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Is production page art worth picking up?

Started by kaholo1256,

28 posts in this topic

kaholo1256

kaholo1256

Posted
Posted

So the question is up there in the title, but here it is again and maybe a little more worded:

 

Are comic art production pages or transparencies worth picking up? And if they are what are decent prices?

 

This all came up as I just recently picked up a few pages. I don't have the type of income or inheritance that could afford me to ever pick up an original page from the likes of, Frank Miller, Neal Adams, or any of the other bigger names but getting some of these transparencies and having them signed and such look amazing in my opinion. I mainly ask as I won one of them for what I consider a steal but because of that I started to think that I had to have paid more than I should have even at $40 for a great set.

 

Even popcorn eaters are appreciated

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kaholo1256

kaholo1256

Posted
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Posted

Cool, outside taking it to an art dealer like Anthony is there a way to tell? I'll post photos once they are sent but the one I got was a cover page to Iron man labeled as production art by Romita Jr and Bob Layton. Figure it would be cool to get Bob to sign it since I will see him later this month.

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Ironmandrd

Ironmandrd

Posted
Posted

This is another real "buyer beware" area. Outright fakes. I bought a production acetate cover last year on Ebay but once I had it in my hand I noticed a lot of oddities like straight lines on the published cover were wavy on the acetate. I returned it.

 

Or for example, I've seen production art listings on Ebay that suggest that the production material is from the time of the original publication (like 60s or 70s) when really it was produced only a few years ago for some reprint TPB.

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AKA Rick

AKA Rick

Posted
Posted

Most are worth the paper they're printed on with no collectible value and to a degree, if you tried to sell them in the future you'd be tied to offering unlicensed forged material, so look at it as you'd buy any disposable poster, pay what you're willing to pay knowing it more than likely has no value, so it's purely for aesthetics.

 

Also know this, the more people who buy and support those who infringe upon the copyrights, the more they'll thrive, others may follow lead and the hobby may be inundated with such materials.

 

If you figure it costs the person making them about $1 per piece at most, then even if you buy them for $5, it's still giving that pirate a huge return on investment, so think about at $40 what they're profiting.

 

I've never heard of transparencies being used in the production process, it sounds like it's the original art made into an acetate photocopy to look like a cell or production proof.

 

I'd personally refrain from buying any of that stuff.

 

 

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desertdogg2006

desertdogg2006

Posted
Posted

please please, stay away from that stuff. It has no value at all. and the person your brought that stuff from can make 100 more copy,s the very next day. original art is called that because it one of a kind. those guys know that, so they sucker people into buying production art to make money and don't even have to have the original to do it, just steal a scan from a gallery and go to town..

 

your not the only one who can,t afford. neal adams or frank miller. a lot of us cant buy that stuff. but if you want something from them. buy a sketch it the next best thing and lot cheaper. or just save your money till you can afford to buy what you want. or just buy something from the other few hundred nice artists that are out there, just leave that production alone. or just throw your money out a window. it the same thing.

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Eric Seffinga

Eric Seffinga

Posted
Posted
Here's a recent thread that discusses acetate transparencies (most of which are fake) and also color guides, which a lot of people are taking notice of.

 

Acetate Transparencies thread

 

also

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=48&Number=7466068&Searchpage=4&Main=331125&Words=Production+Art&topic=0&Search=true#Post7466068

 

and

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7280983&fpart=1

 

as well as

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=48&Number=7112623&Searchpage=2&Main=317233&Words=transparencies&topic=0&Search=true#Post7112623

 

 

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Garf

Garf

Posted
Posted
So the question is up there in the title, but here it is again and maybe a little more worded:

 

Are comic art production pages or transparencies worth picking up? And if they are what are decent prices?

 

This all came up as I just recently picked up a few pages. I don't have the type of income or inheritance that could afford me to ever pick up an original page from the likes of, Frank Miller, Neal Adams, or any of the other bigger names but getting some of these transparencies and having them signed and such look amazing in my opinion. I mainly ask as I won one of them for what I consider a steal but because of that I started to think that I had to have paid more than I should have even at $40 for a great set.

 

Even popcorn eaters are appreciated

 

Just to add my 2c ... most stuff has been said before in the threads people have linked. I wouldn't ever buy something that is essentially a stat that anyone could knock out at home and more than likely do. More than anything else what really bugs me is that the people who sell these on ebay only ever seem to happen to have the best covers, the best splashes or really key panel pages available. Rings masses of alarm bells. Some of them even use sly sales tactics like "you must pay within 24 hours of winning" and state that any duplicate listings are an "inventory mistake" when using listing software.

 

If the motivation to look at these is because of the price then look at colour guides or simply accept that your tier of collecting is limited to the $30 - $90 page range... there are some pretty cool pages that can be picked up for very little.

 

 

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kpaqu1

kpaqu1

Posted
Posted
Most are worth the paper they're printed on with no collectible value and to a degree, if you tried to sell them in the future you'd be tied to offering unlicensed forged material, so look at it as you'd buy any disposable poster, pay what you're willing to pay knowing it more than likely has no value, so it's purely for aesthetics.

 

Also know this, the more people who buy and support those who infringe upon the copyrights, the more they'll thrive, others may follow lead and the hobby may be inundated with such materials.

 

If you figure it costs the person making them about $1 per piece at most, then even if you buy them for $5, it's still giving that pirate a huge return on investment, so think about at $40 what they're profiting.

 

I've never heard of transparencies being used in the production process, it sounds like it's the original art made into an acetate photocopy to look like a cell or production proof.

 

I'd personally refrain from buying any of that stuff.

 

 

Gray-line system did but the transparencies would be reduced to comic size and should have color art attached (stapled usually). Plus, you'll only see them for 80s/90s indy comics really.

 

http://www.co2comics.com/blog/2010/09/14/the-comic-companytrue-colors-part-1/

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Weird Paper

Weird Paper

Posted
Posted

I've been in the graphics business for over 30 years. I could make "production transparencies" all day long if I had an interest in violating copyrights and scamming fellow collectors. Up until a few years ago, I could have made them old school on actual photographic film. Nowadays, they can be done in high resolution on an inkjet printer. If it's an Epson style printer (better quality) you can usually remove the image with minimal effort and a wet paper towel. If it's an eco- or bio-solvent printer, it will come off with a little elbow grease and alcohol. If it's an actual photographic transparency, the image can be scratched, but won't rub off; though it will yellow over time unless it was made archivally, which web presses usually did not do.

Simply put, these are scams. They are the comic art collecting equivalent to giving your personal information out to somebody who cold calls you on the phone. (In that, no matter how many warnings you give, there is still somebody out there in this hobby that will fall for it.) If the copyright holders of these materials had the time and inclination to punch low, they would go after these sellers, but I guess these guys are just too small time to be worth it. Don't buy this . It's junk, intended to fool people who don't know any better. Don't be that people. (tsk)

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Sharkey

Sharkey

Posted
Posted

+1

 

I've been in the graphics business for over 30 years. I could make "production transparencies" all day long if I had an interest in violating copyrights and scamming fellow collectors. Up until a few years ago, I could have made them old school on actual photographic film. Nowadays, they can be done in high resolution on an inkjet printer. If it's an Epson style printer (better quality) you can usually remove the image with minimal effort and a wet paper towel. If it's an eco- or bio-solvent printer, it will come off with a little elbow grease and alcohol. If it's an actual photographic transparency, the image can be scratched, but won't rub off; though it will yellow over time unless it was made archivally, which web presses usually did not do.

Simply put, these are scams. They are the comic art collecting equivalent to giving your personal information out to somebody who cold calls you on the phone. (In that, no matter how many warnings you give, there is still somebody out there in this hobby that will fall for it.) If the copyright holders of these materials had the time and inclination to punch low, they would go after these sellers, but I guess these guys are just too small time to be worth it. Don't buy this . It's junk, intended to fool people who don't know any better. Don't be that people. (tsk)

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Garf

Garf

Posted
Posted
Most are worth the paper they're printed on with no collectible value and to a degree, if you tried to sell them in the future you'd be tied to offering unlicensed forged material, so look at it as you'd buy any disposable poster, pay what you're willing to pay knowing it more than likely has no value, so it's purely for aesthetics.

 

Also know this, the more people who buy and support those who infringe upon the copyrights, the more they'll thrive, others may follow lead and the hobby may be inundated with such materials.

 

If you figure it costs the person making them about $1 per piece at most, then even if you buy them for $5, it's still giving that pirate a huge return on investment, so think about at $40 what they're profiting.

 

I've never heard of transparencies being used in the production process, it sounds like it's the original art made into an acetate photocopy to look like a cell or production proof.

 

I'd personally refrain from buying any of that stuff.

 

 

Gray-line system did but the transparencies would be reduced to comic size and should have color art attached (stapled usually). Plus, you'll only see them for 80s/90s indy comics really.

 

http://www.co2comics.com/blog/2010/09/14/the-comic-companytrue-colors-part-1/

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1135064 :P

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kpaqu1

kpaqu1

Posted
Posted
Most are worth the paper they're printed on with no collectible value and to a degree, if you tried to sell them in the future you'd be tied to offering unlicensed forged material, so look at it as you'd buy any disposable poster, pay what you're willing to pay knowing it more than likely has no value, so it's purely for aesthetics.

 

Also know this, the more people who buy and support those who infringe upon the copyrights, the more they'll thrive, others may follow lead and the hobby may be inundated with such materials.

 

If you figure it costs the person making them about $1 per piece at most, then even if you buy them for $5, it's still giving that pirate a huge return on investment, so think about at $40 what they're profiting.

 

I've never heard of transparencies being used in the production process, it sounds like it's the original art made into an acetate photocopy to look like a cell or production proof.

 

I'd personally refrain from buying any of that stuff.

 

 

Gray-line system did but the transparencies would be reduced to comic size and should have color art attached (stapled usually). Plus, you'll only see them for 80s/90s indy comics really.

 

http://www.co2comics.com/blog/2010/09/14/the-comic-companytrue-colors-part-1/

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1135064 :P

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=249850

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Dr. Balls

Dr. Balls

Posted
Posted
Don't buy transparencies, period.

 

If you can't afford pencil/ink artwork, look for original color guides used in the production process.

 

Even then, be sure you are familiar with how color guides were used in the printing process of the era you're buying from. Those can be faked just as easily as transparancies (printed on a color laser as CMYK separations to mimic the look of a chromakey.) They might be neat, but I don't see them having any sort of value in a comparison to where original art is at.

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