Why are these identical Mignola Hellboy sketches worth anything? 1 1

[Guest Race]

I am having trouble understanding why people keep paying big $$$ for the same B&W, left side Hellboy pose and expression (with the only variants being amount of body drawn, i.e. head/upper torso/three‐quarters). Aside from those created at the very start of the character's life, I fail to see how the rest of these Xerox copies are worth anywhere close to what sellers are asking these days.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Guest

[Ecclectica]

On 7/26/2022 at 5:19 AM, Race said:

I am having trouble understanding why people keep paying big $$$ for the same B&W, left side Hellboy pose and expression (with the only variants being amount of body drawn, i.e. head/upper torso/three‐quarters). Aside from those created at the very start of the character's life, I fail to see how the rest of these Xerox copies have anywhere close to what sellers are asking these days.

I completely agree with you, but I suppose several factors are playing here...

First, buyers buy what they can if they're Hellboy fans... After all, Mike Mignola doesn't produce a lot of drawings these days and his Hellboy pages, covers are even more expensive. So they grab what they can.

Second, buyers are blinds... or youngs (or the 2 in the same time). Many fans see only Hellboy. You have to take into consideration that Hellboy started a looooooong time ago, and perspective matters. Consider the younger fans. I suppose some of them don't even know about all the things MM did before Hellboy... If you were there, like me, an active reader in the 80's/90's, we know that MM did several masterpieces in what is, for me, his "ten best years" (reference to "The wind rises" by Hayao Miyazaki) from 1987 to 1997. The MM paradox is that he concluded his "ten best years" period with a masterpiece on Hellboy, "The corpse", showing in some panels, alas, the root of the simplification path he has entrenched himself in more and more with the years. "Think, simplify"... Okay... but, on my side, I wouldn't exchange a page from Gotham by Gaslight, Triumph And Torment, The Jungle Adventure, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Eddy Current, Fires of the Revolution, ... for a recent MM Hellboy page.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Ecclectica

[Rick2you2]

On 7/25/2022 at 11:19 PM, Race said:

I am having trouble understanding why people keep paying big $$$ for the same B&W, left side Hellboy pose and expression (with the only variants being amount of body drawn, i.e. head/upper torso/three‐quarters). Aside from those created at the very start of the character's life, I fail to see how the rest of these Xerox copies have anywhere close to what sellers are asking these days.

I think you are confusing a variant of two things which come up here on occasion: quality and authorship. You’re just adding repetition to the mix. The buyer can point to the artist’s name on the piece and claim his aesthetics prize, without demonstrating discernment in purchasing.

I think those Hellboy drawings are still decent sketches, by the way, even if not unique. I get my MM fix from his earlier work on the Phantom Stranger mini-series, by the way, when his style was still evolving and a bit more cluttered.

[Michael Browning]

Most comic fans who initially buy these sketches probably don’t even know what comic book original art is and they’re just pleased to get a sketch by an artist whose work they love.

Try explaining OA to comic fans who aren’t actively involved in the OA hobby and you’ll feel like slamming your head against a wall after a few minutes.

These sketches are in-the-moment, cool, convention trinkets to most Hellboy fans - many of whom don’t collect the original art. It’s like getting an autograph for them. They can show it off to their buddies and say “this was drawn by the guy who created Hellboy!” But, it doesn’t matter if it’s the same headshot over and over because they are most likely blissfully ignorant of how many there are out there.

When they get sold, the people picking them up are the ones who just want a piece of Hellboy art - or Mignola art - and it’s what’s available and what they can afford.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Michael Browning

[Rick2you2]

On 7/26/2022 at 12:30 PM, Michael Browning said:

Most comic fans who initially buy these sketches probably don’t even know what comic book original art is and they’re just pleased to get a sketch by an artist whose work they love.

Try explaining OA to comic fans who aren’t actively involved in the OA hobby and you’ll feel like slamming your head against a wall after a few minutes.

These sketches are in-the-moment, cool, convention trinkets to most Hellboy fans - many of whom don’t collect the original art. It’s like getting an autograph for them. They can show it off to their buddies and say “this was drawn by the guy who created Hellboy!” But, it doesn’t matter if it’s the same headshot over and over because they are most likely blissfully ignorant of how many they are out there.

When they get sold, the people picking them up are the ones who just want a piece of Hellboy art - or Mignola art - and it’s what’s available and what they can afford.

Like those Neal Adams sketch cards for $400.

[Phill the Governor]

On 7/25/2022 at 11:19 PM, Race said:

I am having trouble understanding why people keep paying big $$$ for the same B&W, left side Hellboy pose and expression (with the only variants being amount of body drawn, i.e. head/upper torso/three‐quarters). Aside from those created at the very start of the character's life, I fail to see how the rest of these Xerox copies have anywhere close to what sellers are asking these days.

It may be better to open a window and yell this outside instead of starting a new thread here and complaining.

[Guest Race]

On 7/26/2022 at 2:02 PM, Phill the Governor said:

It may be better to open a window and yell this outside instead of starting a new thread here and complaining.

Before CGC, I was on comicart-l for over a decade. In ye olde days, bringing up subjects such as whether a particular artist or book had merit, noting behavior of various dealers or sellers, or criticizing pricing of art was not termed complaining, it was simply discussion. Seeing various sellers and dealers trying to pass off Mignola generic sketches on CAF, sometimes for upwards of $2,000, led to me wondering what is going on in our hobby -- so I put it out there. I appreciate the explanation re: "non-OA fans," who might be the buyers; it makes sense. I forget that not everyone who buys OA is as fully immersed in it as the rest of us.

[Grant Turner]

No different than the Steranko Nick Fury sketches.  But full disclosure, I have a Steranko Fury sketch and I love it!

Edited July 26, 2022 by Grant Turner

[s-man]

On 7/26/2022 at 2:21 PM, Race said:

Before CGC, I was on comicart-l for over a decade. In ye olde days, bringing up subjects such as whether a particular artist or book had merit, noting behavior of various dealers or sellers, or criticizing pricing of art was not termed complaining, it was simply discussion. Seeing various sellers and dealers trying to pass off Mignola generic sketches on CAF, sometimes for upwards of $2,000, led to me wondering what is going on in our hobby -- so I put it out there. I appreciate the explanation re: "non-OA fans," who might be the buyers; it makes sense. I forget that not everyone who buys OA is as fully immersed in it as the rest of us.

You mean I can get $2000 for this???? 

[Michael Browning]

On 7/26/2022 at 4:54 PM, Grant Turner said:

No different than the Steranko Nick Fury sketches.  But full disclosure, I have a Steranko Fury sketch and I love it!

I’ve owned several of those. I buy them every time I see Jim. I have a full commission by him, but I love buying these simple sketches and will never be able to afford a published page, so these will do. And THAT is exactly why people buy the Mignola heads.