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November Comiclink Auction Thread
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88 posts in this topic

8 hours ago, stinkininkin said:

More. This was turned into the cover for the trade.

Wait...more than 100K? I thought the last few covers from the main series were in in the 50's as recently as the last couple years. 

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It’s inspired BWS. I really don’t have a read on $$$ though the potential to reach six figures not impossible. 
Scott makes a great point about the use as cover on the Trade. But I pause as comix4fun based on past numbers.

On the art alone, I really think it’s a knockout. I’m a big fan of BWS artistically. Some numbers of late suggest a decline in love ($) but this one is terrific.

 

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4 hours ago, comix4fun said:

Wait...more than 100K? I thought the last few covers from the main series were in in the 50's as recently as the last couple years. 

it's arguably the best single image in the entire run, regular MCP covers included. And it's the cover for the trade and hardcover. I've seen private deals on good interior pages go for 20-30k. In my mind, this is an A+ cover, best of the best kind of piece, and looks like the kind of thing that would shock people at auction. My only question is whether this will do as well at Clink as it would do at Heritage. We'll never know I guess.

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8 hours ago, grapeape said:

It’s inspired BWS. I really don’t have a read on $$$ though the potential to reach six figures not impossible. 
Scott makes a great point about the use as cover on the Trade. But I pause as comix4fun based on past numbers.

On the art alone, I really think it’s a knockout. I’m a big fan of BWS artistically. Some numbers of late suggest a decline in love ($) but this one is terrific.

 

I know I stand alone on this, but I don’t think it deserves all the love it is getting. Yes, it is highly detailed and crafted, but I find it visually cluttered. Every bit of white space which could be filled is filled. For example, a little less rubble at the bottom of the page could offset some of the while space near the top. And while some may say that carnage and destruction are the point of the image, I find it distracting. I don’t spend in these kinds of waters, but it is not what I would consider a masterpiece.

Edited by Rick2you2
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2 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

I know I stand alone on this, but I don’t think it deserves all the love it is getting. Yes, it is highly detailed and crafted, but I find it visually cluttered. Every bit of white space which could be filled is filled. For example, a little less rubble at the bottom of the page could offset some of the while space near the top. And while some may say that carnage and destruction are the point of the image, I find it distracting. I don’t spend in these kinds of waters, but it is not what I would consider a masterpiece.

No mention of the fact that the length of Logan's left arm + claws looks to be as tall as he is? :eek: 

BWS aficionados know that anatomy has never been one of his strong points, even going back to his Conan days. lol 

Some might argue that the final price of this piece, whatever it may be, will reflect the superb quality of the art, but, I think it will be all about how this story became a key part of the Wolverine backstory (both in comics and in the movies), as I think there are plenty of BWS pieces out there that are drawn better (just not with as desirable subject matter).  BWS Weapon X is and has been the hottest segment of the BWS art market due to pop culture exposure and nostalgia; it has much less to do with it being at/near the peak of his artistic powers (which, IMO, it is not).

Plus, mid-'80s to mid-'90s art is the hottest part of the OA market overall with KJ Batman (both Killing Joke and Kelley Jones), Watchmen, Sandman, DKR, Weapon X, McSpidey/McASM, Larsen Spidey, Lee X-Men, Liefeld New Mutants/X-Force, etc. all doing eye-popping numbers whenever they hit the auction block. Even the Comic Art Live guys - all dyed in the wool Silver and Bronze Age superhero guys - acknowledged the changing generational preferences in the OA market (a David Finch X-Men cover selling for more than a Kirby/Sinnott FF splash? Blasphemy!) in their last YouTube episode recapping the last HA auction.  

10 hours ago, exitmusicblue said:

And it'll doubtless get the Pandemic Plus.  Bizarre times.

Yep. Like I said regarding the UXM #268 cover, despite the widespread economic misery among tens of millions of people in this country, much of the asset-owning class is feeling both bored and flush these days and are overpaying for assets left and right. I was having this discussion about the BWS piece with some OA friends on Wednesday and most of them were predicting $35-$50K types of numbers, to which I said no way - you can throw out the comps on really desirable pieces these days.  My guess is that it will go in the high 5 figures, but, I certainly wouldn't be surprised if it did more than $100K. 2c 

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18 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

No mention of the fact that the length of Logan's left arm + claws looks to be as tall as he is? :eek: 

BWS aficionados know that anatomy has never been one of his strong points, even going back to his Conan days. lol 

Some might argue that the final price of this piece, whatever it may be, will reflect the superb quality of the art, but, I think it will be all about how this story became a key part of the Wolverine backstory (both in comics and in the movies), as I think there are plenty of BWS pieces out there that are drawn better (just not with as desirable subject matter).  BWS Weapon X is and has been the hottest segment of the BWS art market due to pop culture exposure and nostalgia; it has much less to do with it being at/near the peak of his artistic powers (which, IMO, it is not).

Plus, mid-'80s to mid-'90s art is the hottest part of the OA market overall with KJ Batman (both Killing Joke and Kelley Jones), Watchmen, Sandman, DKR, Weapon X, McSpidey/McASM, Larsen Spidey, Lee X-Men, Liefeld New Mutants/X-Force, etc. all doing eye-popping numbers whenever they hit the auction block. Even the Comic Art Live guys - all dyed in the wool Silver and Bronze Age superhero guys - acknowledged the changing generational preferences in the OA market (a David Finch X-Men cover selling for more than a Kirby/Sinnott FF splash? Blasphemy!) in their last YouTube episode recapping the last HA auction.  

Yep. Like I said regarding the UXM #268 cover, despite the widespread economic misery among tens of millions of people in this country, much of the asset-owning class is feeling both bored and flush these days and are overpaying for assets left and right. I was having this discussion about the BWS piece with some OA friends on Wednesday and most of them were predicting $35-$50K types of numbers, to which I said no way - you can throw out the comps on really desirable pieces these days.  My guess is that it will go in the high 5 figures, but, I certainly wouldn't be surprised if it did more than $100K. 2c 

I've looked at this image a million times, and never noticed the length on that left arm. Thanks for ruining my day Gene. lol

Seriously, I agree generally about some of the odd BWS career anatomy/drawing quirks, but this one seems like total artistic license. The arm is that long because he needed it to be to pull off the impaling. Could it have been achieved without the extension? Of course, but to my eye the design, drawing and storytelling still works.  And I think I disagree with Gene in that I think the mid 80's-early mid 90's BWS might be peak BWS. I think Barry's drawing is consistently better than during my personal nostalgic peak of late Conan Red Nails/Song of Red Sonja/Studio stuff. His ink line is also a little more free and energetic during this later period too, which I appreciate. 

But none of this is why this piece might surprise on the upside at auction. BWS Weapon X is hot, this era is hot, and the image is as good as it gets under that umbrella. All the things Gene mentions.

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8 minutes ago, stinkininkin said:

I think the mid 80's-early mid 90's BWS might be peak BWS. I think Barry's drawing is consistently better than during my personal nostalgic peak of late Conan Red Nails/Song of Red Sonja/Studio stuff. His ink line is also a little more free and energetic during this later period too, which I appreciate. 

You know, I think you might be right. But the later stuff might not be getting the same love because the later-Marvel/Valiant era was more sequential than illustrative.

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4 minutes ago, BCarter27 said:

You know, I think you might be right. But the later stuff might not be getting the same love because the later-Marvel/Valiant era was more sequential than illustrative.

I think Scott is right in that '80s/'90s BWS was more consistent, maybe even more dynamic/energetic as he posits.  But, if you look at The Song of Red Sonja, Red Nails, Worms of the Earth, Tupenny Conan and the best of his Studio-era works from the '70s, and then compare that output to Conan Saga, Weapon X, his later Marvel covers and his Valiant work from the mid-80s to mid-90s...well, I would, personally, find it very difficult to argue that the former group doesn't represent Peak BWS.  

That said, I do recognize that much of it is personal preference; earlier BWS is more steeped in classical artistic traditions while later BWS has a more modern, individualistic sensibility about it  

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16 minutes ago, delekkerste said:

I think Scott is right in that '80s/'90s BWS was more consistent, maybe even more dynamic/energetic as he posits.  But, if you look at The Song of Red Sonja, Red Nails, Worms of the Earth, Tupenny Conan and the best of his Studio-era works from the '70s, and then compare that output to Conan Saga, Weapon X, his later Marvel covers and his Valiant work from the mid-80s to mid-90s...well, I would, personally, find it very difficult to argue that the former group doesn't represent Peak BWS.  

That said, I do recognize that much of it is personal preference; earlier BWS is more steeped in classical artistic traditions while later BWS has a more modern, individualistic sensibility about it  

Without getting into all the merits of the "early peak BWS" versus "late peak BWS" argument, I'll mention that I know while there are a lot of Valiant lovers out there, I actually find that stuff to be a bit too static, if not down right boring. Decently drawn, but just...lacking. I guess, without really having thought about it much before, Weapon X is sort of the end of "peak BWS" IMHO. YMMV of course.

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By the way, I also think the 3 or 4 Xmen issues that BWS did in the late 80's are drawn at least as well as anything he's ever done in comics, including any of his Conan work. The ink line is rather different, but just as great (better?). Even the coloring he did is next level and stretched what was possible within the limited pallet and techniques that were available in that era.

Carry on.

Edited by stinkininkin
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4 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

I know I stand alone on this, but I don’t think it deserves all the love it is getting. Yes, it is highly detailed and crafted, but I find it visually cluttered. Every bit of white space which could be filled is filled. For example, a little less rubble at the bottom of the page could offset some of the while space near the top. And while some may say that carnage and destruction are the point of the image, I find it distracting. I don’t spend in these kinds of waters, but it is not what I would consider a masterpiece.

That’s why I like it. Reminds me of my comic room, visually cluttered :luhv:

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1 hour ago, batman_fan said:

That’s why I like it. Reminds me of my comic room, visually cluttered :luhv:

I also think the BWS cover is a bit too crowded for my personal tastes.  And Wolverine ends up being almost just sketched, in particular the face. But I can see why people feel this will draw major bids.  To me, peak BWS is the two UXM Lifedeath issues and UXM 205 (top 5 cover in Claremont's UXM run?).  BTW, am I seem to recollect that 205 is complete? Any chance of it being broken up?

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