Flambit Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) It's good to commiserate with like minded members of the hobby, right? We've all had to pass on stuff here and there, but i was just wondering if anyone had that one 'big one' they passed on, and they still remember, above and beyond all others? My one (was actually two at the same time): I was a young kid at SDCC in the 80s. Been collecting comics for a while, but just discovered the concept of OA, and I was at a table (learned much later it was Albert Moy). He had, literally, stacks of Miller DD at the time. It's like a fever dream remembering what I saw on the table. I wish I'd taken a picture of it. The complete 187 book, the Power Man/IF DD cover... and I remember he had the DD 170 cover -- $600. Then I saw him take someone aside and he pulled out Wolverine 3 -- $800. I begged my parents - haha, I was a kid, didn't work, no money - but they couldn't understand why I would want this ugly stuff that was so much money! Still think about that one every now and then... Edited March 22, 2017 by Flambit Title in body Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Peck Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I have just one story of art that got away but found it years later. I was a poor collage student back some 25 years ago. Phillip Anderson of Booksource (how many remember that) now Artworkworld offered me a two f nice pieces by Bob Layton, one was unpublished X-Factor #1 cover (one of 7 produced and rejected) and what looked like an original X-Men pin-up. Unfortunately I could only afford one and choose the unpublished cover, Phillip included a xerox of the X-Men Pinup along with the unpublished cover. I was never able to get that pin-up, Phillip ended up selling it. So I had been searching ever since for that pin-up. About 10 years ago it popped up on ebay and I ended up being the high bidder. Found out the owner lived south of me in LA. Its up in my CAF: http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=229715 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCarter27 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 The one that still bothers me was a McKean Black Orchid French cover I lost on ebay back in the early 2000s. Thanks for dredging up the pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoMan Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 3 hours ago, Flambit said: It's good to commiserate with like minded members of the hobby, right? We've all had to pass on stuff here and there, but i was just wondering if anyone had that one 'big one' they passed on, and they still remember, above and beyond all others? My one (was actually two at the same time): I was a young kid at SDCC in the 80s. Been collecting comics for a while, but just discovered the concept of OA, and I was at a table (learned much later it was Albert Moy). He had, literally, stacks of Miller DD at the time. It's like a fever dream remembering what I saw on the table. I wish I'd taken a picture of it. The complete 187 book, the Power Man/IF DD cover... and I remember he had the DD 170 cover -- $600. Then I saw him take someone aside and he pulled out Wolverine 3 -- $800. I begged my parents - haha, I was a kid, didn't work, no money - but they couldn't understand why I would want this ugly stuff that was so much money! Still think about that one every now and then... What year was this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flambit Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) Almost positive it was 1986, but it *could* have been 1985. That would make more sense as to why the prices were so insanely low - right before DKR came out and spiked Miller prices. I have no memory of seeing any DKR pages whatsoever. Edited March 22, 2017 by Flambit Spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodou Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Missed a million eBay snipes 15-20 years ago due to last minute meetings at work, Daylight Savings Time, things like that. But the only one that just sat and sat, that I hemmed and hawed over for a year or more and finally missed was: https://web.archive.org/web/19991111052835/http://www.blacklinefever.com/artists/totleben/totleben.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flambit Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 Damn! What an iconic page! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumur Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I wish there were just one. Ugh. Thinking on these hurts. The good news is, just missing or passing on some caused me to absolutely pull the trigger on others that could have easily gone the other way. As I have said several times, I only regret the one's I didn't buy and have never regretted anything I've sold. But a small list of one's that "got away"... A Black Line Fever Elektra Assassin splash ($3500), A Green Arrow Long Bow Hunters cover ($2500), Battle Chasers #1 cover (second printing) (I think $800... maybe LESS), Jeff Lemire's Tales From The Farm cover (I believe $200), A couple Joe Quesada Daredevil pieces... I am sure there are more I am not thinking of right now, but obviously these one's really hurt since they are coming to mind. I am sure more will pop up and I'll scramble back to type those one's out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flambit Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 In a lot of ways, this hobby is heartbreaking. I did get a couple of minor pieces at Moy's table way back when. But I'm just constantly in awe of how insane the prices can get. Kirby's 1970s Captain America books were a tremendously important run in my life and I remember seeing two separate eBay auctions in 2003 for the covers to 197 and 199 (that I couldn't bid on) and both sold for less than 6k each. But I think the auction I really regret, in recent history, was in 2008 when the FF 100 cover sold on Heritage in the mid 50k range. At the time I thought that price was totally nuts, but now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodou Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I remember those eBay Cap covers and even Gene's that he won for 9k or something a few years ago, I've always thought those were overpriced. Even at $5k-ish. There may be nostalgia for certain folks for mid-1970s Cap, but the art ain't all that. First run SA TOS/Cap...that's where it's at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Cooper Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) It goes without saying that this hobby is very immediate in nature because you never want the future you to look back on the past you and say, "C'mon, dude, WTF!!??" At the 2000 Oakland CA Wondercon I vividly remember a display of Miller DD pages from probably 174 to 176 with asking prices of $800.00 to $900.00. I have little regret because I know myself and there was no physical way for me to scratch that money together right on the spot. I was new wife, baby and car at the time. Edited March 22, 2017 by Chris Cooper change Wondercon year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudio Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 This one. Back then I had a mental block going over 10k... I still do. I only have bid over that amount twice and lost both times. This one hurts the most. Not Comic OA but somewhat related. There are Dragonlance comics, after all. https://fineart.ha.com/itm/illustration-art/larry-elmore-american-b1948-death-of-sturm-original-illustration-acrylic-on-board-19-x-19in-signed-lower-le/a/677-58170.s?ic4=OtherResults-SampleItem-071515 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicjack Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 9 hours ago, BCarter27 said: The one that still bothers me was a McKean Black Orchid French cover I lost on ebay back in the early 2000s. Thanks for dredging up the pain. That would bother me also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Sid Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 1 hour ago, Claudio said: This one. Back then I had a mental block going over 10k... I still do. I only have bid over that amount twice and lost both times. This one hurts the most. Not Comic OA but somewhat related. There are Dragonlance comics, after all. https://fineart.ha.com/itm/illustration-art/larry-elmore-american-b1948-death-of-sturm-original-illustration-acrylic-on-board-19-x-19in-signed-lower-le/a/677-58170.s?ic4=OtherResults-SampleItem-071515 Wow! I remember having that calendar. I wouldn't even hang it up on a wall in my room because I liked looking through is so frequently. Great image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyJack Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I was introduced to the world of OA (one day in the late 80s) by walking into my LCS. The owner, Bob Gelner, showed me a Val Mayerik Ka-Zar page. He had no idea what to do with it, if it was worth anything, etc. So he sold it to me for five bucks. Or maybe three. At the time, I thought to myself, "Ooh! Maybe a Kirby page..." The very next page of original art I saw was at a con in K.C. A splash page from Amazing Adventures #6, "Sserppo!" Full on monster shot. I think they were asking $500. I "had to think about it". FoggyNelson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsumavila Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 oh man, this thread is bringing up all sorts of OA regrets There's the time I had a chance to buy one of my favorite Alex Ross pieces - the Super Friends painted cover (homage to Alex Roth's classic image); Rene Dorenbos (sp?) offered it to me over a decade ago for like $5K ... I just couldn't come up with the cash right away and was too inexperienced to ask about time payments. Completely regret letting that one slip through my fingers, because I believe the person who owns it now is off the grid and not even a collector. There's also the eBay auction around 2005, I think, when Bob Larkin's painted cover to the Marvel Super Special Empire Strikes Back was up for sale. It had a BIN of $3K ..and I hesitated. an hour later, it was gone. ARGH. BUT, my biggest regret is probably passing up the chance to buy the cover art to the Absolute HUSH edition -- when I first met Jim Lee (he was a guest on the NBC show I was producing at the time) -- we talked some OA and I asked about what Hush art was left. He said he had just put up an unpublished image on Albert's site, and that if I was smart, I would grab it then, because he fully expected DC to use it on the next collection. It was listed for $5K I believe. I hemmed and hawed, and then it was sold .... le sigh. I stare at this one often on CAF in Han Park's gallery... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flambit Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 12 hours ago, vodou said: I remember those eBay Cap covers and even Gene's that he won for 9k or something a few years ago, I've always thought those were overpriced. Even at $5k-ish. There may be nostalgia for certain folks for mid-1970s Cap, but the art ain't all that. First run SA TOS/Cap...that's where it's at. Well, of course I'd love to have a TOS Cap cover lol! But I think the one with the Super Adaptoid just sold on HA a few years ago, for, like, 150k? That pretty much eliminates that as any kind of possibility in my budget! And that cover was good - but I didn't think fantastic! So imagine how much one of those split IM/Cap TOS covers now would go for! 200k+? Yeah, Jack's art was on the wonky side in the 70's, but that was definitely my era. I get the warm fuzzies looking at his 70's stuff -- especially his 70's Cap stuff. Definitely nostalgia driven, but I think a lot of it is just... wonderful! - for lack of a better word. BTW - do you know what cover he won for 9k? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flambit Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 16 hours ago, Brian Peck said: I have just one story of art that got away but found it years later. I was a poor collage student back some 25 years ago. Phillip Anderson of Booksource (how many remember that) now Artworkworld offered me a two f nice pieces by Bob Layton, one was unpublished X-Factor #1 cover (one of 7 produced and rejected) and what looked like an original X-Men pin-up. Unfortunately I could only afford one and choose the unpublished cover, Phillip included a xerox of the X-Men Pinup along with the unpublished cover. I was never able to get that pin-up, Phillip ended up selling it. So I had been searching ever since for that pin-up. About 10 years ago it popped up on ebay and I ended up being the high bidder. Found out the owner lived south of me in LA. Its up in my CAF: http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=229715 Those stories are the best! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodou Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 37 minutes ago, Flambit said: BTW - do you know what cover he won for 9k? 207 Swine, but I'm sure Gene will correct me if my memory is bad here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 What if Jessica Jones blah blah blah SHIELD? with art by Steve McNiven and inked by Mark Morales, his best inker (but then again I think Mark makes many look great, Clayton henry,etc. but I digress). This is the Steranko homage. Mark was selling it just when it came out and when I was really into Steve McNiven's work (when he left Crossgen for marvel was the bees knees); it was $1200 and although I know Mark well he would not haggle or come down at all. next time I saw him I was ready with the cash but he decided to keep it for himself and I believe he still has it. I ask periodically but no go. One that not only got away but jumped out of the boat was a Moebius Galactus head shot. I thought I had it landed, high bidder on ebay at $95 ($85? maybe) in the late 90s/early 2000s but the piece never showed up. I have the info on a hard drive but not this one (it is playing my music now but has no screen attached; my network should allow me access but blah blah blah) and will know the piece should it show up as it is burned in my brain. I never got a refund; it is mine legally best I can ascertain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
