How long have YOU been collecting comic art? and how did you get started?

[LuckyCantor-migration]

I'll start.

 

Began 86'. Stopped in 88'. Sold everything off in 92. Got back in in 97'. I am now here for good and will never sell my stash. Sadly, considering I began collecting in 86' I have a weak collection. I never dreamed the stuff that was out there was out there, and the lack of a guide turned me off. Got turned on by a Secret Wars Cover (#3), bought for $300 from San Mateo and sold for $1000 in early 90's.

[Thomas]

I've been collecting since my birthday last April. I saw a page of original art in a comic store when I was around 13-14 years old some 20 years ago and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I don't remember the page or what was on it and it was something like 40.00 which I couldn't afford but I never forgot it about but also never thought about buying a page for whatever reason.

 

I don't recall the catalyst but I asked for one original page of art featuring my favourite hero Superman from my mother in law last year for my birthday. I only wanted one good representation. Then after I got it I was looking on ebay and found an even better page and won it. Then another and another....

 

Anyways I now have some 17 pages in my small collection in 13 months of collecting and might acquire a new one tomorrow. I love it and just wish like everyone else that I had discovered this hobby sooner.

[Jayman]

A little less than a year ago I started looking at other board members OA and was interested enough to check out some dealers based upon their recomendations.

I then came across this piece and was hooked!

 

 

BTW: Welcome to the Boards!

[Bavin-migration]

I collected a lot in the early 80's when everything was cheap. ie ASM, Kirby FF, Xmen, Hulk,etc etc. I sold all of what I had in the mid 80's because I didn't see a market for this stuff. If I still had what I had then I could retire with a small island in the Caribbean and Greece and every were else that you can think of as warm and fun. The word dumb comes to mind for selling at discount prices.

[CW]

One year and 4 days ago at the Oakland Golden State Comic Con (now known as Super-Con) I got a commission by Cary Nord and after that I went nuts! I had assumed that nothing would ever challenge my love of comic collecting but the art has divided my goals neatly down the middle.

[Scheradon]

I just started this year. Just about to wrap up my second piece, so not exacty charging out of the gate here...but this stuff is a little expensive.

 

How did I get started...

 

Well, I guess I really liked the idea of owning a one of a kind piece. Reading these forums helped too with learning about it, and educating myself on OA.

 

I'm still collecting comics, but now hope to add a few pieces of OA into my collection per year.

[Timulty]

Just started this year. I started to analyze what should make a good, well rounded collection. Along with comics, magazines, pulps and some memorabilia, original art is part of the package. I don't have much that is special a few princes some sketches etc. But once I am done paying off my All-Star Superman I feel I will have "Officially" entered the world of original art. Now, if I can just get the money together for a DC Captain Marvel page or a GA Captain Marvel page for that matter.

[COI]

Bought my first piece in November of 2003 and bought 3 more shortly after. All 4 were Michael Turner pieces. I ended up selling them all by the end of 2004. Came back in August 2005, but only as an observer. Picked up the first cover of what I hope will end up being my "permanent" collection a couple of months ago, and bought my second cover right after. I'm currently working out a deal for a couple more.

[Darrell F]

I just started this year as well. I started talking to Phil Hester about a commission and now I have that being worked on and some published stuff on the way.

[Hart1000]

Bought my first set of pages (2 Marvel Team-up) back in 1997 from my comic shop. Put 'em on the wall. Stopped there. Didn't think of collecting 'til 1999...bought one page...then two...three, twelve, etc.

 

-Hart

[Nexus]

I've been a long-time comics fan and have attended conventions for over 20 years. Along the way, I've gotten a few sketches and doodles from artists, but never really thought about collecting OA. A few years ago, I got a painting commissioned by my favorite artist and that got the seed planted. But it wasn't until this past Dec that I started collecting with a passion. The results so far:

 

http://comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=9754

 

As I'm sure other collectors can attest, this is a highly addicting hobby. I'm absolutely obsessed with it, spending every available minute thinking about it. In the meantime, I've stripped my other collections (comics, movie posters, toys) down to the bones to pay for all this art! Even selling things I never thought I would. I know this fervor will die down sometime (based on my own experience with other hobbies)...it can't come soon enough!

[shady64]

I started at New York Comicon earlier this year with a few sketches and went crazy from there. Went to Emerald City and Pittsburgh Comicons (my 2nd and 3rd cons ever) and got a lot of stuff there and have a few commissions in the works. I think I've done pretty well for myself considering I only started a few months ago.

[RaccoonRaccoon]

I started about 8 months ago. I collected comics as a kid and just got back into collecting about 1 year ago. I found these boards and wandered to the comic art threads... I thought owning comic art was pretty cool since I never knew this stuff was even available!!!

 

I got my first pieces last month and I am always looking for more, if the $$$ allows it. I only collect Spiderman OA so at least that limits my looking for now.

 

I also want to give a quick thanks to all the people on these threads I learned from.

[mister_not_so_nice]

How long have YOU been collecting comic art? and how did you get started?

 

Since 1996 or so.

 

Happened upon Preacher03pg16 on eBay in the comics section, long before they had an OA catagory, and fretted for a week how I much I could afford to snipe it at. Ended up getting it for a little over $130 in under 6 seconds(old school two window re-fresh style sniping). I was happy with that, since at the time the comic was $40ish. I've been broke ever since.

[Sharkey]

I've been a major comic book fan and collector since I was a kid, which was tough because I grew up in a very small midestern town and there weren't a lot of outlets for comics then.

 

I went to my first big comic show -- Chicago Comicon -- in 1988 or 1989 I think, and while I was there I saw my first original art pages -- I remember seeing a Kirby/Sinnott FF splash for sale for $500 and thought "Wow is that expensive!!". If only.....

 

Then over the next few years during grad school at University of Iowa I set up as a dealer at local and midwest comic shows to help finance my tuition, and eventually I met John Romita Jr. who was living in Iowa City at the time. I did an article about him for one of my journalism classes and during the interview he mentioned he had some original art. I ended up buying a couple pages of Iron Man art from him (it was all I could really afford -- I wanted to buy more!) and to this day I still have them.

 

That was probably around 1990 or 1991. At the time I was attending conventions and I took a hardbound sketchbook and had artists do sketches for me. This was just before that whole market exploded and sketches became standard convention fare. I remember going to the Dallas Fantasy Fair and Mark Schultz was there so I asked him for a sketch. He was so surprised by the request -- he hadn't even brought any pens -- so he ended up doing Hannah for me with a ballpoint pen!

 

I knew I wanted to buy MORE art, but at the time I didn't have the resources. By the early 2000s I did, and began buying some pages here and there, mostly Ditko and Kirby pages that I liked. The rest is history. I love art!

 

And now here I am, selling off my precious pre-hero comics in order to fund my art addiction! So it's completely taken over my collecting interests!

 

[Kevin76]

Collected comics for off and on since 1989,finally got frustrated with it and moved over to OA.Didn't wanna leave comics but OA is getting pretty addicting.

[aardvark88]

I've been collecting original art since 1979 when I bought my 1st Dave Sim Cerebus page. Just wanted to support a fellow Canuck.

 

I wholesaled 23 John Byrne Marv Team-Up pages (Spidey vs Havok, Iron Fist vs evil Iron Fist, etc) to some kid in NY named Albert Moy. He had to work hard at the ice cream store to afford his 1st major buy.

 

Now I putt around with my cane at Diego comic-con looking for free sketches. I'm an old timer.

[Spider-Variant]

I completed my Amazing Spider-Man run in 1994 and decided I needed to collect something else. Got my first two pages from my wife as a Christmas gift in 1998, after telling her that's what I wanted. Got a cool Ron Frenz-John Romita page from the 1996 ASM annual and have been hooked since. I have bought at least one page every year around Christmas, except this year. I have 17 pages and their all Spider-Man.

[RaccoonRaccoon]

I completed my Amazing Spider-Man run in 1994 and decided I needed to collect something else. Got my first two pages from my wife as a Christmas gift in 1998, after telling her that's what I wanted. Got a cool Ron Frenz-John Romita page from the 1996 ASM annual and have been hooked since. I have bought at least one page every year around Christmas, except this year. I have 17 pages and their all Spider-Man.

 

Cool, would love to see the pages. I too am trying to collect only Spiderman. I got my first 4 pages not to long ago, but they were not ASM.

[Mister Trent]

Been collecting original artwork since early 1982. Initially, I got interested as a result of the Russ Cochran EC Artwork Auctions. Over the years, I bought several hundred pages' worth of EC art from Russ, mostly story art, but gradually my collecting interests shifted towards covers and standalone pieces. I tend to concentrate on pre-1970s art.

 

Here are a few representative examples from my collection:

 

HAUNT OF FEAR # 13 Cover by 'Ghastly' Graham Ingels

TALES TO ASTONISH # 96 Cover by Dan Adkins

DAN DARE, Pilot of the Future, EAGLE Cover (painted art) by Frank Hampson

SEA DEVILS # 25 Cover by Howard Purcell

CAPTAIN ATOM # 80 Cover by Steve Ditko

BATTLE ACTION # 3 Cover by Russ Heath