• 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.

A Single Collector Negotiates To Buy All King In Black Original Art
1 1

40 posts in this topic

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/a-single-collector-negotiates-to-buy-all-king-in-black-original-art/

Felix Lu of Felix Comic Art dropped a figurative bomb in his latest newsletter when he announced that he is in negotiation to sell all the original Ryan Stegman art (with inker JP Mayer) of Marvel's King In Black to a single buyer.

Not just one issue. Every page of every issue of the King In Black event comic, in original art, to a single collector.

KING IN BLACK is the culmination of the work Ryan and writer Donny Cates started with VENOM in 2018. Since then, VENOM has become Marvel's #1 book. With the introduction of new super-villain Knull in issue #3, Venom, the character and the title, has never been hotter.
The first Stegman/Cates Venomverse event, ABSOLUTE CARNAGE, was a monster hit for Marvel in 2019. KING IN BLACK is even bigger.
Those who follow us also know that we've popularized the selling/collecting of complete issues of original art in the hobby. KING IN BLACK may represent a first for us there: The ENTIRE series may be sold complete. To one very motivated collector. The deal isn't finalized yet, but it's trending that way. We will continue to share scans, though, so that everyone can enjoy Ryan and inker JP Mayer's beautiful work!

It's a flex that undersells what kind of a power move buying all of the original art of an entire event comic before that event concludes is. I'm not sure what's even comparable. Maybe Dinesh Shamdasani's Twitter photo of all of his original art? But even that's spread out over multiple artists and styles, with some accounting for stone-cold classics, like Watchmen or Frank Miller Daredevil.

Should the deal materialize, buying all of King In Black before it completes is a kind of in the moment "look at my money" flex that defies comparison. The buyer can't display it on their walls; there are too many pages. Perhaps they're going for the most expensive coffee table book ever? Maybe buying all of King In Black before it's even published is the Ghostface Killah eagle of comic art collecting.

 

Edited by Ares
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought he mentioned it was going to a museum of some kind? I swore that’s what I’d read or heard somewhere recently. I didn’t think this was someone’s rich guy “flex”, or that is was an investment attempt at all. Maybe I’m wrong or it was a bad assumption on my part?
 

I’m sure @Nexus will be along shortly to spell it out when he can.

All I can say is congrats to him again. Making bank for his artists is no small thing. Especially in the current economy/health situation. 
 

 

Edited by ESeffinga
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Ares said:

Perhaps they're going for the most expensive coffee table book ever?

Not that one: copyright violation. 

Sounds like an investor playing the "long game." Hold things back for now; dribble a few pieces on the market to set the price, and see where it leads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, ESeffinga said:

I thought he mentioned it was going to a museum of some kind? I swore that’s what I’d read or heard somewhere recently. I didn’t think this was someone’s rich guy “flex”, or that is was an investment attempt at all. Maybe I’m wrong or it was a bad assumption on my part?
 

I’m sure @Nexus will be along shortly to spell it out when he can.

All I can say is congrats to him again. Making bank for his artists is no small thing. Especially in the current economy/health situation. 
 

 

Felix mentioned in his newsletter it sold to a curator for a museum. He mentioned the museum isn’t opened yet but has purchased land and would likely have an announcement soon. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't a collector buy all of a Giffen Legion story over multiple issues not so long ago? And then decades before that the Kraven's Last Hunt was complete only until recent times.  So I think the real question here is where it might up, more than a multi-issue sale.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, miraclemet said:

I wonder if "cornering the market" could also stall the market or even deflate the market (like if people know OA for a title is all tied up do they move on?)

Technically in a situation like this, it's hard to say that there's even a market at all.  

Either way, congrats to the artists and Felix.  Hopefully the OA doesn't disappear to never be seen again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, RBerman said:

I bet we all have issues or whole series we'd love to own (and preserve) intact if price were no object. It's too late to accomplish for issues of the past, so the best one could hope for would be to find something brand new to hold onto.

Green Lantern 159. 
I've cobbled together 6 of 23 pages over 10 years and know where 2 other pages live... someday I'll get them all. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RBerman said:

I bet we all have issues or whole series we'd love to own (and preserve) intact if price were no object. It's too late to accomplish for issues of the past, so the best one could hope for would be to find something brand new to hold onto.

Not I.

I really try to minimize the number of pieces by an artist featuring the same character. I love lots of stories, but have zero interest in owning an entire one. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RBerman said:

I bet we all have issues or whole series we'd love to own (and preserve) intact if price were no object. It's too late to accomplish for issues of the past, so the best one could hope for would be to find something brand new to hold onto.

Absolutely agree. Although it's a little less appealing (tiny bit) with modern pages since they don't have all the narration/dialogue but still nice to be able to have a whole book intact. 

Yes, total win for the artists and Felix.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, alxjhnsn said:

Not I.

I really try to minimize the number of pieces by an artist featuring the same character. I love lots of stories, but have zero interest in owning an entire one. 

 

I can understand that too. Asa newbie collector, I enjoy getting something from a variety of artists on my checklist. Not that only newbies do this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Ares said:

Maybe buying all of King In Black before it's even published is the Ghostface Killah eagle of comic art collecting.

 

Well if I recall correctly Ghostface eventually melted down the eagle to make a medallion. Maybe if the buyer's museum doesn't materialize, they'll take a similar approach and break up the art for sale on a per page basis. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, RBerman said:

I bet we all have issues or whole series we'd love to own (and preserve) intact if price were no object. It's too late to accomplish for issues of the past, so the best one could hope for would be to find something brand new to hold onto.

Closest I got to that is getting all 11 covers (including the unused one) for the ION miniseries (2-11)

I am looking for issue 1 but no idea where it is

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