Panelfan1

sounds dirty.

that's the problem with having 2 first names. personally - I always get confused with Eric Roberts and Ethan Roberts. Admittedly - never knew either man, but both have/had great collections.

my observation for this auction - is that it seems to have less pieces in it than previous HA auctions. perhaps its because they are still adding stuff. I think the last auction had over 700 pieces (correct me if I am wrong). This one not as much. Overall there is a bunch of cool stuff and like many here am eagerly watching what happens with that Watchmen cover. While I think its one of the most boring covers ever - it's also perhaps one of the most recognizable and iconic covers of all time. if it goes to a dealer/millionaire/halpern I wouldn't be shocked. while there is a ton of nostalgia riding on this cover - I would compare it a bit to abstract art -as there is not much there to actually sink your teeth into (says the ignorant guy who loves representational art).

its good to know there are other sttng fans here. Just to add one thing - I know some folks are never wrong. they are perfect. I am not that person. I have confidence -but to err is human - so while some may be super risk averse and never admit to the possibility of being wrong - I appreciate openness and thoughtful discussion regardless of what comes of it. Because I value learning.

i am saying that prior to this thread I was absolutely 100% sure -but as the thread popped up (there was talk at start of this thread about the placement of the signature) - I figured it was best practice to address the issue by the horn. that is - by talking about it - if any of you other art experts come up with a reason that this is not the original - it would be good to know right away so I can lay a claim. I suspect it is the original -but on the 0.001% chance its not - there is no better way to dig up any issues than to let fans here go to task on it. I love the knowledge and the passion here. talking about stuff is the way to go. For those who are deodato fans - Romitaman had a cover not long ago for a different issue in this run. he sold it as unpublished as there were some discrepancies with the published art. the buyer asked Deodato about it and Deodato confirmed that it was in fact the published art and that some alterations happened after the fact. I am looking into that as well -but again - prior to this thread I didn't have a single doubt about authenticity. I had many doubts about the value. ha ha. hopefully time will prove this a wise pick up.

did you have fries with that?

having spoken with friends ahead of closing. that was also my expected win #. bidders with high ebay counts (into the thousands) bid it higher. as the French say - C'est la vie.

So I was hoping to post about this once I got the art -but as a thread started - I wanted to chime in. My feeling is that this is the original art, but until I have it in hand I can't say 100%. below are some images. note the comic cover had a bunch of text -which would make sense that the signature would have been moved. If I were doing a recreation based on the cover that came out at the time - the signature would not have moved. also the original cover is 'low resolution' compared to the more recent trade art. So I included that - even though it is a photo that is angled/skewed. The lines match up well for me. As this is still fresh - if anyone here on the boards has evidence this is not the real deal, please let me know so I can return it. Hopefully it's legit. with respect to price - as always I am open to discussion. I also expected it to be way way lower, but by the time it came to the end - a number of other bidders had pushed it up. If anyone feels there was impropriety, let me know. Again - seemed legit to me. Over the years I have lost a ton of auctions. I even started a thread about feeling good about losing some of them (which many here misunderstood as being about regret- the complete opposite of what I was trying to say in that thread. ha ha.) The question I have learned to ask myself these days when bidding on anything is -not just what do I think a piece is worth (because values change all the time) -but rather if a pieces sells at x$ would I still want it or would I want the money more. I bid and if I lose above x$ I feel good because that was indeed my max and now I can mentally move on without regrets. In the end -this particular cover was a bucket list item for me. I didn't buy it as an item to flip.

Wonder what happened to Matt Broome? Loved his work on Defcon 4 and wilcats/X-Men.

Try anrhonyscomicart. He posted a ton of this stuff recently

Just to be clear. I am not regretful. I am happy I didn't get the art this thread was about near missed that we are happy to admit to. If there was regret - it was in the moment only and then happiness when lost.

I know one was at Swann recently - it will be interesting to see what you post

2019 has begun with a 1950s magazine piece by Joe De Mers. This one was from a story in the Saturday Evening Post. Not sure why I enjoy old magazine art - but added another one. If anyone out there have any to share- please do. Comments welcome HERE.

Glad to hear it worked out for both of us! I collect for fun not profit. The value later whether up or down wasn't the point of this story. I was sharing the experience of bidding and losing on something and still having joy. Learning these many years later that I lost to Gene - makes me happier still. I have noticed our collecting paths/Interests crossed a few times. Gene has an esteemed collection - so sharing interest in stuff means at the very least I have ok taste in art. Ha ha. These 'co-incidences' also show how small the art community is and at least for me as boardie here make me feel closer to all of you! As it's now officially 2019 all around the world - let me wish happiness, good health and fruitful collecting to everyone here.

So as we are on the cusp of a new year I have been looking back at my collection. Besides looking at what I picked up - thoughts also strayed to things I didn't pick up (or lost out on). One area however that I feel is worth exploring are auction bids that didn't win and we are happy about! Often as a collector I lament losing at auctions, but once in a while you feel relieved when you didn't win something. One such time was few years back. I was new to auctions and was easily caught up in the excitement and fever of participation. This story has to do with a Mignola Rocket Racoon Cover. This was before the Guardians of the Galaxy movies came out -so it was by no means a hot item. To get specific it was a ComicLink auction. I wasn't all that aware of sniping -so with about a minute to go - I bid 5k (or there abouts. memory is not imperfect). I don't recall exactly but the price was around 4k or so. That's when panic struck. What had I done!? Bidding so high on a fuzzy animal book? Sure I loved it as a kid, but what was I doing bidding so high for such a niche item? I looked back at the price. Refreshed the page. Someone else bid and bid again. Then with a few seconds to go I was outbid! Huzzah! Never felt so happy to lose an auction before. Looking back these many years later - I still have no regrets. It was a collecting lesson I would never forget. The point of the above story is to share my experience about an auction that I didn't win and was happy as to the results. Please share your stories of loss (happy tears) with the rest of us -so we could know first hand what you went through. Oh and before I go - HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!

Can you talk about the cleaning? Where was it done? Is it expensive and any other tips ?

Just saw the spiderverse movie.. highly recommended. John Delany did a great job as Spider-Ham.

I recently had a conversation with some collectors and I mentioned I like Mike Deodato art - but they told me he switched in recent times to all digital. His covers sell for 1-3k range -so was shocked to hear that he went all digital. thats a huge income loss. Especially for an established artist who clearly has no difficulty drawing traditionally.

finally arrived. Johnny Quest by Doug Wildey. Missed this item at Clink a few years back. Ha was more successful. Price was down too. Clearly fans of this stuff are not growing, unless something changes. At any rate - Loved it then, love it now. If you are a fan of the old show - No one is better at depicting Quest and the gang than Wildey, although Steve Rude does a nice job. If you have other artists to recommend for JQ, would love to know. link TO ART HERE. if you wish to comment.

thanks. damn there are so many Vernon's to keep track of!

Just to add to it.. He said he did this tracing process because it was rhe inliway for him to get that gritty style you like so much.

The only other vernon geeen art I ever came across was a rice crispies painting on ebay. If you like historical stuff and the price is right go for it. Why would someone fake this?

It's physics.

As a little kid - I loved this movie. Especially the robots! As a side note - many years later I watched Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown. The Bailbondsman guy was very likeable. At least that's how I felt - but didn't know why I felt familiar with him. More years pass by and I re-watch black Hole with my kids. Hey - the bail guy was the captain dude in Black Hole. The mystery was solved. Btw - if you haven't seen it, Jackie Brown is a worthwhile movie. The actor was Robert Forester.

Caf does have a favorites gallery you can 'follow' art in other collections. I use that function and might be a good way to keep track of art that is not in your collection.