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Original art appreciation thread

Started by FlyingDonut,

629 posts in this topic

aardvark88

aardvark88

Posted
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Tremendous art. I like outer space heroes like Adam Strange more than JLA.

Just bought the Mac Raboy Flash Gordon Sunday strip b/w reprint book Vol. 1. Fabulous smile.gifas the linework is not overpowered by bad coloring over the Sundays.

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Joanna

Joanna

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Curt Swan gave this to me when a project we were going to work on fell through. I got to talk to him on the phone, and quite frankly, I became a stammering fan girl when I realised who was on the other line.

 

The pencil sketch features Saturn Girl from the Legion, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl. One of the things that I love about it is that Wonder Woman bears a striking resemblance to my mother, when she was young.

 

SwanArt.jpg

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greggy

greggy

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Curt Swan gave this to me when a project we were going to work on fell through. I got to talk to him on the phone, and quite frankly, I became a stammering fan girl when I realised who was on the other line.

 

The pencil sketch features Saturn Girl from the Legion, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl. One of the things that I love about it is that Wonder Woman bears a striking resemblance to my mother, when she was young.

 

SwanArt.jpg

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Joanna

Joanna

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Curt Swan gave this to me when a project we were going to work on fell through.

 

Jeeze Joanna! grin.gif

 

::in my best Bugs Bunny:: Youse gots the most INTERTIN' things!

 

Since I'm in a storytelling mood, I'll tell you what happened.

 

Years ago, when the internet was younger, there were the comic boards on Compuserve. For some reason, it was filled with pros from the industry, of every variety -- Mark Waid, Neil Gaiman, Terry Moore (SiP), Bernie Wrightson, William Messner-Loebs, Kurt Busiek, Craig Shutt (Mr. Silver Age), Tony Isabella, and the list goes on.

 

One of the members was an independant publisher and he came up with an idea for a horror anthology series, set in a hotel. Lots of people from the forum signed on, with Bernie Wrightson agreeing to do the cover and illustrate a story. I signed up to write a story as well. I decided to get my own illustrator, so I called a friend who was Curt Swan's art dealer. He talked to Curt, who instantly agreed to be my penciller. Doing it one better, the art dealer then contacted a number of the biggest names in inking, who, at the opportunity to ink Curt Swan, all took a page for free (an anthology of inkers).

 

I wrote the -script, got it approved, and sent it on to Curt. This is when I talked to Curt on the phone -- we discussed the story, the character designs, etc.

 

But the small-time publisher wasn't quite ready for the big time, and the project got put on hold while he tried to find a distributor. Time stretched, and it became obvious it was going to fall through.

 

Curt sent me the sketch -- I guess to make me feel better about my first comic story not becoming a reality.

 

And then Curt Swan passed away a short time later.

 

I had the sketch framed, and it hangs on the wall opposite my computer, a reminder that I almost got the chance to have a Swan-pencilled story.

 

In an interesting twist of fate, my first published story was illustrated by Giordano -- another DC great from the same era.

 

And that's the story behind the Swan sketch.

 

-- Joanna

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awe4one

awe4one

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In an interesting twist of fate, my first published story was illustrated by Giordano -- another DC great from the same era.

 

Joanna....do you have a list of comics you've had published?

 

 

Jim

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Joanna

Joanna

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Joanna....do you have a list of comics you've had published?

 

 

Jim

 

Jim,

 

That's easy -- it's quite paltry in number. I had a story and a timeline published in "Wonder Woman Secret Files #1" and a bunch of character profiles and text pieces in "Wonder Woman Secret Files #2". I had several projects fall through, as is the norm, including a 4 issue Wonder Girl mini-series that I had final approval on -- right before the editor switched jobs, which got the project eliminated.

 

I hope to be adding to the list, though. Wish me luck!

 

-- Joanna

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chrisco37

chrisco37

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That's easy -- it's quite paltry in number. I had a story and a timeline published in "Wonder Woman Secret Files #1" and a bunch of character profiles and text pieces in "Wonder Woman Secret Files #2".

 

It's the "Joanna-thology"! smile.gif

 

Chris

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delekkerste

delekkerste

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Just received this stunner today via UPS. Those who attended Wizard World Chicago may have had the chance to see it in person earlier this month. Absolutely magnificent 19.5"x27.5" painting by Jose "Pepe" Gonzalez, the pre-eminent Vampirella artist of all-time. It is rendered in watercolor and colored pencils and was commissioned in 1982 by a private collector in Spain (must have been around the time Gonzalez went back to Spain, never to be heard from again...very Arthur Rimbaud). Just an amazing piece and the new favorite of my collection.

 

Jose%20Gonzalez%20Vampirella%20flame%20large.jpg

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delekkerste

delekkerste

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893Rant-Smilie-thumb.gif

 

Just wanted to address a popular misconception on the Boards about original art - that it's an underdeveloped market with great price appreciation potential once all the comic collectors migrate over to the art market. First of all, most comic collectors never do pick up original art collecting (in fact, I'll wager a large proportion eventually stops collecting comics themselves). Second, and perhaps more important, just because most comic collectors haven't discovered original art yet does not mean original art prices have been wallowing at bargain prices, waiting for an influx of new money. I think that even casual observers know that is not the case!

 

Case in point: I found out today that the JR Sr. cover to ASM #155 (see scan in earlier post) that is on sale for $12,500+ was purchased back in 1992 for, hold onto your chair, ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS. Yes, that was the going rate for a Romita ASM cover late in the run. It changed hands several times and was sold earlier this year for $12,500, and now the owner I guess is trying to flip it.

 

For the non-quantitatively inclined, that works out to a 55.1% compounded annual growth rate over 11 years, which means this asset was doubling in price every 15.6 months for 11 years!! Now, some of you will say, "OK, so it won't grow at 55.1% a year going forward, but it'll at least keep up with inflation...I mean, everybody loves Spidey and Romita and they're both going to remain popular."

 

I'm sorry, but "everybody loves Spidey" is not a good enough reason to invest thousands of dollars...and, do pray tell, why should the piece have a Manifest Destiny to keep up with inflation? Did Cisco Systems, one of the best companies in America, just stop growing parabolically and at least keep up with inflation when it went from 2 to 80? Anyone who owned it back in 2000 and still owns it at 19 today knows it didn't. Let's call it like it really is: we're not living in 1992 anymore. It will be difficult to make any kind of decent return on original art if you're buying 12,400% higher than 1992 prices.

 

893offtopic1.gif

That goes for comics, too - sure, Greggy did great, turning $1K into $20K like BB13 says...but I think he's said that he bought a lot of those beauties he's turned into gold in the pre-CGC, pre-bubble days. All of you asking "which book should I invest in now" might want to consider that the correct answer might be "nothing" - we're living in 2003 now, not 1992, and the prospect of buying super-high grade raw keys for 200% of 1992 Guide value is only slightly more realistic than being able to buy an original Romita ASM cover for $100.

 

Gene

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