How many is too many "grails"? 1 1

[comix4fun]

1 hour ago, CartoonFanboy said:

I'm not a member of clan Mcleod. I also find it funny we're using that as a metaphor since there has kinda been more than one Highlander given the various mythos changes and re-tooling that franchise has gone through ... but I digress. I'm more of a one piece per favorite artist Grail guy.

For me there are a handful of pieces - each by a different artist - that are Grails to me. Realistically most of these I'll never own except the one that I'm fortunate enough to have. To me these Grails are the one example I hold above all others, regardless of content, historical significance, value etc. Even if I was offered a more valuable piece by that artist or one that is generally considered more desirable by the collecting community, I'm still keeping that personal Grail (outside of some absurd offer/trade that would be life changing of course).

The Highlander thing is more for the sake of the quote than for plot-story accuracy.  

I think it's the word "Grail" that divides people on this topic. The Holy Grail was unique and there was only one...it wasn't part of a 12 piece place setting from Crate and Barrel. From its earliest inception in this hobby it's always been the one and only one.  So you've got the old world and new world comic art history of the word working against the "Multi-Headed-Hydra-Grail" definition. 

It's semantics mostly, but certain words have been steeped in usage for so long that their meaning doesn't change easily or without a fight. Without that word, "grail" I think people accept almost any other word for multiple important pieces.  The "MVPs" of my collection, the "All-Stars", the "Hall of Fame", the "All-Time Top Ten",  the "Prime Examples", The "A+ Level Pieces", etc. 

 

[malvin]

I really like the term cornerstone that jade giant used, I can apply that to about 10 pieces of my collection with little debate (for me internally)

Malvin

[Brian Peck]

I like the term cornerstone as well. Grail has just has too many meanings to too many people. Mots people talk about just one piece that means more than anything else. Aquiring it will not satisfy my quest for comic art and cause me to stop collecting.

I think a cornerstone of your collection could be more than just one piece of art. Many times people ask me what is the piece in my collection I like out of all of them, I find myself saying it isn't one piece. The cornerstone of my collection and my favorite above all the rest is the complete "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way" book. To me growing up it was the whole book that influenced me, it is the strongest nostalgia thing in my collection. While it has some great individual pieces of art from the Nova cover to the chapter drawings, its the whole book not each page that is my favorite in my collection.

Edited May 9, 2017 by Brian Peck

[thethedew]

1 hour ago, Brian Peck said:

I like the term cornerstone as well.

Thirded.

[comix4fun]

1 hour ago, thethedew said:

Thirded.

Harrumph!! 

 

[Bird]

So too many grails = too many schnitzels?

[MyNameIsLegion]

the Term "grail" ceased to have meaning sometime in the later half of 1998 or early 1999 on the comicart-l mailing list.   I think the term "grail" has been sufficiently watered down in the subsequent decades of this hobby that the semantic shift has taken root.   Besides, the very notion of a grail flies in the face of the neurosis that is collecting.   There can't be just one.  Imagine if the character the Collector had but one single specimen?  Nope.  Of course, he's never sold or traded his specimen's either.  That would make him THE FLIPPER.  There's a lot of cosplayers around here masquerading as the Collector, but they are, in fact, THE FLIPPER!

[John E.]

I'm going to make a general statement about a "principle" in linguistics here. Generally, the meanings of words change over time. I believe linguist John McWhorter's new book is about that. He uses the example of today's (mis)use of "literally." "Literally" is, like, literally misused all the time; it's become more of an expression for exaggeration that, generally speaking, the public has accepted. It seems like the meaning of "holy grail" has changed, too, inevitably. (Heck, what would Dr. Henry Jones think about what we refer to as "grail"?) As a newb who entered the hobby 4 years ago, even I was confused as to what "holy grail" meant exactly and I had to come up with my own personal definition.

End pedantry. 

[MyNameIsLegion]

that's what I was referring to as "semantic shift" or drift, it has a few names, and it's LITERALLY out of control!!!!!

[CartoonFanboy]

13 hours ago, comix4fun said:

The Highlander thing is more for the sake of the quote than for plot-story accuracy.  

 

Yeah, I know. But the nerd in me just couldn't resist .

[zhamlau]

Besides, a "grail" can never truly be had. It can only be pursued. Cornerstone is much better. I also like "bedrock" when talking about themes you collect. Lot of building terms lol.

[JadeGiant]

I am trademarking the term cornerstone. As of this point forward, any use of the word will require payment to me in the form of one grail piece of artwork. 

[malvin]

28 minutes ago, JadeGiant said:

I am trademarking the term cornerstone. As of this point forward, any use of the word will require payment to me in the form of one grail piece of artwork. 

Yes.  It's a great term.  Although in theory you should only have 4 cornerstones unless yo have some sort of weirdly shaped house? like a castle?

Also, since grails are by definition unattainable, I will forward you an empty package for using that term.

Malvin

[JadeGiant]

8 minutes ago, malvin said:

Yes.  It's a great term.  Although in theory you should only have 4 cornerstones unless yo have some sort of weirdly shaped house? like a castle?

Also, since grails are by definition unattainable, I will forward you an empty package for using that term.

Malvin

Weird. I had the same thought re cornerstone and came to the same conclusion that a castle would expand the definition to allow more than 4 in a collection. Get out of my head.

 

You now owe me a grail. I will proceed to your CAF gallery and inform you of the appropriate page as payment. Thank you for participating.

[jjonahjameson11]

I've two grails: one is a marvel cover, the other a DC.  One is owned by Joe Le (and would be stoopid money), thereby making it unattainable to me.

The other was owned by Romitaman and has disappeared into the ether about a decade ago.  It was way out of my price range then, and I'm certain that fact holds true today.

however, I do feel fortunate to have seen them, and I am just happy knowing they exist.

[delekkerste]

1 hour ago, JadeGiant said:

I am trademarking the term cornerstone. As of this point forward, any use of the word will require payment to me in the form of one grail piece of artwork. 

Sorry, that trademark was taken years ago.  Just doing a search for "cornerstone" in my e-mail account, I see that I've been using the term, as it pertains to the hobby, on a regular basis since at least October 2010.  I've definitely used it on the Boards and on CAF over the years as well.

Presently retaining an IP attorney for trademark infringement.  

Edited May 9, 2017 by delekkerste

[JadeGiant]

13 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

Sorry, that trademark was taken years ago.  Just doing a search for "cornerstone" in my e-mail account, I see that I've been using the term, as it pertains to the hobby, on a regular basis since at least October 2010.  I've definitely used it on the Boards and on CAF over the years as well.

Presently retaining an IP attorney for trademark infringement.  

Used or trademarked? Please direct me to the specific link where this was trademarked. 

 

I am pretty confident here, pro se representation. 

Edited May 9, 2017 by JadeGiant

[comix4fun]

35 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

Sorry, that trademark was taken years ago.  Just doing a search for "cornerstone" in my e-mail account, I see that I've been using the term, as it pertains to the hobby, on a regular basis since at least October 2010.  I've definitely used it on the Boards and on CAF over the years as well.

Presently retaining an IP attorney for trademark infringement.  

Proof of Usage established for Cornerstone™

Oooh...see? It's already working.

[delekkerste]

Just now, comix4fun said:

Proof of Usage established for Cornerstone™

Oooh...see? It's already working.

I just checked my other e-mail account - both you and Boardie "cleangone" also used the term in correspondence in 2015 and 2016, long before the existence of this thread.

- Gene, taking credit for introducing both "cornerstone" and "price discovery" into the OA hobby lexicon  

[JadeGiant]

2007:

 

http://www.statueforum.com/showpost.php?p=1291595&postcount=14