Is production page art on eBay a scam? 0

[Bart Allen]

I'm rather curious as I came upon an eBay user: comicbooks.az - who's selling quite a great deal of the stuff ~

Would it be wise to give these a wide berth?

I mean, are these actually real?

Spoiler

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Bart Allen

[Will_K]

I think I've bought from them before. 

Those are (pre-digital) color guides.  Are they real ?  Sure.  But real what ??  It could be those are the color guides from when the comic was originally published.  Or maybe when reprinted.  So you might have to compare it to each time that issue was printed (or reprinted).

You generally want to stay away from those pieces on acetate.  Not all of them.  Some people say they're just manufactured memorabilia, art that was scanned and then printed on acetate.  Supposedly used to produce reprints or whatever.  I've bought them on rare occasions.  But I don't put a lot of value on them.

[bluechip]

Unfortunately, "production art" can be... 

1) xerox copies made a few months ago by some sphincter at Kinko's, or --

2) Marvel's office copies of a vintage silver age issue hand colored by Steranko himself.  

..or anything in between.

 

[Rick2you2]

57 minutes ago, Will_K said:

I think I've bought from them before. 

Those are (pre-digital) color guides.  Are they real ?  Sure.  But real what ??  It could be those are the color guides from when the comic was originally published.  Or maybe when reprinted.  So you might have to compare it to each time that issue was printed (or reprinted).

You generally want to stay away from those pieces on acetate.  Not all of them.  Some people say they're just manufactured memorabilia, art that was scanned and then printed on acetate.  Supposedly used to produce reprints or whatever.  I've bought them on rare occasions.  But I don't put a lot of value on them.

At first, I thought they were color guides, too, but some of the handwritten notes threw me. They probably are color guides, but I am not positive.

Color guides have varying worth, from a little to maybe $2-400. Usually, they are in the $25-75 range. As with most things, it depends on the colorist. I have 2, one by Neil Adams, for which I paid about $350. The colors he chose, by the way, are not, in some cases, the ones on the published cover. I liked his choices a bit better.

 I certainly agree with you that those acetate reprints should not be considered original art. They are purely decorative.

[Rick2you2]

2 minutes ago, bluechip said:

Unfortunately, "production art" can be... 

1) xerox copies made a few months ago by some sphincter at Kinko's, or --

2) Marvel's office copies of a vintage silver age issue hand colored by Steranko himself.  

..or anything in between.

 

From what I have seen on eBay, most appear to have been sphincter-generated. I have seen some real ones, and they don’t look anything like the eBay rubbish.

[ThothAmon]

I bought these production “stats” off eBay 20 years ago. Has a Bill Finger collection notation on one!?!  Mid 1940”s strip Batman. 
 

Edited May 9, 2020 by ThothAmon

[Bart Allen]

2 hours ago, Will_K said:

I think I've bought from them before. 

Those are (pre-digital) color guides.  Are they real ?  Sure.  But real what ??  It could be those are the color guides from when the comic was originally published.  Or maybe when reprinted.  So you might have to compare it to each time that issue was printed (or reprinted).

You generally want to stay away from those pieces on acetate.  Not all of them.  Some people say they're just manufactured memorabilia, art that was scanned and then printed on acetate.  Supposedly used to produce reprints or whatever.  I've bought them on rare occasions.  But I don't put a lot of value on them.

So they're real but the extend to whether their original or reprinted connected is in question? I mean for example, the MM #2 issue states:

"Great thrills highlights this must have piece of ONE OF A KIND COMIC BOOK ART...from 1975 this is a ORIGINAL hand colored COLOR GUIDE to MARVEL CHILLERS #2......a great ACTION page featuring MODRED THE MYSTIC battling some DEMONS and POLICE getting out of "DRAGONS"!! This piece is the ORIGINAL hand colored COLOR WORK done by the COLORIST with COLOR NOTATIONS so the PRINTERS know how to finalize the color schemes!!!.....A truly important part of the comic making process...IT CANT BE IN BLACK AND WHITE!!!!!."

Thanks to everyone who replied ^_^

[Bart Allen]

1 minute ago, Bill C said:

the four pages in the original post all look like color guides to me.

Thanks, and I'm guessing they're real? ~

[Drewsky]

If you are brand new to collecting comic art,be advised that color guides are printouts on thin paper, like 8x10ish that the colorist used to apply color pre-digital. The market for them is small and the value is low. If you are new, it's better to look for pencil and ink originals with pencil and ink on the same page. Most originals will be 11x17 and are done on art board. 

[Will_K]

You can consult comics.org and look up those specific issues.  If a story has been reprinted, comics.org usually mentioned the appearances.

As mentioned by @Drewsky , color guides were usually as simple as a xerox of the original line work and colored by the colorist.  Those notations beginning with R, Y, B indicate the colors/color codes. 

As mentioned above, I've bought a couple of those acetate things but I don't put too much value on them.

I've also bought color guides.  They're interesting.  Every once in a while, Trish Mulvihill lists a bunch of her own colors on ebay ( trishmvhl ).  When comics started using digital colors, a lot of it sucked.  It seemed like anyone that was half-way competent on a computer got to muck up comics with weird coloring.  But I liked Trish's work. 

 

[Bart Allen]

6 minutes ago, Will_K said:

You can consult comics.org and look up those specific issues.  If a story has been reprinted, comics.org usually mentioned the appearances.

As mentioned by @Drewsky , color guides were usually as simple as a xerox of the original line work and colored by the colorist.  Those notations beginning with R, Y, B indicate the colors/color codes. 

As mentioned above, I've bought a couple of those acetate things but I don't put too much value on them.

I've also bought color guides.  They're interesting.  Every once in a while, Trish Mulvihill lists a bunch of her own colors on ebay ( trishmvhl ).  When comics started using digital colors, a lot of it sucked.  It seemed like anyone that was half-way competent on a computer got to muck up comics with weird coloring.  But I liked Trish's work. 

 

Thanks a lot ^_^

They've been two reprints: a black and white one in 2018, and one in 2019 - so yeah, they might be from 1975.

But thanks a lot - and everyone else - for your comments :3

[Rick2you2]

1 hour ago, Bart Allen said:

Thanks a lot ^_^

They've been two reprints: a black and white one in 2018, and one in 2019 - so yeah, they might be from 1975.

But thanks a lot - and everyone else - for your comments :3

Let me add that the 5 digit numbers are color coded to the Pantone printing system, so the printer knew exactly what color was meant.

[aokartman]

In reference to your original post, those might be production material, or they could be clever aftermarket product.  There really isn't a value difference, particularly without any provenance.

There might even be an uptick in value if the pieces derived from a known fraudster!

Decorative, appealing, but not "original" pen and ink comic art for the picky OA collector.  Color guides generally have not seen the same level of appreciation as the original art.

Best, David S. Albright

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by aokartman
clarify