Unca Ben 10,573 posts Posted January 29 On 1/26/2019 at 5:26 AM, dichotomy said: Hey everyone. I was tracking this and I was also very curious so I purchased the Hulk just to see. The buyer accepts returns and my plan was to have it assessed here in Boston. I did some internet research of course and saw another website in German that also calls out the Thor piece. Anyway, after I won I contacted the seller to follow up on shipping. Immediately the language of the reply was markedly different from the listing in grammar/syntax. After a week I followed up and the seller says “Below are the tracking info of the item you purchased from me, due to christmas shipping rush, your item has been rerouted from uk,i apologize for the inconvenince this may have cuased you.” So now I’m really curious. Shipping from Canada via the UK? I gave him a 5% benefit of the doubt because shipping over the holidays was absolutely insane, and I had a lot of other mail that was heavily delayed. A week later I get a call from UK customs. Was I expecting anything? I blanked for a moment and then remembered this piece and filled the guy in. He tells me that they’ve opened the mail because it was invoiced at $4 and it shipped from PAKISTAN. The was the customs guy was speaking, I could tell they thought it was a fake (IMO). I contacted the seller and told him the jig is up and please cancel and refund, which he did after asking me not to inform eBay. I received the refund today. PayPal name was Robert Lubber. Curiouser and curiouser... I'd be suprised that a customs guy would determine the authenticity of a comic character sketch. (Mebbe he's a fan? Just seems unlikely.) The Pakistan part is interesting. The name Robert Lubber rings a bell, I think? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Marino 2,080 posts Posted January 29 On 1/26/2019 at 8:26 AM, dichotomy said: Hey everyone. I was tracking this and I was also very curious so I purchased the Hulk just to see. The buyer accepts returns and my plan was to have it assessed here in Boston. I did some internet research of course and saw another website in German that also calls out the Thor piece. Anyway, after I won I contacted the seller to follow up on shipping. Immediately the language of the reply was markedly different from the listing in grammar/syntax. After a week I followed up and the seller says “Below are the tracking info of the item you purchased from me, due to christmas shipping rush, your item has been rerouted from uk,i apologize for the inconvenince this may have cuased you.” So now I’m really curious. Shipping from Canada via the UK? I gave him a 5% benefit of the doubt because shipping over the holidays was absolutely insane, and I had a lot of other mail that was heavily delayed. A week later I get a call from UK customs. Was I expecting anything? I blanked for a moment and then remembered this piece and filled the guy in. He tells me that they’ve opened the mail because it was invoiced at $4 and it shipped from PAKISTAN. The was the customs guy was speaking, I could tell they thought it was a fake (IMO). I contacted the seller and told him the jig is up and please cancel and refund, which he did after asking me not to inform eBay. I received the refund today. PayPal name was Robert Lubber. Curiouser and curiouser... Tell me he did this all through eBay messaging.... if he did, you should report right away, he'll be shutdown. Plus they'll see him admitting it's a fake and asking you to not report it. Of course, he may just start a new account next week, eBay is really good like that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hal Turner 1,200 posts Posted January 29 1 hour ago, Unca Ben said: The name Robert Lubber rings a bell, I think? Robert "Bob" Lubbers (note the 's') was a terrific and, now, deceased comic strip/comic book artist. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unca Ben 10,573 posts Posted January 29 2 minutes ago, Hal Turner said: Robert "Bob" Lubbers (note the 's') was a terrific and, now, deceased comic strip/comic book artist. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glendgold 725 posts Posted January 29 B. Lubber. Maybe the forger is The Blob? 1 vodou reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blastaar 237 posts Posted January 29 He's a partner at Dewey, Cheatem & Howe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dichotomy 6 posts Posted February 1 On 1/28/2019 at 7:45 PM, Pete Marino said: Tell me he did this all through eBay messaging.... if he did, you should report right away, he'll be shutdown. Plus they'll see him admitting it's a fake and asking you to not report it. Of course, he may just start a new account next week, eBay is really good like that. Yes everything through eBay messenger. He doesn't admit it's a fake. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dichotomy 6 posts Posted February 1 On 1/28/2019 at 7:36 PM, Unca Ben said: I'd be suprised that a customs guy would determine the authenticity of a comic character sketch. (Mebbe he's a fan? Just seems unlikely.) The Pakistan part is interesting. The name Robert Lubber rings a bell, I think? The customs guy didn't say it was a fake, but the questions he was asking definitely suggested that they had considered it. He did tell me "we do know this artist" (i.e. Jack Kirby). Their main issue was that the piece was invoiced at a value of $4. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dichotomy 6 posts Posted February 1 On 1/28/2019 at 6:07 PM, Blastaar said: So the big question is.....do you get to keep the fake or do you have to return it? 😀 If it even shows up. The tracking number the guy sent me just shows it stuck in the UK. And certainly I'll have no incentive to pay anything in customs tax, so I'll refuse delivery if that's the case. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glendgold 725 posts Posted February 2 Here we go again: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-Captain-America-by-Jack-Kirby-109-Provenance-Signed-Stamped-No-Res-Auc/273682551875 I feel bad for the guy who read my posting of the Hulk piece and was "curious" enough to bid, so let me be really specific: this is a forgery. It's not by Jack Kirby. If you read this thread and then you bid on it, you're bidding on a forgery sold by a guy with a track record of selling forgeries. It's not a hidden treasure. (I'm discouraged, btw, by how pointing this stuff out is going -- it seems to in fact be encouraging bidders -- I posted this piece to some Facebook groups and the piece immediately started getting more bids. I don't understand the psychology behind deliberately choosing the wax piece of fruit, but if anyone else does, please explain it so I don't keep making the same mistake.) G 2 1 Unca Ben, Twanj and First Upgrade reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glendgold 725 posts Posted February 3 The piece I was referring to in the above post is no longer on eBay, so I'm showing it below. Also the Hulk auction from p. 6 of this thread has vanished -- I'm not sure how that works, as it should be in the eBay archives, but it's not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dichotomy 6 posts Posted February 9 Did you guys see all the stuff from the estate of 'Rob Lubber' up on the HA site for this Feb auction? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dichotomy 6 posts Posted February 9 On 2/2/2019 at 3:10 PM, glendgold said: Here we go again: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-Captain-America-by-Jack-Kirby-109-Provenance-Signed-Stamped-No-Res-Auc/273682551875 I feel bad for the guy who read my posting of the Hulk piece and was "curious" enough to bid, so let me be really specific: this is a forgery. It's not by Jack Kirby. If you read this thread and then you bid on it, you're bidding on a forgery sold by a guy with a track record of selling forgeries. It's not a hidden treasure. (I'm discouraged, btw, by how pointing this stuff out is going -- it seems to in fact be encouraging bidders -- I posted this piece to some Facebook groups and the piece immediately started getting more bids. I don't understand the psychology behind deliberately choosing the wax piece of fruit, but if anyone else does, please explain it so I don't keep making the same mistake.) G Rest easy, I didn't bid after seeing your post. I found your post after the fact when I wanted to post about the whole experience. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unca Ben 10,573 posts Posted February 10 On 2/9/2019 at 6:18 AM, dichotomy said: Did you guys see all the stuff from the estate of 'Rob Lubber' up on the HA site for this Feb auction? Will you be more specific? I took a quick look and didn't see anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unca Ben 10,573 posts Posted February 10 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Unca Ben said: Will you be more specific? I took a quick look and didn't see anything. Never mind. I found them. Bob Lubbers not Rob Lubber. Edited February 10 by Unca Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glendgold 725 posts Posted February 12 D Man? Weirdly accurate name. https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/69196214_jack-kirby-sketch-for-d-man This is a forgery traced from the Daredevil -- excuse me -- D Man -- 1 cover. Oh, and this one, too, goes without saying right? Same auction house. https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/69195930_john-byrne-sketch-for-wolverine 1 Andahaion reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
