has played a major role in pricing, no matter what period of time you look at. It's also interesting to check out less "hot" (but still desirable) artists and see where prices shake out at a point in time.

 

For example, in 1990, a Gene Colan Howard the Duck cover was priced $50 more than a Steve Ditko Stalker page, the same as Bill Everett panel pages from Tales to Astonish, and $50 less than a Steve Ditko Hulk 6 panel page:

 

http://comicartads.com/content/howard-duck-10-cover

 

Today, I think the Colan cover would easily surpass the Everett pages at auction and likely also the Hulk page, which does not feature the Hulk. What does that tell us? Who knows, but it's endlessly interesting to me. Cheers, Lee

[Twanj]

this is super cool.

 

if any of these pages have been publicly sold after, could you add the dates & prices? that'd be interesting to see over time

[Lee B.]

this is super cool.

 

if any of these pages have been publicly sold after, could you add the dates & prices? that'd be interesting to see over time

 

 

Hi Twanj! Thanks for the kind comment! I'm not sure I can do exactly what you are asking, but visitors to the site can set up free accounts and comment on the pieces, if they would like to share information about subsequent prices and sales.

 

I have some other ideas as well, like exploring whether Bill Cox would like to add a small modification to Comicartfans that would enable art owners to link their art to a page on Comicartads that shows their page when it was for sale years ago. Cheers, Lee

[drdroom]

Has anyone figured out what artist or run has given the greatest ROI, lets say from 1990 to 2015? Romita Spidey, maybe?

[Lee B.]

Has anyone figured out what artist or run has given the greatest ROI, lets say from 1990 to 2015? Romita Spidey, maybe?

 

Hi Aaron! If you go to www.comicartads.com and run a search on 1990, you'll get a return of 41 ads that appeared in 1990. Based on a quick perusal of those ads, I'd guess that one of the greatest ROIs has been for John Buscema covers. But others may draw different conclusions. Best, Lee

[Silver Surfer]

These prices make me want to cry. $75, $85.

[pinupcartoonguy]

So what is the dynamic that causes an art by the likes of an artist like Big John to jump in value relative to other artists?

[vodou]

So what is the dynamic that causes an art by the likes of an artist like Big John to jump in value relative to other artists?

Prime Kirby, Ditko, Steranko covers being completely out of reach of the 99%

[Lee B.]

So what is the dynamic that causes an art by the likes of an artist like Big John to jump in value relative to other artists?

Prime Kirby, Ditko, Steranko covers being completely out of reach of the 99%

 

In fact, some original art experts have predicted that 1990s Captain America covers by the likes of Rik Levins and Dave Hoover may become similarly valued in the future, when covers by the Buscema brothers, Gil Kane, etc. become out-of-reach. Best, Lee (posting only partly tongue-in-cheek)

[trimpehulk]

Lee Brunner produced less art by far than either Romita Sr and John Buscema. Many art collectors at this time ran from artists they thought produced to much material.

[Silver Surfer]

So what is the dynamic that causes an art by the likes of an artist like Big John to jump in value relative to other artists?

Prime Kirby, Ditko, Steranko covers being completely out of reach of the 99%

 

And with Big John's passing I'm sure people realize that he was/is a giant in this industry so with no new material on the horizon its just a matter of time before people start to gobble up his work.

[vodou]

So what is the dynamic that causes an art by the likes of an artist like Big John to jump in value relative to other artists?

Prime Kirby, Ditko, Steranko covers being completely out of reach of the 99%

In fact, some original art experts have predicted that 1990s Captain America covers by the likes of Rik Levins and Dave Hoover may become similarly valued in the future, when covers by the Buscema brothers, Gil Kane, etc. become out-of-reach. Best, Lee (posting only partly tongue-in-cheek)

Experts. Bah. Everybody is an "expert" in their own mind

[pinupcartoonguy]

So what is the dynamic that causes an art by the likes of an artist like Big John to jump in value relative to other artists?

Prime Kirby, Ditko, Steranko covers being completely out of reach of the 99%

 

And with Big John's passing I'm sure people realize that he was/is a giant in this industry so with no new material on the horizon its just a matter of time before people start to gobble up his work.

 

I've never understood why someone passing would cause a bump in price. It's not like in their later years, any artists puts out the type of work they did in their prime. IN addition, not all of an artist's work is in demand--it tends to be very specific runs.