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Heritage May 16 - 18 Comic Art Signature Auction - Chicago
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764 posts in this topic

Did any of you see the Strange Inheritance episode that aired a while back on the Frazetta estate? A VERY interesting episode that shows the inner struggle the family has had since Frank's passing. I highly recommend watching it! Some very cool footage!

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1 hour ago, Timely said:

Did any of you see the Strange Inheritance episode that aired a while back on the Frazetta estate? A VERY interesting episode that shows the inner struggle the family has had since Frank's passing. I highly recommend watching it! Some very cool footage!

I wish. No cable and impossible to find online, even pay streaming services as far as I can tell.

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9 hours ago, bocaratondefense said:

 

Is Egyptian Queen considered Frazetta's best work?  How does the Egyptian Queen compare to Conan and Death Dealer paintings?

 

Not best, but it would probably rank in the top 5.

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In my top five Frazetta oils.  I like Gene's list -- I also dig the Silver Warrior. 

A few years ago there was a pop-up exhibition of Frazetta's oils at the Hard Rock, across from the SD convention center.  I went there with a fellow collector.  It was wonderful and also kind of weird, in that the painting, in person, were much more varied in execution than you'd think.  Some of them looked a little hasty in person but some were even more precise than I knew (Death Dealer? It's just as great as you'd hope).  One thing that blew my mind was when you see a background in a Frazetta painting that looks like a hazy orange sky -- like in "Neanderthals" below -- it's not paint.  It's masonite.  Frank painted as little as possible, in part because of deadlines as I understand. 

 

 

Frank Frazetta-Neanderthal.jpg

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11 hours ago, glendgold said:

In my top five Frazetta oils.  I like Gene's list -- I also dig the Silver Warrior. 

A few years ago there was a pop-up exhibition of Frazetta's oils at the Hard Rock, across from the SD convention center.  I went there with a fellow collector.  It was wonderful and also kind of weird, in that the painting, in person, were much more varied in execution than you'd think.  Some of them looked a little hasty in person but some were even more precise than I knew (Death Dealer? It's just as great as you'd hope).  One thing that blew my mind was when you see a background in a Frazetta painting that looks like a hazy orange sky -- like in "Neanderthals" below -- it's not paint.  It's masonite.  Frank painted as little as possible, in part because of deadlines as I understand. 

 

 

Frank Frazetta-Neanderthal.jpg

I remembered this detail about the neanderthal painting and wondered if part of the column of EQ was also exposed backing.

Nice to hear about Death Dealer. Honestly in these discussions about his oils I always think DD1 is the default number 1 and the discussion is really about silver and bronze. But I admit the painting looks quite dark and may not pop in person. 

Edited by cstojano
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16 hours ago, delekkerste said:

Yep.  I'll also add that, while it may be the first time it has ever been offered on the public market, it was available privately since at least early 2016 (that I am aware of). 

Are you aware of any offers that were turned down? 

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2 hours ago, Bronty said:

Are you aware of any offers that were turned down? 

It's probably safe to assume that the top bid pre-live or one bid live "to win" will be very close to what the consignor wanted all along. Doing it public sets a high-water mark for all to see.

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3 hours ago, Bronty said:

Are you aware of any offers that were turned down? 

hm 

1 hour ago, vodou said:

It's probably safe to assume that the top bid pre-live or one bid live "to win" will be very close to what the consignor wanted all along. Doing it public sets a high-water mark for all to see.

It is widely speculated that Heritage or Halperin tripped the reserve on at least the last couple of big ticket Frazettas (the Famous Funnies cover and the Death Dealer VI) a day before the live auction (which went on to sell for even more the following day, though, pretty sure that Jim/HA did not win those). :whistle: 

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Well.    I don't think Jim establishing a floor matters much in this context because as you say they sold for more anyways (way more in the case of DD6).

He seems every bit as much a fan of that type of material as anyone else and I'm sure he'd pay up, so...   I'm not one that views that as some kind of egregious conspiracy.    I don't care if he bids if his bid is as legit as anyone else's.    He's always seemed like a legitimate and long term collector and someone who primarily buys for himself.

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31 minutes ago, Bronty said:

Well.    I don't think Jim establishing a floor matters much in this context because as you say they sold for more anyways (way more in the case of DD6).

He seems every bit as much a fan of that type of material as anyone else and I'm sure he'd pay up, so...   I'm not one that views that as some kind of egregious conspiracy.    I don't care if he bids if his bid is as legit as anyone else's.    He's always seemed like a legitimate and long term collector and someone who primarily buys for himself.

I'm sure this post has nothing to do with a certain recent slabbed videogame sale. :baiting: 

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43 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

I'm sure this post has nothing to do with a certain recent slabbed videogame sale. :baiting: 

:tonofbricks:

So he has a minority interest in a game purchased from me, who cares?  :ohnoez:  Its pocket change for him and it was transparent.    In case you didn't note it in the reported material, I turned down a higher offer from a single collector not associated with heritage immediately afterwards because I had already committed so its not like the rest of the market didn't back up the valuation.   All I had to do was say yes (and go back on my word, which I wasn't going to do).    Furthermore, that collector was going to get a big chunk of his money to do so by selling a copy of a later variant and had a sale lined up if I said yes to his purchase.    So the market spoke more than once about the strength of demand on that type of material.  

I find game OA more interesting than games anyways..   lots of fun price changes happening there too. 

Those MTG card OA pieces you love so much ;) has crossed seven figures and video game OA has blown by six now.   Its a far cry from even 10 years ago when even excellent material was low five figures (and sometimes three figures :gossip: ).

Edited by Bronty
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On 3/18/2019 at 11:50 AM, cstojano said:

 

I love that I can see the texture on top left of the posted image. I cannot wait for the full HA reveal so I can zoom in on this one. 

 

heritage has stated there are issues with the painting

There are some minor drips (it is unclear if they are stains or paint drips) that are all-but-invisible unless viewed with a UV light source, and there are a few tiny white specks in the image area, as well as minor surface wear. The painting presents beautifully with incredible eye appear and is in technical Very Good condition.


and i am thinking in the 3-4 million range.  hoping this becomes the most expensive "comic" related sale ever!

Edited by medusanyc
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On 3/19/2019 at 1:51 PM, delekkerste said:

A rare WL sighting!! :whatthe: 

Egyptian Queen is routinely cited as being among the top, top, top Frazetta oils.  People may disagree if it's #1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, but, I would imagine that almost all of the Frazetta cognoscenti would have it in their top five and virtually everyone would have it in their top ten.  

Taking a quick glance through my Frazetta books, here's my approximation of a non-controversial top ten (in alphabetical order):

At the Earth's Core

The Barbarian (Conan the Barbarian)

The Berserker (Conan the Conqueror)*** 

Cat Girl

Death Dealer 

Death Dealer II

The Destroyer (Conan the Buccaneer, revised version)

Egyptian Queen

A Fighting Man of Mars 

The Snow Giants (Conan of Cimmeria)

Thuvia, Maid of Mars

Opinions will vary, of course, but, I would think that Egyptian Queen, Cat Girl, and at least 1 or 2 of the Conans and Death Dealers are going to be on most everyone's shortlist (my own personal shortlist would be overrepresented by Conan covers, but, that's just me). :) 

*** My all-time favorite, for nostalgic reasons primarily.

not to forget the Sea Witch 

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54 minutes ago, medusanyc said:

heritage has stated there are issues with the painting

There are some minor drips (it is unclear if they are stains or paint drips) that are all-but-invisible unless viewed with a UV light source, and there are a few tiny white specks in the image area, as well as minor surface wear. The painting presents beautifully with incredible eye appear and is in technical Very Good condition.


and i am thinking in the 3-4 million range.  hoping this becomes the most expensive "comic" related sale ever!

I suppose this is one Frazetta that can legitimately be called comic art

513ad7e11ffc1b1a4644b110ebe0b9ce.jpg

 

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I dunno if its my imagination, changes Frank made, or part of the print process but the overall color palette I prefer on the published image above.   Seems a little too muted and sepia colored on the heritage image

(beautiful either way, of course!)

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