SDCC 2019 - Original Art pics 1 1

[Bird]

6 hours ago, pinupcartooncollector said:

Agreed.  Of all the A-list actors that have been featured in the Marvel films, she was by far the weakest.

 

I think Robert Redford is pretty weak in the MCU, very stiff and one-note. And I love the guy as an actor be phoned those in for sure.

[Catwoman_Fan]

On 7/20/2019 at 12:28 PM, Bird said:

When Albert Moy opened Timm's commission list last month in advance of SDCC I jumped on it immediately and asked for Clea. I got denied! I had been waiting some time to get a shot at Timm and am sad that is didn't happen. For the $1800 pricetag I guess I could have flown out to SDCC and begged Bruce for it instead!

Damn,

did Albert let you suggest multiple characters for Bruce to pick from ?  Or was it a flat NO

[Bird]

1 minute ago, Catwoman_Fan said:

Damn,

did Albert let you suggest multiple characters for Bruce to pick from ?  Or was it a flat NO

It was the briefest email ever, flat no.

[batman_fan]

6 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

I was wondering if the pricing at SDCC seemed specially priced high for the con, or reflects a market disconnect generally? Are perhaps dealers are unwilling to lower their prices because it will reduce the value of their inventory, perhaps to avoid a problem with loan security?  

All I know is I updated all my pricing 

[igotnogame]

Wasn't able to attend this year unfortunately, but it didn't stop me from being able to complete a collecting goal of getting Dave McKean to do portraits of the Endless.  Despair was the last one I needed and had him revisit Delerium as well.  Couldn't be happier with the results.  Hopefully will be back in 2020 if I can land a pass.

Thanks to everyone who posted updates.

[comix4fun]

10 hours ago, Brian Peck said:

Ya but picking Natalie Portman to lead it is the stupid part. She didn't seem to like being in the Tor films and wasn't that great as Jane. Myself and many others thought her Jane was one of the weakest parts of the films.

 

Marvel hasn't recast any of the actors whose faces can be seen have they, beyond Edward Norton demanding too much control and then walking off when he didn't get it? There hasn't been a Bewitched "York/Sergeant" incident with them has there? 

Saying it's stupid because she hasn't been great in the part is a possibility to be sure, but you mentioned "Thor Sex Change Movie Starring Natalie Portman" with repercussions for the person making the decision beyond simply being derided for it. It sounded more like the problem with fans might be the Jane Foster as Thor part of the equation and not simply who is cast in the part. 

[Bird]

1 minute ago, comix4fun said:

Marvel hasn't recast any of the actors whose faces can be seen have they, beyond Edward Norton demanding too much control and then walking off when he didn't get it? There hasn't been a Bewitched "York/Sergeant" incident with them has there? 

Saying it's stupid because she hasn't been great in the part is a possibility to be sure, but you mentioned "Thor Sex Change Movie Starring Natalie Portman" with repercussions for the person making the decision beyond simply being derided for it. It sounded more like the problem with fans might be the Jane Foster as Thor part of the equation and not simply who is cast in the part. 

War Machine, Terence Howard to Cheadle.

[comix4fun]

5 hours ago, Panelfan1 said:

Brie Larson anyone?

I've seen her in a half dozen films...."weak" is the last adjective I'd use to describe her acting ability. 

[comix4fun]

1 minute ago, Bird said:

War Machine, Terence Howard to Cheadle.

Good catch, another off-screen dispute leading to a recast. 

Terrence Howard had the highest salary of any actor in the first Iron Man film. Higher than Bridges, higher than Downey jr., higher than Paltrow. 

I think they loved his work, but he wouldn't take a pay cut (he had a contract so I don't blame him) and watched Downey Jr. get a massive raise. 

So it wasn't a "you stink, get out" moment. 

[dichotomy]

1 hour ago, igotnogame said:

Wasn't able to attend this year unfortunately, but it didn't stop me from being able to complete a collecting goal of getting Dave McKean to do portraits of the Endless.  Despair was the last one I needed and had him revisit Delerium as well.  Couldn't be happier with the results.  Hopefully will be back in 2020 if I can land a pass.

Thanks to everyone who posted updates.

Fantastic! Congrats. Can you link to the others? 

[pemart1966]

1 hour ago, comix4fun said:

I've seen her in a half dozen films...."weak" is the last adjective I'd use to describe her acting ability. 

Then she must have had an off-movie with Captain Marvel because she was flat out bad in that.  Seemed as if she was just mailing it in and collecting the big fat check afterwards.

[delekkerste]

1 hour ago, comix4fun said:

I've seen her in a half dozen films...

Astalkersayswhat? 

[comix4fun]

2 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

Astalkersayswhat? 

Or....I've seen her in less films than you have Roger Moore posters on your wall. 

[Dick Pontoon]

On 7/18/2019 at 5:20 PM, glendgold said:

I got to go on a scavenger hunt with a friend who will later display some interesting stuff. Here's a photocopy of a previously-unseen Kirby.

 

 

Is it later yet? We'd like to see more.

 

[grapeape]

3 hours ago, igotnogame said:

Wasn't able to attend this year unfortunately, but it didn't stop me from being able to complete a collecting goal of getting Dave McKean to do portraits of the Endless.  Despair was the last one I needed and had him revisit Delerium as well.  Couldn't be happier with the results.  Hopefully will be back in 2020 if I can land a pass.

Thanks to everyone who posted updates.

Grotesque Immense discarded isolated disturbed...........hypnotic.....dark........lovely

[grapeape]

(1) Frank Miller

(2) Bruce Timm

(3) John Romita

(4) Alex Ross

(5) Alex Ross

(6) Charles Schulz

If anyone else has pics please post this has been a blast

---

[grapeape]

16 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

I was wondering if the pricing at SDCC seemed specially priced high for the con, or reflects a market disconnect generally? Are perhaps dealers are unwilling to lower their prices because it will reduce the value of their inventory, perhaps to avoid a problem with loan security?  

Some dealers are choking this market by hoarding and playing no listed price games. Best way to buy is to make a deal privately (but factor market data that is out there) or auction with a company that respects you. You have to push...make HA or any other auctioneer earn their commission when you're selling. When you buy don't spend F U money unless it's for your private collection.

I saw mountains of art with no prices. Sad. Very few pieces deserve the inquire B S. Used to be that would be for something extraordinary like the ASM 299 cover mentioned in the thread. Now it's for interior pages with moderate content on the page?

Let the market work please dealers. Mike B is one of the best because he always lists prices. Now there are times where Mike leaves meat on the bone for the buyer and there are times where he eats all the left overs. His model is sound however as collectors paying attention can gauge what Mike is doing price wise and over time can make a little bit if they want/have to sell. Mike influences the market but he also keeps art moving through the pipeline. It's good for market health.

Then there are those that choke the market...I won't name the dealer but a splash page listed for 24k on his site a few years back never sold. I was surprised to see it at the Con because he had taken it down from the site. How much? I asked.  85k was the dead pan response.

So there are a few who play a game: buy it now or get punished down the road. They simply have a crazed notion that the piece they have listed and unsold for years is "flying up in price." They continue to move the price up. I say let the market decide on some of this inventory so we can have a healthy collector market into the  future. It's bottle necking the inventory. We're going to wind up with a ton of over priced material that will crash down on most collectors. Those that came in late will have to figure out how they were left holding the bag. It's like buying a $300k house in Southern California for $600k because that's what everybody is asking. Eventually it's a long way down and should you have to sell,,,,,ouch.

 

[Robot Man]

On 7/22/2019 at 9:33 AM, delekkerste said:

2019 SDCC CON REPORT

So, another SDCC is in the books!  Although I grew up in San Diego, I never made it to the show until 2001, and now I've been to 16 out of the last 19 shows. 

I have to say, this was one of the better shows, but, not necessarily for the best reasons.  I think there's been a noticeable drop-off the past two years in terms of the number of OA collectors going to the show.  I think part of that is Con fatigue (there's just so many these days, plus, SDCC is the hardest show to secure tickets and hotels*), part of it is aging out (the median age of the OA guys at the show probably exceeded 50 this year), and now this L.A. show is probably siphoning off some traffic to SDCC (a Heritage official told me as much, while a ComicLink official said that they did some biz at the L.A. show that they wouldn't have gotten here in SD, as the consignor wasn't going to the latter).  

So, why was it one of the better shows?  Fewer OA guys = more time to spend with people = better quality experience.  Just got to spend a lot more time talking with a smaller number of people and feel like we had better and longer conversations, more shared meals with the same people, etc. Not to get all cornball, but, I feel like this was a Con where friendships were deepened, having had the chance to spend more time with people.  And, the social aspect is really what this show is now all about, because...

...the flip side of SDCC 2019 is that I feel that dealer pricing this year was the most disconnected from reality that I've ever witnessed (and I was not alone in this characterization - I heard it from two auction house reps and a number of collectors as well).  I mean, it's not just that prices are at/near record highs, but, the pricing spread to FMV was just beyond the pale this year.  I mean, sure, collectors always complain about dealer pricing, but, normally at least prices are at a level where you can start a conversation or negotiation. This year, many prices were just so far in la-la land, having jumped by hyperinflationary levels since just last year, that few would even want to bother. I'm not going to name names, and will point out that it's not all dealers (but, enough of them to make this characterization); the ones who post here on the Boards are not the ones I'm describing.  

On the other hand, the Amazing Heroes Watchmen cover had its price deflated from $250K (?) last year to $185K this year (this has bounced around to various dealers on consignment the past couple/few years); I guess the consignor realized with the Watchmen #1 cover re-selling at $216K that $250K was pie-in-the-sky and that $185K would be a much more reasonable price. 

It was nice to meet a couple of Boardies in person for the first time, including @Panelfan1 and @hippiecop.  If I left anybody out, my apologies, it was great meeting you too!  

Got to meet writer Tom King (Batman, Sheriff of Babylon, Vision, Mister Miracle) at Scott Eder's booth, which was nice.  I've never met Rob Liefeld and missed my chance to introduce myself when he was checking out Mike Burkey's booth as I ended up in another conversation.  Next time, I guess.  I didn't do the IDW-sponsored Walt Simonson dinner this year, but, did see a panel on '70s comics, featuring Walt and Louise, Tony Isabella, Mark Evanier (moderator), Trina Robbins, Arvell Jones and a few others, which was fun.  I try to make it to at least one panel a year, and this was the only one I made it to this time (it was a rather underwhelming selection this year, by all accounts).  Also met John Dolmayan for the first time; figured him buying my old ASM cover was a good excuse to strike up a conversation.

I wasn't planning on buying anything at the show, as I've been laser-focused and as disciplined as an Olympic athlete in only buying things off my super-narrow want list.  Well, it was a good week in the market last week and so I succumbed to temptation and ended up buying a number of things on Friday and Saturday - a nice (and cheap!) piece of strip art from Mitch, a super-cheap Sanho Kim Charlton page from a dealer down on the comic end and a couple of cool pieces from Scott Eder (one of them may end up on CAF at some point).  A friend of mine at the show tipped me off to a very nice piece that popped up online on Friday, which I snagged as well (this one will probably make it to my CAF gallery at some point); I think my biggest competition for the piece probably missed it, being at the show.   I also picked up a first edition copy of Seduction of the Innocent, an amazing Bob Ross bobblehead doll, a Nosferatu action figure (from Super 7), and a Kent Williams-signed Nosferatu print (Kent is working on a big Nosferatu project; I would have loved to have bought the original to the print, but, it was pre-sold.  There was a nice study for the original at Allen Spiegel's booth, for a reasonable $3800 IIRC, but, I was content with the print).  See photo below...

Anyway, I read that SDCC Con attendance peaked in 2015 at about 170,000, vs. 130,000 nowadays.  I wonder if we are living in (or have even lived through) Peak Comic-Con?  That remains to be seen, but, the shrinking attendance on the OA collector side is a bit worrisome as far as our little corner of the hobby goes.  

I was not unhappy, being the owner of the Tomb of Dracula #10 cover, to hear that Marvel is rebooting Blade with Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali in the title role.  Just sayin'...

- Gene

 

* I know a lot of people are more constrained by hotels than by getting tickets to SDCC.  Let me just say that, unless you absolutely have to be near the show, there is plenty of hotel availability outside of downtown during Con week, easily accessible by Uber or Lyft.  My parents live about 40 min. north of downtown and I just hit an Uber back the last two nights (caught a ride down with a friend both days)...$42 including tip, and that's for a pretty long drive.  You can easily find something closer to downtown and cut that cost by at least a third, I imagine.  And, I'm sure even with the car expense, you'll save enough staying outside of downtown (where rates are jacked like The Rock during Con week) to more than make up for it.  

I’m not much of an art guy. More into GA comics. I didn’t go to SDCC but did go to the Torpedo show the week before. 

I found the prices on most any even half decent GA comics. Insane. I mean really insane. Everybody complains about high con prices but this is the first year I have been just floored by jaw dropping prices. 

I came to buy with way more cash than I would usually bring and a credit card. I saw a few nice wall books and was fully prepared to pay a lot over market. 

A couple of examples. A nice Fawcett book that guides for $100 or so. I was willing to pay $500. It’s a Fawcett mind you and these are for the most part pretty dead. He pulled it down and I saw the price was $1,500. I just gulped and handed it back. He welcomed me to “make an offer”. I saw an IW reprint Phantom Lady I got on the boards with no competition for $30. A few months ago. There were 3 similar grade copies there priced from $150 to $350!

There was TON of nice art. Probably many of them were at SDCC. As I said, I’m not an art guy but jeeze I couldn’t believe what they were asking for what appeared to be quick con sketches. Much of the better stuff to me were priced at what I could get a very nice restored 1969 Chevrolet SS 396 for or a real nice new car. I know I am way out of that market but do pieces like EC covers and Jack Kirby pages really sell for that kind of cash? Or is trade the norm? 

I’m really getting priced out of this hobby I think. I feel very lucky to have collected for 50 plus years. 

Anybody who did not go to Torpedo, put it on your list. Mind blowing stuff even if you can’t buy it. Park down the street, pay $10. And you are in!

[Bronty]

Grapeape:   I think that’s just a sign of dealers having less and less inventory that they bought when they had access to the artists or while prices were still cheap.   As more and more of their inventory is bought at FMV at auction, double+ FMV asks become more and more the norm.  Not to say that anyone will pay that necessarily but they are going to be more choosy about which sales they take because they have more sunk into it.    When they say “I’ll happily take it home” what they are saying is “I’d rather take it home than get no return. I’ll wait for the perfect buyer.”

Edited July 24, 2019 by Bronty

[Carlo M]

1 hour ago, Bronty said:

Grapeape:   I think that’s just a sign of dealers having less and less inventory that they bought when they had access to the artists or while prices were still cheap.   As more and more of their inventory is bought at FMV at auction, double+ FMV asks become more and more the norm.  Not to say that anyone will pay that necessarily but they are going to be more choosy about which sales they take because they have more sunk into it.    When they say “I’ll happily take it home” what they are saying is “I’d rather take it home than get no return. I’ll wait for the perfect buyer.”

One other aspect to consider that is peculiar to OA is that OA inventory takes really little space compared to fine art.  10 portfolios can easily carry 2-5M USD worth of inventory and you can store them behind your sofa.  Also easy to carry around from one show to the next.  That might be a factor in incentivising a highly speculative pricing strategy, of course subject to the financial sustainability of the strategy.  But, then again, many (all?) dealers are also collectors...