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HA February Auction
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569 posts in this topic

31 minutes ago, glendgold said:

A really nice page, but about 7k over where i’d Have guessed 

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40 minutes ago, Ironmandrd said:

Agree--especially on the Conan #97. 

Then IMO they were overvalued 5 years ago :)  I mean... that whole Conan/Belit thing barely made a ripple in the MCU at large.   Today's price makes more sense if you ask me.    To this day I don't even know who the he.ll Belit is.

Maybe it was a big deal to the hardcore Conan fan (?) but.....

Edited by Bronty
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1 hour ago, delekkerste said:

Dang, these John Buscema prices seem soft to me.  Can't believe that fresh-to-market Conan/Belit cover didn't hit $10K hammer - I would have gone nuts for that one 5 years ago when I was in the market for one. Conan Treasury edition cover hammers at $12K - lower end of FMV IMO.  Jungle Action #1 cover hammers at $8K.  A good Avengers 79 page hammers at $4K. 

Aesthetics still count.  That Conan Belit cover is kinda :sick:

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Random thoughts...

The $16K price for that Hughes WW 2-page lot was very high to me... It only had two good panels, no?

Cho Harley $4300 price was a little soft compared to recent comps at $8-12K, iirc.

Redondo Swamp Thing went for a strong number at $4500.

I guess the $26K for the Ross plate art was about right?

Man, who knew there was so much Warlord love out there? That cover hung in there at $5K. Warlord prices continue to surprise me. I guess it was part of the sword and sorcery wave at the time.

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1 minute ago, Sideshow Bob said:

For the winners of the Camelot 3000 and Warlord covers, you can thank the impromptu meeting in my office that was initiated right at the start of the auction, and just let out!  Doh! 


Bummer, Bob. Especially about the Camelot 3000.

 

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4 minutes ago, DJRome said:


Bummer, Bob. Especially about the Camelot 3000.

 

Honestly, knowing that there is NYC sales tax on top of the auction house vig is holding me back from bidding. Adding insult to injury, the fed tax laws that affected high state/local tax states like NY, and my buying is likely going to be dramatically curtailed going forward. 

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No excuses for the BWS Conan #5 splash.  $11K hammer/$13.2K with the BP.  Seller will likely only have netted 10-15% depending on the deal he has with HA on a 7+ year holding period.  Not that he didn't have the pride of ownership or that appreciation was the goal...just pointing out that this market has been dead flat while mainstream hero art from the Silver and Copper Ages have been on fire.  I doubt if BWS Conan prices have appreciated at all over the past 5 years.  There is far more heat on BWS' Weapon X work due to the change in the underlying hobby demographics.  You'd have to be blind not to see it at this point.  

Anyway, it's pretty shocking to see as a longtime OA collector.  When I started collecting OA, BWS Conan was firmly blue chip investment grade art.  Maybe not AAA rated like Ditko Spidey or Kirby FF, but, solid AA (using S&P bond rating terminology) "investment grade".  Now it's more like BBB- and on negative watch for potential downgrade to junk status. :sorry:

 

Edited by delekkerste
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21 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

I doubt if BWS Conan prices have appreciated at all over the past 5 years.  There is far more heat on BWS' Weapon X work due to the change in the underlying hobby demographics. 

I don't follow it as closely, but I think the Mandro piece and #5 cover did well last year. Those are the only pieces that I've seen lately that scream "gotta have it" to me. So maybe some of what you are seeing are the individual offerings.

I think the shine is definitely off the earlier pages as nostalgia fades. IMO, I think the later-style "BWS" Conan and Gorblimey stuff would still raise a few eyebrows if it crossed the block.

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16 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

No excuses for the BWS Conan #5 splash.  $11K hammer/$13.2K with the BP.  Seller will likely only have netted 10-15% depending on the deal he has with HA on a 7+ year holding period.  Not that he didn't have the pride of ownership or that appreciation was the goal...just pointing out that this market has been dead flat while mainstream hero art from the Silver and Copper Ages have been on fire.  I doubt if BWS Conan prices have appreciated at all over the past 5 years.  There is far more heat on BWS' Weapon X work due to the change in the underlying hobby demographics.  You'd have to be blind not to see it at this point.  

Anyway, it's pretty shocking to see as a longtime OA collector.  When I started collecting OA, BWS Conan was firmly blue chip investment grade art.  Maybe not AAA rated like Ditko Spidey or Kirby FF, but, solid AA (using S&P bond rating terminology) "investment grade".  Now it's more like BBB- and on negative watch for potential downgrade to junk status. :sorry:

 

As the seller, I am naturally disappointed but this result was not unexpected (= why I decided to sell).  I once considered BWS Conan as blue chip as well, but the market flat-lined after recent sales of 3-4 covers, the full issue (8?) and a dozens panel pages. Plus, Conan realm seems outside the MCU of superheroes on the big screen.   Market has spoken...my splash hammered for $8,500 ($10,100) in 2011 vs.$11,000 (13,200) today, the 30% return (~15% net) after 7 years is downright ugly for OA.  Worse, Heritage put the OTHER splash (#7) in Platinum Night not mine. Worse, I was offered $12.5k six months after buying it but turned it down.   :facepalm:   Hey, at least I enjoyed having it for a few years and came out slightly ahead.  Congrats to the new owner, great value by Crom!

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13 minutes ago, GreatEscape said:

As the seller, I am naturally disappointed but this result was not unexpected (= why I decided to sell).  I once considered BWS Conan as blue chip as well, but the market flat-lined after recent sales of 3-4 covers, the full issue (8?) and a dozens panel pages. Plus, Conan realm seems outside the MCU of superheroes on the big screen.   Market has spoken...my splash hammered for $8,500 ($10,100) in 2011 vs.$11,000 (13,200) today, the 30% return (~15% net) after 7 years is downright ugly for OA.  Worse, Heritage put the OTHER splash (#7) in Platinum Night not mine. Worse, I was offered $12.5k six months after buying it but turned it down.   :facepalm:   Hey, at least I enjoyed having it for a few years and came out slightly ahead.  Congrats to the new owner, great value by Crom!

I actually think your splash was 1000x better than the other one offered up.  I can’t even begin to imagine why Heritage didn’t have it in the Platnum auction.  I would imagine whoever won the other one is kicking themselves for going after it rather than wait on yours unless that one hit a sweet spot for them.

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Helped run up the price on a few Peanuts pieces but didn’t come home with anything myself.  I liked a couple but nothing I loved.

I was tempted by the Sprang Detective 153 recreation but it would have cost at least $5k but I think whoever won it did pretty good on it.

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47 minutes ago, GreatEscape said:

As the seller, I am naturally disappointed but this result was not unexpected (= why I decided to sell).  I once considered BWS Conan as blue chip as well, but the market flat-lined after recent sales of 3-4 covers, the full issue (8?) and a dozens panel pages. Plus, Conan realm seems outside the MCU of superheroes on the big screen.   Market has spoken...my splash hammered for $8,500 ($10,100) in 2011 vs.$11,000 (13,200) today, the 30% return (~15% net) after 7 years is downright ugly for OA.  Worse, Heritage put the OTHER splash (#7) in Platinum Night not mine. Worse, I was offered $12.5k six months after buying it but turned it down.   :facepalm:   Hey, at least I enjoyed having it for a few years and came out slightly ahead.  Congrats to the new owner, great value by Crom!

Adding to this, new pages from the resurrection of the Marvel comic are being offered for 1k for key pages AND BWS panel pages from #6 are on CAF with prices in the 11k range, with one listed as sold at 13k. CC has a panel page from 1 that was offered for 23k on Facebook. SHould be interesting to see where that lands.

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Regarding the BWS Conan market, I've always had a soft spot for the early stuff.  BUT, if I am putting my money where my mouth is, I would really only be a serious buyer for his later more mature work starting with Conan #19 (and to some extent, Frost Giants Daughter).  If Song of Red Sonja (#24) or Red Nails ever got broken up I think we'd see some serious interest and equally serious prices.  I really do see the charm in the early Conan stuff, but as an art collector, that's not where I'm placing my bets.

Edited by stinkininkin
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