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

[ThothAmon]

On 6/24/2024 at 8:32 AM, MyNameIsLegion said:

flip fail

For some un remembered reason I sold this Wrightson page on the ‘Bay for over $9k at a no reserve auction in 2020. It has changed hands twice since then at two different auction houses that I know of (the first time for a little over half the most recent sale). 
 

[*paull*]

On 6/24/2024 at 10:32 AM, Bronty said:

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.

In general, Harvey art is a little too cartoonish for me. The horror elements are mitigated by the lack of edge.

i do like the Black Cat logo, though

[Bronty]

On 6/24/2024 at 10:53 AM, *paull* said:

In general, Harvey art is a little too cartoonish for me. The horror elements are mitigated by the lack of edge.

i do like the Black Cat logo, though

Generally, I agree.   I think the few covers that do have edge are the ones most people like... BC50, TOT15, etc.

I don't really get the love for COC19 personally - to me, as you say, there's zero edge there.    Okay she's a skeleton when viewed through a glass... ooh spooky!

[buttock]

On 6/24/2024 at 1:42 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. 

 

On 6/24/2024 at 6:11 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...

The softening in the GA market has been more in line with SA when you compare the type of book.  Batman 1, Cap 1, etc., are available in literally every auction, usually with multiple copies.  So those behave more like a SA book where prices can be more accurately tracked/predicted.  Other GA stuff which doesn't trade hands nearly as often has continued to hold strong and even continue to grow.  The Flame 6 MH is a great example of that.  That sold for more than many Fine or Simon MH Fox books from the Berk auction.  PCH continued its absurd run with things like Weird Tales of the Future 7 in 5.5 going for $9k.  The Detective 27 is the big outlier, but I would lump that in with the "common sell" books, especially since this was a recent retread.  

But it does seem like thing are softer overall.  

The other thing about this auction is that OA was the big shiny bauble with the Roger Hill collection, so I would have expected OA to outperform comics.  There wasn't that big "wow" book in comics.  

[*paull*]

On 6/24/2024 at 11:02 AM, Bronty said:

Generally, I agree.   I think the few covers that do have edge are the ones most people like... BC50, TOT15, etc.

I don't really get the love for COC19 personally - to me, as you say, there's zero edge there.    Okay she's a skeleton when viewed through a glass... ooh spooky!

Me either, not a fan.  I prefer something like Witches Tales 19 or 25.

some other comps:

Haunt of Fear 27 by Ingels, 78K in 2023

Haunt of Fear 14 by Ingels, 204K in 2024

And not straight horror, the ENTIRE Master Race story by Krigstein for 600K in 2018.

 

 

 

 

[*paull*]

On 6/24/2024 at 11:10 AM, buttock said:

PCH continued its absurd run with things like Weird Tales of the Future 7 in 5.5 going for $9k.

While I called BCM50 overrated, Weird Tales of the Future 7 is a book that I have long wondered why it isn’t valued more. I think it’s one of the best covers of the pre-code era. Maybe it’s finally getting its due. Those Aragon / Gilmor books are not easy to find in 5.0 and up.

Yesterday's WTOTF 7 in 5.5 is an off-white to white. There were two sales in 2019 of 5.5 cream to off-white copies at $3240 and $3000.  This book appears to be picking up steam.

Edited Monday at 03:32 PM by *paull*

[buttock]

On 6/24/2024 at 9:20 AM, *paull* said:

While I called BCM50 overrated, Weird Tales of the Future 7 is a book that I have long wondered why it isn’t valued more. I think it’s one of the best covers of the pre-code era. Maybe it’s finally getting its due. Those Gilmor books are not easy to find in 5.0 and up.

I agree with you.  Great cover, great interior.  

[*paull*]

On 6/24/2024 at 11:31 AM, buttock said:

I agree with you.  Great cover, great interior.  

I love the mood of the cover. Great design, great colors, great logo, and a giant devil head doesn't hurt.  This book was relatively cheap for a long time. Those days are seemingly over.

Edited Monday at 03:51 PM by *paull*

[Bronty]

On 6/24/2024 at 11:20 AM, *paull* said:

While I called BCM50 overrated, Weird Tales of the Future 7 is a book that I have long wondered why it isn’t valued more. I think it’s one of the best covers of the pre-code era. Maybe it’s finally getting its due. Those Aragon / Gilmor books are not easy to find in 5.0 and up.

Yesterday's WTOTF 7 in 5.5 is an off-white to white. There were two sales in 2019 of 5.5 cream to off-white copies at $3240 and $3000.  This book appears to be picking up steam.

I like that book too.   At 9k though, yeesh, I'm out.

[PhilipB2k17]

On 6/21/2024 at 12:29 PM, delekkerste said:

Everyone is flush these days. IMO, there's no reason to believe that prices will be anything but steroidal in this market unless/until something changes for the worse in the bigger picture. 

I was led to believe that the cost of groceries and gas was making everyone broke. 

[PhilipB2k17]

On 6/21/2024 at 5:48 PM, batman_fan said:

Peanuts was all over the map from weak to strong

Why didn't the classic baseball mound gag Sundy go for higher? Because it was an Easter strip?

[PhilipB2k17]

On 6/21/2024 at 9:27 PM, Nexus said:

Thought the WATCHMEN and V pages went for fair prices. If you're a Moore fan and had both on your want list, you could have gotten two one-and-done examples for around $100K. That's not bad at all these days for those.

 

Just $100K? Dang. I should have looted by Daughter's college fund. 

Edited Monday at 07:28 PM by PhilipB2k17

[PhilipB2k17]

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've definitely been on the hunt for a Prohias, Spy v Spy. But also am very discouraged at the explosion in prices for them. Seems like a niche comic that will age out eventually.

[PhilipB2k17]

On 6/24/2024 at 8:22 AM, KirbyCollector said:

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 

Not gonna be a recession next year. 

[PhilipB2k17]

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.

I agree on the Black Cat Cover. IT's cool and all, but I liked some of those EC covers a lot more. 

[PhilipB2k17]

On 6/24/2024 at 11:10 AM, buttock said:

 

The softening in the GA market has been more in line with SA when you compare the type of book.  Batman 1, Cap 1, etc., are available in literally every auction, usually with multiple copies.  So those behave more like a SA book where prices can be more accurately tracked/predicted.  Other GA stuff which doesn't trade hands nearly as often has continued to hold strong and even continue to grow.  The Flame 6 MH is a great example of that.  That sold for more than many Fine or Simon MH Fox books from the Berk auction.  PCH continued its absurd run with things like Weird Tales of the Future 7 in 5.5 going for $9k.  The Detective 27 is the big outlier, but I would lump that in with the "common sell" books, especially since this was a recent retread.  

But it does seem like thing are softer overall.  

The other thing about this auction is that OA was the big shiny bauble with the Roger Hill collection, so I would have expected OA to outperform comics.  There wasn't that big "wow" book in comics.  

Sigh. Drove two hours to buy a Flame #6 in a very nice condition at an estate auction. Had it in my hands, and found out that some dude from California massively overbid what I was willing to pay. 

[delekkerste]

On 6/24/2024 at 3:22 PM, PhilipB2k17 said:

I was led to believe that the cost of groceries and gas was making everyone broke. 

Not the OA collecting aristocracy.    

On 6/24/2024 at 3:27 PM, PhilipB2k17 said:

Just $100K? Dang. I should have looted by Daughter's college fund. 

$106.8K for the pair...or about $116.5K with NYC taxes and shipping.  

[tth2]

On 6/24/2024 at 11:10 PM, buttock said:

There wasn't that big "wow" book in comics.  

According to some of the peanut gallery in the GA Forum, every Action 1 and Tec 27 is a "big 'wow' book", even when they're restored.

But in all seriousness, I thought the 7.0 Whiz #2 was a big "wow" book.  Unfortunately, it ended up being the poster child for what a generally disappointing auction this was for GA books.

[All-Star Squadman]

On 6/22/2024 at 10:24 PM, Readcomix said:

Agreed. And how many did Herb do over the years? I would think it’s got to be fewer than the existing number of 9.6 Hulk 181’s (375), which would be the grade in which a copy of the comic would be closest to that price range.

It is the same artist, and he’s gone. 

You make an excellent point!

In my early days as a Orig Art Collector, I commissioned a recreation of my Holy Grail cover, but when I acquired it 12 years later, the recreation lost meaning to me. However had I never obtained my Holy Grail the recreation would still be sitting on my wall.

Edited Monday at 10:55 PM by All-Star Squadman

[All-Star Squadman]

On 6/23/2024 at 7:24 PM, KirbyCollector said:

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

Or Heck JLA pages , fingers x-ed