2019 and Rambling Thoughts on DWJ 1 1

[dichotomy]

 

The kids are asleep, the wife is working overnight in the hospital, and my teeth are brushed. I’m ready to put this  ̶d̶e̶c̶a̶d̶e̶ arbitrary grouping of the last ten years to bed .

I just finished reading Wonder Woman : Dead Earth. Rather, I just finished re-reading it, and not for the first time. I don’t re-read a lot of stuff lately, particularly with a spectacular tower of books and graphic novels threatening to topple over if I so much as look at it wrong. Yet WWDE deserves more than a single look. Hang out with it, leave it on your bedside drawer.

The Black Label format really works here. Open in your hands, it approximates a widescreen image much more so than a standard book. It fills your field of vision, and Daniel Warren Johnson’s art moves the eye through that vista perfectly. The hardier paper and cover are perfect for the aforementioned re-readings.

I’ll pause to inject gushing praise for Mike Spicer’s colors - I’d be very interested to learn how much coordination there was with the author on that note, but regardless, he hits a PERFECT pitch without being afraid of bold hues and super slick fades and transitions where they fit, including inside letters. Kudos. The printing of the book really does it justice too.

Back to the art and the story. That really is the magic combination for me. That’s what’s impressive. DWJ has used his 40-odd pages to give us a silky smooth ride. Giant, bold, classically epic ideas are conveyed with a really seasoned economy, both of word and line. Plenty is left to the imagination and that’s FINE. It’s a firecracker of a beginning. I’m late to the DWJ party, I’ll freely admit. I’m a crotchety old stick in the mud and there’s so much beautifully packaged stuff out there, how does one keep abreast of all the must-read new books? So I stick with my Big 2 capes and whatever else a trusted source may occasionally recommend, and thus have missed Murder Falcon (I can’t even wrap my head around it - I’ve got to dig into it) and others.

Luckily, there is Felix Lu. I guess I can’t end 2019 without yet another unpaid promotion for the one, the only, industry leading, hobby defining - the most hard working rep I know of - @Nexus. As a mailing list subscriber I won a copy of DWJ most recent ashcan - Old Man Skywalker - and it was quite the eye opener. Wonder Woman Dead Earth has kept them wide open, waiting eagerly for more.

DC’s Black Label has been a welcome return to some of the risks that make DC stand out, with the only turn off being the sheer volume of them - a little restraint would be nice, and make the new releases that DO make it out even more special.

And overall, I’ve read some great stories this year. 2019 was a marked improvement on the landscape as I saw it even 5 years ago. Innovate art like Silver Surfer Black (biased much?) WWDE, Grampa for The Golden Child!, and just as important, some fantastic and memorable stories. Zdarsky and Ewing absolutely crushing it. Speaking of absolute, I’m not a crossover guy, but Absolute Carnage was fun, compact if you wanted it to be, and accompanied by some of the most kick-hiney art/concepts I’ve seen in recent times. I really had fun every Wednesday at my LCS. Top class spill-over into TV/Film too with the Mandalorian, and the Watchmen in particular.

AND OF COURSE HOXPOX!!!! The way Hickman grabs that IP like a wet gym towel and wrings Châteauneuf-du-Pape out of it was one of the most memorable rides of the year.

Welcome 2020. Thanks to all the excellent fellow collectors out there that have shared their knowledge, artwork, and friendship. May your bids be ever the highest, unless I want that too. 

Edited January 1, 2020 by dichotomy
Stood corrected.

[alxjhnsn]

Have you read Extremity by DWJ? If not, get it. 
 

I had him do this sketch for me at Comicpalooza 2018 featuring Thea, the protagonist. I’m thrilled with it. Click for a bigger picture and a bit more description. 

[vodou]

9 minutes ago, dichotomy said:

I’m ready to put this decade to bed.

(..another year to go )

[dichotomy]

6 hours ago, vodou said:

(..another year to go )

In the roaring 20s we’ll make our own way. 

[ESeffinga]

Did you buy art from the WW book, or did you just read it?

 

 I’ve noticed a few of my art collector buddies have bought pages from a new series because the work looked great and they knew the character, and THEN have gone back to read the book, only to discover that the comics the art is for, are actually pretty damn good.

More than a few have done this with art from Felix’s crew, in particular.

Others that I know have waited to read the books before deciding to purchase art, but by the time they’ve gotten around to it, either Felix has had a total sell-through, sold the book complete, or the pages sell in minutes. So they get shut out.

I think it’s great that Felix is really stepping up and providing such a service for his creators, and more importantly (IMO) he has chosen such a very talented series of guys to work with. I wish them all the success in the world.

I am very curious about the folks that do buy the art un-read first though, which I’ve read happen more and more recently, and is why I ask.

[dichotomy]

33 minutes ago, ESeffinga said:

Did you buy art from the WW book, or did you just read it?

 

 I’ve noticed a few of my art collector buddies have bought pages from a new series because the work looked great and they knew the character, and THEN have gone back to read the book, only to discover that the comics the art is for, are actually pretty damn good.

More than a few have done this with art from Felix’s crew, in particular.

Others that I know have waited to read the books before deciding to purchase art, but by the time they’ve gotten around to it, either Felix has had a total sell-through, sold the book complete, or the pages sell in minutes. So they get shut out.

I think it’s great that Felix is really stepping up and providing such a service for his creators, and more importantly (IMO) he has chosen such a very talented series of guys to work with. I wish them all the success in the world.

I am very curious about the folks that do buy the art un-read first though, which I’ve read happen more and more recently, and is why I ask.

Both, but that's an interesting point you bring up, which of course leads to more Felix admiration hour. 

Personally, I can't drop serious money ($200+) on something that I haven't seen or if I don't have a relationship with the source material. The point you bring up about Felix's artists is the keystone here. @nexus shows a great acuity for emerging art. Whatever his system is, and I suspect a large portion of his selection process is his eye. Felix does the hard work of sourcing the prime material, and as a result almost everything connected with him is solid. So I will happily take his lead when exploring new books. I really try not to be a blind fanboy, about anything, but over the last few years I think a lot of my tastes are just aligned with his. Approaching DWJ relatively freshly, I had a healthy critical eye with this first book, and as a result it had to work extra hard (unfairly) to get me to like it. I liked it very much, and thus the post. 

The other point is that I get the impression that there is even diagram intersection of people collecting art and people reading current books. I certainly don't read a lot of current books, but I'm also in my LCS every week. There are a fair number of people, as you say, buying the art first, and then maybe reading the books - and often not. 

I read the book first, and then went after the art (and got 2 really nice pieces - whoever got Cover B, I'd really like that too. Also, a page with Cheetah arm please). I personally would not like to do it the other way around, and going through the boards the ultimate credo always seems to be 'buy it if you love it - no regerts'.                             Don't snicker at my spelling mistakes.

Felix made some very heavy claims leading into the drop I don't think he would lightly compare DWJ to Frank Miller, but he is also the rep, and his job is to generate interest and sell art. But I'd like to think he does it out of love... 

[ESeffinga]

Thanks for sharing your insight. 
At the risk of this thread becoming less about DWJ and more about Felix, I wanted to add I also do not think Felix is attempting to overhype anyone with outlandish claims. It is fairly obvious to me (and I suspect most of you) that Felix has a genuine enthusiasm for all of his guys and gals. And yes, it is Felix’s eye for the unique and the talented that is on display, as far as his roster’s ability to be featured in one popular run of books after another. 
 

If anything gives me pause, it is the possibility of an unintended knock-on effect to the hobby, should buyers get in such a frenzy of missing out that they buy art that they aren’t 100% on board with, in the fear of getting nothing.

This isn’t Felix’s doing as such. His warnings of quick sell-through are simply the heads up of how these sales are increasingly playing out.

Yet, I’m not convinced it is the best environment for buying art. That mad dash decision making having to be done in seconds.  I’m curious to see the long term effect it has on collecting of modern art, and of the collectors that buy this way. It’s a new(ish) phenomenon. 
 

The closest I can come to it, is the old Mignola lines at SDCC, where it was a mad dash to his table to buy Hellboy pages for $100-300 a pop. And instead of web connection speeds being the deciding factor, it was what kind of badge you had to get in earlier than the rest. 
 

When Mike’s page rates went up, those mad dashes mellowed a lot. The difference was Mike stayed on his book long term. And from what I’ve seen, Felix’s guys are doing lots of different things. The market is different, and it’s a whole new ball of wax I think. We will just have to wait and see how it all plays out in the end.

[Andahaion]

Good thread.  I won a page from WW: Dead Earth; my first win with Felix.  I hadn't read the book, but loved the art and character (same story with Silver Surfer Black, Thanos Wins, etc but I didn't win a page from any of those books).  I called my LCS and they had one last copy of Dead Earth #1 left.  It's sitting on my bedside table alongside the SS: Black treasury edition.  SS Black trade is super nice, very unique in that it was printed in a large format...I think like 13" x 9".  It's gorgeous.  Really wish I had a page.  

[vodou]

So much could be unpacked here Eric, nice thought-provoking posts you've made. I'll keep my answers brief...for once

3 hours ago, ESeffinga said:

I am very curious about the folks that do buy the art un-read first though, which I’ve read happen more and more recently, and is why I ask.

I'm a trade reader at best (from publisher's pov), and really a complete series ohc/omnibus reader. I don't have the inclination or time to do monthlies, keep up with remembering the storylines the next month, have floppies all over the place or start reading something that doesn't finish for two years (or maybe ever) because the creative team gets a bigger (higher paying/profile) assignment or just take a lot of vacations.

This can be a problem if you're doing something other than Big Two (so: me!) Solution is "wait for the trade/omni". Unfortunately, Felix brings art to market very close to when it's first published so, in my shoes, I had to make a decision about that. My habit is buy after reading; I broke habit a few times and didn't regret it but ultimately found it less satisfying. It was too much like buying lottery tickets. Now I'm back to habit but as rule: read it and love it first. As a result, I'm buying nothing published from Felix (or anybody) that hasn't been sitting around for many months or years. That means specific to Felix: I'm not buying much of anything anymore. His business to run, but yes one -otherwise very satisfied customer- is basically "out". The alternative would be going back to floppies, that's a hard "no."

None of the above applies to unpublished or non-sequential art (covers, pin-ups). That I can buy, and feel good about, on pure visual appeal.

2 hours ago, ESeffinga said:

Yet, I’m not convinced it is the best environment for buying art. That mad dash decision making having to be done in seconds.  I’m curious to see the long term effect it has on collecting of modern art, and of the collectors that buy this way.

I agree that it's not the best, but this is also a self-curing wound. If the stories aren't good, in the long run, then the art will not go up in value and will probably go down. It will take time, but as people try to sell "good art, bad story" and lose money..they will stop buying blind and others will also take note and not enter the fray themselves. "The Market" is always watching. On this basis I'm not worried, long-term.

2 hours ago, ESeffinga said:

It’s a new(ish) phenomenon. 

This is as old as lining up three days in advance and camping out for Jackson's Victory Tour tickets, as old as Ticketmaster machines (remember those?) jamming up and crashing, this is as old as all of that and the same when TM moved online and their servers crashed and 'bots took over the game. Same with a lot of street artist web sites (Banksy's Pictures on Walls, Obey Giant, Kaws, et al) from around 2005-present, etc etc etc. Not new except to comic art.

 

[Varanis]

I love the way Felix operates. His art drops are fair and build an immense amount of enthusiasm for the hobby in general. While it's frustrating to miss a piece by seconds, the reality is a lot of art outside Felix's circle never even makes it to the public for purchase as collectors negotiate deals well in advance with artists or their reps. This exclusive mode of operation can be nice for proactive collectors and likely nets a good take for the artist, but it serves to further close off the hobby. Events like Felix's Silver Surfer: Black or WW:DE drops not only give everyone a fair shot at claiming amazing pieces, but add mythos and repute to the works and artists. 

I *almost* always read the material before I buy anything. If I'm going to spend $1,000+ on art, I can spend $3.99 and 15 minutes to read through the material. I usually buy a digital copy of the comic and read on my phone to guarantee I have the time to read it before the art releases. That said, I also have a really clear idea of what my collection should look like, so there are times I will buy pieces sight unseen as I know regardless of what the piece will look like I will want it due to its relevance to my collection. The clear scope of my collection also helps me identify art I don't want. There's a near infinite amount of amazing art out there and I'm happy to observe and not own it while I build my specific collection.

[alxjhnsn]

I read before buy. I do read a lot of monthly books.

As for Felix, I end up seldom buying from him. My reflexes aren't fast enough.
 

Spoiler

There are some creators that I will trust on almost anything - Art Baltazar, Jason Aaron, Dan Abnett, Kurt Busiek, Jeff Lemire, and a few others.

 

Some books I read in the trades. For some, I'm years and years behind, but that makes for good Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary presents.

Dark Horse
• Usagi Yojimbo - If you aren't reading this you are making a terrible mistake.

Image
• Age of Bronze - What can I say, I loved the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid.
• Invincible - Fun comic though it has it's dark moments
• Powers

Vertigo
• Preacher





My monthly pull list:

Abstract Studios

• Five Years - The Terryverse countdown is running. Can it be saved? 

Action Lab

•  

 

Archaia

• Mouse Guard - mideaval mouse civilization struggles in their world - wonderful

Aftershock

•  

Antarctic Press

• Punchline - Girl gets powers and a mentor and then...

Boom!

• Black Badge - What kids who want more than scouting gives do.
• Once and Future - Excalibur’s scabard shows up and Arthur shows up in England’s darkest hour, but is he the cause of that hour?
• Folklords - In a world of wonders, one rebellious teen seeks our mundane world

 

Dark Horse

• Black Hammer - Sort of a version of the JLA trapped in a universe where time doesn’t seem to flow much. Interesting read by Jeff Lemire.
• Black Hammer ’45 - Set during WW2
• Elfquest - 35 years old and still strong. Remarkable work.
•  

 

DC

• Action Comics - Good stories well told
• Aquaman - Good stories well told
• Batman/Superman
• DCeased - Sort of a zombie tale
• Dial H for Hero - fun stuff
• Doom Patrol - an odd but interesting book not sure where it is going
• Doomsday Clock - a solid story tarnished by late delivery - read it in a trade!
• Far Sector - A young GL out on the edges 
• Flash - A younger Barry Allen, but not unlike the Silver Age one.
• Flash Forward - Wally West lost in the multiverse
• Green Lantern
• Inferior 5 - not to be confused with the original, but an interesting tale set after Invasion
• Jimmy Olsen - fun
• Justice League
• Justice League Dark
• Justice League Odyssey
• Legion of Super-Heroes
• Lois Lane - mystery by Rucka and Perkins and worth the read
• Metal Men - Shane Davis’ best art
• Shazam - a reasonable compromise between the original and more recent takes.
• Supergirl
• Superman - Excellent series so far of the pre-Flashpoint Superman and family in the Rebirth world
• Superman Smashes the Klan - excellent
• Superman Up in the Sky - a very moving story
• Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen - It’s a hoot
• Terrifics - Mr. Terrific and a team take on the worlds
• Titans
• Wonder Twins - Silly, but fun
• Wonder Woman - One of the best of the new 52, I really enjoy it, but the team is changing
• Young Justice 

Dynamite

•  

 

Fantagraphics

•  

 

Icon

•  

 

IDW

• Ragnarok - Walt Simonson visits the Norse myths after the big event. Wonderful art backed by a solid well paced story with interesting characters. Buy this book.

 

Image

• A Distant Soil - Probably better to start with the remastered trades. She's doing the last dozen issues now.
• Curse Words - a devil escapes from Hell to save the world ?
• Copperhead - Story of the sheriff of the titular town - space western
• Excellence - Power struggle at the peak of society
• Farmhand - Literally, spare parts are grown on a Louisiana farm, but there’s much more going on.
• Isola - A queen turned to a tiger due to the failure of her trusted guard
• Middlewest - Skottie Young crafts a tale of three generations with terrible tempers and power to match
• Outpost Zero - a generation ship crashes on a snowball of a planet and …
• Outer Darkness - Demon powered space ships and ...
• Paper Girls - a group of paper delivery girls goes out one morning and it gets really strange - terrific book
• Prodigy - Mark Millar writes, I buy. It’s that simple
• Sea of Stars - Space pilot dad and son get separated and then …
• Seven to Eternity - A quest to save their home
• Trees - Giant towers land on earth
• Undiscovered Country - The US locked off from the rest of the world and a global plague

kaboom!

•  

Marvel

• Thor (various titles) - Jason Aaron continues the best Thor streak ever
• Miles Morales: Spider-man - a young man gains spiderpowers and tries to do good with them as he grows
• Power Pack

Oni Press

•  

Thirdworld Studios

• The Stuff of Legend - Excellent book with beautiful story telling

Valiant

•  

 

Vertigo (DC)

• HIgh Level - A quest

 

[dichotomy]

9 hours ago, ESeffinga said:

 

If anything gives me pause, it is the possibility of an unintended knock-on effect to the hobby, should buyers get in such a frenzy of missing out that they buy art that they aren’t 100% on board with, in the fear of getting nothing.

This isn’t Felix’s doing as such. His warnings of quick sell-through are simply the heads up of how these sales are increasingly playing out.

Yet, I’m not convinced it is the best environment for buying art. That mad dash decision making having to be done in seconds.  I’m curious to see the long term effect it has on collecting of modern art, and of the collectors that buy this way. It’s a new(ish) phenomenon. 
 

The closest I can come to it, is the old Mignola lines at SDCC, where it was a mad dash to his table to buy Hellboy pages for $100-300 a pop. And instead of web connection speeds being the deciding factor, it was what kind of badge you had to get in earlier than the rest. 
 

When Mike’s page rates went up, those mad dashes mellowed a lot. The difference was Mike stayed on his book long term. And from what I’ve seen, Felix’s guys are doing lots of different things. The market is different, and it’s a whole new ball of wax I think. We will just have to wait and see how it all plays out in the end.

All of this. I hate the pressure to buy, and be quick, and to not treat the art with the respect it deserves. The problem is, there is no perfect solution, right? Unlike gambling, here, the more you play the more you win - provided you keeps your wits about you.

The way I see it, to enter the hobby and to aspire to a serious grail, whether it be a six figure monster, or simply something ultra-rare (and most likely there is a great deal of overlap), one has to play, play, play. A big wad of cash helps, but it’s not everything. You need the connections. You have to start to understand where the art even is, and who has access.

Felix’s model at least gives poozers like me a chance. I’ve written about how I bid elsewhere, but I feel it’s fair to the vast majority of people. People have asked about automated responses to let them know if their bids aren’t first, so they can bid again, and I can understand that, but let me play devil’s advocate. A wealthy collector or head of a large organization wants something. Felix won’t hold art for anyone so this individual tells 30 employees to bid at the drop and likely they will get it for him, right? With the current system, I imagine Felix can look at the IPs and deduce who are legitimate individuals trying to buy pages, and which might be speculators or dealers trying to game the system. Think this sounds implausible? It could easily happen in the ‘first world’ and most definitely can happen in the ‘third world’.

That’s half of it. The other half is me dedicating time and resources to the hobby. It’s far better than any video game, and I can hang the results of side-quests on my wall. Or trade them for bigger and better weapons... and so the game goes on.

Who is REALLY out of luck? Johnny Joe Average who just cannot devote the time or resources, but who would really like a page from SSB. I will say it was fantastic that Tradd and Felix included some sketch covers with the SSB 5 drop. Similarly with WWDE - pages for all budgets, but you better also be able to afford a fast internet connection.

End of the day, the buyers are deciding what they are spending their money on, and if they buy too much, too quickly, that’s definitely on them.

This conversation could (and has, and always will) spin on and on. Personally, I love the thrill of the hunt. The thrill of a Heritage or comiclink win is tempered by the knowledge that I just spent more money than the other person. But a commission that I put time into, or a piece that I patiently extracted from a protective shell, or a splash I out-traded you for - when that package arrives and I open it - that’s the shiver down my spine I live for.

[NelsonAI]

ML

Unfortunately, the shiver you feel down your spine is called an addiction.  Your next purchase is your fix.

Welcome to the world of collecting comic art.  There is no cure.  Lol.

 

[Nexus]

Wow, thanks for all the kind words, I truly appreciate them. Definitely beats the alternative type of thread! I swear I didn't pay Dichotomy. (Dichotomy, your check is in the mail!)

You know what I think about DWJ's art already, so let me share a couple of stories about him as a person:

- I discovered Daniel early, via his posts on Deviant Art and his webcomic (SPACE-MULLET). He was just getting started in his career, and had only done the webcomic to that point. But he was beginning to get noticed by publishers and established writers. One of the first jobs he secured was a single backup story with an indie publisher. Soon after, though, he was approached by one of the biggest writers in comics, who also has multimedia interests, to co-create a book with him. A 50/50 deal, with all the multimedia potential that came with it. He had discovered Daniel via SPACE-MULLET as well. Very possibly a life-changing opportunity. But they had to get started right away. Daniel, however, turned it down...because he had already committed to the backup gig. 

- After the release of EXTREMITY by Image, Daniel was offered a bucket-list property by one of the Big Two. A dream gig. The rates and potential royalties would far surpass his earnings as an indie creator. But he would be paired with a writer, as they only wanted him as an artist. He turned this down, too, because he had vowed to himself that he would write and draw all of his comics projects going forward.

- A huge media mogul who normally wouldn't set foot in Artists Alley, did so at one of the large conventions just to seek Daniel out. The reason: He wanted to meet Daniel and get a commission. He was that big of a fan. As one can imagine, Daniel was flattered and thrilled with the attention. But when the mogul asked him for the commission, Daniel simply replied "you have to talk to Felix about that."  (I heard all of this from the artist who was sitting slack-jawed next to Daniel as I was away from the table.)

I'm so happy for his success. So very well deserved. Definitely check out EXTREMITY and MURDER FALCON if you haven't already. And, of course, WONDER WOMAN: DEAD EARTH.
 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Nexus

[alxjhnsn]

4 minutes ago, Nexus said:

Wow, thanks for all the kind words, I truly appreciate them. Definitely beats the alternative type of thread!

You know what I think about DWJ's art already, so let me share a couple of stories about him as a person:
 

At Comicpalooza, I asked him to do a drawing featuring Thea (it's up at the top of the thread). I could tell that he and Yams were concerned about the drawing. What DWJ had drawn wasn't a classic head shot, but a much more interesting piece featuring Thea on her vehicle. 

I could not have been happier with it, but you could tell that if I didn't like it, DWJ was ready to do something else. Good folks. Happy customer.

[Nexus]

Now addressing a few points about me/Felix Comic Art:

- I always read the comic first before buying the art, but not everyone does. It used to be a foreign concept to me; I remember when I met a long-time collector who informed me that he rarely reads new comics, but buys a lot of new art. He just relies on his eye. Looking over all the art he bought, I could say his eye was good...they were mostly from comics that I HAD read, and it was art I wanted! For example, he had several stellar examples from Eric Powell's THE GOON...which he had never read (and that I wanted!). This was 10 years ago. Since then, I've met a lot of collectors like him. So it's not such a strange concept to me anymore.

- I've been a rep for 6 years now. One of my earliest big events happened in year one when I dropped 100 pages from Bryan Lee O'Malley's SCOTT PILGRIM series. Sold out in a day. The rate at which they sold made me wonder if collectors were just buying blind. I still wonder sometimes. But if that's happening, I don't see a lot of post-purchase regret. Everyone, for the most part, seems to enjoy their art. As evidence (however imperfect and anecdotal), I sell upwards of 3000 pieces of art a year. Well over 10,000 pieces since I've started. Yet, I rarely ever see these pieces resurface on the secondary market. Maybe 1%? Whatever it is, it's a very, very low amount. For now, at least, collectors are keeping what they buy. (I think part of this, too, is that most speculators/flippers know how I feel about that, and just tend to avoid my site.)

- Along those lines, one of my goals when I got started was to popularize, and normalize, the collecting of modern complete issues. Which had previously been a rare, random event when it happened. I believe I've helped accomplish that now, with over 100 complete issues sold. Of those 100+ complete issues, I have yet to see one get broken up on the secondary market. 

- The drop system isn't perfect. But I believe it's fair. Everyone has a shot. I don't play favorites for the simple fact that I can't...I have too many friends and I know too many collectors in the hobby! It would be impossible to play favorites without at least pizzing one other person off. This way, everyone knows they're all equally unspecial:P 

As a result of this, I have had several BSDs tell me they will not buy art from me under this system. For these spoken (and unspoken) reasons: 1. They feel I should give them preferential treatment as big spenders; 2. They are annoyed I don't recognize their status as BSDs and treat them accordingly; 3. They feel it's beneath them to have to slug it out with the hoi polloi at the drops. (Those who follow me on social media may recall such an exchange that happened publicly.) 

OTOH, there are several BSDs (including some of the very biggest BSDs of the hobby) who are willing to play by the rules and have NEVER asked for any type of preferential treatment. They're right there at the drop...like everyone else. They win some, they lose some...like everyone else. I have a whole new respect for those guys.    

Edited January 2, 2020 by Nexus

[vodou]

5 hours ago, Nexus said:

You know what I think about DWJ's art already, so let me share a couple of stories about him as a person:

Three stories pointing to: integrity. That's a word I use so infrequently in this hobby I had to pull out the ol' Dust Devil to find it.

5 hours ago, Nexus said:

I'm so happy for his success.

Yeah, me too.

5 hours ago, Nexus said:

Yet, I rarely ever see these pieces resurface on the secondary market. Maybe 1%? Whatever it is, it's a very, very low amount. For now, at least, collectors are keeping what they buy. (I think part of this, too, is that most speculators/flippers know how I feel about that, and just tend to avoid my site.)

It happens, rarely as noted, as I've been watching too...to buy

This guy lost, $150 all in for two pages:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Daniel-Warren-Johnson-original-art-Space-Mullet-4-pages-23-24-crazy-death/283716294861?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

[PhilipB2k17]

On 1/1/2020 at 6:18 AM, ESeffinga said:

Did you buy art from the WW book, or did you just read it?

 

 I’ve noticed a few of my art collector buddies have bought pages from a new series because the work looked great and they knew the character, and THEN have gone back to read the book, only to discover that the comics the art is for, are actually pretty damn good.

More than a few have done this with art from Felix’s crew, in particular.

Others that I know have waited to read the books before deciding to purchase art, but by the time they’ve gotten around to it, either Felix has had a total sell-through, sold the book complete, or the pages sell in minutes. So they get shut out.

I think it’s great that Felix is really stepping up and providing such a service for his creators, and more importantly (IMO) he has chosen such a very talented series of guys to work with. I wish them all the success in the world.

I am very curious about the folks that do buy the art un-read first though, which I’ve read happen more and more recently, and is why I ask.

I bought several Extremity pages by DWJ. I saw them on Felix's site, and liked them.  BUT....I did not buy any until I read the actual comic they were from, and understood what the pages meant to the story, and who the characters were. I discovered that a few of the big fight scene & battle pages were visually interesting, but not as important to the story. I wound up buying some pages I thought were of more important characters, and storylines. I think DWJ did an incredible job on Extremity, and have not read his WW book yet, although I intend to. I was not attracted to Murder Falcon, though. The character and story didn't interest me as much as Extremity did.

Edited January 2, 2020 by PhilipB2k17

[PhilipB2k17]

10 hours ago, Nexus said:

Now addressing a few points about me/Felix Comic Art:

- I always read the comic first before buying the art, but not everyone does. It used to be a foreign concept to me; I remember when I met a long-time collector who informed me that he rarely reads new comics, but buys a lot of new art. He just relies on his eye. Looking over all the art he bought, I could say his eye was good...they were mostly from comics that I HAD read, and it was art I wanted! For example, he had several stellar examples from Eric Powell's THE GOON...which he had never read (and that I wanted!). This was 10 years ago. Since then, I've met a lot of collectors like him. So it's not such a strange concept to me anymore.

- I've been a rep for 6 years now. One of my earliest big events happened in year one when I dropped 100 pages from Bryan Lee O'Malley's SCOTT PILGRIM series. Sold out in a day. The rate at which they sold made me wonder if collectors were just buying blind. I still wonder sometimes. But if that's happening, I don't see a lot of post-purchase regret. Everyone, for the most part, seems to enjoy their art. As evidence (however imperfect and anecdotal), I sell upwards of 3000 pieces of art a year. Well over 10,000 pieces since I've started. Yet, I rarely ever see these pieces resurface on the secondary market. Maybe 1%? Whatever it is, it's a very, very low amount. For now, at least, collectors are keeping what they buy. (I think part of this, too, is that most speculators/flippers know how I feel about that, and just tend to avoid my site.)

- Along those lines, one of my goals when I got started was to popularize, and normalize, the collecting of modern complete issues. Which had previously been a rare, random event when it happened. I believe I've helped accomplish that now, with over 100 complete issues sold. Of those 100+ complete issues, I have yet to see one get broken up on the secondary market. 

- The drop system isn't perfect. But I believe it's fair. Everyone has a shot. I don't play favorites for the simple fact that I can't...I have too many friends and I know too many collectors in the hobby! It would be impossible to play favorites without at least pizzing one other person off. This way, everyone knows they're all equally unspecial:P 

As a result of this, I have had several BSDs tell me they will not buy art from me under this system. For these spoken (and unspoken) reasons: 1. They feel I should give them preferential treatment as big spenders; 2. They are annoyed I don't recognize their status as BSDs and treat them accordingly; 3. They feel it's beneath them to have to slug it out with the hoi polloi at the drops. (Those who follow me on social media may recall such an exchange that happened publicly.) 

OTOH, there are several BSDs (including some of the very biggest BSDs of the hobby) who are willing to play by the rules and have NEVER asked for any type of preferential treatment. They're right there at the drop...like everyone else. They win some, they lose some...like everyone else. I have a whole new respect for those guys.    

Felix. I appreciate your Drop system in terms of fairness. My only issue with it is that you should allow people to pre-register their payment and mailing information so all they have to do is select the page they want and submit it to you for 1st come/1st serve review. I feel like I have lost out on some pages just because I had to type in information into my request form. I have no way of knowing that for certain, but it seems so. In any case, I have won some, and lost some. I particularly regret not getting any Tradd Moore art from Silver Surfer Black, but I realize that you are not playing favorites with anyone, so I'm sure even some of your friends in the hobby missed on out some pages.

I recognize that my "issue" above is a technical; one, and that there may be technical reasons for why your site works the way it does. So, take the comments in the constructive vein they were intended.

As I commented in a previous post, I actually read the comic the art is from before I buy it - for the most part. There is a lot of art in this hobby that has great eye appeal, but the story and characters are very pedestrian and the art doesn't have any meaning beyond its superficial qualities. That said, there are some pieces that are so outstanding that their technical and artistic merit outweighs any story or character issues.

Also, you should tell your BSD pals to pony up for an entire issue if they don't want to compete with the hoi polloi for individual pages. Most of us ham and eggers can't spend the 5 figures it would take to buy an entire issue, so they should have a much easier time of it.

[vodou]

2 hours ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

I was not attracted to Murder Falcon, though. The character and story didn't interest me as much as Extremity did.

The reveal at the end...so awesome if you were an 80s headbanger. Too bad it didn't work for you.