• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

For those "Big Boy" (Value, Count) collectors on here....
1 1

34 posts in this topic

Did you amass most of your collection in the 70's and 80's? With prices today and just starting this passion a couple years ago I feel like I am stuck in the low to mid range of what is available, nice pieces that I enjoy, but nothing I could eventually turn into gold and go for something bigger. I guess my direct question is by collecting early on did that allow you to end up with high value pieces that you were able to leverage for other high value pieces....or are you all just filthy rich :) ? As much as I want it I just don't see myself with a couple Kirby's and covers from some of my favorite artist...and that makes me sad.  

Edited by Blastaar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Blastaar said:

Did you amass most of your collection in the 70's and 80's?

Good questions, good Topic.

I don't know if I'm a Big Boy collector or not, you should probably define this for everybody as there could be many interpretations (total $ spent, total $ value today, total piece count, etc.) What I can tell you is that I amassed most of my collection from the early 1990s to around 2005. That's where I perceived there was starting to be more value in other art markets and those are where I began to put new money to work (for pleasure, for profit). I never stopped buying comic art, but I became much more selective.

24 minutes ago, Blastaar said:

...by collecting early on did that allow you to end up with high value pieces that you were able to leverage for other high value pieces....or are you all just filthy rich :) ?

No. I just kept buying up the ladder until the air got too thin. Early on I did sell to buy fairly regularly (turning 1/3 of my collection over every three years or so). Then I stopped. It was obvious to me that I was losing ground doing this, it was a bull market across the board. Since then (2005/06ish) I've mostly held what I have and bought where I have interest and see opportunity. That first decade though, there were a lot of deals on 1980s art because it was quite unloved, being only ten to fifteen years old most of that period, not nostalgic enough to have "gone up" and still new enough that artists had most of it and you just had to ask to make it happen.

Vintage is tough right now, per all of the above. The right place to be trying, if there's any place, to "leverage up" would be buying stuff from 2000-present and sitting on it for another ten years or so. But that's highly speculative, the same as when I was paying $100-350 per panel page for 2nd run Cockrum X-Men in the mid-late 1990s. Of course I'm now (twenty years late!) looking pretty smart. But at the time, it was all (X-Men-wise) Silver Age Large Art, early 1st run Cockrum and any/all John Byrne.

I have no idea if this helps at all, but it's how I did it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started in 2005 as the hockey stick curve of prices started to turn upwards. Too slow off the starting line. :)

OTOH, I still read comics and there are lots and lots of artists whose work I enjoy. Their art isn't as cheap as art was in the 70s and 80s, but it's generally reasonably affordable. So, I buy a lot of newish work and not much old stuff.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being in the NYC area back in the day was a big advantage.

I guess I don't feel too left out because there is so much new stuff that I enjoy.

 

That said, I'd love to acquire some of these older pages, but I don't see it happening for the majority of them.

  • Swan/Klein Superman or LSH page
  • Shuster Superman
  • Kirby Thor or New Gods page
  • Marshall Rogers Detective (Batman) page from his wonderful run with Steve Englehart and Terry Austin
  • Sprang Batman
  • Everett Sub-Mariner page
  • Mayer Scribbly page (if there are any)
  • Steve Ditko Creeper

On the possible horizon are:

  • Swanderson Superman page
  • Aparo B&B page (art and letters by Jim)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Blastaar said:

I just feel like I am going to go broke trying to get to where I want to be.

Well if it's prime Jack Kirby...yes.

I mean, not to be a jerk, but what do you expect: to buy what everybody wants but not need to have the biggest wallet in the room?

Alex is right: there is a ton of great art out there that is affordable, assuming spending some hundreds per piece on a regular basis is not a financial burden.

I like Picasso. I am not crying because I don't have the $500m that it would take to land a significant oil painting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, vodou said:

Well if it's prime Jack Kirby...yes.

I mean, not to be a jerk, but what do you expect: to buy what everybody wants but not need to have the biggest wallet in the room?

Alex is right: there is a ton of great art out there that is affordable, assuming spending some hundreds per piece on a regular basis is not a financial burden.

I like Picasso. I am not crying because I don't have the $500m that it would take to land a significant oil painting.

But I really really want a Kirby!

 

Crying-Baby-e1349829912761.thumb.jpg.fb3be3e1cc784390fd5e50993e7a23da.jpg

 

I do believe once I get a desired page it will mean that much more to me. Working toward a Kamandi page that is within reach. 

Edited by Blastaar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess all such things are relative, but I feel I have spent a lot of money amassing my collection. I started in the mid to late 90's and have concentrated on Simon and Kirby art. That art was pricey but no where near the cost of Kirby's silver age stuff. Up to recently I never sold anything from my collection but lately I have been selling some of the less valuable art. The little I have sold went for more than I paid for it (although I am not counting inflation effects). I have retired recently and between that and the higher prices even for Simon and Kirby art, I no longer go after the same type of art that I used to. But I have not given up collecting, but now I concentrate on recent artists whose prices I can still afford.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, Blastaar said:

But I really really want a Kirby!

 

Crying-Baby-e1349829912761.thumb.jpg.fb3be3e1cc784390fd5e50993e7a23da.jpg

 

I do believe once I get a desired page it will mean that much more to me. Working toward a Kamandi page that is within reach. 

If you really want a Kirby I think that goal is attainable... If you have to have a Kirby FF cover then hopefully other investments work out: Stocks, property values, winning the powerball.. There's plenty of Kirby out there at many different price levels. If you want to get something for 4k, you can find lesser known characters, or a hulk page that he did layouts on but didnt do all the pencils (there's on in this HA auction), if you want to spend 10k you can find a neat panel page where he had full pencil credit.. etc etc. and up the board. It all depends on what it is you really want. For instance I really wanted a Ditko page, but luckily for me what I really wanted was a Warren Ditko page, cause that's MY jam. So I didn't have to pay the ASM Iron price. 

I love Bernie Wrightson, and I've put together a nice little collection, but unless something big happens to my finances, or Mr. Del Toro is willing to accept a pinky finger instead of money, then i'll never get the Frankenstein plate of my dreams. But that's ok. I LOVE the pieces that I have :) 

I also am not a big dog, but i thought this topic was interesting. Because I do have a number of interests in vintage art, and I've only just started buying vintage pieces. But I'm able to buy things that I really love now because I've been working and saving, and I love it enough to prioritize it.

I also just don't compare my collection against other peoples. especially not people who started amassing theirs in 1980s / 90s. If people see pieces that I have that they like, great. If they don't care for my collection also, great. I love my collection. That's what matters. 

Go get that Kamandi! and be super super excited that you have it when you finally get your grubby little mitts on it! :) 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Blastaar said:

Did you amass most of your collection in the 70's and 80's? With prices today and just starting this passion a couple years ago I feel like I am stuck in the low to mid range of what is available, nice pieces that I enjoy, but nothing I could eventually turn into gold and go for something bigger. I guess my direct question is by collecting early on did that allow you to end up with high value pieces that you were able to leverage for other high value pieces....or are you all just filthy rich :) ? As much as I want it I just don't see myself with a couple Kirby's and covers from some of my favorite artist...and that makes me sad.  

I was pretty late to OA (2015), but earlier with other hobbies.  Selling at 2x-8x some of those other collectibles (certain comics, most of my sports cards) has funded some of my bigger purchases.  If you've collected anything else that has value and that you don't care for as much... if's an avenue.

Edited by exitmusicblue
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, alxjhnsn said:

Being in the NYC area back in the day was a big advantage.

I guess I don't feel too left out because there is so much new stuff that I enjoy.

 

That said, I'd love to acquire some of these older pages, but I don't see it happening for the majority of them.

  • Swan/Klein Superman or LSH page
  • Shuster Superman
  • Kirby Thor or New Gods page
  • Marshall Rogers Detective (Batman) page from his wonderful run with Steve Englehart and Terry Austin
  • Sprang Batman
  • Everett Sub-Mariner page
  • Mayer Scribbly page (if there are any)
  • Steve Ditko Creeper

On the possible horizon are:

  • Swanderson Superman page
  • Aparo B&B page (art and letters by Jim)

I think that Ditko Creeper page is achievable. Especially if you're looking for an interior page. It would be a cool pickup :) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Blastaar said:

I do believe once I get a desired page it will mean that much more to me. Working toward a Kamandi page that is within reach. 

I think you'll do just fine then; Kamandi is within reach for most collectors even if they just save up for it.

I thought we were talking 1970s covers/dps or earlier major stuff (FF, etc)...that's different and what I was reacting to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, vodou said:

I think you'll do just fine then; Kamandi is within reach for most collectors even if they just save up for it.

I thought we were talking 1970s covers/dps or earlier major stuff (FF, etc)...that's different and what I was reacting to.

Na, just talking about getting to that next level. Without having anything to flip or sell its pulling from disposable income. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Blastaar said:

Working toward a Kamandi page that is within reach. 

That's exactly where in ended up in my quest for a Kirby page.  It's not a silver age Marvel page, but he was still doing good work on a character he created, and it wasn't going to break the bank.  Maybe I'll add another page someday, but for now I'm happy I get to enjoy this one.

 

KamandiIssue33Page18 (2).jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
1 1