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Ditko Spiderman page?

Started by AvengersFan,

115 posts in this topic

Artemaria

Artemaria

Posted
Posted

Aardvark -

 

Thanks for the great advice. But I'm not that brave person.

 

I'm just really curious as this piece has captured my imagination (but apparently no one else's). Oddly, I found the seller credible, but naive and uninformed to the extreme, and I'm wondering if, as you put it, a brave person got a great deal on a Ditko. And, if so, who it was.

 

But, I guess we'll see if the piece ever resurfaces. confused-smiley-013.gif

 

It's been a blast chatting with you on this board. Thanks again.

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Sharkey

Sharkey

Posted
Posted
Aardvark -

 

Thanks for the great advice. But I'm not that brave person.

 

I'm just really curious as this piece has captured my imagination (but apparently no one else's). Oddly, I found the seller credible, but naive and uninformed to the extreme, and I'm wondering if, as you put it, a brave person got a great deal on a Ditko. And, if so, who it was.

 

But, I guess we'll see if the piece ever resurfaces. confused-smiley-013.gif

 

It's been a blast chatting with you on this board. Thanks again.

 

I think the OA community as a whole would like to see that page up close and personal -- or at least know if it's real. Guess we won't know till the $2100 gambler lets us know! confused-smiley-013.gif

 

All I can say is, if it WAS real, that guy got a helluva deal... 893whatthe.gif

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2 Sharpe's Collecting

2 Sharpe's Collecting

Posted
Posted
Aardvark -

 

I'm just really curious as this piece has captured my imagination (but apparently no one else's).

 

Hey Aardvark, my curiosity has been running wild! Anyway, the seller sent me a large, detailed scan today and after comparing it to the published page, I believe it is a forgery. Here is a link to the scan:

 

Not Dikto

 

The first clue is the lettering in the word balloons in the first two panels. The spacing between the individual letters themselves is off and the lettering overall is shaky and un-even. This is not the proffessional lettering of Artie Simek.

You have to look very hard at the rest of the page to find subtle differences, but, it's obvious to me that someone spent a lot of time and effort to meticously trace/reproduce the published page. The most obvious deviation from the published page is the webbing under Spider-Man's arm, in panel two.

Finally, if you look closely at the actual line work, you will see that it does not match the published page. For example, in panel three, the verticle lines on the Molten Man's arm are all the same width and have no variation to them. In the published version, the lines are thicker in the middle and thinner on the ends. The lines on the back of the Molten Man's head, in panel four, are another example.

This is my interpertation of what I see in the scan and I would be interested in hearing other opinions.

BTW - the seller said that the high bidder was sending the art back to him, claiming it wasn't a Ditko and demanding his money back.

Best,

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westform

westform

Posted
Posted

Wow! What a difference a good scan makes. I haven't compared it yet to the published page, but c'mon, this just does not look like Ditko at all! This was intended to deceive. Pencil notations, page numbering.... pretty damn scary....

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aardvark88

aardvark88

Posted
Posted

The eBay purchaser will never get his money back unless he remitted by PayPal linked to his cr card and did a charge reversal. I am sure the seller sent the art with tracking to prove that the buyer actually received the "Ditka" artwork.

 

My theory is that the seller purchased the Ditko twice up recreation from topcat77 for $75 to $100 at a local con as I believe both are from the Portland, OR area. The seller then added the border lettering (ASM) and Marvel Tales issue/pg # to make it more authentic looking.

 

The eBay ad pic seemed to show a fresh OA sized plastic bag which it would not have been in if it was part of some estate auction. Many disclaimers on eBay ad and via direct email from seller meant "Stay away" from this auction, as u will get a Ditka, not Ditko. 893crossfingers-thumb.giftonofbricks.gif

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Artemaria

Artemaria

Posted
Posted

Wow! You guys on this forum are unbelievable. What a resource!

 

It's funny, the seller seemed like such a yokel from his e-mails And posting a hi-res scan before hand should not have been a problem for a self-described computer nerd - unless he knew. . . . And the guy had a good rating too. Whoa.

 

This is disturbing. I feel really bad for the buyer.

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chrisco37

chrisco37

Posted
Posted

Great job getting the hi-res scan. After seeing the extreme close up, you can definitely tell it's not Ditko.

 

Good catch on the Simek lettering and all the other subtleties regarding the differences.

 

I wish I could make out some of the margin notes. The one on the left side, middle panel near Molten Man's fist does apper to say "Spider Man". Maybe put there to even further trick potential buyers.

 

Quite a scam indeed. I'm glad that nobody really bought it (the scam) and the price was kept low. Hopefully, buyer can get his $$$ back. If he can't, at least he's not out the market value for a true Ditko Spidey page.

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Sharkey

Sharkey

Posted
Posted
Aardvark -

 

I'm just really curious as this piece has captured my imagination (but apparently no one else's).

 

Hey Aardvark, my curiosity has been running wild! Anyway, the seller sent me a large, detailed scan today and after comparing it to the published page, I believe it is a forgery. Here is a link to the scan:

 

Not Dikto

 

The first clue is the lettering in the word balloons in the first two panels. The spacing between the individual letters themselves is off and the lettering overall is shaky and un-even. This is not the proffessional lettering of Artie Simek.

You have to look very hard at the rest of the page to find subtle differences, but, it's obvious to me that someone spent a lot of time and effort to meticously trace/reproduce the published page. The most obvious deviation from the published page is the webbing under Spider-Man's arm, in panel two.

Finally, if you look closely at the actual line work, you will see that it does not match the published page. For example, in panel three, the verticle lines on the Molten Man's arm are all the same width and have no variation to them. In the published version, the lines are thicker in the middle and thinner on the ends. The lines on the back of the Molten Man's head, in panel four, are another example.

This is my interpertation of what I see in the scan and I would be interested in hearing other opinions.

BTW - the seller said that the high bidder was sending the art back to him, claiming it wasn't a Ditko and demanding his money back.

Best,

 

Wow, Excellent post! That's a great analysis and I'd agree completely. I checked the hi-res scan against my copy and would agree there are several lines on spideys head in the middle panel that don't match up with the published page.

 

Given all the caveats about this not being a Ditko in the auction, I'll be surprised if the buyer gets his money back, but I hope he does.

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blowout

blowout

Posted
Posted

 

This is disturbing. I feel really bad for the buyer.

 

Why? Whoever took a (massive) chance on this must have known there was a 95% chance of not getting a Ditko.

Anyone with half a brain would not have bid on this auction.

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Artemaria

Artemaria

Posted
Posted

Well, . . . this is all very easy in hindsight, but it seems like there were several people ("without half a brain"??) who bid good money on the auction.

 

In the end, the buyer did the best they could with the little information that was given. Nobody wants to be out $2K, even if the only motivating factor was their greed. That's why I feel bad for the buyer.

 

The other disturbing aspect about this is that there already seems to be a copycat scam up on eBay involving a supposed "signed" Kirby Captain America sketch.

 

This copycat is so bad, however, that the high bid is currently $2. So, hopefully no one will get too badly burnt on that one. Also the seller in this new scheme has several negatives concerning selling fake comic related merchandise.

 

The whole thing is disturbing because you really want eBay to work as a marketplace for comic art in particular and other items in general, and when people do something like this, you just lose a little faith in the system.

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aardvark88

aardvark88

Posted
Posted

I wonder if it was a fluke that the border of the art was marked ASM #28 just happened to match the reprint of ASM 35 in Marvel Tales #28 or if it was pre-meditated? A well thought out Ditka hoax?

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Spider-Variant

Spider-Variant

Posted
Posted
Well, . . . this is all very easy in hindsight, but it seems like there were several people ("without half a brain"??) who bid good money on the auction.

 

In the end, the buyer did the best they could with the little information that was given. Nobody wants to be out $2K, even if the only motivating factor was their greed. That's why I feel bad for the buyer.

 

The other disturbing aspect about this is that there already seems to be a copycat scam up on eBay involving a supposed "signed" Kirby Captain America sketch.

 

This copycat is so bad, however, that the high bid is currently $2. So, hopefully no one will get too badly burnt on that one. Also the seller in this new scheme has several negatives concerning selling fake comic related merchandise.

 

The whole thing is disturbing because you really want eBay to work as a marketplace for comic art in particular and other items in general, and when people do something like this, you just lose a little faith in the system.

 

I agree I hate to see anyone lose good money and as I posted before, I wish it were an authentic page and the buyer would have got a good deal.

 

Just too many warning signs to go for this.

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blowout

blowout

Posted
Posted

 

It's very hard to feel any sympathy at all for the greedy buyer in this case though. (tsk)

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Unca Ben

Unca Ben

Posted
Posted

I think this page is back up on ebay. Anyone seen it? says Amazing Spider-Man 35 pg 14. It sure sounds familiar. Page looks more yellow in scans, and it now says 35 as issue number. I found it listed under silver-age comics, not art.

 

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NelsonAI

NelsonAI

Posted
Posted

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMAZING-SPIDER-MAN-35-page-14_W0QQitemZ320351918405QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item320351918405&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

 

No mention of the artist. No returns. Anyone e-mail the seller yet? Auction ends in 14 hours.

 

Cheers!

N

 

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