• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Action Comics #1 Cover color proof - ComicConnect
0

100 posts in this topic

31 minutes ago, Hekla said:

You are correct - it's LOC

http://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2008/04/library-of-congress-acquires-spider-mans-birth-certificate/

I find it surprising that this happened in 2008... I was under the impression it had been donated years earlier and that the donator was known.

I think the most well circulated rumor is that it was donated by Marie Severin, popular for a number of reasons, but to the best of my knowledge, there is no verification. There are several threads about it here on the forums. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/14/2017 at 3:34 PM, vodou said:

 

 

I'm nobody special, that's for sure, but I've never heard even a rumor, hint or sniff of Action #1 cover existing in more than twenty-five years of hanging out with old-timers and doing this myself. So it's either an exceptional secret or...?

However, having written that last, there are also a number of treasure troves that went semi-public (to the hobby only in other words, not the mainstream media) in the 1970s and early 80s and the contents were never fully documented, just the stuff that hit CBG/etc is publicly known. So there's an excellent chance that the best of the best was kept back or sold quietly first to known deep pockets of the day outright. Mr. Mile High himself early distributed the MH keys in exactly the same manner. Whether those OA troves included Action #1 cover, who knows... Aspects of the Ed Summer collection, for example, were a surprise to many a long-time collector but to others not so much. So maybe some exceptionable secrets are closely held by people that actually know how to keep a secret? This would not be unprecedented, even today w/social media, that same technology which old-timers aren't so user-friendly with. (None of which is to suggest that Ed Summer ever had anything to do with or ever owned the Action #1 cover, let's not let our imaginations run away here!) There are other "Ed Summers" out there.

I would tend to agree that the cover's probably non-existent.

 

Re: the interior, I want to be clear.   No pages from Action 1 itself are known to exist.  Several panels that were used in the first page exist but they exist as part of the first newspaper strip.   As I understand it, the strip was created first, and then when they got the order for Action comics the art was "cut up and pasted" and "redone" to become Action 1.  Which begs a few questions.   Were stats were made from the newspaper strip panels and pasted onto larger art board?   Were the Action 1 pages art or stats or a combo?  If  the action 1 art was entirely pasted up original art panels from the strip, it would mean the OA for at least one strip was then reconstituted in its original form as a newspaper strip.   

So until somebody with more knowledge weighs in it is a mystery.  We know the strip was done first, and then recut (either the OA or stats) to make Action 1.   But we also know the strip was later purchased.   So did they stat the strips before they cut them up for Action 1?   Or did they cut up the strip OA to constitute Action 1 and then cut it up again to make the strips?   Or what?

 

 

Edited by bluechip
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cons: As comic art it is twice removed. Color art on a line art copy and not the color set used in production. So perhaps this could be called a color guide concept piece? 

Pros: Only verified surviving hand drawn art related to the cover of Action 1.  If you presented this item in public it would generate a buzz with the general public greater than many pieces of comic art that will end up costing much more. 

See it as memorabilia instead of art if you must but you can't say that it isn't historically important, interesting or cool as hell. Nor can you say that if it was offered it to a museum that deals in this type of material that they would turn it away. It is a small part of the history of the single most important comic in the history of comics. 

 

Edited by buyatari
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, buyatari said:

It is a small part of the history of the single most important comic in the history of comics.

So are any of the surviving ca. 100 copies of the book itself...which will always resonate more with the public-at-large. I think Gene's point was valid (comic vs. wrong colors color guide), and possibly mine too that the market of real buyers would be limited to those that already own Action #1 in print form or deal in/out of it regularly. Donations? Who knows on that, but I bet they wouldn't take it if they didn't have or have a line on an Action #1 comic to put next to it. Right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, vodou said:

So are any of the surviving ca. 100 copies of the book itself...which will always resonate more with the public-at-large. I think Gene's point was valid (comic vs. wrong colors color guide), and possibly mine too that the market of real buyers would be limited to those that already own Action #1 in print form or deal in/out of it regularly. Donations? Who knows on that, but I bet they wouldn't take it if they didn't have or have a line on an Action #1 comic to put next to it. Right?

I can live with that but there are other people saying they would pass on this item at $250.00. 

As you say these items aren't always a this or that equation for buyers. Does a bigger Superman collector who already owns a mid grade example of Action 1 want another lower grade copy more than this? Honestly, I can't answer for him but I too could see him wanting both Action 1 comic and this. 

As for the museum it would depend on things we can not answer without asking them directly. You might get a different answers from the Smithsonian and Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum. Some museums are very concerned with condition and would pass or never display very low grade examples of the book. Perhaps said museum has a higher grade example of the book already and then the choice is an easy one. In at least some of these possible cases I would say that a museum would rather have this over a lower grade copy of the book. 

Edited by buyatari
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, buyatari said:

I can live with that but there are other people saying they would pass on this item at $250.00

As you say these items aren't always a this or that equation for buyers. Does a bigger Superman collector who already owns a mid grade example of Action 1 want another lower grade copy more than this? Honestly, I can't answer for him but I too could see him wanting both Action 1 comic and this. 

As for the museum it would depend on things we can not answer without asking them directly. You might get a different answers from the Smithsonian and Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum. Some museums are very concerned with condition and would pass or never display very low grade examples of the book. Perhaps said museum has a higher grade example of the book already and then the choice is an easy one. In at least some of these possible cases I would say that a museum would rather have this over a lower grade copy of the book. 

When people say they'd pass on something at 250 when all the available evidence is that many would pay five figures for it, then I think it's safe to say that their point in making that comment publicly is to try to lessen what other people might pay for it.   I have seen a lot of this and everybody needs to consider whether the "advice" they're getting is good or even well-intentioned.   I bid low on this when it was offered because I was talked down by people who, in the same conversation, talked up the value of things which, at the time, struck no chord in me or in the average person (and which today would still get a "huh?" from nearly anybody you spoke to outside the hobby.   Part of me wishes I had bought this years ago and part of me is glad not to be financially invested in whether people insist on trying to slam the value down.   

 

Edited by bluechip
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, buyatari said:

I can live with that but there are other people saying they would pass on this item at $250.00.

Yes. That is me.

3 hours ago, bluechip said:

When people say they'd pass on something at 250 when all the available evidence is that many would pay five figures for it, then I think it's safe to say that their point in making that comment publicly is to try to lessen what other people might pay for it.

Unsafe to say. I only care what I pay for things, not what anybody else does (unless I'm the seller ;) ) I have no agenda.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, bluechip said:

I bid low on this when it was offered because I was talked down by people who, in the same conversation, talked up the value of things which, at the time, struck no chord in me or in the average person (and which today would still get a "huh?" from nearly anybody you spoke to outside the hobby.   Part of me wishes I had bought this years ago and part of me is glad not to be financially invested in whether people insist on trying to slam the value down.  

I wasn't aware that this was previously known to the hobby and auctioned. When and where and what did it hammer for?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, vodou said:

I wasn't aware that this was previously known to the hobby and auctioned. When and where and what did it hammer for?

Don't remember the exact date but it was more than 20 years ago and as I recall the Action 1 piece was in a lot that also included print proofs of other Action covers, including a 7.   The lot went for more than 10K but I can't say how much more.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, vodou said:

Yes. That is me.

Unsafe to say. I only care what I pay for things, not what anybody else does (unless I'm the seller ;) ) I have no agenda.

I'll take your word at that but I think it's reasonable to say that when you know something sold for five figures decades ago and people in the same discussion are saying they will bid higher, that it's either untrue that you would pay 250, knowing you would make a killing by flipping it the same day, or that you are straining to make a point that it's not worth as much as others are saying it is.   And from that it's reasonable to think there's an agenda because 999 times out of a thousand, people saying the same thing under smiilar circumstances would have one.   But again I'll give you the benefit of the doubt

Edited by bluechip
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, bluechip said:

Don't remember the exact date but it was more than 20 years ago and as I recall the Action 1 piece was in a lot that also included print proofs of other Action covers, including a 7.   The lot went for more than 10K but I can't say how much more.

 

Ah interesting thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/13/2017 at 5:20 PM, vodou said:

Not me. I'd be out at $250. Seriously. Not even sure about that the more I think on it. Speaking as a keeper though, not a spec/flip.

 

On 11/13/2017 at 5:45 PM, SquareChaos said:

This is probably the most extreme statement I've seen in this thread. $250 isn't even walking around money in this hobby. I'm a small fry that rarely ever even got into DC cape comics, let alone DC OA and I wouldn't pass it by at any such price... basically any price that wouldn't force me to sell something else or sacrifice my pursuit of something I wanted more.

 

On 11/13/2017 at 6:27 PM, vodou said:

Yes it is the most extreme. This 'thing' (even that is a compliment imo) is a total zero. $250 is now off the table lol

 

25 minutes ago, bluechip said:

I'll take your word at that but I think it's reasonable to say that when you know something sold for five figures decades ago and people in the same discussion are saying they will bid higher, that it's either untrue that you would pay 250, knowing you would make a killing by flipping it the same day, or that you are straining to make a point that it's not worth as much as others are saying it is.   And from that it's reasonable to think there's an agenda because 999 times out of a thousand, people saying the same thing under smiilar circumstances would have one.   But again I'll give you the benefit of the doubt

I guess you are referencing some other folks, not just me, even though it's me that put $250 into the thread? Because I didn't know about "for five figures decades ago" until you just told me. So that must be somebody else you're confusing me with. And my first self-quote above is "Speaking as a keeper though, not a spec/flip." $250 (tops) is all I'd lay into it as sunk money. And as soon as I wrote it...I knew it was high and I was already backpedaling. And remain backpedaled to present as well. "The Hobby" can get all hot 'n sweaty for this if they want, but it really does nothing for me. The end ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, vodou said:

 

 

 

I guess you are referencing some other folks, not just me, even though it's me that put $250 into the thread? Because I didn't know about "for five figures decades ago" until you just told me. So that must be somebody else you're confusing me with. And my first self-quote above is "Speaking as a keeper though, not a spec/flip." $250 (tops) is all I'd lay into it as sunk money. And as soon as I wrote it...I knew it was high and I was already backpedaling. And remain backpedaled to present as well. "The Hobby" can get all hot 'n sweaty for this if they want, but it really does nothing for me. The end ;)

I did not see your earlier remark re "speaking as a keeper..." not as a spec/flip.   But I was pretty sure I'd seen others say it sold for 10K or so once before and also say they would pay five figures now.   So buying it for for 240 isn't really a spec/fl;ip because it's a guaranteed flip,   "Spec" implies you don't know if it's worth the amount you're paying and just hoping not to lose money.  

There are many things I have seen sell for six figures which I would not pay 250 for if it was all about keeping and never reselling.   But I would never venture to say on a public board about a unique or rate item that is currently up for sale an actual person is selling, because I would want to avoid interfering with them getting a price that is seen as reasonable by many other people.   Helll, I don't even feel right saying it about items that are clearly far from unique and which make my head spin when I see what people are paying.  Unless I know the person selling is a scammer and the item will never ever be worth even one percent of what some poor person is paying and I know the buyer is doing so in a vain hope of paying for his kids' tuition, it just doesn't feel like my business.

 

Edited by bluechip
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 18/11/2017 at 2:30 PM, bluechip said:

When people say they'd pass on something at 250 when all the available evidence is that many would pay five figures for it, then I think it's safe to say that their point in making that comment publicly is to try to lessen what other people might pay for it.   I have seen a lot of this and everybody needs to consider whether the "advice" they're getting is good or even well-intentioned.   I bid low on this when it was offered because I was talked down by people who, in the same conversation, talked up the value of things which, at the time, struck no chord in me or in the average person (and which today would still get a "huh?" from nearly anybody you spoke to outside the hobby.   Part of me wishes I had bought this years ago and part of me is glad not to be financially invested in whether people insist on trying to slam the value down.   

I totally understand where you are coming from. I can empathize with your sentiment, particularly because it will be two years in January when a pinnacle piece in another hobby I'm active in came to market, and saw of lot of this back and forth going on, with far more negative things being said to drag the piece down. I wasnt the seller, but I did assist the seller in eventually finding a buyer. I don't understand it, and this is arguably the production art piece to own for the collector who appreciates it for what it is, what it represents and for it's historical significance. All said, I honestly believe that none of this discussion will matter to those who have already allocated wall space for it, and whose only obstruction is the competition and the 17 days before they know with certainty it's theirs.

Edited by comicwiz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, comicwiz said:

All said, I honestly believe that none of this discussion will matter to those who have already allocated wall space for it, and whose only obstruction is the competition and the 17 days before they know with certainty it's theirs.

Absolutely. If I thought my opinion being made public would move the needle even $500 in either direction I'd have kept it to myself, exactly as I do on everything that's realistically possible for the average household income sort of collector. (And where my opinion pre-sale and public might affect the outcome.) "Average" is what I am and why I think nobody with $$$$ (above average +++) even cares what I think :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, vodou said:

Absolutely. If I thought my opinion being made public would move the needle even $500 in either direction I'd have kept it to myself, exactly as I do on everything that's realistically possible for the average household income sort of collector. (And where my opinion pre-sale and public might affect the outcome.) "Average" is what I am and why I think nobody with $$$$ (above average +++) even cares what I think :)

I'll take your word on that.   I probably err on the side of holding back too much sometimes, because I feel some people go too far in trying to knock a price down.   There's a diff between saying it's not for you and saying that nobody should ever buy this and they will lose money if they do etc etc.   

I saw so much of this in comics I wished I had gotten much earlier and heavily into comic art, but I didn't.   Yet there you can also see people staking positions that seem to have agendas.   Coincidentally I was writing up a pitch to someone on a piece I have and I added in the public comments of naysayers who disputed the artist's own published recollections about his work on the piece.   Then in a search for similar pieces I saw a dealer was saying that the artist "did not touch" any of the pages in the book, and I had to amend my comments to say "oh and by the way this dealer is also saying he doesn't think that artist worked on the book."   Which raised the question why did I think so and I said because the artist had gone on record in emails that he'd worked on it and that I'd spoken directly to the artist myself when he said it.   That's when I remembered where I was when I spoke to the artist.   I was at the dealer's table (the same dealer who said the artist "didn't touch a single page" of the book) and standing about two feet away from the same dealer, as the artist described how he'd worked on every page.     So, either the dealer's memory is off, or he's calling wildly_fanciful_statement on me and other people, and even on the artist himself.   I cannot say what goes on in people's minds, or why some are so compelled to sh*t on things they aren't selling, but I feel like we should at least be able to expect some consistency (unless the consistency is that it will be sh*t on when somebody else owns it and gold when they own it.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
0