more Cool Lines deceit: misrepresented/modified art 1 1

[fmaz]

Sad on so many levels.

 

1. That obviously they make a good living doing what they do or they wouldn't keep doing it

2. They have some great pieces/pages, which I have to constantly trick myself into believing have been "destroyed in a fire"... Since the likelihood of me owning them is now exactly the same as they would be had they been set ablaze,

3. New people to the hobby certainly can be taken in by their very visible online presence ... And maybe think "please inquire" is the way everyone does business

4. The idea that they would be altering pieces of art....but this bothers me less than most of you, as I assumed the art was already burned in a fire. :-)

 

Of course, I don't begrudge them the right to do business the way they want to. Just nothing wrong with shedding a little sunlight on a cockroach now and then either.

Edited April 1, 2014 by fmaz

[Living Tribunal]

Here's a Sam Kieth pinup from the first Batman vs. Predator series that sold on ComicLink

 

 

 

 

Which has now had the cool lines magic applied to become a cover, such a rare cover that it doesn't seem to exist. These guys are the worst, such blatant fraud.

 

 

 

[J.Sid]

Are these being mounted to the originals? or are they done on transparent overlays?

 

 

[Bird]

They are overlays from what I understand.

[Doc Joe]

[fmaz]

Not sure if you all saw this one.... it's subtle so not everyone might have caught it.

 

They bought this on E-Bay a few weeks ago:

 

 

 

And now apparently have it posted as a cover, after a few alterations:

 

 

[alxjhnsn]

It's April Fools Day, too.

[Garf]

 

edit: why stop there... add some breasts so it gets more views on CAF

Edited April 1, 2014 by Garf

[jbud73]

Part of me is saddened that this topic has to be a thread, however a bigger part of me wonders what took so long. This has been going on for a while (years) now, nice to have the beginning of a consolidated reference to all the "work" they do to items.

[Dr. Balls]

Wow. Eye opening for sure.

[James J]

Are these being mounted to the originals? or are they done on transparent overlays?

 

 

I'm kind of new to this...........what does it mean if its transparent overlays?

It can be removed with no harm to the art?

[malvin]

It means it is just a transparent sheet that is over the art, s you can just flip it over.

 

Malvin

[bocaratondefense]

Wow a thread I can pitch in on!!!

 

Art as it was purchased by cool lines for about $700 at a heritage auction:

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=30877&GSub=3980

 

Art now for sale, after it's magically acquired new borders:

 

http://www.coollinesartwork.com/featured.asp?Piece=290482

 

Yuppers! Roll right up for actual misrepresentation before your very eyes!

 

Price I was quoted by cool lines after I specifically asked whether they had added borders and was told no...

 

$7k

 

That's a 10x mark up! Great work if you can get it. Course you need to commit fraud and lie to potential customers... But hey, that's collecting original art for you!!

 

 

How did they create the borders?

 

 

 

[Baron]

Wow a thread I can pitch in on!!!

 

Art as it was purchased by cool lines for about $700 at a heritage auction:

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=30877&GSub=3980

 

Art now for sale, after it's magically acquired new borders:

 

http://www.coollinesartwork.com/featured.asp?Piece=290482

 

Yuppers! Roll right up for actual misrepresentation before your very eyes!

 

Price I was quoted by cool lines after I specifically asked whether they had added borders and was told no...

 

$7k

 

That's a 10x mark up! Great work if you can get it. Course you need to commit fraud and lie to potential customers... But hey, that's collecting original art for you!!

 

 

10x Mark Up? Insane. Do these guy really sell high-end pieces non-stop in order for them to keep acquiring art?

 

I mean, if you'er a high-end collector you'd surely know how unscrupulous these guys are and not buy from them. So is it just newbies with deep pockets that continue to fund these guys' OA stash?

[bocaratondefense]

 

 

10x Mark Up? Insane. Do these guy really sell high-end pieces non-stop in order for them to keep acquiring art?

 

I mean, if you'er a high-end collector you'd surely know how unscrupulous these guys are and not buy from them. So is it just newbies with deep pockets that continue to fund these guys' OA stash?

 

10x mark up does sound crazy, but I am more concerned about Cool Lines' misrepresentations about alterations.

 

 

[alxjhnsn]

I'm kind of new to this...........what does it mean if its transparent overlays? It can be removed with no harm to the art?

I bought the cover art to an Archie Andrews, Where Are You? comic by Dan DeCarlo. I wanted the look of the completed cover so I had Chris Ivy create an overlay to carry the logos and other material. He did a great job.

 

You can see the before (Additional Image), after (main image), and printed cover (Additional Image) by clicking the image below:

 

[James J]

Thanks guys......Now I understand some, but not all.

[Garf]

Thanks guys......Now I understand some, but not all.

 

Let's put it in Walking Dead terms for you. Do you remember this one? The speech bubbles have been added to the art by printing the speech bubbles onto a clear acid free sheet and simply placing it on top before framing. It's pretty obvious in the pic below. The art isn't damaged, it's not glued down or anything, just laid on top.

 

Example taken from an ebay image (nothing to do with Cool Lines)

 

 

 

What Cool Lines are doing is virtually the same... but, the reports here are that they don't make it obvious on their site that they are showing an image of the art enhanced with an overlay on top.

 

An overlay that wasn't actually used in the production of the comic but something that could have been printed yesterday.

 

The overlay or other enhancement may be misrepresenting what the art actually is e.g. it looks like a cover now but never was a cover.

 

Finally it seems that they don't fully disclose things when asked.

 

 

I have had no prior dealings with Cool Lines other than to inquire once about a page a few months ago and respectfully decline the insane price. Just trying to sum up the thread a little for you. Make your own mind up here

 

 

 

[CollectingFool]

I am not defending these practices at all. Just here to say that if you think Rich and Steve are the only ones that have done this type of thing you are very naive.

 

[comixcroz]

Wow a thread I can pitch in on!!!

 

Art as it was purchased by cool lines for about $700 at a heritage auction:

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=30877&GSub=3980

 

Art now for sale, after it's magically acquired new borders:

 

http://www.coollinesartwork.com/featured.asp?Piece=290482

 

Yuppers! Roll right up for actual misrepresentation before your very eyes!

 

Price I was quoted by cool lines after I specifically asked whether they had added borders and was told no...

 

$7k

 

That's a 10x mark up! Great work if you can get it. Course you need to commit fraud and lie to potential customers... But hey, that's collecting original art for you!!

 

 

How did they create the borders?

 

 

 

It looks to me like its been matted over the art. But I suppose they could have just mounted the trimmed piece to a new board. Stuff like this doesn't seem as bad to me (as long as its disclosed as not original), but the Batman Vs. predator piece is crazy!