Benedict Judas Hel

I received this 11 1/2” x 16” Vega and Baroness commission by Bo Hampton today:

I’ve spent as much as $800 on a commission before. I average about $250 to $400 on every commission I’ve ever gotten and I know full well that I will not get the same money back that I put into it. But I don’t plan on selling any of my commissions either so it doesn’t really matter to me. It’s akin to vintage car restoration (of which I also partake in). You are never (or very rarely) going to get back what you put into it. However, you will be getting a very unique item that you can cherish in your collection. That’s my stance on why I am comfortable getting commissions. I also enjoy being able to get artists I grew up with to draw characters they have never done before and interactions (non-sexual) that they possibly haven’t imagined previously. It’s a nice surprise to see what they come up with. I’ll admit that the commissions aren’t always gold but I have enjoyed enough of them to keep getting them.

I got in this 8 1/2” x 9” Baroness watercolor commission by Rene Cardova today:

I don’t think the neck looks bad. My focus is on her oversized fist. At least, it’s oversized to my eyes…

I got in the original art page from 1981’s ROM Issue #19 Page 11 by Sal Buscema: As it appears in print: I’ve been looking to add a ROM page as well as a Sal Buscema so this page fits both needs nicely. And despite that this particular page has my biggest dislike of a signed page (in the middle of the page instead of the outside borders), it has nice images of ROM as well the Dire Wraiths (and their monstrous creations).

I would hope so! I would be worried if they didn’t!

That’s an awesome Baroness!

Looks like my earlier joke to you about this seller was indeed a prescient one…

You dodged a bullet, Doc B! He would have charged you $9000 in shipping and insurance!

Yes, I still have my first art piece as I have never sold anything.

I got my latest Vega/Baroness cover homage commission in today. This time it’s an 8 1/2” x 11” homage of Uncanny X-Men #177 by Shane Hunt: A mock-up print featuring the trade dress; The original comic cover inspiration:

Here is Iron Man C-villain, Dreadknight by Dave Cockrum. This was one of top images that stayed with me from reading the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition series. It had everything I love: a villain, a cool mask, skulls and a distinctive look. I am so glad to have a Cockrum piece in my collection (especially since I will most likely never own an X-Men page by him) and a cool-looking villain to boot. Now this piece confused me as it had a lot of differences between itself and the published piece that appeared in issue # 4 of the Deluxe series. But thanks to Fisch (thanks again, Fisch!) who reached out to a few individuals (including Joe Rubinstein!) who confirmed that this piece was the initial Dave Cockrum illustration while the published image was the lightboxed version Joe Rubinstein did (which accounts for the differences that Joe Rubinstein said he did in his version) for the comic book. Hopefully I can track down the published versions so that I can obtain both versions for my collection.

I went a long time without any commissions coming in and now get 2 in so many days. I got this 8 1/2” x 11” Baroness commission by Fred Benes:

It’s been a while since I got a commission in but the drought has been broken with this 11” x 17” piece by Reilly Brown:

Good luck, Fisch! May the money flow freely for your auctions!

Oh, man! I would love that Dr. Strange page with the Juggernaut and Galactus but unfortunately it’s out of budget range. It’s too bad for me.

Thank you. Yes, they have a piece that went up today that is much more in line with my collecting goals. However, as you said, it is way over what I recently paid for a very similar piece from the same artist and from the same comic book series (4 times as much). While a bit of a shame, at that magnitude of a sale price, I can easily walk away.

Thanks! While I am aware that I can make an offer, I still consider myself a novice when it comes to knowing “fair market value” for comic book art. I just know my personal budgetary limits and would hate to make an offer based on said budget and unintentionally offend the seller with what he/she would consider a “low ball” offer thereby ruining a first impression. I prefer to let the seller contact me first with his/her new negotiable price and if it is an amount that is closer to my monetary capabilities, then I will definitely engage. Otherwise, I can thank them for their willingness to negotiate and apologize that it is still out of my price range. And since, as I said in my initial post, the latter occurs or no sellers try to contact me, then it will not be a painful loss as no artworks were ones that I feel compelled to own. However, 2 sellers have already reached out to all interested parties who have saved a couple of their pieces. 1 was still way out of budget with their new negotiable price while the other piece (a bit more desirable to me) is being offered by Cool Lines Art and say they are open to offers. If I’m not mistaken, that is the business operated by the Donnelly Brothers, correct? I’ve read some not too favorable anecdotes concerning them on this forum concerning their business operations (difficulties deciding on a final price amongst themselves and altering artwork) and would hate to spend my limited resources on negotiating a deal that may not occur.

I perused the art available today and there are a few nice pieces but no “must haves” for me. I “saved” some and who knows? Maybe some of the owners of those artworks may want to negotiate more in line with my budget…

Here is the latest recruits into my army of villains in my OHOTMU Deluxe Edition collection, the invariable thorn in the galaxy’s side…the nefarious Skrulls! They are rendered here by Keith Williams (pencils) and Josef Rubinstein (inks) masterfully with the male glowering and the female more benign. A very welcome piece in my collection with a well-known menace in the Marvel comics. As it appears in the comic:

I got my second 11” x 17” commission from Mike Hoffman in my Fighting Fantasy gamebook series. This time it was the Serpent Queen from 1983’s The City of Thieves: And here is the original illustration by Iain McCaig:

Oh, man! I would love that Kurse page! Even if it is Impossible Man dressed up as him…