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Ditko ASM # 31 splash, "If This Be My Destiny"

Started by Terry Doyle,

25 posts in this topic

Funnyslover

Funnyslover

Posted
Posted

Shame. I assume if you get a response you will out the peddler. According to Burkey, ASMs 5 & 38 are still in Ditko's possession. All other Ditko ASM artwork is of very dubious provenance aka stolen. As ASM 10 was being sold thru Heritage, Ditko wrote to them to say he "didn't want to see any more (of 'his') art sold or else"

 

 

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Funnyslover

Funnyslover

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Why ? It has been widely known, and discussed at length here also, since the warehouse theft that all Ditko Spidey other than the 5, the 38 and AF 15 are tainted goods.

 

For example :

 

 

While the Planet # 1 is nice...I do not believe it would ever qualify to become a 2-3 million piece. Not iconographic enough in my opinion. Stll nice though.

 

What is the most paid so far for original art? The highest asking price I have seen was for the last Submariner story page from Marvel 1.

 

The highest bonafide sale that I've heard of was 125K. The ASM 10 complete interiors sold for 160K cash about two years ago. Multiple items have changed hands at the 80-100K level. Plenty of items out there have price tags higher than 125K, but I haven't heard of an actual cash sale above this level.

 

But, I'm out of the loop on items at this price range.........

 

What was the 125 k purchase Hari? Enquiring minds wanna know?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If my sources are correct,...the ASM # 122 recently was sold north of 100K,..now thats not confirned,..but I have VERY good info. that this is the case. Hari ?

 

I think most of those Golden Age covers that have been mentioned would easily fetch over 125K. The #122 sold about four or five years ago for 60K, and was the highest recorded sale for a ASM cover at the time. I'm not sure if it has since sold again. The #121 cover (a nicer cover, I might add) would probably also fetch over 100K (but is in a permanent collection at present). The Marvel Comics #1 page sold for 125K two years ago. That's the one that's "for sale" again at Heritage, with likely a 200K + price tag.

 

Most of the early pre-1965 Marvel covers exist, but are hidden away (probably because the people who have them are the original people who bought them from the "thieves" back in the early 1980s). If they showed up with them now, there would be all sorts of questions.

 

Marvel never filed a theft report when the art was stolen. It was, by all accounts, an inside job. So, Marvel won't sue its own prominent employees. Therefore, no theft was reported and they have very little base to stand on if they want their art back now, over twenty years later. Nonetheless, the present possessors of the historic pre-1965 covers are likely afraid to air them. Not so much because they are afraid they will forced to return the art, but moreso because they are afraid of how they will be treated by the rest of the comic art community.

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Michael (OML)

Michael (OML)

Posted
Posted
Shame. I assume if you get a response you will out the peddler. According to Burkey, ASMs 5 & 38 are still in Ditko's possession. All other Ditko ASM artwork is of very dubious provenance aka stolen. As ASM 10 was being sold thru Heritage, Ditko wrote to them to say he "didn't want to see any more (of 'his') art sold or else"

 

 

Why is the AF #15 supposedly ok?

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jaybuck43

jaybuck43

Posted
Posted
that doesn't sound right.

Agreed. Marvel pre 1975 was known to hand out free art to people who would write in or visit the Marvel offices.

 

and of course there was the time in 1973 when Stan sold Romita, Kane, and others art for $1,000 to Winnipeg.

 

tumblr_mh1bbhBmyT1qzoglfo4_1280.jpg

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Bronty

Bronty

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Why ? It has been widely known, and discussed at length here also, since the warehouse theft that all Ditko Spidey other than the 5, the 38 and AF 15 are tainted goods.

 

 

I'm aware that some Marvel art was stolen.

 

If I break down your statement though, you are more or less suggesting that Mike Burkey represents nearly all ditko asm to be stolen property.

 

...........which would mean he sells an awful lot of stolen property :insane:

 

I don't think he would have chosen the words you chose and it makes me question your statement.

 

I'd also always been led to believe that Ditko doesn't care about his spider-man days, has a unique philosophical perspective, etc... so when you state ditko threatened the auction house over the sale of his works, it just sounds likes another dubious statement to me.

 

I don't deny that there's a kernel of truth in what you're saying but I think (rightly or wrongly) that you're being fast and loose with the details.

 

 

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Unca Ben

Unca Ben

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Posted
Shame. I assume if you get a response you will out the peddler. According to Burkey, ASMs 5 & 38 are still in Ditko's possession. All other Ditko ASM artwork is of very dubious provenance aka stolen. As ASM 10 was being sold thru Heritage, Ditko wrote to them to say he "didn't want to see any more (of 'his') art sold or else"

 

 

I'm not sure I understand this post. How would this out the peddler? (I'm not sure what that statement even means, could you clarify?)

 

The OA for ASM 31 was sold through Mastro auctions some years ago - the pages ended up selling separately rather than the whole book intact.

Some of those pages were immediately listed by Mike on his site and I've seen others pop up on CAF or the like.

I don't remember if the splash showed up on a dealer's site or not but I think I've seen it somewhere since the Mastro auction.

 

 

 

 

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Funnyslover

Funnyslover

Posted
Posted
Why ? It has been widely known, and discussed at length here also, since the warehouse theft that all Ditko Spidey other than the 5, the 38 and AF 15 are tainted goods.

 

 

I'm aware that some Marvel art was stolen.

 

If I break down your statement though, you are more or less suggesting that Mike Burkey represents nearly all ditko asm to be stolen property.

 

...........which would mean he sells an awful lot of stolen property :insane:

 

I don't think he would have chosen the words you chose and it makes me question your statement.

 

I'd also always been led to believe that Ditko doesn't care about his spider-man days, has a unique philosophical perspective, etc... so when you state ditko threatened the auction house over the sale of his works, it just sounds likes another dubious statement to me.

 

I don't deny that there's a kernel of truth in what you're saying but I think (rightly or wrongly) that you're being fast and loose with the details.

 

Hi. Please read back carefully. I know Mike and all that I quoted from him was that Ditko retains ASM 5 and 38. Nothing else. If you dispute the warehouse theft of all the Ditko Spideys, except 5 and 38, then you are perhaps being a little disingenuous. I assume your misrepresentation of my text was accidental.if you do not believe me about the letter you are free to contact the recipient. Best regards.

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comix4fun

comix4fun

Posted
Posted
Shame. I assume if you get a response you will out the peddler. According to Burkey, ASMs 5 & 38 are still in Ditko's possession. All other Ditko ASM artwork is of very dubious provenance aka stolen. As ASM 10 was being sold thru Heritage, Ditko wrote to them to say he "didn't want to see any more (of 'his') art sold or else"

 

 

I'm not sure I understand this post. How would this out the peddler? (I'm not sure what that statement even means, could you clarify?)

 

The OA for ASM 31 was sold through Mastro auctions some years ago - the pages ended up selling separately rather than the whole book intact.

Some of those pages were immediately listed by Mike on his site and I've seen others pop up on CAF or the like.

I don't remember if the splash showed up on a dealer's site or not but I think I've seen it somewhere since the Mastro auction.

 

 

 

 

And the OA to ASM 31 was sold, intact, more than a decade earlier in a major auction.

 

It was that buyer that consigned them to Mastro.

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delekkerste

delekkerste

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I don't think he would have chosen the words you chose and it makes me question your statement.

 

I'd also always been led to believe that Ditko doesn't care about his spider-man days, has a unique philosophical perspective, etc... so when you state ditko threatened the auction house over the sale of his works, it just sounds likes another dubious statement to me.

 

Actually, someone close to the ASM #10 situation told me the same thing a long time ago (around 2005) about Ditko threatening Heritage not to auction any more of his art. But, given how much Ditko ASM art has subsequently been sold openly by Heritage and other auction houses (e.g., Mastro and CLink), I just assumed that either the story was not true or else the lawyers deemed Ditko's request to be unenforceable.

 

As far as tracking down a scan of the ASM #31 splash, I'd see if OCAL can help out. 2c

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comix4fun

comix4fun

Posted
Posted
I don't think he would have chosen the words you chose and it makes me question your statement.

 

I'd also always been led to believe that Ditko doesn't care about his spider-man days, has a unique philosophical perspective, etc... so when you state ditko threatened the auction house over the sale of his works, it just sounds likes another dubious statement to me.

 

Actually, someone close to the ASM #10 situation told me the same thing a long time ago (around 2005) about Ditko threatening Heritage not to auction any more of his art. But, given how much Ditko ASM art has subsequently been sold openly by Heritage and other auction houses (e.g., Mastro and CLink), I just assumed that either the story was not true or else the lawyers deemed Ditko's request to be unenforceable.

 

As far as tracking down a scan of the ASM #31 splash, I'd see if OCAL can help out. 2c

 

 

 

That's probably going to cost more than 2c

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Funnyslover

Funnyslover

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Unenforceable. In his own articles Ditko has disclaimed ownership and the auction houses know therefore that, whilst he can protest the sale of the stolen ASMs, he cannot follow thru to act against them. The blatant peddling of stolen goods obviously upsets him irrespective of his Randian beliefs.

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Terry Doyle

Terry Doyle

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Shame. I assume if you get a response you will out the peddler.

 

(shrug)

 

Uhm, no, I'm just looking for a decent scan of the splash for a commission idea using the splash as a cover image.

 

As has since been pointed out, the complete book of interiors was auctioned-off years ago.

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