ComicLink Spring Auction

[dgillock]

I'm not a 100% sure, but I remember over in the "Fakers on Ebay" thread that when I was looking at the listings of fakes that DUCOSO. (dutch collector's society) had up I saw this piece (or at least one very similar to it), and am now wondering if its a fake, and possibly the same drawing that he had listed on Ebay.

 

I went on heritage to look at examples, and noticed that he drew the cat in a different way, and always seemed to have a swirl at the bottom of his name which makes me even more suspicious.

 

Thoughts?

 

http://www.comiclink.com/img/comics/scans/RAD64FFA2016428_152345.jpg

 

I noticed this comment, and we (ComicLink) thought it might make sense to reply in order to not leave it unaddressed which might lead to additional concern about the topic:

 

A lot of fake and authentic Dr. Seuss art exists on the market today and in light of this, we carefully examined the piece being offered in this auction when it arrived to our offices.

 

The "squiggle" under the signature of Seuss is a very common attribute but not something that was universally done on authentic Seuss art and signatures. The absence of the "squiggle" does not equal a fake. Actually, because the squiggle is an attribute that is associated with his drawings, many of the fake Seuss drawings that do exist have the squiggle. His signature has many consistent qualities and then other aspects that aren't so consistent and it's not a signature that appears exactly the same every time he used it.

 

The age of the paper and state of the colored marker reveal a piece of art that was created decades ago. The piece was framed and matted and the sun fade / outline is present from being framed for years. Additionally, the red marker ink has faded at a different rate from the ink that was used to do the line drawing, also indicating an older illustration.

 

The physical examination of the piece shows confident, quick moving lines. Fakes will show signs of tracing or copying, slower moving lines that are shaky when looked at closely. Also, as a fan of Seuss the piece does feels right.

 

The consignor has indicated that the piece was purchased from an estate sale in New York City. It was stated that the piece was among many higher end fine art pieces that were being viewed by a well established auction house that deals in fine art. Obviously, it is always best case to have a hand written letter from the family or some kind of rock solid provenance story that links the art from the hands of Seuss himself to the current buyer. However, the majority of the time (especially on quick sketches that Seuss likely did for free) would not come with this.

 

After a physical examination of the paper board as well as the original art we believe the Seuss to be authentic. We have not been provided with any evidence that this opinion is in error. The original poster has made these comments in opinion only and does not have evidence that this piece was sold in any prior ebay auctions that were determined to be fake. Our interest in selling artwork at auction is first and foremost in the truth and we are interested in hearing information that any of our bidders /viewers have regarding the art we sell. However, we'd appreciate the opportunity to research the matter first before posting publicly because unfortunately posts like that can damage a result for the seller whether there is a problem with the piece or not.

[Bill C]

I'm not a 100% sure, but I remember over in the "Fakers on Ebay" thread that when I was looking at the listings of fakes that DUCOSO. (dutch collector's society) had up I saw this piece (or at least one very similar to it), and am now wondering if its a fake, and possibly the same drawing that he had listed on Ebay.

 

I went on heritage to look at examples, and noticed that he drew the cat in a different way, and always seemed to have a swirl at the bottom of his name which makes me even more suspicious.

 

Thoughts?

 

http://www.comiclink.com/img/comics/scans/RAD64FFA2016428_152345.jpg

 

I noticed this comment, and we (ComicLink) thought it might make sense to reply in order to not leave it unaddressed which might lead to additional concern about the topic:

 

A lot of fake and authentic Dr. Seuss art exists on the market today and in light of this, we carefully examined the piece being offered in this auction when it arrived to our offices.

 

The "squiggle" under the signature of Seuss is a very common attribute but not something that was universally done on authentic Seuss art and signatures. The absence of the "squiggle" does not equal a fake. Actually, because the squiggle is an attribute that is associated with his drawings, many of the fake Seuss drawings that do exist have the squiggle. His signature has many consistent qualities and then other aspects that aren't so consistent and it's not a signature that appears exactly the same every time he used it.

 

The age of the paper and state of the colored marker reveal a piece of art that was created decades ago. The piece was framed and matted and the sun fade / outline is present from being framed for years. Additionally, the red marker ink has faded at a different rate from the ink that was used to do the line drawing, also indicating an older illustration.

 

The physical examination of the piece shows confident, quick moving lines. Fakes will show signs of tracing or copying, slower moving lines that are shaky when looked at closely. Also, as a fan of Seuss the piece does feels right.

 

The consignor has indicated that the piece was purchased from an estate sale in New York City. It was stated that the piece was among many higher end fine art pieces that were being viewed by a well established auction house that deals in fine art. Obviously, it is always best case to have a hand written letter from the family or some kind of rock solid provenance story that links the art from the hands of Seuss himself to the current buyer. However, the majority of the time (especially on quick sketches that Seuss likely did for free) would not come with this.

 

After a physical examination of the paper board as well as the original art we believe the Seuss to be authentic. We have not been provided with any evidence that this opinion is in error. The original poster has made these comments in opinion only and does not have evidence that this piece was sold in any prior ebay auctions that were determined to be fake. Our interest in selling artwork at auction is first and foremost in the truth and we are interested in hearing information that any of our bidders /viewers have regarding the art we sell. However, we'd appreciate the opportunity to research the matter first before posting publicly because unfortunately posts like that can damage a result for the seller whether there is a problem with the piece or not.

 

I'm very impressed with the way Comiclink is handling OA concerns. This makes me much more confident bidding with the company.

[jjonahjameson1]

Ok you billionaires, back TF off...bids are going crazy already, underbidder on two pieces with prices that should be enough to win them...

 

I took a closer look at all of the lots tonite and I see very few items with 'crazy' bids. In fact, numerous pieces are still downright cheap and well below FMV

[NelsonAI]

........

 

Just to be clear, the Conan Saga #5 cover art is not covered by any artist transfer agreement. (which is why there is no mention of it )

 

 

Thanks for the clarification Doug.

I think more bids will be placed now that any prior "agreement" will not be forced on the winning bidder.

 

It's a great cover by a great artist. BWS can certainly profit off the art by selling autographed prints or t-shirts.

 

Cheers!

N.

 

 

[jjonahjameson1]

Ok you billionaires, back TF off...bids are going crazy already, underbidder on two pieces with prices that should be enough to win them...

 

I took a closer look at all of the lots tonite and I see very few items with 'crazy' bids. In fact, numerous pieces are still downright cheap and well below FMV

 

Hmmm... Now I'm starting to see some increased activity on pieces im after. Stop bidding, all you! ?

[alxjhnsn]

Hmmm... Now I'm starting to see some increased activity on pieces im after. Stop bidding, all you! ?

Good luck with that appeal.

[comix4fun]

Ok you billionaires, back TF off...bids are going crazy already, underbidder on two pieces with prices that should be enough to win them...

 

I took a closer look at all of the lots tonite and I see very few items with 'crazy' bids. In fact, numerous pieces are still downright cheap and well below FMV

 

Hmmm... Now I'm starting to see some increased activity on pieces im after. Stop bidding, all you! ?

 

 

Perhaps if you listed the specific pieces you were going after and your maximum bids we could more accurately assist you.

[jjonahjameson1]

Ok you billionaires, back TF off...bids are going crazy already, underbidder on two pieces with prices that should be enough to win them...

 

I took a closer look at all of the lots tonite and I see very few items with 'crazy' bids. In fact, numerous pieces are still downright cheap and well below FMV

 

Hmmm... Now I'm starting to see some increased activity on pieces im after. Stop bidding, all you! ?

 

 

Perhaps if you listed the specific pieces you were going after and your maximum bids we could more accurately assist you.

 

[Justin Case]

Ok you billionaires, back TF off...bids are going crazy already, underbidder on two pieces with prices that should be enough to win them...

 

I took a closer look at all of the lots tonite and I see very few items with 'crazy' bids. In fact, numerous pieces are still downright cheap and well below FMV

 

Hmmm... Now I'm starting to see some increased activity on pieces im after. Stop bidding, all you! ?

 

 

Perhaps if you listed the specific pieces you were going after and your maximum bids we could more accurately assist you.

 

 

Whats so funny? I think comix4fun is trying to be very helpful. In fact im willing to help as well

[comix4fun]

Ok you billionaires, back TF off...bids are going crazy already, underbidder on two pieces with prices that should be enough to win them...

 

I took a closer look at all of the lots tonite and I see very few items with 'crazy' bids. In fact, numerous pieces are still downright cheap and well below FMV

 

Hmmm... Now I'm starting to see some increased activity on pieces im after. Stop bidding, all you! ?

 

 

Perhaps if you listed the specific pieces you were going after and your maximum bids we could more accurately assist you.

 

 

Whats so funny? I think comix4fun is trying to be very helpful. In fact im willing to help as well

 

 

Truly, that's what this big comic art family is for, right? <3

[Galactus]

Just had a look at Clink's offerings, and see that the reserve prices have been listed. The Marvel Team Up Annual cover has a reserve on it of $53k, thoughts?

[comix4fun]

Just had a look at Clink's offerings, and see that the reserve prices have been listed. The Marvel Team Up Annual cover has a reserve on it of $53k, thoughts?

 

 

I looked at that one last week, it was up over $40k I thought before reserves I think....for whatever that is worth.

[Galactus]

Just had a look at Clink's offerings, and see that the reserve prices have been listed. The Marvel Team Up Annual cover has a reserve on it of $53k, thoughts?

 

 

I looked at that one last week, it was up over $40k I thought before reserves I think....for whatever that is worth.

 

[Tokay]

You can look at the bid history on the reserve lots and figure out the jumps.

[comix4fun]

You can look at the bid history on the reserve lots and figure out the jumps.

 

 

Could have sworn it was higher than $25k. I remember the feeling of shock I had that it was more $10k than the actual number I guess.

[AKA Rick]

Just had a look at Clink's offerings, and see that the reserve prices have been listed. The Marvel Team Up Annual cover has a reserve on it of $53k, thoughts?

 

Generally, most of the times there's a reserve, not all of the time, but most of the time, and at this point, a week into the auction, the reserve has not been met, it usually means the seller overvalued the artwork and the buyers in the marketplace are hoping nobody will be so hasty to bid the minimum reserve, to then have the piece go unsold, and then inspire the seller to take lower price offers.

 

But, all it takes is one person to pull the trigger to then let everyone know it's going to sell and start the bidding war, but I think most of the buyers out there are generally united in allowing many pieces with reserves to pass, unless the reserve is low enough to be considered reasonable.

 

I'm not sure if $50k+ qualifies as reasonable or not, it's a nice piece, and if it were auctioned with "No Reserve" it might get higher bids (at least that's my strategic belief) due to what a no reserve auction does emotionally to bidders.

[Ironmandrd]

Just had a look at Clink's offerings, and see that the reserve prices have been listed. The Marvel Team Up Annual cover has a reserve on it of $53k, thoughts?

 

Generally, most of the times there's a reserve, not all of the time, but most of the time, and at this point, a week into the auction, the reserve has not been met, it usually means the seller overvalued the artwork and the buyers in the marketplace are hoping nobody will be so hasty to bid the minimum reserve, to then have the piece go unsold, and then inspire the seller to take lower price offers.

 

But, all it takes is one person to pull the trigger to then let everyone know it's going to sell and start the bidding war, but I think most of the buyers out there are generally united in allowing many pieces with reserves to pass, unless the reserve is low enough to be considered reasonable.

 

I'm not sure if $50k+ qualifies as reasonable or not, it's a nice piece, and if it were auctioned with "No Reserve" it might get higher bids (at least that's my strategic belief) due to what a no reserve auction does emotionally to bidders.

 

Like any general rule, there are exceptions and of course differences in what a buyer views as "reasonable."

 

A ComicLink piece I was interested in a couple of years ago had a reserve that up to the last minutes was not hit. I thought the reserve was a bit high but overall not too unreasonable. I knew from a prior auction that for a piece that did not hit the reserve, ComicLink works backwards from the last high bidder to try and sell the unsold piece. I did not want to risk losing this piece during or after the auction and so in the last minute hit (and exceeded) the reserve. I was the only bidder hitting (or exceeding) the reserve and so won it. Sometimes you don't want to risk losing the piece and you hit the reserve. Last year I was unsolicitedly offered double the reserve for that piece.

[Doc Joe]

I triggered the reserve on a piece as I did not know what * meant.

 

 

I felt that could be more clear and there should be a legit warning

 

of course it was followed by the usual flurry of messages to me

 

"you know its been available for less etc etc "

 

no I did not

 

anyway, as you say, delighted to have won it and I think it would trigger that amount again + if it went for sale.

 

Which it won't.

 

 

[Justin Case]

For those who are dithering wether to pull the trigger or not on the reserve price on the artwork they are interested in here are a few factors that i way up before deciding.

 

The first thing i think of is is the price a reasonable one or is it completely way over the top? Now without an OA price guide how do you determine this? Well i go to the websites that have the results of their original art auctions. Then i do 2 things to roughly gage the prices that particular artists's work has been fetching recently. First of all try and find the same character(s) that the artist has drawn and compare it with the page that is being offered and if its from the same title then even better. Then try and do a like for like comparison. If the page being offered is not as good as the one that sold previously i.e the page does not have the main character(s) on it, is not in as many panels or the images are smaller then straight away i know i am not going to pay as much as what the last one sold for.and i use this as my starting point. So if a page by that artist with the same character(s) sold for 30K last time and i think the page i am interested in is not as good then im looking at a figure of between 15-20K with 25K my absolute tops. Likewise if the page that just sold is the second best page in the book and the best page comes up for sale i will pay more than 30K(with 5-20K on top depending). It is difficult with no guide and im not even sure if there is a right or wrong price with any piece but thats how i go about things. I know others who just decide how much they are willing to pay for a particular piece of artwork they just have to have and just pay it regardless of past sales.

 

 

 

[comiconxion]

With reserve auctions, I think there is a perception that if the piece passes at the reserve price, there would be an opportunity to buy it at a discounted price after the auction. Although that may be the case some of the time, I've actually had the opposite happen to me - the consignor lists the reserve below their normal asking price. When it passed, they just decided to keep the piece and I knew that if I wanted to now get the piece, I would have to offer them more than what they were willing to take in auction.

 

Ultimately, I think you need to decide whether the price is attractive - if someone listed a piece on a website at that price or offered it to you directly at that price, is it something that you'd be willing to pay and seem like a fair deal?

 

The fact that someone lists a piece with a reserve typically means that it's a quality piece and they're trying to just make sure that they don't take a bath if for whatever reason auction bidding isn't as strong as it is sometimes.