Lake Como Comic Art Festival - Cernobbio (Como Lake) 12/14 May 1 1

[barneythecantankerous]

On 5/14/2023 at 9:20 AM, pestonaccio said:

Example 3) in order to buy the first spot for a commission you had to auction. Last minute decision. You want to be the first in line with Manara? Bid. And the money is not included in the commission. So you pay the ticket, you pay the first spot, you pay the commission. One artist got a 25 euros winning bid and he got offended and didn't do any work during the day.

I went back to see who ended at €25 I could only see Liam Sharp and Ryan Ottley, who were both taking commissions the whole weekend. Was this a different artist?

[RBerman]

I enjoyed the weekend and got two dozen pieces, from a $25 Remarque to a few that were quite a bit more. My main goal was to learn about Euro art and take advantage of its availability. I ended up with interesting pieces from Poland, France, Italy and UK as well as some Americans that had not crossed my path before.

 

Prices were all over the map. If someone was higher than I wanted to go, there was someone next door happy to show their work. One artist sought me out on Sunday after lowering prices. Hanging with the artists at the reception on Thursday night was fun, and the short lines were a plus. Except Ottley, Cho, and Eastman, who always had a crowd.
 

I do not know whether I will return next year just due to diminishing returns and expense of travel and accommodations, but going once was definitely worth it.

[John E.]

On 5/15/2023 at 5:27 AM, RBerman said:

I do not know whether I will return next year just due to diminishing returns

[RBerman]

On 5/15/2023 at 3:45 PM, John E. said:

Meaning that coming once, despite the high baked-in costs of travel and room, makes sense to meet 100 artists I have never seen before. But next year is unlikely to have 100 different artists I have never seen before. Hence the diminishing returns.

[grapeape]

On 5/15/2023 at 6:52 AM, RBerman said:

Meaning that coming once, despite the high baked-in costs of travel and room, makes sense to meet 100 artists I have never seen before. But next year is unlikely to have 100 different artists I have never seen before. Hence the diminishing returns.

I'm glad you got to experience that. The European contribution to original comic art is significant. I try to keep an open mind, to see more art that's outside of my usual targets of interest.

 

[Rick2you2]

On 5/15/2023 at 11:25 AM, grapeape said:

I'm glad you got to experience that. The European contribution to original comic art is significant. I try to keep an open mind, to see more art that's outside of my usual targets of interest.

 

Still and all, this doesn’t sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread. It means spending a lot of money to go to a place that shows artwork I don’t know, from books I can’t read, by artists who may not speak English, at prices which are too high. Admittedly, thanks to CAT, I am now curious about Jordi Benet, Felix Maynet, Milo Manera [at this point, let me interrupt my comment and say I sometimes hate autocorrect], and a few others, but not so much when I can’t read their work. If I eventually do go to a European show, it will probably be in Great Britain, where I would love to meet Arthur Ranson.

[delekkerste]

On 5/14/2023 at 8:05 PM, barneythecantankerous said:

I'm a little sceptical about this so-called upping of prices, as literally every table I stopped at the dealers and artists mentioned how quiet it was Sunday. Some even desperate for sales. Nor did I personally observe this practice. Is there a reason you cannot be more specific?

Here's a collection of my incredibly bad pictures from Dave's booth, a couple covers I got and some of Como: https://imgur.com/a/0FNIEHb

Did you happen to catch the price for this??? Amazing.  

Edited May 15, 2023 by delekkerste

[Will_K]

Aside from upfront travel costs and possibly current exchange, my biggest issue would be being in Italy and not being much of a drinker (especially wine).

[RBerman]

On 5/15/2023 at 7:07 PM, Rick2you2 said:

Still and all, this doesn’t sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread. It means spending a lot of money to go to a place that shows artwork I don’t know, from books I can’t read, by artists who may not speak English, at prices which are too high. Admittedly, thanks to CAT, I am now curious about Jordi Benet, Felix Maynet, Milo Manera [at this point, let me interrupt my comment and say I sometimes hate autocorrect], and a few others, but not so much when I can’t read their work. If I eventually do go to a European show, it will probably be in Great Britain, where I would love to meet Arthur Ranson.

It’s not for everyone, to be sure. Some people have more focused interests for collecting, or window shopping, or networking.
 

It was fun to hang out at a bar with Esad Ribic and Matteo Scalera. To thumb through a hundred choices from the 1960s output of Hugo Pratt, and choose one. To buy a Druuna page directly from Serpieri. To watch Manara paint right in front of me, and get his photo with the X-Women page I brought. To learn who Corrado Roi and John Blanche were, and have my choice from numerous examples of their unusual styles. To hear Alex Maleev and Simone Bianchi and Simon Bisley and Terry Moore explain art choices on pieces I acquired or already owned. To get the artists’ reactions to my Itoya and see which pieces resonated with which of them. (David Mack loved BWS. Brian Stelfreeze was partial to Grey Morrow.) To learn the artists by face, voice, and personality. (Almost all were very congenial.)

That is what I got out of the investment. None of this is going to happen on Heritage Auction. Some collectors will want this experience, and others won’t.

Edited May 15, 2023 by RBerman

[J.Sid]

On 5/14/2023 at 5:17 PM, thehumantorch said:

Auctions for commission spots?  I miss the days when collecting comics and comic art wasn't cool and it wasn't about squeezing every last dollar out of a fan.

I dunno. I remember back in the mid 2000s going to SD and hoping to try to get a spot on the AH! list....I got there a 2 hours before the day opened hoping to be the first in the door and first to his booth and you know what? The list was long filled by moment I got there. People who were up at 4AM waiting in line, people with dealer badges, etc etc. And 90% of the stuff ended up flipped for profit within a month of the show.

If I had known I had no hope of making the list, I could have enjoyed a very nice morning. I don't mind the auctioning of spots.

[thehumantorch]

On 5/15/2023 at 1:17 PM, J.Sid said:

I dunno. I remember back in the mid 2000s going to SD and hoping to try to get a spot on the AH! list....I got there a 2 hours before the day opened hoping to be the first in the door and first to his booth and you know what? The list was long filled by moment I got there. People who were up at 4AM waiting in line, people with dealer badges, etc etc. And 90% of the stuff ended up flipped for profit within a month of the show.

If I had known I had no hope of making the list, I could have enjoyed a very nice morning. I don't mind the auctioning of spots.

There's likely no solution that will keep everyone happy.

[artdealer]

On 5/15/2023 at 2:06 PM, Will_K said:

Aside from upfront travel costs and possibly current exchange, my biggest issue would be being in Italy and not being much of a drinker (especially wine).

I went in 2019. I don’t drink either, but ate quite well.

Edited May 15, 2023 by artdealer

[barneythecantankerous]

On 5/15/2023 at 6:35 PM, delekkerste said:

Did you happen to catch the price for this??? Amazing.  

So this one was just a display piece but if memory serves I'm pretty sure Dave's wife mentioned this and the original Arkham Asylum cover will both be in a Christie's auction at some point this year. 

There was another Hellblazer cover he brought along, for issue #6, which was absolutely incredible but unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. Hopefully the collector shares the piece somewhere as it's phenomenal - Dave used a piece of roof slate which he painted onto, smashed and stuck to the surface of the art. 

[barneythecantankerous]

On 5/15/2023 at 8:17 PM, J.Sid said:

I dunno. I remember back in the mid 2000s going to SD and hoping to try to get a spot on the AH! list....I got there a 2 hours before the day opened hoping to be the first in the door and first to his booth and you know what? The list was long filled by moment I got there. People who were up at 4AM waiting in line, people with dealer badges, etc etc. And 90% of the stuff ended up flipped for profit within a month of the show.

If I had known I had no hope of making the list, I could have enjoyed a very nice morning. I don't mind the auctioning of spots.

Yes there's been a lot of hate for the commission auction which I honestly don't get. I don't think the convention has made money (ever), so it's another useful way to keep the con going, it's totally optional and you can still get a commission, it just means you have peace of mind for maybe that white whale you've been after. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by barneythecantankerous

[Rick2you2]

On 5/15/2023 at 2:09 PM, RBerman said:

It’s not for everyone, to be sure. Some people have more focused interests for collecting, or window shopping, or networking.
 

It was fun to hang out at a bar with Esad Ribic and Matteo Scalera. To thumb through a hundred choices from the 1960s output of Hugo Pratt, and choose one. To buy a Druuna page directly from Serpieri. To watch Manara paint right in front of me, and get his photo with the X-Women page I brought. To learn who Corrado Roi and John Blanche were, and have my choice from numerous examples of their unusual styles. To hear Alex Maleev and Simone Bianchi and Simon Bisley and Terry Moore explain art choices on pieces I acquired or already owned. To get the artists’ reactions to my Itoya and see which pieces resonated with which of them. (David Mack loved BWS. Brian Stelfreeze was partial to Grey Morrow.) To learn the artists by face, voice, and personality. (Almost all were very congenial.)

That is what I got out of the investment. None of this is going to happen on Heritage Auction. Some collectors will want this experience, and others won’t.

I'm glad you enjoyed it and got your money's worth. But no, it wouldn't work for me. Apart from my subject matter preferences, I'm more interested in the finished product than how the artist got there, although, I agree with Stelfreeze that Morrow is very good and under-appreciated. He has a realism in his work that I like, even if it isn't in the "heroic" tradition of over-bulked superheroes. From what I have seen, he is also good with his layouts, many of which use diagonal lines to separate panels, thereby adding artistry to talky parts of a story. You can find a fair number of his Spectre and Jonah Hex pages for sale in CAT, almost all of which are in Morelock territory.

Edited May 15, 2023 by Rick2you2

[Revol]

I had a great time, but yes the prices can be crazy. There's definitely some artists who increase prices for the Como crowd, which is certainly unfair as it's really not a crowd of high rollers, most people are regular comic book fans. The amount of comic artists compared to last year was far greater too, and from my observation a lot of the lesser known artists didn't seem to have much activity at their tables, so it would be interesting to know if it's actually worth it for many artists to attend. I also found a lot of artists are now charging for signatures, which feels very out of place at this festival, it's not very common to do that at a European show.

It's a pleasure to watch masters like Manara and Serpieri work, and see folders full of their gorgeous artwork right in front of you, and to have genuinely nice chats with artists. If there are any queues, they move quickly enough, and there is plenty of space to walk around and take it easy.

Here are some photos I took:

Frank Cho:

Artgerm:

Manara and Liberatore drawing:

 

Some of the various show rooms:

Kevin Eastman was one of the busiest at the festival:

Some of the artwork I picked up:

It was incredibly easy to get on Arthur Adams list, I just strolled up to his table 20 minutes after the doors opened and was fourth on his list Saturday morning. 

 

Pre-show commissions I had arranged from Brian Stelfreeze and Sean Phillips:

 

Wonder Woman head sketch from Riccardo Federici:

 

 

And a Jason Pearson piece I picked up from Albert Moy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by Revol

[cstojano]

On 5/15/2023 at 11:09 AM, RBerman said:

It’s not for everyone, to be sure. Some people have more focused interests for collecting, or window shopping, or networking.
 

It was fun to hang out at a bar with Esad Ribic and Matteo Scalera. To thumb through a hundred choices from the 1960s output of Hugo Pratt, and choose one. To buy a Druuna page directly from Serpieri. To watch Manara paint right in front of me, and get his photo with the X-Women page I brought. To learn who Corrado Roi and John Blanche were, and have my choice from numerous examples of their unusual styles. To hear Alex Maleev and Simone Bianchi and Simon Bisley and Terry Moore explain art choices on pieces I acquired or already owned. To get the artists’ reactions to my Itoya and see which pieces resonated with which of them. (David Mack loved BWS. Brian Stelfreeze was partial to Grey Morrow.) To learn the artists by face, voice, and personality. (Almost all were very congenial.)

That is what I got out of the investment. None of this is going to happen on Heritage Auction. Some collectors will want this experience, and others won’t.

Was John Blanche actually there?

[RBerman]

On 5/17/2023 at 8:45 AM, cstojano said:

Was John Blanche actually there?

He was not. But Hollow Press brought some of his work, and I chose one to bring home.

[RBerman]

Bill Cox made a video montage of most of the photos and videos I took at Lake Como, and played it on his YouTube channel last night. Here it is, beginning at 1:38:16.

 

[barneythecantankerous]

On 5/19/2023 at 12:12 PM, RBerman said:

Bill Cox made a video montage of most of the photos and videos I took at Lake Como, and played it on his YouTube channel last night. Here it is, beginning at 1:38:16.

 

Ahh, I think I recognise your face, are you the chap who left pretty much all of his belongings at Gary Frank's table?!