Bird Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Nostalgia? Nope, none here. I seem to be the only one here who doesn't consider nostalgia a major factor in buying. I went through HA a few minutes ago and am so excited for the Herrimans, Raymonds, and the like - all stuff I never read as a young man or child but what really hits my sweet spots now. I really don't think that nostalgia is a big factor for me. Even on the Mignolas and such that I am looking over it isn't because I recall reading them with any fondness but more of a newer appreciation for the art/style. The one exception may be the Moebius Surfer page, which I recall fondly and would love to own but that is about 51% nostalgia and 49% of my newer quest to get a great Moebius piece. And I would consider the Brunner cover recreation as I loved Doc my whole life but I recently decided Frank Brunner is my favorite regular Doc artist (shut up! I'm allowed! PCR as well), which is why I am considering bidding on that. (I have a groovy Brunner commission but...) I am pretty self-aware but I could be wrong, sure. But are there others out there like me? Looking for new horizons as much as (or more than) looking for past glories? I mean, I might buy my second Winsor McCay and would enjoy that as much as anything I ever read. I mean, I love Walt Simonson and Howard Chaykin who have some good pages in there but I am not tracking them as I would prefer the old stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspense39 Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 I'm pretty much right there with you. The history, shifts and progression of comics as a medium is what I'm mainly interested in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnkurJ Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 (edited) I agree. A very small percentage of my art collection is nostalgia driven. If it was I would have nothing but Mcfarlane and Larsen Spiderman and Jim Lee X-Men/Wildcats. Most actually revolves around characters and art styles I enjoy. Edited April 23, 2017 by AnkurJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thethedew Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 I'm probably over 90% nostalgia-driven. Kohei 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCarter27 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 I would say about half and half at this point based on recent purchases. I would like to get more nostalgia buys, but I'd grow old waiting for them to pop up. Kohei 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sriz Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 I definitely think Nostalgia plays a role. It may not affect everyone to the same degree but Im sure theres quite a few who would agree. Of course, an entire art collection wouldn't be dedicated to it because of availability of the artwork and pricing. That being said, I think there are phases for the new collectors where they initially hit the ground running trying to acquire it but seeing that a lot of it is already in private collections/CAF they would gravitate towards newer art for the sake of having some artwork in their collection. I myself would love to add some 90s artwork but seeing how it may not always be readily available I tend to get what I see appealing now (but I still keep my eyes open for it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panelfan1 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 When I started collecting art - My collecting was almost 100% not nostalgia (in terms of specific series), but lately I am trying to focus a bit more on nostalgia pieces as I find it makes me happy. I started collecting comics in the late 1980s. So my prime nostalgia would be 1985-1995. I still collect comics now. Having always gone back to collect back issues - my comic interests go back to the silver age. In other words as a comic collector buying back issues - extends my nostalgia period. At the same time, I have fallen in love with 50s and 60s illustration art. No idea why - but I love it. So in that case I am with you Bird. Collecting based on pure enjoyment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Hal Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Nostalgia is a plus for me, but at least 80% of my collection comes from comics I've never read. I'm an image-driven collector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 well I appreciate the responses. But I appreciate the page I just bought as a result of this thread even more! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No need to ask, you'll all know when it is safe and sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Peck Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Starting out most of mine was nostalgia driven over time I have expanded my collecting. In the last 15 years I have started to collect more golden age art, illustration or pinup art which doesnt have nostalgia. Nostalgia still is over half of what I collect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malvin Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 I collect both, but nostalgia usually trumps. For a pretty picture, I would pay big dollars if I know the market for that artists/art supports it (and I am getting a reasonable bargain). But if it hits the nostalgia sweet spot, I can and have paid above market. and in terms of total dollars spent. nostalgia probably dominates, and when it's time to sell to fund art purchases, I keep the nostalgic ones. Malvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmaz Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Key books, characters, artists and issues that I have loved for many years are always what I'm looking for at first glance ... but my most recent purchase was the first time I bought something I'd never seen before. Even though it was an artist whom I do like very much. But I still bristle at the idea of it being "nostalgia"... as I think that word has a negative connotation in that you are making foolish decisions to chase long-gone past glories. Buying artists and art whose value (not speaking financial) has stood the test of time over many decades for me, just seems a wise use of my resources... rather than a spur of the moment purchase of an item that, six months from now, I may no longer find I enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Voord Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Nostalgia plays a part in some of the stuff I collect, but I lean more towards artwork I like based purely on aesthetics - rather than something I remember reading as a kiddie. As such, bit of a mixed-bag for me, and there's room in my collection for both . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delekkerste Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 13 hours ago, fmaz said: But I still bristle at the idea of it being "nostalgia"... as I think that word has a negative connotation in that you are making foolish decisions to chase long-gone past glories. Buying artists and art whose value (not speaking financial) has stood the test of time over many decades for me, just seems a wise use of my resources... rather than a spur of the moment purchase of an item that, six months from now, I may no longer find I enjoy. If this hobby is indeed about "buying what you love", then I can think of no better way forward than buying what is nostalgic for me. Why? Because I am confident that, at this point in my life, I will always love the art & stories from the books I read growing up in the early-to-mid '80s (mostly those books published at the time, but also a smattering of back issues and reprint titles featuring earlier material as well), at least with regards to the material that I haven't fallen out of love with between then and now. If I loved it then and still love it now, I have no reason to believe that I will not still love it forever. But, with everything else, it's possible that my tastes could, at least theoretically, change. Looking back at all the pieces I've sold or traded over the years, only a very few were pieces that were in my prime nostalgia zone (and, in every one of those cases, I had better examples by the artist also from that nostalgic period that I kept) - IMO, it's much easier to fall out of love with something that you have no direct nostalgic connection with. Like Brian and others, during the course of my collecting journey, I've branched out into areas beyond that which is directly nostalgic. But, at this point in my collecting endeavors, I've come around to focusing on that which is directly nostalgic for me. I'm going to estimate that ~90% of what I've been collecting in more recent times has been directly fueled by nostalgia, with ~10% being things that I have gotten into later or that just strike me as fun/cool/well executed. At the end of the day, I really do believe that nostalgia plays a larger role than many believe. Even people who now collect things now that they didn't grow up with (e.g., Golden Age comics or Modern OA or Illustration Art, when they grew up with, say, X-Men and TMNT and DKR) - they may have evolved from what they first read and collected, but I think the thrill of discovery and appreciation of the medium all harkens back to memories/feelings/emotions that were cultivated in those early days, and that, in the end, it's STILL largely about nostalgia (even if it's a first or second derivative thereof), even when it doesn't necessarily look like it on the surface. If it really was just about aesthetics and such with zero nostalgia attached, I think more people would have branched farther beyond the comic art medium (and, to be fair, some have), which certainly does not have a monopoly on beautiful aesthetics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodou Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 30 minutes ago, delekkerste said: If it really was just about aesthetics and such with zero nostalgia attached, I think more people would have branched farther beyond the comic art medium (and, to be fair, some have), which certainly does not have a monopoly on beautiful aesthetics. Should I change my screen name to some? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Voord Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Here's something I saw on Mitch Itkowitz's site in recent times . . . Santa Claus by William Joyce (forgive the lousy scan). I know next-to-nothing about the artist, but it's a painting that immediately connected with me. If I had deep-pockets (it's priced at $10,000), I'd have no hesitation pulling the trigger on this one . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 Thanks for the input boys! It is interesting, I read comics as a young child but not between the ages of about 7 -16. I picked them up again in late high school once I started working at 7-11. So maybe there is less of a nostalgia zone for me. I never really collected comics, just kept the ones I bought. I never had a want list or tried to fill back issues. I never went back and read earlier comics at that age. As a kid it was all about Spider-Man (and a little Superman) but I don't think I have any Spidey pieces at all really. (Oh, he is on my Sandy Plunkett zombie hero piece.) I decided as a young adult that I liked Doctor Strange for forging his own path without powers but never read any Doc titles as a kid (sure I saw him as the MU was cohesive in those days). my childhood was Little League, sandlot football, video games and music. Nostalgia rules my music still, although I am open to new favorites (like Jack White) I still follow my oldies...Grateful Dead, Zappa, Beatles, 60s hippy music. I try to get a friend to go see Zappa Plays Zappa or Project Object and he is like "why see that, it is essentially a cover band" and although he is right I dig it. I considered moving out of OA to paintings a few years ago but really love the b/w linework, which is why I have gone to Toppi, Moebius, McCay, Raymond et al instead. I love the medium and I love the art. If I won the lottery I would still buy a Pollock above all else but entering a market is not something I have the stamina for and since OA gives me so much joy why I have no incentive to move out of collecting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Voord Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 (edited) I suppose you could transpose this school of thought to music (music being to the ears what artwork is to the eyes). Does your record collection mainly consist of stuff you listened to at an impressionable age, or has it moved with the times - and you're open to any of the latest tracks that may connect with you? Same could be said of Books, Movies and TV shows . . . Edited April 24, 2017 by The Voord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 1 minute ago, The Voord said: I suppose you could transpose this school of thought to music (music being to the ears what artwork is to the eyes). Does your record collection mainly consist of stuff you listened to at an impressionable age, or has it moved with the times - and you're open to any the latest tracks that may connect with you? Same could be said of Books, Movies and TV shows . . . I have to assume there is a correlation to whether or not people are still reading new comics, and how much they're willing to put into the pursuit of nostalgic art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delekkerste Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 2 hours ago, vodou said: Should I change my screen name to some? Given how many pieces of artwork you own, perhaps you should change your screen name to "all" instead of "some". alxjhnsn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
