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Original Covers any telltale signs if real or fake
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18 posts in this topic

I do have a story to tell from about 5 years ago which might take a while which i will go into when i have more time but for now is there anything that collectors look out for that determines for them anyway wether a cover is genuine and not a copy.   

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23 minutes ago, Justin Case said:

I do have a story to tell from about 5 years ago which might take a while which i will go into when i have more time but for now is there anything that collectors look out for that determines for them anyway wether a cover is genuine and not a copy.   

The Seller.

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Applies to most published original art. Look at the inked lines. Get a good scan of the published art and compare the line work. If its a recreation done by the artist they will not copy something line for line. Even fakes of comic art, they will be close but look for stray line.   If an area is made up of a number of brush strokes look closely at them and compare any slight differences. With older comics the printing wasn't as good so some lighter inked lines might not have printed. The other thing to do is in person look at the black areas, a copy will have a consistent black area, same density. With original inks the density will change with how much ink it put down. Its very subtle but you can see areas reflect differently that with a copy.

Its all about attention to detail.

 

 

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Are you saying is the original art genuine?

Or are you saying is the comic cover a fake, like a scanned image then printed and stapled on the original comic?

Or are you saying, is the artist or forger making some other kind of reproduction and passing it off as the original published art?

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16 hours ago, glendgold said:

I know this isn't going to sound helpful, but I truly mean it to be: If you can't tell whether something is genuine or not, you aren't ready to buy it. 

 

 

Thats a bit unfair. There have been threads in the past where people have put up pics of original art where collectors have asked the same thing which for all the world looked like an original. Some were genuine and some werent.  

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7 hours ago, Peter L said:

Are you saying is the original art genuine?

Or are you saying is the comic cover a fake, like a scanned image then printed and stapled on the original comic?

Or are you saying, is the artist or forger making some other kind of reproduction and passing it off as the original published art?

The first one. Is/are there things that when you look at a piece of original art you say to yourself i know thats 100% genuine.  

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I’d add “verifiable chain of custody” for more modern covers. If you can trace the original sale to the artist or artist’s authorized art rep, it helps authenticate it. 

Doesn’t help for a lot of older stuff, though, considering the shady chain of custody history for many pieces.  

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I think there are too many variables.  it's like asking "how can i tell if it's butter or not"

the era the art was created, the materials (painted, bristol, vellium) how it was created (pencils over inks, inks over blue lines, penciler is also inker), are there paste ups?  is it modern?  is it a franken cover that some nefarious force put fake paste ups on to sell a pinup as an unused cover?

In summation, my answer is: 42.

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For an expensive vintage piece, I would spend some extra $ and have a professional conservator / restorer like Robert Dennis evaluate the art.  I would purchase the art contingent on his opinion that it is authentic.

I personally could not tell vintage aging of the Bristol or if someone splashed a Starbucks latte on a fake to make it look old.  However, I'm sure Rob can tell the difference.

For newbies, the thread regarding the Fake FF # 48 cover is a good starting point.  

 

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4 minutes ago, NelsonAI said:

For an expensive vintage piece, I would spend some extra $ and have a professional conservator / restorer like Robert Dennis evaluate the art.  I would purchase the art contingent on his opinion that it is authentic.

I personally could not tell vintage aging of the Bristol or if someone splashed a Starbucks latte on a fake to make it look old.  However, I'm sure Rob can tell the difference.

For newbies, the thread regarding the Fake FF # 48 cover is a good starting point.  

 

Ok understood and agreed.

But we are talking a couple hundred k here.

The way this thread started I got the feeling that we have to be concerned about a 10 k item to be a fake.

And I wanted to know if there are stories about main stream, normal artwork being faked.

 

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15 minutes ago, wurstisart said:

The way this thread started I got the feeling that we have to be concerned about a 10 k item to be a fake.

And I wanted to know if there are stories about main stream, normal artwork being faked.

 

YES.

Just last week I have a experience with this seller "X"
He was trying to sell this "Cover".

Short story the seller was the Inker son
The Inker made a second copy of the cover (Inferior)
and claim that was the original cover
and then use these words "used for the production of the cover".

When I confront him
he say his father don't remember what page was used for the cover
and he decide to remove the post.

Sad because the Inker had a name (even small) in this industry
and was willing to sell his reputation for a few bucks over a fake.

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32 minutes ago, MagnusX said:

YES.

Just last week I have a experience with this seller "X"
He was trying to sell this "Cover".

Short story the seller was the Inker son
The Inker made a second copy of the cover (Inferior)
and claim that was the original cover
and then use these words "used for the production of the cover".

When I confront him
he say his father don't remember what page was used for the cover
and he decide to remove the post.

Sad because the Inker had a name (even small) in this industry
and was willing to sell his reputation for a few bucks over a fake.

Wow. Perfect place to let everyone know who that person is, otherwise a fellow collector may get burned.

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On 4/1/2019 at 7:46 AM, Justin Case said:

Thats a bit unfair. There have been threads in the past where people have put up pics of original art where collectors have asked the same thing which for all the world looked like an original. Some were genuine and some werent.  

Agreed.  It might have been preferable to say that you "shouldn't" buy it.

In answer to your question:  each era of art has its own characteristics.  A cover from the 40s is not the same as one from the 60s is not the same as one from the 2000s.   So it depends upon what era you're asking about.

Talk to reputable dealers - more than one - so that you can compare answers.  They should be happy to answer your questions.  If they're not, then take your potential business elsewhere.    

Ask fellow collectors.  You can go to CAF and ask questions to collectors that have covers of the vintage that you're asking about.

Attend as many shows as you can and inspect as many same era pieces as you can.  The more that you see and handle, the better acquainted with it you'll become.

Edited by pemart1966
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