Cool Lines Art Work Inquiry 1 1

[The Voord]

1 hour ago, batman_fan said:

Does anyone know if this piece has a replaced title added. I could swear when I first saw the piece in person probably two decades ago or longer at Wonddrcon in Oakland it didn’t have the title. 

Vaguely remember it NOT having a title.

 

[comix4fun]

13 hours ago, Will_K said:

 

That is being very charitable. 

Without making accusations, the practices being described are mercenary.  And leaving out the prospective buyers and middlemen (e.g. auction sites), they (those practices) do not respect the actual drawing, the artist or the artistic process.  

Add to the "does not respect list"...the buyer. 

[stinkininkin]

I've got a couple of OPINIONS about this Jim Lee piece.  These are not FACTS, because I don't know for sure, just an educated opinion, and of course, I have no affiliation with the piece or the sellers, either now or when it was sold on CLINK.

While I don't remember this piece being executed (and would have been done at Homage Studios), it looks to simply be a cover that Jim rejected in mid stroke (for any number of reasons).  He often self-edits/rejects a piece he's doing when he decides some element is not working.  Additionally, some people speculating that it was a prelim are in error, because he rarely did prelims, and certainly not on a full size cover stock board with the beginning of tight inks on Wolvie.

Second, the additional inks in the second scan with the logo looks to show more Wolvie inks for sure, but those inks APPEAR to be by Jim's hand to my eye.  And the first scan seems to show an odd void in that neck and chest area with traces of ink indicated.  I can't account for this and don't know why that first scan seems "incomplete".

And third, yeah, the second scan has had it's scanning settings bumped up to make the image appear more solid/complete.

These are my educated and unbiased opinions.  Do with them what you will.

Scott

[ESeffinga]

On 7/5/2018 at 12:57 PM, stinkininkin said:

I've got a couple of OPINIONS about this Jim Lee piece.  These are not FACTS, because I don't know for sure, just an educated opinion, and of course, I have no affiliation with the piece or the sellers, either now or when it was sold on CLINK.

While I don't remember this piece being executed (and would have been done at Homage Studios), it looks to simply be a cover that Jim rejected in mid stroke (for any number of reasons).  He often self-edits/rejects a piece he's doing when he decides some element is not working.  Additionally, some people speculating that it was a prelim are in error, because he rarely did prelims, and certainly not on a full size cover stock board with the beginning of tight inks on Wolvie.

Second, the additional inks in the second scan with the logo looks to show more Wolvie inks for sure, but those inks APPEAR to be by Jim's hand to my eye.  And the first scan seems to show an odd void in that neck and chest area with traces of ink indicated.  I can't account for this and don't know why that first scan seems "incomplete".

And third, yeah, the second scan has had it's scanning settings bumped up to make the image appear more solid/complete.

These are my educated and unbiased opinions.  Do with them what you will.

Scott

I believe in the past, you’ve stated you actually prefer Jim inking himself.

And here you think the additional neck inking looks like Jim’s work. 

So, are you saying that actually in your opinion, the Donnellys should be inking Jim?

[Siege Perilous]

I’m still seeking a low tier X-Men page from Claremont’s first run. Perhaps, against my better judgement I’m considering reaching out to Cool Lines. How does one go about getting prices from them on their pieces?

[bisquitodoom]

You can email them and ask.  If you ask about a general category, they'll sometimes send a pricelist for a few pieces.  But they'll definitely be 3x market price at least.  Several will probably be things they've bought through auction houses recently with their trade credit, so you'll likely see several things that sold recently, for about 3x what they sold for originally.  If you look on ebay and comiclink, they have several up for sale eternally, since they never sell.  They stand out because of the really high cost.  

Honestly, you'll be better off just bidding on one that comes up in the next few Heritage auctions.  It's like getting it from them at a 66% markdown.  

[ESeffinga]

Send email about a specific piece. They will email you back with a list of pieces and prices. The list will have pieces priced from 2 to 3 times street value. The piece you asked about will be listed in bold, and will be 3 to 4 times street value. 

So a shortcut is to know the approximate street value and at least triple that in your head.

Shorter cut. Don’t bother.

[Bronty]

Yeah I harbor zero ill will and in fact Rich was helpful to me once which I appreciated a lot.   

If you find their prices high, don’t deal with them.   If you find them difficult to deal with, don’t deal with.    It’s that simple for the most part.   

The altering of art and or trade dress to me is a disclosure issue.   What is done to a piece should be disclosed within reason. 

Edited September 8, 2019 by Bronty

[Carlo M]

As I mentioned in the past, I have bought from them, albeit very occasionally and mostly in the distant past.   I think there is no harm in trying.  If the piece is niche enough, with a market value which is a bit uncertain, maybe just maybe they might quote a price which inolves a premium you are willing to pay.  Chances are very slim, but in all honesty they have always been quite personable in my dealings with them, so I can't see any real downside in asking.  Based on the commentary above, however, I would be very careful with unpublished work, stuff with acetates layers, pasted logoes etc.

[exitmusicblue]

On 7/4/2018 at 9:12 AM, Rick2you2 said:

If someone is modifying a piece of art and passing it off without mentioning their modification, that's called fraud. The seller omitted a material fact which a reasonable buyer would want to know about.

This...

[Rick2you2]

On 9/10/2019 at 11:37 AM, Carlo M said:

As I mentioned in the past, I have bought from them, albeit very occasionally and mostly in the distant past.   I think there is no harm in trying.  If the piece is niche enough, with a market value which is a bit uncertain, maybe just maybe they might quote a price which inolves a premium you are willing to pay.  Chances are very slim, but in all honesty they have always been quite personable in my dealings with them, so I can't see any real downside in asking.  Based on the commentary above, however, I would be very careful with unpublished work, stuff with acetates layers, pasted logoes etc.

I once bought something from them off eBay which was only, maybe, 15-20% over what I thought was market price (and a low demand item). If I were you, I would first check and see if was ever offered for sale by them on eBay, and if so, inquire on that basis. Otherwise, approach the inquiry as matter-of-factly as possible (maybe ask about generic X-men pages, that are inexpensive, for example). Then see what is offered. 

[Siege Perilous]

15 minutes ago, Rick2you2 said:

I once bought something from them off eBay which was only, maybe, 15-20% over what I thought was market price (and a low demand item). If I were you, I would first check and see if was ever offered for sale by them on eBay, and if so, inquire on that basis. Otherwise, approach the inquiry as matter-of-factly as possible (maybe ask about generic X-men pages, that are inexpensive, for example). Then see what is offered. 

This is basically exactly what I did. I really just want an idea on prices in general. It’s a shame they have the monopoly on Silvestri X-Men pages. I did reach out the form on their website inquiring on a few prices on Monday and haven’t heard back anything at all...

[Rick2you2]

On 9/7/2019 at 8:40 AM, ESeffinga said:

Send email about a specific piece. They will email you back with a list of pieces and prices. The list will have pieces priced from 2 to 3 times street value. The piece you asked about will be listed in bold, and will be 3 to 4 times street value. 

So a shortcut is to know the approximate street value and at least triple that in your head.

Shorter cut. Don’t bother.

It’s not always that bad. There was an Aparo cover which Moye had for $8,000 that was not so hot, but when Aparo was zipping up in price, Coollines bought it and was trying to sell it for $11,000 at the Comic Art show this weekend. I figure the correct market price should probably closer to $6000 if someone really wanted it.

But, X-men and Claremont are what they are, and I wouldn’t get my hopes up. What they have been trying to get for Ross Andru Phantom Stranger art is, in my opinion, ridiculous, but because it is Andru, they keep the price high. 

And admittedly off-topic, why is some of Andru’s art so costly? Does he belong in the same group as Sal Buscema?

[Rick2you2]

5 hours ago, ZimmermanTelegram said:

This is basically exactly what I did. I really just want an idea on prices in general. It’s a shame they have the monopoly on Silvestri X-Men pages. I did reach out the form on their website inquiring on a few prices on Monday and haven’t heard back anything at all...

Give it time. They have other things to do (like adding trade dress). I would NOT follow up or those eventual prices may go up even higher.

[Buzzetta]

On 9/12/2019 at 6:02 AM, Rick2you2 said:

It’s not always that bad. There was an Aparo cover which Moye had for $8,000 that was not so hot, but when Aparo was zipping up in price, Coollines bought it and was trying to sell it for $11,000 at the Comic Art show this weekend. I figure the correct market price should probably closer to $6000 if someone really wanted it.

But, X-men and Claremont are what they are, and I wouldn’t get my hopes up. What they have been trying to get for Ross Andru Phantom Stranger art is, in my opinion, ridiculous, but because it is Andru, they keep the price high. 

And admittedly off-topic, why is some of Andru’s art so costly? Does he belong in the same group as Sal Buscema?

I didn't even bother stopping at their table this past weekend.  If the dealers are the ones buying and selling each other's prices thinking I chuckle.  If I passed on that page for $2000 then I am certainly passing on that page for $3000.  Moving it into a different area of the room does not equate a $1000 increase in value to me. 

Edited September 13, 2019 by Buzzetta

[cstojano]

6 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

I didn't even bother stopping at their table this past weekend.  If the dealers are the ones buying and selling each other's prices thinking I chuckle.  If I passed on that page for $2000 then I am certainly passing on that page for $3000.  Moving it into a different area of the room does not equate a $1000 increase in value to me. 

And yet I see piece after piece go from auction to dealer website marked as sold within days...

[Buzzetta]

1 hour ago, cstojano said:

And yet I see piece after piece go from auction to dealer website marked as sold within days...

Notice I said 'to me'.

Now granted, not every buyer for every page or comic for that matter has the time nor energy to monitor and sit for every auction.   Sure there are pieces that are not bid on as heavily that make for great dealer stock.  Every now and then when I am bidding in a comic auction I see a book that I know is a steal.  I will grab it up and offer it over eBay which has most likely the biggest audience for comics.  In fact, I just picked something up now from my mailing address that is going up on eBay in a little while. 

I am talking about pages of art though being flipped around a room. 

[Siege Perilous]

How the HELL do you get prices from them? I sent them an inquiry about a few pieces using their site's built in web form and didn't hear back for a month or two, then I sent them an e-mail also asking for prices and it's been radio silence for the last few weeks. What gives? Is there another way to reach them that I should be using? 

[vodou]

28 minutes ago, ZimmermanTelegram said:

How the HELL do you get prices from them? I sent them an inquiry about a few pieces using their site's built in web form and didn't hear back for a month or two, then I sent them an e-mail also asking for prices and it's been radio silence for the last few weeks. What gives? Is there another way to reach them that I should be using? 

I guarantee what you are experiencing right now will be the least frustrating part of dealing further with them.

They're doing you a favor by being slow to respond

Cut your losses and walk. Man. Do it now!

[John E.]

30 minutes ago, ZimmermanTelegram said:

How the HELL do you get prices from them? I sent them an inquiry about a few pieces using their site's built in web form and didn't hear back for a month or two, then I sent them an e-mail also asking for prices and it's been radio silence for the last few weeks. What gives? Is there another way to reach them that I should be using? 

Call them. Number is on their site. Contrary to popular opinion, both Donnellys are nice to talk to.