Confessions of a Newbie Collector 1 1

[exitmusicblue]

12 hours ago, Skizz said:

Uh ... so turns out breaking my vow of abstinence and buying that cheap page some weeks back may in fact have opened up the floodgates.

Just won an auction for the most I’ve ever paid for a piece of comic art. My hands were shaking when the auction ended. Felt like I was going to throw up. And despite all this, I still think I got the page for a bargain.

And now I’m on Heritage looking up future auctions. Somebody hit me in the back of head with a baseball bat and stop me already. 

 I started with a nice Venom: Lethal Protector page for something like $200.  Felt like a reasonable purchase, a reasonable hobby.

Fast forward some years, and I sold 1/3 of my high-end comic collection to raise ~20k for a Frazetta OA.  And couldn't be happier with it...

It's been about 2 months since I last purchased any OA.  I've found the key to suppression is to get stuff that just blows you away, and sates the madness for as long as possible.

Edited April 24, 2020 by exitmusicblue

[alxjhnsn]

14 hours ago, Skizz said:

Somebody hit me in the back of head with a baseball bat and stop me already. 

Warned you. As for the baseball bats, significant others usually do that.

[Skizz]

15 hours ago, alxjhnsn said:

As for the baseball bats, significant others usually do that.

So what you’re saying is that I should get all my buying done now before I have to settle down with a significant other? 

[Rick2you2]

3 hours ago, Skizz said:

So what you’re saying is that I should get all my buying done now before I have to settle down with a significant other? 

Not a bad thought, but this stuff is addictive. If you find a significant other, break her in, early on, to the hobby and the buying propensities it generates. Do what you can to get her to accept you and the hobby as a package deal. But, don’t be surprised if you one day hear: “what do you love more, me or comic art?” So, gear up now for a good answer to that one. And if she ever does pull that sh*t on you, you have found a controlling woman. Caveat emptor, and that isn’t about art.

[alxjhnsn]

9 hours ago, Skizz said:

So what you’re saying is that I should get all my buying done now before I have to settle down with a significant other? 

You might enjoy this story about me and my love.

[Skizz]

23 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

Not a bad thought, but this stuff is addictive. If you find a significant other, break her in, early on, to the hobby and the buying propensities it generates. Do what you can to get her to accept you and the hobby as a package deal. But, don’t be surprised if you one day hear: “what do you love more, me or comic art?” So, gear up now for a good answer to that one. And if she ever does pull that sh*t on you, you have found a controlling woman. Caveat emptor, and that isn’t about art.

This the first thing a girl sees when she walks into my humble studio apartment.

So if she later complains then I’d probably be like ...

Edited April 25, 2020 by Skizz

[Skizz]

17 hours ago, alxjhnsn said:

You might enjoy this story about me and my love.

You two look good together. Nice one Alex. 

Interesting article. For what it matters I don’t think there is that stigma around comics anymore. I buy my little cousins, boys and girls, comics and manga all the time.  But maybe I’m a little biased as I write and draw comics (as a side gig) and it’s normalised for everyone around me. 

[Rick2you2]

40 minutes ago, Skizz said:

This the first thing a girl sees when she walks into my humble studio apartment.

So if she later complains then I’d probably be like ...

Clearly, things have changed since my day, but she will definitely get the message. In my misspent youth, I would have let my decorating be a little softer and warmer.

[Lorne.T]

7 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

Clearly, things have changed since my day, but she will definitely get the message. In my misspent youth, I would have let my decorating be a little softer and warmer.

Nice to see you've set up a colouring book for her kids.

[Will_K]

On 4/25/2020 at 5:52 PM, Skizz said:

So if she later complains then I’d probably be like ...

 

You should actually put this on the wall.  I'm serious.

[Skizz]

 

On 4/26/2020 at 7:37 AM, Lorne.T said:

Nice to see you've set up a colouring book for her kids.

That’s the stuff of nightmares.

17 hours ago, Will_K said:

You should actually put this on the wall.  I'm serious.

Hmm 

[Skizz]

Latest addition to my Alan Moore collection. 

Tom Strong #21 page 14, pencilled by Jerry Ordway and inked by Richard Friend. 

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1628236

When I got into collecting original comic art a few years ago, I said to myself that I only want panel pages.  That’s where the real execution of skill in the comic medium lay.  And yet, here I am with my last two purchases being splash pages. In my defence however, I did get really good deals on these. At least I think so. 

Also, this page features a whole heap of characters from America’s Best Comics alternate universe, including Promethea, Splash Brannigan, Cobweb and, my favourite, The Pangaean. 

[Skizz]

On 4/30/2020 at 1:51 PM, Skizz said:

Latest addition to my Alan Moore collection. 

Tom Strong #21 page 14, pencilled by Jerry Ordway and inked by Richard Friend. 

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1628236

When I got into collecting original comic art a few years ago, I said to myself that I only want panel pages.  That’s where the real execution of skill in the comic medium lay.  And yet, here I am with my last two purchases being splash pages. In my defence however, I did get really good deals on these. At least I think so. 

Also, this page features a whole heap of characters from America’s Best Comics alternate universe, including Promethea, Splash Brannigan, Cobweb and, my favourite, The Pangaean. 

Okay, so this looks AMAZING next to my Corona home office! 

I can see what all the fuss with splash pages and covers is all about.

Thinking of going full Donnelly Bros on this now, and adding trade dress and pretending this is an alternative cover. 

Edited May 1, 2020 by Skizz

[mtlevy1]

On 4/25/2020 at 3:39 PM, Rick2you2 said:

Clearly, things have changed since my day, but she will definitely get the message. In my misspent youth, I would have let my decorating be a little softer and warmer.

Looks very clean and tidy

 

[Skizz]

So I feel I’ve crossed something of a rubicon in my comic art collecting. 

I’ve still not bought a singular piece of art that’s over $1,000.  BUT, over the last week and half, I’ve spent nearly $1,500 buying two pieces that I had been pining after on dealer sites for some three years. 

I know this is a paltry sum in the comic art hobby. But it feels like a HUGE deal to me. 

Also, I came THIS close to bidding on some Kirby art in then recent Heritage Auction. 

[Rick2you2]

25 minutes ago, Skizz said:

So I feel I’ve crossed something of a rubicon in my comic art collecting. 

I’ve still not bought a singular piece of art that’s over $1,000.  BUT, over the last week and half, I’ve spent nearly $1,500 buying two pieces that I had been pining after on dealer sites for some three years. 

I know this is a paltry sum in the comic art hobby. But it feels like a HUGE deal to me. 

Also, I came THIS close to bidding on some Kirby art in then recent Heritage Auction. 

I wouldn’t call that a Rubicon— if your income supports. In my view, the Rubicon is crossed if you venture into non disposable income territory. Just as Julius Caesar was forbidden from bring his troops into Rome proper’s territory under Roman law by crossing the Rubicon, when he did so, he risked trouble. 

Edited May 3, 2020 by Rick2you2

[Skizz]

34 minutes ago, Rick2you2 said:

I wouldn’t call that a Rubicon— if your income supports. In my view, the Rubicon is crossed if you venture into non disposable income territory. Just as Julius Caesar was forbidden from bring his troops into Rome proper’s territory under Roman law by crossing the Rubicon, when he did so, he risked trouble. 

You’re quite right. I did wait until now to make sure my income supports it. Wrong choice of word ... perhaps I should have said ‘crossed a mental barrier’ or ‘threshold’. That said, I’m not entirely sure I’m not risking trouble ;-p

 

[Skizz]

Today, I had a dream about meeting Moebius and getting a commission from him. I mean an actual dream. Not a figurative ‘I have a dream’ dream.

I first spoke to a guy called Luke, who was either his rep or claimed to have connection to Mœbius. The guy said that the price of the commission was £310 British pound sterling plus another specific piece of art for trade. 

I don’t remember what that piece of art was but I remember that I didn’t have that page.  But somehow I managed to track down the person who did. I think the guy’s name was Asif. My memory of this part is vague, but I recall Asif being quite willing to do a deal with me. A little too amenable actually.  He was giving it away for free or for a ridiculously low value. I asked why he was giving this art away so easily; he said it belonged to his girlfriend Cathy whom he had broken up with recently and was doing this to spite her. I didn’t feel comfortable taking the art under those circumstances, so didn’t go through with the deal.  In retrospect, the girlfriend part was something out of the movie High Fidelity that I had watched recently; so it’s likely that the movie was on my mind. 

In any case, returning to my dream, now that I didn’t have the art to trade for that commission, I figured I’d negotiate further with Luke and see if I could convince him to let me have the Mœbius piece for money alone or if there was something else he wanted.  So I messaged Luke and I can’t remember what the contents of my correspondence with Luke were, but somehow I managed to speak to Mœbius directly on the phone.  

Moebius spoke English in my dream. The details are vague but he was excitedly regaling me about all these interesting new techniques he was considering adding to his art style. I asked if he would include these new techniques in my commission. He said “don’t be ridiculous, you’re not paying me nearly enough”. I guess even in my dreams I’m a cheap a$s and Mœbius is pretty sharp.  He then invited me to a talk he was giving in Harvard University and said I could pick up the art there.

Now although I’m based in the UK, in my dream, bizarrely I was able to walk to the talk in Harvard.  I don’t remember what the talk was about.  I think it was a panel of five. I vaguely remember not paying attention to the talk and impatiently texting Luke on my phone, waiting for Moebius to arrive.

Moebius came out at some point during a break in the talk and gave me my commission. It was drawn on a pink A4 size paper, folded twice like a leaflet. There were three small pen and ink drawings, one on each of folding of the leaflet.  I don’t remember what two of the drawings were, but the one in the middle was a self portrait of Mœbius.  He also wrote a short paragraph of inscription in English, that ran across the lengthy of the page.  It was signed in shiny glittery pen at the end by Mœbius.

But before I could read what the inscription said, I woke up ... disappointed that I was out of a Mœbius commission. 

Edited May 10, 2020 by Skizz

[Rick2you2]

2 hours ago, Skizz said:

Today, I had a dream about meeting Moebius and getting a commission from him. I mean an actual dream. Not a figurative ‘I have a dream’ dream.

I first spoke to a guy called Luke, who was either his rep or claimed to have connection to Mœbius. The guy said that the price of the commission was £310 British pound sterling plus another specific piece of art for trade. 

I don’t remember what that piece of art was but I remember that I didn’t have that page.  But somehow I managed to track down the person who did. I think the guy’s name was Asif. My memory of this part is vague, but I recall Asif being quite willing to do a deal with me. A little too amenable actually.  He was giving it away for free or for a ridiculously low value. I asked why he was giving this art away so easily; he said it belonged to his girlfriend Cathy whom he had broken up with recently and was doing this to spite her. I didn’t feel comfortable taking the art under those circumstances, so didn’t go through with the deal.  In retrospect, the girlfriend part was something out of the movie High Fidelity that I had watched recently; so it’s likely that the movie was on my mind. 

In any case, returning to my dream, now that I didn’t have the art to trade for that commission, I figured I’d negotiate further with Luke and see if I could convince him to let me have the Mœbius piece for money alone or if there was something else he wanted.  So I messaged Luke and I can’t remember what the contents of my correspondence with Luke were, but somehow I managed to speak to Mœbius directly on the phone.  

Moebius spoke English in my dream. The details are vague but he was excitedly regaling me about all these interesting new techniques he was considering adding to his art style. I asked if he would include these new techniques in my commission. He said “don’t be ridiculous, you’re not paying me nearly enough”. I guess even in my dreams I’m a cheap a$s and Mœbius is pretty sharp.  He then invited me to a talk he was giving in Harvard University and said I could pick up the art there.

Now although I’m based in the UK, in my dream, bizarrely I was able to walk to the talk in Harvard.  I don’t remember what the talk was about.  I think it was a panel of five. I vaguely remember not paying attention to the talk and impatiently texting Luke on my phone, waiting for Moebius to arrive.

Moebius came out at some point during a break in the talk and gave me my commission. It was drawn on a pink A4 size paper, folded twice like a leaflet. There were three small pen and ink drawings, one on each of folding of the leaflet.  I don’t remember what two of the drawings were, but the one in the middle was a self portrait of Mœbius.  He also wrote a short paragraph of inscription in English, that ran across the lengthy of the page.  It was signed in shiny glittery pen at the end by Mœbius.

But before I could read what the inscription said, I woke up ... disappointed that I was out of a Mœbius commission. 

I think you need a date, or if unavailable, consider porn. 

[Will_K]

1 hour ago, Rick2you2 said:

I think you need a date, or if unavailable, consider porn. 

Or a Moebius piece written by Alan Moore.  WTF.

"Confessions of a Newbie Collector" is going to another level.