Anyone else find this egregious? 1 1

[Randall Ries]

I love Neal Adams artwork. Have since I was a wee lad. I will buy high grade issues with his or Denny's signature on them if placed correctly, although Denny's signature looks like a barbed wire sample. I usually try to get a high grade copy w/o a signature and a f-vf copy with signature.

What I am finding very disturbing are the sketches being added to high grade examples of classic issues. Who thinks it is a good idea to have Neal Adams add a sketch to a high grade classic Batman issue? To me, it is vandalism. And to ask ridiculous amounts of money to try to sell these things on eBay? Someone needs to approach Adams and ask him to have a little respect for these books and refuse to draw on them. A long shot I know, but these things are terrible to look at and contemplate.

And HOW in the WORLD can these command 9.4 and 9.6 grades? Wouldn't the ink soak through the front cover and soak the other side thus wrecking the book? In my mind, that would pull the grading WAY down. Down to 2.0 or 3.0. I don't understand any of this. I would never buy one of these for any amount of money.

Edited July 11, 2018 by Randall Ries

[october]

Not my thing....but then again neither is SS. 

Can't imagine there are many people who think that 234 is better off with that drawing on it. Looks awful. 

[jcjames]

Yeah, the JO isn't quite so obnoxious, and it's not high grade, but those Bats are atrocious.

Well, I guess that decreases the supply of HG blue labels of those books.

Most collectors wouldn't go for those Bats even if they were blue-label priced I suspect.

 

[Randall Ries]

Bat 227 - $8,999 ask on eBay

Bat 234 - $2799 ask on eBay.

 

$3k for a 9.4  with a Bat-Cameo right in the middle of the first appearance of Two Face since the Golden Age is mind boggling. I can't see anyone with a lick of collector's sense spending more than $100 for the thing. It's really a shame to do that to a book with nice provenance.

I just sold a Blue Label Bat 227 9.4 for $1600. $9k for the 227 is adding insult to injury. It couldn't possibly be a knowledgeable collector who wandered into a con thinking "Hey! Neal Adams is here! I think I'll bring him this gorgeous copy of my Bat #227, pay to have him ruin it, then put it on eBay and ask $9k for it! I'll get that no problem!"

IMO, Bat 227 is skating on thin ice as it is. It's the cover that's the draw with that book anyway. Why deface it?

 

Edited July 11, 2018 by Randall Ries

[scooter99]

I'll echo what's already been said.  The books look hideous.  If you want an Adams sketch, do it on a nice piece of paper.  That 234 is in competition with some of Stan's worst doodles.  That 227 was a beautiful book, what a shame. 

[Martin Sinescu]

[batmiesta]

If you're gonna write on them you may as well draw on them. 

[SSuperman]

I think the #227 looks kinda cool, however for the most part I am with you guys on this subject. I would think I nice full size signature on the back cover would be

prominent and cool unless of of course the comic has a wrap around cover of artwork. I feel Neal Adams is certainly an extremely "old school" style artist with nice lines

in his art however these examples of "signature" a bit much.

*** Having said the #227 looks kinda cool, I still would rather have a copy without it ...just saying

[Readcomix]

59 minutes ago, batmiesta said:

If you're gonna write on them you may as well draw on them. 

That's one way to look at it...I'm not in the SS crowd either; I know for some reason SS buyers pay more for the same book that's in the same grade (except for the writing on it; ironic to me and my mindset), but I do believe there's fewer collectors in that pool. I guess there's the perception that someone stood in line and paid for the sig so it's a value-add, but my idea of an autograph is a memento of a chance encounter, signed on whatever was handy. The idea of standing in line to pay someone to sign something for me is just a turn-off for me, even if I respect/admire/enjoy their work.

All that as background to say I agree with the OP that the drawings detract, not add. But YMMV if you're already into collecting your autographs right on your comics...two very divergent strains of collector is what it comes down to, I think. 

[divad]

It's krap I tell you . . . KRAP.

 

[N e r V]

I don’t like sigs on covers in general and if they must be on a cover placed neatly and discreetly as possible.

That said if there’s a market so be it. Once you buy something you could set a torch to it if you want. 

[Randall Ries]

What I am hoping for is that this doesn't become a trend. Signatures don't bother me if they are placed tastefully. Drawing a Bat-face over Two Face is defacing (See what I did there?) a high grade book. I saw a Bat 232 with a Ra's Al Ghul cameo drawn over the original face. That one was a 9.8. Ulp!

[namisgr]

They're all egregious to me when they're on the front cover.  The splash page or back cover work equally well for an autograph and the front cover doesn't get defaced.

[ashsaytr]

... so do you think any of theses were pressed?... torches maybe? ... 

[Von Cichlid]

5 hours ago, Randall Ries said:

What I am hoping for is that this doesn't become a trend. Signatures don't bother me if they are placed tastefully. Drawing a Bat-face over Two Face is defacing (See what I did there?) a high grade book. I saw a Bat 232 with a Ra's Al Ghul cameo drawn over the original face. That one was a 9.8. Ulp!

Here is Two Face. Now Three Face.

 

 

Edited July 13, 2018 by Von Cichlid

[N e r V]

Getting sigs on older books seems popular today but I have to question in the future if it’s not going to get hit pretty hard on values much like certain types of restoration that were once common are now seriously looked down on. It seems most collectors don’t care for them so I question how long their current market value will last in future years.

Stan Lee alone has ruined countless covers for many collectors and even after his death I can’t believe that an autograph as common as his will gain super high values. 

I think the pedigree copies that people are having signed are going to end up worse off than the Church books that people tried restoration on, IMO. Kind of sad to see those be put into a point of no return condition...

[Ken Aldred]

I prefer a nice-looking, detailed, finished commission on a blank cover to the alternative of defacing printed artwork on a cover, classic issue or not, with a basic-looking 'remark' sketch primitively scribbled on with a marker pen.

Edited July 13, 2018 by Ken Aldred

[Randall Ries]

3 hours ago, N e r V said:

Getting sigs on older books seems popular today but I have to question in the future if it’s not going to get hit pretty hard on values much like certain types of restoration that were once common are now seriously looked down on. It seems most collectors don’t care for them so I question how long their current market value will last in future years.

Stan Lee alone has ruined countless covers for many collectors and even after his death I can’t believe that an autograph as common as his will gain super high values. 

I think the pedigree copies that people are having signed are going to end up worse off than the Church books that people tried restoration on, IMO. Kind of sad to see those be put into a point of no return condition...

Gad, yes. Stan Lee is a serial signaturist. His signatures will be virtually worthless there are so many. I saw his scrawl on a golden age Captain America once. Leave those alone.

I have to wonder why Adams would look at a book like a pedigree or a high grade key issue and start drawing all over it. Maybe to him it's just a job and he's getting paid for it. Or maybe it's a bit of contempt on his part.

I have no idea what the future holds for the value of signed books. CGC has its own classification for them so they must be collectible and legitimate enough to warrant that. The drawing and doodling by artists on the covers of classic SA/BA books should get an orange label and be considered damaged AFAIC. A Bat 232 in 9.6 can receive around $2600-$3000. Does adding a goofy sketch at the request of a fan really enhance the book? A signature can at least be added discreetly. Taking a sharpie to a beautiful book like that and drawing a cameo across the front cover should be considered damage and bring the grade way down. Maybe if CGC and the other grading companies would adopt that idea, these fans would think twice about wrecking flawless books.

I do like the blank cover editions where an artist can draw whatever the fan would like. Those are one of a kind.

[Mercury Man]

On 7/11/2018 at 1:31 PM, october said:

an't imagine there are many people who think that 234 is better off with that drawing on it. Looks awful. 

New villian-  THREE FACE! 

[otherworldsj331]

On higher grade GA or earlier SA books, I would not approve. On high BA books, I don't take it as seriously. Not saying I would do it, but then again i might under the right circumstances, but if someone wants to do it to something they own, then go ahead.