Comiclink Winter Featured Auction 1 1

[jjonahjameson11]

Now that the Heritage auction is over, I just wanted to get some people's thoughts on a few items in the Clink Winter auction.

the BWS #6 complete interiors seems interesting.  It's at $42K right now and I'm just wondering where it will end up?  Perhaps $100K?  Thoughts?

wrightson Swamp Thing page is also interesting.  It's an origin recap which is something I've always appreciated, however, there's some Swampy on the page, but not a whole lot of him.

 

finally, the Romita Sr DD page with lots of Spidey.  I kind of like this early representation of Spidey and the page does have good content.  Will it exceed $30K?

[Matches_Malone]

I'm curious about the Frank Miller ROM

is that fresh to market, I don't recalled seeing it before... But I really do not follow ROM

[jjonahjameson11]

2 hours ago, Matches_Malone said:

I'm curious about the Frank Miller ROM

is that fresh to market, I don't recalled seeing it before... But I really do not follow ROM

Yeah, there's definitely some rabid ROM collectors out there and that Miller cover is very striking 

[delekkerste]

4 hours ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

Now that the Heritage auction is over, I just wanted to get some people's thoughts on a few items in the Clink Winter auction.

the BWS #6 complete interiors seems interesting.  It's at $42K right now and I'm just wondering where it will end up?  Perhaps $100K?  Thoughts?

Considering that CLink has slapped a $200K pre-auction estimate on the lot, I suspect there will be a hard reserve in the $150-$200K range, or at least some kind of guarantee or other protective arrangement at $150K+.  It would be inconceivable to me that the two co-owners would sit on something like this for so long and risk being disappointed at the auction block with no protections at all in place.  This is a great lot, but a complete story like this is not the slam dunk like, say, a singular key cover would be.  

In other words, no way will this be allowed to sell at only $100K.  One way or another,  I doubt this will be allowed to sell for a penny less than $150K (and perhaps higher).  It will be interesting to see if someone steps up to whatever level is required.  My friend thinks the book can be broken up profitably even at $200K; I am skeptical that a dealer would find the risk vs. return equation compelling at that price.  But, we'll see.    

Edited February 25, 2017 by delekkerste

[cstojano]

On the BWS lot I figure the splash could be 30-40k with anywhere from 6-12k per interior page. Its hard to imagine this lot not being broken up, unless I am underestimating the pool of Conan diehards (or BWS fans) willing to sink 200k into an issue.

 

Note the single BWS page on CLINK recently sold at HA for 14k! Someone must not like that page to relist it so quickly (unless there was something else going on); 14k is the most expensive single Conan page in the HA archives, though dealers ask for more.

[jjonahjameson11]

3 hours ago, delekkerste said:

Considering that CLink has slapped a $200K pre-auction estimate on the lot, I suspect there will be a hard reserve in the $150-$200K range, or at least some kind of guarantee or other protective arrangement at $150K+.  It would be inconceivable to me that the two co-owners would sit on something like this for so long and risk being disappointed at the auction block with no protections at all in place.  This is a great lot, but a complete story like this is not the slam dunk like, say, a singular key cover would be.  

In other words, no way will this be allowed to sell at only $100K.  One way or another,  I doubt this will be allowed to sell for a penny less than $150K (and perhaps higher).  It will be interesting to see if someone steps up to whatever level is required.  My friend thinks the book can be broken up profitably even at $200K; I am skeptical that a dealer would find the risk vs. return equation compelling at that price.  But, we'll see.    

Appreciate the info, Gene.

i took another look at the listing and it indicates this is a "No Reserve" auction

[cstojano]

28 minutes ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

Appreciate the info, Gene.

i took another look at the listing and it indicates this is a "No Reserve" auction

Was just coming back to post this.

 

I have to say the prices in the HA auction seem pretty strong for Conan stuff (just watched the Norem prelim sell for 500). I just can't believe how much Conan stuff there is from Marvel to Dark Horse, pin ups galore, SSOC pages everywhere you look. 

Edited February 25, 2017 by cstojano

[delekkerste]

1 hour ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

Appreciate the info, Gene.

i took another look at the listing and it indicates this is a "No Reserve" auction

Even without a hard reserve, I'd be shocked if the market's temperature  hasn't been gauged in advance and/or arrangements haven't been made to ensure that CLink doesn't look foolish with their $200K estimate,  and that the consignors don't risk letting this one go for anywhere near just $100K.

[njseale]

A little smaller than average for a featured auction i think, with a few really nice pieces, that DK page sure is sweet.

[NelsonAI]

IMHO I fully expect the BWS Conan full story to:

1) break $160K.  20K average per page?  I'll take the over.  I'm usually low on my estimates but there are a ton of BWS Conan fans out there and this certainly hits the nostalgic sweet spot.

2)  the book will be broken up.  A dealer can easily get quality trade greater than 20K per page average.

3) the buyer will keep the splash.   Even though BWS doesn't peak until the Red Sonja Red Nails issues where he inks his own work, the splash page of issue # 6 looks pretty darn sweet.  I value the splash higher than the aforementioned 30 - 40K estimate.  

For full disclosure, I DO NOT know who the consignor is nor do I own any BWS art.  Good luck to all.

Cheers!

N.

 

[ThothAmon]

3 hours ago, cstojano said:

Was just coming back to post this.

 

I have to say the prices in the HA auction seem pretty strong for Conan stuff (just watched the Norem prelim sell for 500). I just can't believe how much Conan stuff there is from Marvel to Dark Horse, pin ups galore, SSOC pages everywhere you look. 

Shhhh. My wife might hear. In my defense I was pissed I didn't get the Norem oil cover. 

[cstojano]

1 hour ago, ThothAmon said:

Shhhh. My wife might hear. In my defense I was pissed I didn't get the Norem oil cover. 

I quite liked this oil cover myself. Soooo, does this mean you are passing on the prelim cover tomorrow

[vodou]

Yeah Conan, there has been tons of it hitting all the Houses and Romitaman for over a year. One massive collection, several large collections all cashing out, or..? Not all prices are strong. Leo Lieberman (yeah I know) lost somebody 34% in the course of 9 years.

[delekkerste]

4 hours ago, NelsonAI said:

IMHO I fully expect the BWS Conan full story to:

1) break $160K.  20K average per page?  I'll take the over.  I'm usually low on my estimates but there are a ton of BWS Conan fans out there and this certainly hits the nostalgic sweet spot.

2)  the book will be broken up.  A dealer can easily get quality trade greater than 20K per page average.

3) the buyer will keep the splash.   Even though BWS doesn't peak until the Red Sonja Red Nails issues where he inks his own work, the splash page of issue # 6 looks pretty darn sweet.  I value the splash higher than the aforementioned 30 - 40K estimate.  

For full disclosure, I DO NOT know who the consignor is nor do I own any BWS art.  Good luck to all.

Cheers!

N.

 

I'm a big BWS Conan fan, and love #6 being that it was the first BWS Conan story that I ever read (though, I won't be taking this one home, sadly...I have no doubt that this will soar past my comfort zone by auction's end).  That said, I would note that there have been a number of splashes from the run available over the past couple of years from several different dealers, and they haven't exactly been flying off the shelf when offered in the ~$35K range, and I haven't seen any of them break $40K yet (the #8 splash hit $38.2K at Heritage in Nov. 2015).  Interior pages from the BWS Conan run are ubiquitous - they are almost always available in every quarterly auction cycle and on dealer sites/dealer tables at shows, and not a small number of them have sold in the low-to-mid 4-figure range over the past couple of years.  Not that they were the best pages, but, remember, every complete story is going to include some pages like this.  Lastly, remember the Conan #8 cover sold for a disappointing $59,750 in November.  Is the #6 book worth 3-4x that cover, or even possibly more?  I would argue no, but, YMMV.  

Anyway, my point is that I don't think there is a ton of pent-up demand that would be willing to take these pages down quickly at top dollar, making the risk/reward on a break-up of the book unfavorable above a certain point IMO.  Not to mention, with the book being sold complete, it's likely to carry a discount to the break value given that the price tag is likely to weed out all but a few collectors and dealers.  Of course, it only takes two to tango, though; it will be interesting to see where it ends up.  I like the consignors and CLink and hope it does well for all of them...just having an honest and open conversation here. 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2017 by delekkerste

[NelsonAI]

whoops!

TYPO on my average cost per page.  I rushed that post before leaving the apt.  $160K / 20 pages = $8K per page.    Any dealer would be able to get more than $8K in trade per page.  I'll take the over on $8K per page for that lot.  My estimate on the splash itself is speculative but I also think the buyer will eventually keep the splash.

 

My head is actually clearer now at 4 am e.s.t.  than when I first posted.  Lol.

Cheers!

N.

 

[cstojano]

5 hours ago, delekkerste said:

I'm a big BWS Conan fan, and love #6 being that it was the first BWS Conan story that I ever read (though, I won't be taking this one home, sadly...I have no doubt that this will soar past my comfort zone by auction's end).  That said, I would note that there have been a number of splashes from the run available over the past couple of years from several different dealers, and they haven't exactly been flying off the shelf when offered in the ~$35K range, and I haven't seen any of them break $40K yet (the #8 splash hit $38.2K at Heritage in Nov. 2015).  Interior pages from the BWS Conan run are ubiquitous - they are almost always available in every quarterly auction cycle and on dealer sites/dealer tables at shows, and not a small number of them have sold in the low-to-mid 4-figure range over the past couple of years.  Not that they were the best pages, but, remember, every complete story is going to include some pages like this.  Lastly, remember the Conan #8 cover sold for a disappointing $59,750 in November.  Is the #6 book worth 3-4x that cover, or even possibly more?  I would argue no, but, YMMV.  

Anyway, my point is that I don't think there is a ton of pent-up demand that would be willing to take these pages down quickly at top dollar, making the risk/reward on a break-up of the book unfavorable above a certain point IMO.  Not to mention, with the book being sold complete, it's likely to carry a discount to the break value given that the price tag is likely to weed out all but a few collectors and dealers.  Of course, it only takes two to tango, though; it will be interesting to see where it ends up.  I like the consignors and CLink and hope it does well for all of them...just having an honest and open conversation here. 

 

 

I too was counting the somewhat disappointing cover result from Heritage, same auction also turned some circa 5k interior pages although clearly these weren't key pages either.

[batman_fan]

I am not too tuned in to the BWS market but looking through the various pages, I would say so-so splash, okay but not spectacular.  Interior pages an really just okay, nothing knocks my socks off. 

[cstojano]

4 hours ago, batman_fan said:

I am not too tuned in to the BWS market but looking through the various pages, I would say so-so splash, okay but not spectacular.  Interior pages an really just okay, nothing knocks my socks off. 

Really trying not to derail the thread, but curious what you think makes an A level BWS conan page. I am not disagreeing with you on these pages, just curious. I assume it is some combination of conan in every panel, + girl + great beast/monster. 

 

Thanks

Chris

[batman_fan]

27 minutes ago, cstojano said:

Really trying not to derail the thread, but curious what you think makes an A level BWS conan page. I am not disagreeing with you on these pages, just curious. I assume it is some combination of conan in every panel, + girl + great beast/monster. 

 

Thanks

Chris

I would say 

1. Conan in some action poses ideally fighting either other people or cool looking monsters.  Take this story and look at page 4, I don't find the girls face in the lower left corner very appealing.  The lower right corner, Conan's face looks a bit jacked.  Even the splash is just so-so.  Conan has a tiny dagger (?) on his hip, anatomy of his body is pretty mediocre, background is a bit flat, horn on helmet look a bit strange, co shading to give them any depth.  Now take these opinions with a grain of salt.  I am not in any way a serious bidder on this story.  I am only voicing my personal opinion on my assessment of what I like and don't like with the pages (okay more don't like).

[ThothAmon]

1 hour ago, batman_fan said:

I would say 

1. Conan in some action poses ideally fighting either other people or cool looking monsters.  Take this story and look at page 4, I don't find the girls face in the lower left corner very appealing.  The lower right corner, Conan's face looks a bit jacked.  Even the splash is just so-so.  Conan has a tiny dagger (?) on his hip, anatomy of his body is pretty mediocre, background is a bit flat, horn on helmet look a bit strange, co shading to give them any depth.  Now take these opinions with a grain of salt.  I am not in any way a serious bidder on this story.  I am only voicing my personal opinion on my assessment of what I like and don't like with the pages (okay more don't like).

You are so right.  Lots of bad Conan art out there.  Here's one I thinks in the good art category I bought some HA auction ago.