Fake Bruce Timm art 0

[Rick2you2]

I just saw these for sale on eBay and they are supposed to be by Bruce Timm. That's doesn't seem right. Maybe Jeff Shulz (actually, I think he's better than these)?

I know I have been told that eBay won't do anything, but if these are counterfeit, what if eBay received a flurry of notices advising them of this fact? Would it still be ignored?

Since Moy is his rep, would it help if he were alerted so he could alert eBay? It would protect the value of his client's actual work.

   

Edited March 27, 2018 by Rick2you2
A further thought added

[Madman1138]

Yeah, the line weights are all off and the linework is hesitant. Bruce's linework is more fluid from what I have seen. I have also never seen Bruce use red pencil to lay it out and even color a bit, just blue pencil, so that seems odd too. Everything about these sketches feels off, accept the seller has a pretty high score and solid feedback which is unusual for a forgery seller. So maybe he doesn't know they are fake?

There have been several active art forgers selling on eBay lately, especially selling fake Art Adams, Bruce TImm, and Todd McFarlane sketches. Those of us in the Fans of Art Adams FB page report the auctions in a flurry like you mention and sometimes it gets taken down and sometimes it doesn't, but he always relists and they always sell eventually. Some even sell twice. So eBay really doesn't care. All we can really do is warn potential buyers here and on FB, unfortunately.

[Sideshow Bob]

These are in my daughters' room. No hesitancy on the lines. No red pencil. 

 

[Sideshow Bob]

And a CGC Witnessed sketch. Same story. 

 

[Madman1138]

Yeah, looking at the eBay ones again, they are just too "off" to be by Bruce. Harley's neck is too long and thin and her head is too small. Usually it's more rounded and full.

Here are some of my BT sketches for a closer look, and like the ones above they are clearly different than the eBay ones, which don't look at all like Bruce drew them.

[Sideshow Bob]

Looks like the Joker has been pulled, but Harley with the skinny neck is still there. I reported the Harley to eBay and sent the seller a note as well. Maybe something happens and the people who have bid it over $100can get a re-do. 

[Madman1138]

49 minutes ago, Sideshow Bob said:

Looks like the Joker has been pulled, but Harley with the skinny neck is still there. I reported the Harley to eBay and sent the seller a note as well. Maybe something happens and the people who have bid it over $100can get a re-do. 

The auction is for both the Joker and the Harley together, both pieces in the one auction, so nothing has been pulled. But hopefully they will pull it.

[Rick2you2]

7 hours ago, Madman1138 said:

The auction is for both the Joker and the Harley together, both pieces in the one auction, so nothing has been pulled. But hopefully they will pull it.

I just sent Albert Moy a note about it since he's Timm's representative. Presumably, he has the most interest in protecting Timm's reputation, besides Timm, and if they are fake, doing something. Maybe even asking Timm to send a note to eBay or the seller if they are fake.

 

[Catwoman_Fan]

On 3/28/2018 at 7:31 AM, Rick2you2 said:

I just sent Albert Moy a note about it since he's Timm's representative. Presumably, he has the most interest in protecting Timm's reputation, besides Timm, and if they are fake, doing something. Maybe even asking Timm to send a note to eBay or the seller if they are fake.

 

They're still up.  Did Albert respond back to you?

[buyatari]

In the early 1990s I was studying Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey California. Bruce Timm was there with his crew doing free sketches at a local comic shop. When it was my turn I asked for "Batman kicking my " he made a reply about not knowing he would be doing caricatures today but as unusual as my request was he did it for me. You can see blue lines in the piece if you look close. 

As for the possible fakes on eBay Albert should look into the VERO program. Once you get accepted into this program you can have potential counterfeit eBay items pulled without question. 

 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2018 by buyatari

[Rick2you2]

15 hours ago, Catwoman_Fan said:

They're still up.  Did Albert respond back to you?

No.

"No good deed goes unpunished."

[Rick2you2]

9 hours ago, buyatari said:

In the early 1990s I was studying Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey California. Bruce Timm was there with his crew doing free sketches at a local comic shop. When it was my turn I asked for "Batman kicking my " he made a reply about not knowing he would be doing caricatures today but as unusual as my request was he did it for me. You can see blue lines in the piece if you look close. 

As for the possible fakes on eBay Albert should look into the VERO program. Once you get accepted into this program you can have potential counterfeit eBay items pulled without question. 

 

 

 

What struck me about the eBay pieces is: (a) the proportionality of Harley's neck, in particular, was off; Timm's characters may be cartoony, but proportionality is maintained (unless the part in question is deliberately part of the caricature, like his nudes); (b) his lines are steady and confident; and (c) there is a tightness to his lines you don't see in eBay images. For example, the additional spittle and lines coming from the Joker adds nothing to the facial image which was drawn. That's why I'm pretty sure they are fakes.

[Catwoman_Fan]

4 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

No.

"No good deed goes unpunished."

I think Albert (or maybe Bruce) does not concern himself with fakes and ebay.  Albert may help authenticate pieces recently purchased from him, but otherwise doesn't keep track of Bruce's art.

Unfortunately, I think the only way to validate it is by asking Bruce in person (at SDCC). 

[Rick2you2]

3 hours ago, Catwoman_Fan said:

I think Albert (or maybe Bruce) does not concern himself with fakes and ebay.  Albert may help authenticate pieces recently purchased from him, but otherwise doesn't keep track of Bruce's art.

Unfortunately, I think the only way to validate it is by asking Bruce in person (at SDCC). 

That's a shame because counterfeits reduce the value of the real thing. If people spend money on a fake, it's money not spend on something authentic. And, it damages the reputation of the artist by making people think the artist did inferior work. 

[Sideshow Bob]

I sent a note to the seller. No response, which is unfortunate. Is it worth winning the auction, then returning it for a full refund, and getting the chance to leave negative feedback on the seller? Frustrating to be this powerless, when you see someone about to be swindled...

 

[Rick2you2]

4 hours ago, Sideshow Bob said:

I sent a note to the seller. No response, which is unfortunate. Is it worth winning the auction, then returning it for a full refund, and getting the chance to leave negative feedback on the seller? Frustrating to be this powerless, when you see someone about to be swindled...

 

 

4 hours ago, Sideshow Bob said:

I sent a note to the seller. No response, which is unfortunate. Is it worth winning the auction, then returning it for a full refund, and getting the chance to leave negative feedback on the seller? Frustrating to be this powerless, when you see someone about to be swindled...

 

Only if they know. Care to send an email to the eventual winner that he may have just bought fakes?

[malvin]

2 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

 

Only if they know. Care to send an email to the eventual winner that he may have just bought fakes?

Err how do you propose to send an email to the winner? 

Malvin 

[grapeape]

7 hours ago, Sideshow Bob said:

I sent a note to the seller. No response, which is unfortunate. Is it worth winning the auction, then returning it for a full refund, and getting the chance to leave negative feedback on the seller? Frustrating to be this powerless, when you see someone about to be swindled...

 

For what it's worth I emailed the seller. See his reply below.

New message from: devizioncomics (652)   got this from Bruce at the San Diego Comic 2015  yes for 2 sketches   Reply

Your previous message Hi just a few questions. Did you get these from Bruce directly? Also this auction is for two sketches? One of Harley and one Joker? Thanks for your time..Mike

[grapeape]

On 3/27/2018 at 8:50 AM, Sideshow Bob said:

These are in my daughters' room. No hesitancy on the lines. No red pencil. 

 

These are Timm at the height of his power. So so good!!!!!!

[Madman1138]

My sketches shown above are from San Diego 2015 and 2016. He did no sketches beyond the type I got and definitely didn't use any red pencil on ANY of them. I flipped through the binder to choose mine each day he had them, and the Harley was one of the few requests he took on his list on one of the days. This seller is definitely lying, which seems to confirm what we already thought. The eBay sketches are bogus.