Anecdotes of forged OA?

[desertdogg]

tth2. i don,t think that people did not want to talk about this subject. i think it was more a question on having enough people who know about this subject to voice there opinion on it.

 

some people are just not aware on the matter. and can,t comment on something they don,t know anything about. but that whats cool about this board and the hobby. that you can learn about things like this and others.

 

so keep on posting. as long as it related to the hobby. sooner or later the lurkers will want to get in on the action. iam sure there are a lot of topics to cover, and we do have some very sharp people on this board. and iam sure if they see a topic that they can shed some light on the subject, then they will jump right into the mix.

 

larry ;]

[Mister Trent]

Boy, people on these boards didn't want to talk about THIS topic, did they?

 

Makes me think of the way people say "cancer" sotto voce.

 

It could be that anyone who's been taken in by forged art are too embarrassed to admit to it?

 

I did have a friend who was sold a forged Frank Bellamy pen & ink original (a famous British artist of the 19590s/60s/early 70s, most Americans have never heard of!). The 'original' was a model sheet for the 1959 MARCO POLO strip. The art was actually a glossy photostat taken from the (real) original - which the forger had applied some india ink over the areas of solid black. At first glance, it looked convincing, but under scrutiny an obvious fake.

 

Certainly, my friend felt foolish (for not working it out for himself) when I explained how the forgery had been undertaken. Deep down inside, I think he knew the art was fake, but he was a big Bellamy fan and was hoping for the art to be the real deal . . .

[heartened]

Boy, people on these boards didn't want to talk about THIS topic, did they?

 

Makes me think of the way people say "cancer" sotto voce.

 

Hi,

 

This isn't a taboo topic or anything. On the contrary, it may become an important topic in the future, just as it is in the fine art community. We're simply not at the stage where people have made convincing forgeries. In my years of collecting, I have not even seen one example of a forgery attempt in original comic art, let alone a convincing one. Some of the longer term collectors may have more experience on the subject, but most of them don't frequent these boards. I would suggest that we pose this question on the comicart-l list, and we'll get more insightful comments.

 

Best,

[rob_react]

There are definitely fake sketches out there. Rich DeDominicis has a fake Frazetta, for example. Fake Frazetta sketches are probably the easiest target in the whole space though, so that shouldn't come as a surprise.

 

Fake pages, I think, wouldn't have presented enough of a reward vs. the risk until recently, so it wouldn't surprise me if there are no examples of it out there.

[Mister Trent]

There are definitely fake sketches out there. Rich DeDominicis has a fake Frazetta, for example. Fake Frazetta sketches are probably the easiest target in the whole space though, so that shouldn't come as a surprise.

 

Fake pages, I think, wouldn't have presented enough of a reward vs. the risk until recently, so it wouldn't surprise me if there are no examples of it out there.

 

Right, fake sketches are easier to knock out over (intricately detailed) panel pages. I remember Russ Cochran highlighting the problem of fake Frazetta sketches during the 1980s. One of the determining factors used in spotting fake Frazetta sketches was the type of illustration material used - in that some of the forgeries were drawn on types of paper/illustration board that the artist just didn't use.

[desertdogg]

well. while we are on the subject of fakes. i don,t know if this is in the same line as forged. but never the less it still very shady.

 

i was stationed at ft belviour va.an army base back in the early 80.s like 1981 or 82 anyway i use to go to comic shows put on by steve guippi i think that how his name is spelled. in arlington va. at a place called crystal city. the underground.

 

i met this young artist who very 1st and last job for marvel was inking the micheal golden iron man story in marvel fanfare. not sure of the issue it was pretty early in the run.

 

anyway. he told me marvel gave him his shot at the big time inking the golden story. it was only like six pages or something and he told me he took like two months to do six pages. so marvel canned him. right after that. 1st and last job.

 

anyway he told me that he light boxed the golden pencil pages . inked them sent them in and keeped the original pencils. so the 25.000 dollar question is what has happened to the orignal pencils. and that somebody out there has golden iron man pages that are light boxed.

 

i myself never saw the pencils. but offen wondered why would he lie to me. he was the inker. it would have been very easy for him to do it. i know marvel gave him two pages back and he wanted to sell me one page .i passed as he said he was keeping the pencils.. i wonder if he still has them. or did they make it to the market / hobby.

 

larry

[rob_react]

anyway i use to go to comic shows put on by steve guippi i think that how his name is spelled.

 

Steve Geppi? The supreme grand poo-bah of comics?

 

-I was going to write more of a mini-resume and realized it was impossible to make it "mini" and keep the important info.

[chrisco37]

Boy, people on these boards didn't want to talk about THIS topic, did they?

 

Makes me think of the way people say "cancer" sotto voce.

 

How about anecdotes of stolen or "dubiously acquired" OA collections? Anybody know any of those?

[desertdogg]

geppi. ok thanks on the correct spelling. yes it was one of his shows. he had two shops near were i lived. he was big time.then.

 

larry

[rob_react]

geppi. ok thanks on the correct spelling. yes it was one of his shows. he had two shops near were i lived. he was big time.then.

 

larry

 

If he was big then, he's an 800lb gorilla now.

[chrisco37]

geppi. ok thanks on the correct spelling. yes it was one of his shows. he had two shops near were i lived. he was big time.then.

 

larry

 

Are you from Nothern VA / DC-Metro area?

[rob_react]

geppi. ok thanks on the correct spelling. yes it was one of his shows. he had two shops near were i lived. he was big time.then.

 

larry

 

Are you from Nothern VA / DC-Metro area?

 

Since, that's where all the cool kids live.

[desertdogg]

i moved out the dc. metro area or should i say i was transfered to ft bragg n.c right near the end of 1982. i do miss the dc area crystal city was the shyt. and hanging out in georgetown.s winston.s my all-time fav pub/club.. it was fun times. i live now in southern cali. the high desert. . hence the name desertdogg.

 

larry ;]

[chrisco37]

i moved out the dc. metro area or should i say i was transfered to ft bragg n.c right near the end of 1982. i do miss the dc area crystal city was the shyt. and hanging out in georgetown.s winston.s my all-time fav pub/club.. it was fun times. i live now in southern cali. the high desert. . hence the name desertdogg.

 

larry ;]

 

And hence the Location under your avatar.

[chrisco37]

geppi. ok thanks on the correct spelling. yes it was one of his shows. he had two shops near were i lived. he was big time.then.

 

larry

 

Are you from Nothern VA / DC-Metro area?

 

Since, that's where all the cool kids live.

 

[desertdogg]

so what does steve geppi the 800 pound gorilla does now. i know the guy was hugh buying machine. of golden / silver age comics. back in the day. and had a bunch of comic shops all in the va./ dc / md areas.

 

 

larry

[rob_react]

so what does steve geppi the 800 pound gorilla does now. i know the guy was hugh buying machine. of golden / silver age comics. back in the day. and had a bunch of comic shops all in the va./ dc / md areas.

 

 

larry

 

"Mr. Geppi is the owner of Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest distributor of English-language comics, toys, collectibles and related merchandise. Geppi also owns the Diamond International Galleries, the only facility of its kind that displays a collection of some of the finest examples of comic books, toys, original comic art and memorabilia presented in a museum quality setting. His Gemstone Publishing is licensed to publish Disney's standard character comic books. Gemstone also publishes the "bible" of comic book guides, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. "

 

Also, he just bought out Hakes and is part owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

[desertdogg]

WOW. TALK ABOUT LIVING LARGE. HE.S NOT A 800 POUND GORILLA . HE.S A DAMM T- REX.

 

larry

 

 

ps. rob. thanks on the history lesson. boy did i learn something today. ;]

[Sharkey]

Geppi's Original Art collection is pretty doggone nice.

 

I thought there was a link to it from DiamondGalleries.com but there doesn't appear to be.

 

 

 

"Mr. Geppi is the owner of Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest distributor of English-language comics, toys, collectibles and related merchandise. Geppi also owns the Diamond International Galleries, the only facility of its kind that displays a collection of some of the finest examples of comic books, toys, original comic art and memorabilia presented in a museum quality setting. His Gemstone Publishing is licensed to publish Disney's standard character comic books. Gemstone also publishes the "bible" of comic book guides, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. "

 

Also, he just bought out Hakes and is part owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

[Smokinghawk]

"Mr. Geppi is the owner of Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest distributor of English-language comics, toys, collectibles and related merchandise.

 

 

Is he the one who ruffles each covers and bends the spines of Diamond comics, or does he outsource that now?