Heritage Auctions June 20-23 Auction is unreal ! 2 2

[westform]

On 6/23/2024 at 12:21 PM, cstojano said:

This seemed very light to me given what the faded Donning cover sold for.

Agree.

[KirbyCollector]

Irv Novick art blowing up... gives me hope for my Dillin JLA pages

[Superhero]

On 6/22/2024 at 3:39 PM, cstojano said:

Ha, I suppose.  

Conan experts, any thoughts on the Brunner dps hitting 46k?

IMHO that was about double what I was expecting.  Great piece though.

[Brian Peck]

What is it with Spy vs Spy by Proxies the last two years. Most times the pre-Mad #125 dou-strips usually go from $3K-$6K. But since 2022 have gone into 5 figures.  One from this auction , Mad #109 hammered at $15,600 go figured.

 

 

 

[delekkerste]

On 6/23/2024 at 10:12 PM, Brian Peck said:

What is it with Spy vs Spy by Proxies the last two years. Most times the pre-Mad #125 dou-strips usually go from $3K-$6K. But since 2022 have gone into 5 figures.  One from this auction , Mad #109 hammered at $15,600 go figured.

 

 

 

I really liked this one and underbid it. Someone had left an Internet bid of $10K hammer and then either that person or someone else and I duked it out to the final price. I would have gone higher if I didn't already have one that I'm very happy with.

Edited Monday at 03:20 AM by delekkerste

[brainbats]

I know they weren't the best examples, but the 2 Krazy Kat dailies sold today went for the lowest prices in 8 years.

[MyNameIsLegion]

As Tim mentioned up thread, the last domino in the post-covid back issue free-fall was GA books.  This auction was evidence to that.  Someone in another thread touted GA keys were still strong. a Batman #1 set a record in 4.0.  then it was pointed out that a year ago, that was the price of a 2.5 .  Cap 1 and Tec 27 dropped too.  That just leaves OA, and there are recent examples of flips, estate auctions from collectors and artists, that the softness has creeped into OA. John Buscema prices are weakening due to the glut of Tom Palmer consignments. Gene Colan early bronze is soft.  No hero, non-costume pages from main title books are weakening. Roger Hill's art did pretty well, largely because he had exceptional taste, but there were examples of things on Sunday that we not remarkable, partly because not everyone else buying has quite the discerning eye Roger did.  That Sutton Warren page for example. 

[cstojano]

On 6/24/2024 at 12:42 AM, MyNameIsLegion said:

As Tim mentioned up thread, the last domino in the post-covid back issue free-fall was GA books.  This auction was evidence to that.  Someone in another thread touted GA keys were still strong. a Batman #1 set a record in 4.0.  then it was pointed out that a year ago, that was the price of a 2.5 .  Cap 1 and Tec 27 dropped too.  That just leaves OA, and there are recent examples of flips, estate auctions from collectors and artists, that the softness has creeped into OA. John Buscema prices are weakening due to the glut of Tom Palmer consignments. Gene Colan early bronze is soft.  No hero, non-costume pages from main title books are weakening. Roger Hill's art did pretty well, largely because he had exceptional taste, but there were examples of things on Sunday that we not remarkable, partly because not everyone else buying has quite the discerning eye Roger did.  That Sutton Warren page for example. 

Is the Sutton Warren page a bad buy in your opinion? Not sure if you are saying it was a weak result and hence evidence of weakening OA market except for top shelf OR someone overpaid for a major under example.

[KirbyCollector]

On 6/24/2024 at 3:42 AM, MyNameIsLegion said:

John Buscema prices are weakening

I've been seeing this in the background over the last year but don't attribute it to Tom selling his art, but changing tastes of collectors... a lot more people chasing Perez than JB Avengers art, as one example. There has also been a lot of good Conan art coming to market, allowing you to pick your ideal page and then move on.

Edited Monday at 11:42 AM by KirbyCollector

[MyNameIsLegion]

On 6/24/2024 at 6:27 AM, cstojano said:

Is the Sutton Warren page a bad buy in your opinion? Not sure if you are saying it was a weak result and hence evidence of weakening OA market except for top shelf OR someone overpaid for a major under example.

sorry, I should have been more clear. this is an awesome piece. Sutton WWBN pages have been fetching decent money lately, and they aren't half as a good as this. It could stand its ground against same era Ploog or Wrightson IMO.  

›››

Edited Monday at 11:44 AM by MyNameIsLegion

[delekkerste]

On 6/24/2024 at 3:42 AM, MyNameIsLegion said:

As Tim mentioned up thread, the last domino in the post-covid back issue free-fall was GA books.  This auction was evidence to that.  Someone in another thread touted GA keys were still strong. a Batman #1 set a record in 4.0.  then it was pointed out that a year ago, that was the price of a 2.5 .  Cap 1 and Tec 27 dropped too.  That just leaves OA, and there are recent examples of flips, estate auctions from collectors and artists, that the softness has creeped into OA. John Buscema prices are weakening due to the glut of Tom Palmer consignments. Gene Colan early bronze is soft.  No hero, non-costume pages from main title books are weakening. Roger Hill's art did pretty well, largely because he had exceptional taste, but there were examples of things on Sunday that we not remarkable, partly because not everyone else buying has quite the discerning eye Roger did.  That Sutton Warren page for example. 

My hobby circle has noted that it's been a two-tiered market for a while now - the good stuff has been almost uniformly strong, but, it's been a mixed bag otherwise. To be sure, a lot of second and third-tier stuff has been strong too, but, it's been varied with a lot of stuff underperforming expectations.

Personally, I have found a lot of stuff to like in the sub-$5K range the past couple of years as the market has bifurcated somewhat, picking up 100+ pieces in each of the past two years with most of them at the lower end of the market. But the tier-one, mainstream art that everybody is chasing these days? I'm lucky if I'm able to pick up 2-3 pieces like that per year given where prices are these days. 

It's an interesting parallel you & Tim draw with comic books - GA keys had been immune to the downturn in the rest of the market but that no longer appears to be the case. Will we see the same in OA? I think the supply/demand dynamics are a bit different in our part of the hobby - while I think there has been a ton of FOMO buying over the past few years, there's been a lot less outright speculative buying with intent to resell than there has been in comics. As always, we shall see...

[cstojano]

On 6/24/2024 at 4:39 AM, MyNameIsLegion said:

sorry, I should have been more clear. this is an awesome piece. Sutton WWBN pages have been fetching decent money lately, and they aren't half as a good as this. It could stand its ground against same era Ploog or Wrightson IMO.  

›››

Thanks. I am of the same mind, did not pay much attention Sunday but for 1700 this is a large  page with a lot of art on it. Nice pickup for someone.

[MyNameIsLegion]

On 6/24/2024 at 7:11 AM, delekkerste said:

My hobby circle has noted that it's been a two-tiered market for a while now - the good stuff has been almost uniformly strong, but, it's been a mixed bag otherwise. To be sure, a lot of second and third-tier stuff has been strong too, but, it's been varied with a lot of stuff underperforming expectations.

Personally, I have found a lot of stuff to like in the sub-$5K range the past couple of years as the market has bifurcated somewhat, picking up 100+ pieces in each of the past two years with most of them at the lower end of the market. But the tier-one, mainstream art that everybody is chasing these days? I'm lucky if I'm able to pick up 2-3 pieces like that per year given where prices are these days. 

It's an interesting parallel you & Tim draw with comic books - GA keys had been immune to the downturn in the rest of the market but that no longer appears to be the case. Will we see the same in OA? I think the supply/demand dynamics are a bit different in our part of the hobby - while I think there has been a ton of FOMO buying over the past few years, there's been a lot less outright speculative buying with intent to resell than there has been in comics. As always, we shall see...

I agree on the bifurcation, that's been the CGC effect for a decade, but art is a little messier to quantify- there are a number of buyers that are scooping up art to resell though: 1. Dealers, win it, or price protection for their inventory. Some can't restock their inventory otherwise. Give Albert enough free drinks he will bid on everything!  There's also a number of CAF sellers that are buying quite a bit off the Wednesday auctions and immediately, within hours listing it on their CAF with "offers".  They're part of the reason $500 pages are $1000 now, when it was 60% net to the seller and they rest was fees on the back and front. 

[KirbyCollector]

On 6/24/2024 at 8:11 AM, delekkerste said:

My hobby circle has noted that it's been a two-tiered market for a while now - the good stuff has been almost uniformly strong, but, it's been a mixed bag otherwise. To be sure, a lot of second and third-tier stuff has been strong too, but, it's been varied with a lot of stuff underperforming expectations.

Personally, I have found a lot of stuff to like in the sub-$5K range the past couple of years as the market has bifurcated somewhat, picking up 100+ pieces in each of the past two years with most of them at the lower end of the market. But the tier-one, mainstream art that everybody is chasing these days? I'm lucky if I'm able to pick up 2-3 pieces like that per year given where prices are these days. 

It's an interesting parallel you & Tim draw with comic books - GA keys had been immune to the downturn in the rest of the market but that no longer appears to be the case. Will we see the same in OA? I think the supply/demand dynamics are a bit different in our part of the hobby - while I think there has been a ton of FOMO buying over the past few years, there's been a lot less outright speculative buying with intent to resell than there has been in comics. As always, we shall see...

Am sure you are seeing what I am... stock market rally in month 51... tech peaking... JPY at 160, meaning Fed rate cut in September is a sure thing... feels like 2007, just not sure what the equivalent of CDOs is this time around... betting on full blown recession in Q1... next year at this time we will be answering the "Is OA immune?" question definitively 

[MyNameIsLegion]

This was an eBay BIN $1000 flip fail: They probably lost almost 40% on this when it's all said and done.

[*paull*]

Th Black Cat Mystery 50 cover is one of the most ludicrous OA sales I’ve ever seen. Many consider it to be a classic pre-code cover, but it’s by a third-tier artist at best. I have always thought the cover was significantly overrated.

As a comparison, Wood’s Shock SuspenseStories 6 cover sold for the same price during COVID peak. The Chamber of Chills 19 cover sold for 174K in 2020.

[Bronty]

On 6/24/2024 at 9:46 AM, *paull* said:

Th Black Cat Mystery 50 cover is one of the most ludicrous OA sales I’ve ever seen. Many consider it to be a classic pre-code cover, but it’s by a third-tier artist at best. I have always thought the cover was significantly overrated.

As a comparison, Wood’s Shock SuspenseStories 6 cover sold for the same price during COVID peak. The Chamber of Chills 19 cover sold for 174K in 2020.

It was 2x most people's expectations, but it was no Secret Wars 8.

Everybody's got covers they love or hate, I consider it the best Harvey Horror cover easily, and one of the best 50s horror.

They called it a horror record, so I suppose they weren't counting Shock Suspense as horror.

Edited Monday at 01:52 PM by Bronty

[*paull*]

On 6/24/2024 at 9:51 AM, Bronty said:

It was 2x most people's expectations, but it was no Secret Wars 8.

Everybody's got covers they love or hate, I consider it the best Harvey Horror cover easily, and one of the best 50s horror.

They called it a horror record, so I suppose they weren't counting Shock Suspense as horror.

The Weird Mysteries 4 cover (which I prefer over BCM 50) sold for 33K in 2013.  Yes, eleven years ago, but the BCM sold for 25X the price of WM4.  25x !!  Makes the latter look like a pack of gum at the check out aisle.

[KPR Comics]

On 6/24/2024 at 3:42 AM, MyNameIsLegion said:

Gene Colan early bronze is soft

Examples?

[Bronty]

On 6/24/2024 at 10:27 AM, *paull* said:

The Weird Mysteries 4 cover (which I prefer over BCM 50) sold for 33K in 2013.  Yes, eleven years ago, but the BCM sold for 25X the price of WM4.  25x !!  Makes the latter look like a pack of gum at the check out aisle.

I'm picking up that you really don't like the BC50 cover   I don't think the overall market would put the WM4 cover anywhere near the BC50.   33k actually sounds pretty healthy to me for 2013.    That was the price of a real good EC cover at the time; the sort that would be 200k today.    I don't think the WM4 is worth 200k today personally.  100 or so would be my wild guess.   Maybe 150 if it got a little crazy.

Edited Monday at 02:37 PM by Bronty