The Rise of Marvel Card Art 1 1

[KingOfRulers]

As a kid in the 1990's, I grew up during the 90's comic boom. The Marvel Masterpieces, Fleer Ultra, and Skybox card sets went hand-in-hand with that greater comic boom of the time. Having loved the various card sets when I was a kid, as an adult I got into collecting the original artworks to the cards. I've built up a nice collection over the last 10-15 years. For most of those years, until recently, the original art pieces to Marvel card art seemed like a hidden niche within the comic OA world. I was able to participate within that niche at a very low cost...but I'm officially declaring that it is no longer possible!

I was watching two card art pieces whose auctions both ended last night. One on Heritage and one on ComicLink. The below results illustrate how Marvel card art has skyrocketed. In general, it wasn't long ago that your typical card art piece (such as Drax, below) could've been had for $200-$500. $1,000 for a card art piece was expensive. There were some exceptions, such as the Jusko 1992 pieces as those rarely come to market, as well as pieces from specific legendary artists such as Jim Lee, Steranko, Romita Sr., and Julie Bell. But in general, your run of the mill card art from most artists could be had for under $1,000, very easily. Even pieces from some greats such as the Hildebrandts and Sienkiewicz could be had for under $1k, not long ago.

Drax from Marvel Masterpieces 1993 by Lou Harrison went for $3,840. Well over $4k, with tax and HA's shipping. In my opinion, it's pretty bad in terms of art quality. I still wanted to own it because I'm a sucker for nasty card art that I'm nostalgic for.  I would've gone to $1,000.

Art Adams 5.5" x 6.5" went for $8,100. Absolutely stunning. I know Art Adams is beloved, but it's a fairly small piece and to command that price boggles my mind. I probably would've gone $1,750 or so on it.

 

[Unstoppablejayd]

I agree with you for the most part on card art… but I think the AA is not a great example as I thought 8100 was pretty fair considering his commissions start at 6500 now (excluding head sketches) . So 8100 for a published marvel piece seems right to me. 

[KirbyCollector]

Then there was this last night... 1994 Bagley/Austin Spider-Man Fleer card art, $35,500

Edited June 8, 2023 by KirbyCollector

[Bronty]

On 6/8/2023 at 9:39 AM, Unstoppablejayd said:

I agree with you for the most part on card art… but I think the AA is not a great example as I thought 8100 was pretty fair considering his commissions start at 6500 now (excluding head sketches) . So 8100 for a published marvel piece seems right to me. 

I don’t think that kind of comparison works entirely.   There was an adams cover at clink just now that sold for 1100.   Yeah it wasn’t great but it was a lot less than the commission price.   

[Bronty]

On 6/8/2023 at 9:04 AM, KingOfRulers said:

As a kid in the 1990's, I grew up during the 90's comic boom. The Marvel Masterpieces, Fleer Ultra, and Skybox card sets went hand-in-hand with that greater comic boom of the time. Having loved the various card sets when I was a kid, as an adult I got into collecting the original artworks to the cards. I've built up a nice collection over the last 10-15 years. For most of those years, until recently, the original art pieces to Marvel card art seemed like a hidden niche within the comic OA world. I was able to participate within that niche at a very low cost...but I'm officially declaring that it is no longer possible!

I was watching two card art pieces whose auctions both ended last night. One on Heritage and one on ComicLink. The below results illustrate how Marvel card art has skyrocketed. In general, it wasn't long ago that your typical card art piece (such as Drax, below) could've been had for $200-$500. $1,000 for a card art piece was expensive. There were some exceptions, such as the Jusko 1992 pieces as those rarely come to market, as well as pieces from specific legendary artists such as Jim Lee, Steranko, Romita Sr., and Julie Bell. But in general, your run of the mill card art from most artists could be had for under $1,000, very easily. Even pieces from some greats such as the Hildebrandts and Sienkiewicz could be had for under $1k, not long ago.

Drax from Marvel Masterpieces 1993 by Lou Harrison went for $3,840. Well over $4k, with tax and HA's shipping. In my opinion, it's pretty bad in terms of art quality. I still wanted to own it because I'm a sucker for nasty card art that I'm nostalgic for.  I would've gone to $1,000.

Art Adams 5.5" x 6.5" went for $8,100. Absolutely stunning. I know Art Adams is beloved, but it's a fairly small piece and to command that price boggles my mind. I probably would've gone $1,750 or so on it.

 

Just enjoy that you bought in fairly early.    Don’t worry about the past benchmarks.   I understand entirely that it makes purchasing future pieces harder and in so doing will take some fun out of the hobby for you - I’ve been there.  But you have to take the good with the bad.   Just don’t let your price memory be your guide.

[KingOfRulers]

On 6/8/2023 at 10:29 AM, KirbyCollector said:

Then there was this last night... 1994 Bagley/Austin Spider-Man Fleer card art, $35,500

I missed that piece entirely somehow  Some card art collector I am. $35k+ is pretty nutty, in my opinion. I'd had no interest at that price level.

[KingOfRulers]

On 6/8/2023 at 10:37 AM, Bronty said:

Just enjoy that you bought in fairly early.    Don’t worry about the past benchmarks.   I understand entirely that it makes purchasing future pieces harder and in so doing will take some fun out of the hobby for you - I’ve been there.  But you have to take the good with the bad.   Just don’t let your price memory be your guide.

I figure that I probably won't be adding any more card art to my collection. If a not-great (pretty bad, actually) Lou Harrison piece is indeed a market indicator of where Marvel card art has gone, it's simply not worth it to me. I'd spend $500 on it. Even $1,000, because $500-$1,000 can't buy much these days in the art world, so why not? But at the $4,000 level, you're approaching being able to get some nice, traditional, published pages.

[John E.]

I’ve been collecting for 10 years now and have had interest in adding Impel Marvel Universe card art from series I or II since then. Art from that set or from Jusko’s Marvel Masterpieces —at least the most wanted art—pops up rarely. I imagine it’s been locked up with collectors like yourself for years.

Anyhow, in those ten years I’ve rarely seen any of the art be auctioned off for or sold by a dealer for less than $1,000, so I’m wondering how long ago you’re thinking? And it’s certainly was not affordable even by the standards of 5 years ago. I remember around 2015-16 Albert Moy was selling the multiple cards-on-one board of Jim Lee’s Impel Series I Wolverine, and a short time later, Jusko’s Spider-Man 2099 from MM series II for $5k each with no takers for a very long time, which told me it was not a deal (and with Moy, it never is.) Sounds cheap now. Around ‘16-‘17, Romitaman had for sale Jusko’s Namorita and Weapon Omega for about $1500 each with no takers until the pandemic. Again sounds cheap but I think collectors like me were waiting for better examples. Also around that time CL sold the Jusko Darkhawk for $1600 at auction which I thought was cheap. I remember Hildebrandt MM card art being auctioned on Hake’s and I’m not sure what the prices where. I think the X’ian sold for around $800. I think Tri-State was selling Art Adams’ Thor vs Ulik from Impel series II for 2k? 3k? and sat unsold and again it took the pandemic to finally get a taker. Again, Romitaman put out Romita Sr’s card art for “Spidey Webshooters,” Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, a half Spidey/half Jameson with a starting price of $3k around ‘19 or early ‘20. I really wish I jump on that but $3k for a half sheet? As I believe the board was cut up to sell the art individually. That all sounds cheap today as that card art that was once under appreciated by what I guess to be Boomers, is now astronomical in price, but I don’t believe it was to be had under $1k for a long time. 

[Unstoppablejayd]

On 6/8/2023 at 10:35 AM, Bronty said:

I don’t think that kind of comparison works entirely.   There was an adams cover at clink just now that sold for 1100.   Yeah it wasn’t great but it was a lot less than the commission price.   

One key word you over looked in my statement., marvel. That cover that was 1100 was not only uninspiring but also off brand. 

[KingOfRulers]

On 6/8/2023 at 11:05 AM, John E. said:

I’ve been collecting for 10 years now and have had interest in adding Impel Marvel Universe card art from series I or II since then. Art from that set or from Jusko’s Marvel Masterpieces —at least the most wanted art—pops up rarely. I imagine it’s been locked up with collectors like yourself for years.

Anyhow, in those ten years I’ve rarely seen any of the art be auctioned off for or sold by a dealer for less than $1,000, so I’m wondering how long ago you’re thinking? And it’s certainly was not affordable even by the standards of 5 years ago. I remember around 2015-16 Albert Moy was selling the multiple cards-on-one board of Jim Lee’s Impel Series I Wolverine, and a short time later, Jusko’s Spider-Man 2099 from MM series II for $5k each with no takers for a very long time, which told me it was not a deal (and with Moy, it never is.) Sounds cheap now. Around ‘16-‘17, Romitaman had for sale Jusko’s Namorita and Weapon Omega for about $1500 each with no takers until the pandemic. Again sounds cheap but I think collectors like me were waiting for better examples. Also around that time CL sold the Jusko Darkhawk for $1600 at auction which I thought was cheap. I remember Hildebrandt MM card art being auctioned on Hake’s and I’m not sure what the prices where. I think the X’ian sold for around $800. I think Tri-State was selling Art Adams’ Thor vs Ulik from Impel series II for 2k? 3k? and sat unsold and again it took the pandemic to finally get a taker. Again, Romitaman put out Romita Sr’s card art for “Spidey Webshooters,” Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, a half Spidey/half Jameson with a starting price of $3k around ‘19 or early ‘20. I really wish I jump on that but $3k for a half sheet? As I believe the board was cut up to sell the art individually. That all sounds cheap today as that card art that was once under appreciated by what I guess to be Boomers, is now astronomical in price, but I don’t believe it was to be had under $1k for a long time. 

You're right in that my purchases are mostly quite dated. However, certainly within the last 10 years I've acquired most of my collection. And most of it for under $1,000 each. 

My most recent addition was this Marc Sasso Spider-Man piece which I paid $800 for in June 2020, which was peak pandemic price hikes. It's a good example. It's one of those typical pieces illustrated by a not-well-known artist. However, it is Spider-Man and referencing a beloved Spider-Man storyline, so perhaps overall this might be considered an "above average" Marvel card art piece. To me, in 2020, $800 was okay to pay. Following recent prices, specifically that Drax by Lou Harrison, this could be a $5k piece.

[Bronty]

On 6/8/2023 at 11:07 AM, Unstoppablejayd said:

One key word you over looked in my statement., marvel. That cover that was 1100 was not only uninspiring but also off brand. 

fair

[Bronty]

On 6/8/2023 at 10:58 AM, KingOfRulers said:

I figure that I probably won't be adding any more card art to my collection. If a not-great (pretty bad, actually) Lou Harrison piece is indeed a market indicator of where Marvel card art has gone, it's simply not worth it to me. I'd spend $500 on it. Even $1,000, because $500-$1,000 can't buy much these days in the art world, so why not? But at the $4,000 level, you're approaching being able to get some nice, traditional, published pages.

probably more about Drax than Harrison?   If it makes you feel any better I sold a Harrison for a lot more and it looked just as weak but it was reproduced onto the right item, so. 

[comix4fun]

On 6/8/2023 at 9:29 AM, KirbyCollector said:

Then there was this last night... 1994 Bagley/Austin Spider-Man Fleer card art, $35,500

This one is actually kind of a "big deal" in the realm of card art collecting. 

1994 Fleer Spider-Man was more of a tent-pole, franchise-film, card set among most of the others in that time period. It was popular for years in a sector of the hobby that had sets coming and going everyone month or so. 
This piece is one giant 15"x21" piece on one board that links the 9 cards that people would see in their "Official 1994 Fleer Spider-Man Binder" every time they looked at it. The entire set is interlocking 9 card images, but only 2 of them have spider-man (or some version of Spider-man) featured in all 9 cards. This is one of those. 

It's also got a nice art team with Bagley inked by Austin. 

It went for A LOT, don't get me wrong, but it's one of those pieces that going to need to be listed with an asterisk if being compared to regular single card art or something from a lesser or less nostalgic card set. 
Given what it is, and not even being a card-art collector myself, I would have set the absolute floor on this at somewhere between $27-28k, and it wouldn't take much to look at that size, that art team, the composition and talk oneself into a few more increments. 

[delekkerste]

On 6/8/2023 at 12:54 PM, comix4fun said:

1994 Fleer Spider-Man was more of a tent-pole, franchise-film, card set among most of the others in that time period. It was popular for years in a sector of the hobby that had sets coming and going everyone month or so. 
This piece is one giant 15"x21" piece on one board that links the 9 cards that people would see in their "Official 1994 Fleer Spider-Man Binder" every time they looked at it. The entire set is interlocking 9 card images, but only 2 of them have spider-man (or some version of Spider-man) featured in all 9 cards. This is one of those. 

That piece is Royale with Cheese, if not Le Big Mac. $35K feels spot-on for this market, it's a Baller(tm) piece. 

Edited June 8, 2023 by delekkerste

[Fischb1]

On 6/8/2023 at 12:54 PM, comix4fun said:

This one is actually kind of a "big deal" in the realm of card art collecting. 

1994 Fleer Spider-Man was more of a tent-pole, franchise-film, card set among most of the others in that time period. It was popular for years in a sector of the hobby that had sets coming and going everyone month or so. 
This piece is one giant 15"x21" piece on one board that links the 9 cards that people would see in their "Official 1994 Fleer Spider-Man Binder" every time they looked at it. The entire set is interlocking 9 card images, but only 2 of them have spider-man (or some version of Spider-man) featured in all 9 cards. This is one of those. 

It's also got a nice art team with Bagley inked by Austin. 

It went for A LOT, don't get me wrong, but it's one of those pieces that going to need to be listed with an asterisk if being compared to regular single card art or something from a lesser or less nostalgic card set. 
Given what it is, and not even being a card-art collector myself, I would have set the absolute floor on this at somewhere between $27-28k, and it wouldn't take much to look at that size, that art team, the composition and talk oneself into a few more increments. 

It's 9 different Spiderman cards. So that's less than 4k each. The fact that they make one huge poster makes them even more valuable imo. 

[Unstoppablejayd]

On 6/8/2023 at 3:48 PM, Fischb1 said:

It's 9 different Spiderman cards. So that's less than 4k each. The fact that they make one huge poster makes them even more valuable imo. 

Our angry friend tried to reunite it with its counter piece and failed… not sure if he is happy or sad from that happening

[Fischb1]

On 6/8/2023 at 3:54 PM, Unstoppablejayd said:

Our angry friend tried to reunite it with its counter piece and failed… not sure if he is happy or sad from that happening

They would have looked nice together, but with his impending nuptials, 35k was out of the question. 

[KingOfRulers]

On 6/8/2023 at 12:54 PM, comix4fun said:

This one is actually kind of a "big deal" in the realm of card art collecting. 

1994 Fleer Spider-Man was more of a tent-pole, franchise-film, card set among most of the others in that time period. It was popular for years in a sector of the hobby that had sets coming and going everyone month or so. 
This piece is one giant 15"x21" piece on one board that links the 9 cards that people would see in their "Official 1994 Fleer Spider-Man Binder" every time they looked at it. The entire set is interlocking 9 card images, but only 2 of them have spider-man (or some version of Spider-man) featured in all 9 cards. This is one of those. 

It's also got a nice art team with Bagley inked by Austin. 

It went for A LOT, don't get me wrong, but it's one of those pieces that going to need to be listed with an asterisk if being compared to regular single card art or something from a lesser or less nostalgic card set. 
Given what it is, and not even being a card-art collector myself, I would have set the absolute floor on this at somewhere between $27-28k, and it wouldn't take much to look at that size, that art team, the composition and talk oneself into a few more increments. 

Interesting that folks regard this piece so highly. In large part, it must depend upon the sets you were into and collecting. Even as a hardcore card art collector who grew up during that time, I had no idea about the love for this piece. For me, it doesn't mean much of anything. I have no real desire to own it, beyond the fact that it is a "nifty" piece from my era. I'd be in for $1,500 on it, I suppose. If I was collecting the set at the time, I'd probably value it more highly today. I think I had a few random cards from this set, with the top left of this piece being among them. But outside of the few random cards I had from the set, it wasn't a set that I actively collected or was into. And Bagley as an artist, doesn't mean much to me either. I don't hate his work, but I'm not a fan either. No desire to seek out any Bagley art whether card art or otherwise for my collection.

[Fischb1]

And I don't really like pizza. I can't understand why others would want it. Maybe I'd pay 50 cents for a pie. But more than that? Definitely not for me. More insightful comments coming soon. 

[KingOfRulers]

On 6/8/2023 at 4:38 PM, Fischb1 said:

And I don't really like pizza. I can't understand why others would want it. Maybe I'd pay 50 cents for a pie. But more than that? Definitely not for me. More insightful comments coming soon. 

I know, right? Whaddaya gonna do? People love their carbs.