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Incredible Jon Berk Collection Hits the Auction Block
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Started by delekkerste,

120 posts in this topic

delekkerste

delekkerste

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Another big collection hits the auction block, joining the likes of those of Eric Sack, Doc Dave, Frank Darabont, Ethan Roberts, Ed Summer, etc. in the past couple of years. 

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/02/23/the-jon-berk-original-art-comic-collection-auction-preview/

Edited by delekkerste
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thehumantorch

thehumantorch

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9 minutes ago, Silver Surfer said:

Haven't seen Jon post on the boards for a while, I hope all is well. :wishluck: Collection aside he is truly one of the nicest gentlemen to ever grace these boards. 

Indeed, hope he is well.  Amazing collection and he's always been a class act.

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Weird Paper

Weird Paper

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I spent an afternoon at Jon's back in 2015 looking through his comics and art. I can attest, this is an unbelievable collection! It makes me sad to see it scattered.

Lou Fine, Eisner, Wolverton, all manner of covers and recreations, complete pedigree runs of GA Fox books. Wow... I think my single favorite page was his Jack Burnley Starman page, but the sheer volume is overwhelming.

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delekkerste

delekkerste

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Interesting snippet from a 2005 interview with Berk

There are three practices that I think discourage the market from finding its own level. I have written letters of suggestion to certain companies, but to date, have not received a single response.

1) Not acknowledging when the auction house owns the material, which allows them to set artificially high reserves.

2) Letting employees bid. That, to me, seems a conflict of interest.

3) Not showing that the reserve price has been met in a Web auction. Often, just before an auction closes, the bid will jump sharply, a strong sign that the house is trying to goose bidding closer to the reserve. It detracts from the process and discourages me from bidding.

 

Edited by delekkerste
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delekkerste

delekkerste

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14 minutes ago, Weird Paper said:

I spent an afternoon at Jon's back in 2015 looking through his comics and art. I can attest, this is an unbelievable collection! It makes me sad to see it scattered.

Lou Fine, Eisner, Wolverton, all manner of covers and recreations, complete pedigree runs of GA Fox books. Wow... I think my single favorite page was his Jack Burnley Starman page, but the sheer volume is overwhelming.

Very cool!  Any idea why he is selling now, Roger?  I mean, if you do the math from the 2005 Forbes article I linked above, Berk would be about 65 now, which is a very natural time for people to be selling.  That said, I think many/most people in the hobby just assume that guys like him would hang on to their collections forever.

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JadeGiant

JadeGiant

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52 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

Interesting snippet from a 2005 interview with Berk

There are three practices that I think discourage the market from finding its own level. I have written letters of suggestion to certain companies, but to date, have not received a single response.

1) Not acknowledging when the auction house owns the material, which allows them to set artificially high reserves.

2) Letting employees bid. That, to me, seems a conflict of interest.

3) Not showing that the reserve price has been met in a Web auction. Often, just before an auction closes, the bid will jump sharply, a strong sign that the house is trying to goose bidding closer to the reserve. It detracts from the process and discourages me from bidding.

 

Very interesting.

I had not thought of #1 but he makes a good point.

#2 was a huge revelation to me as I thought it was an obvious conflict of interest as well and was a huge eye opener after winning a few HA lots.

All of this and the shilling fiasco really opened my eyes to the auction houses. I have not placed a bid since.

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Bronty

Bronty

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11 minutes ago, Bronty said:

I see a graded action 1 in the article noted from "the collection of Jon Berk".  

So he's selling the comics, the art, everything?

I'm quite surprised.

Upon closer reading, it looks like its everything.. wow!   As good as his art collection is I suspect the comic collection is better as he got into that much earlier.

 

In addition to the wondrous collection of original art, visitors to the auction preview gallery will also find copies of Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #27, Captain America Comics #1, Fantastic Comics #3 Church Copy, Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1, Fawcett Flash Comics #1, and dozens more.

Edited by Bronty
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buttock

buttock

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1 hour ago, delekkerste said:

Interesting snippet from a 2005 interview with Berk

There are three practices that I think discourage the market from finding its own level. I have written letters of suggestion to certain companies, but to date, have not received a single response.

1) Not acknowledging when the auction house owns the material, which allows them to set artificially high reserves.

2) Letting employees bid. That, to me, seems a conflict of interest.

3) Not showing that the reserve price has been met in a Web auction. Often, just before an auction closes, the bid will jump sharply, a strong sign that the house is trying to goose bidding closer to the reserve. It detracts from the process and discourages me from bidding.

 

Does this mean Steve Fishler and Vincent Z will not be allowed to bid in the auction?  It's not exactly a secret that the Church Fantastic 3 is one of Steve's grails.  

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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3 hours ago, delekkerste said:

Very cool!  Any idea why he is selling now, Roger?  I mean, if you do the math from the 2005 Forbes article I linked above, Berk would be about 65 now, which is a very natural time for people to be selling.  That said, I think many/most people in the hobby just assume that guys like him would hang on to their collections forever.

His collection used to be much larger and included some very special Church runs like the Hits that just sold on Heritage.  He has sold comics over the years to support his move into art and for good things for his family.  His collection is still a joy to view because he has so many rare early comics and a number of gorgeous Church Fox Lou Fine runs and nice chunk of Larsons.  He has been generous in letting others view the collection and in sharing his knowledge with anyone willing to learn.

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Bronty

Bronty

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7 minutes ago, adamstrange said:

His collection used to be much larger and included some very special Church runs like the Hits that just sold on Heritage.  He has sold comics over the years to support his move into art and for good things for his family.  His collection is still a joy to view because he has so many rare early comics and a number of gorgeous Church Fox Lou Fine runs and nice chunk of Larsons.  He has been generous in letting others view the collection and in sharing his knowledge with anyone willing to learn.

Is he selling everything he has?   I understand selling comics to fund art but he's selling both here so just to help the family I guess?

Not that it matters, whatever the reason these pieces will find new owners, just curious.

Edited by Bronty
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adamstrange

adamstrange

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6 minutes ago, Bronty said:

Is he selling everything he has?   I understand selling comics to fund art but he's selling both here so just to help the family I guess?

Not that it matters, whatever the reason these pieces will find new owners, just curious.

Jon participates on the Boards and I don't have personal knowledge of why he's selling everything now so I will let him speak for himself.  He slowed down dramatically more than 10 years ago with respect to adding anything to the collection.

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