x2.
For a brief period, there was a score of Jim Lee X-Men pages available from wildstormfinearts.com back in the day. I still remember agonizing over whether to buy two Jim Lee UXM pages from my want list. The good pages could set you back ~$225-$300 iirc. Some serious coin. Finally, I bit the bullet and pulled the trigger and sent my e-mail or clicked on the link or whatever the site instructed.
And waited. And waited. And waited.
And wsfa.com promptly shut down within days of my attempted purchase, with no alternative to appeal, beg or bargain for the pages. This must've been in '98 right when Wildstorm merged their ops into DC.
Getting to a con wasn't an option for me. However, in retrospect, I probably should've bought a copy of WildCATS to get the letters page address and tried to contact Jim Lee's handlers that way. . I didn't even think of that at the time. I blame it on myopia...possibly induced by repeatedly slapping my left eye over & over with a white-gloved Mickey Mouse hand.
Years later, both pages were eventually sold on ebay for even more ridiculously serious coin, much more than I could possibly justify for those pages at that time.
However, by following your strategy quoted above, I eventually acquired some alternatives to fill those gaps during some mini-surges...at the cost of even still more ludicrous coinage.
That WSFA fumble still burns. But at least I never had to buy a copy of WildCATS .
So remember, kids:
- Timing is everything
- Patience can pay off
- It's better to be lucky than good
- Save your missiles for MIGs...don't waste your ammo on weather balloons