Bruce Timm head shots on AlbertMoy.com? 2 2

[Rick2you2]

3 hours ago, Will_K said:

I wouldn't say Timm is easy to forge.  But it was (is ?) common to see drawings (e.g. on ebay) that were copies of Timm originals.  They'll look close to Timm but still be a little off.

And the "Timm animated style" is also a standard for comics aimed at kids, coloring books, etc.  So there are pros that have to follow the model created by Timm.  They may not look exactly like Timm but they're close enough (and good enough) for publication.

And Timm's style has evolved over the decades.  You see it mainly in women's faces.  So even Timm can draw something that doesn't look exactly like the Timm you've grown to love.

However Timm's looser drawings and color work ??  I don't think those have been successfully imitated.  They really deserve a premium.

There have also been a lot of bad forgeries on eBay in the past, and you are correct, his stuff does deserve a premium (not the point of my maligned comment). He is very, very good.

[Nexus]

On 5/12/2021 at 12:14 PM, aqn83 said:

Not just Albert. Felix is kind of the current master at pushing the market prices higher and higher, and it's really a testament to how good of a sales guy he is. He's the ultimate hype man, and unfortunately for those of us with smaller pockets, he's extremely good at it.

Great for him and great for his artists. Detrimental for the hobby, imo.

Whether it's prices for commissions or published art, we always try to arrive at something that we feel is fair to both artists and collectors. We do not set out to gouge anyone. Pricing is in collaboration with the artists; sometimes I tell the artists they are charging too low. Other times, though, I have to tell them their expectations are too high. Ultimately, the market decides. And from the beginning, the market has responded very positively to how we price. (Our "market" being primarily comprised of collectors who would describe themselves as those with "smaller pockets".)

Now, we HAVE sold art for some surprising amounts (certainly, to me). But don't overlook the fact that we also very likely sell more art priced in the $100 (or less) neighborhood than any other dealer or rep. So that everyone has a chance to acquire an original from us, regardless of the size of their pockets. I love the art form, I love the hobby, and actively promote it via avenues like the podcast and YouTube. Call it "hype", but the passion, and more importantly, the talent of the artists, are real. I work hard to introduce OA to new fans and collectors. That new demand may be detrimental to other collectors when it comes time to buy, but I don't believe that's detrimental to the hobby otherwise. Quite the opposite. It's all certainly been a boon for other reps, artists, sellers, et al.

[Nexus]

On 5/12/2021 at 2:31 PM, vodou said:

Not quite. The job is actually to build a relationship by building out a client's base appeal and "as much $$$" will follow...over time.

Yes. To be sustainable, has to happen organically.

On 5/12/2021 at 2:31 PM, vodou said:

We've all seen a lot of artists either misunderstood or outright mishandled by their reps. Those relationships that work aren't rare, but they are less common than those that don't. As an example, everyone had years to get all the Tradd Moore they wanted and now they don't, it's more like seconds or maybe a few minutes. That kind of means that everyone should expect higher prices next time around  

And Tradd is a good example. It doesn't happen unless it's backed by that kind of talent. Talent first, always.

[Nexus]

On 5/12/2021 at 4:31 PM, exitmusicblue said:

Re: one of the above posts, I wouldn't paint Felix as a mere hype man / great sales guy, btw.  He's proven to have exceedingly good taste in terms of who he reps. Signal to noise kinda thing.  Many collectors and speculators alike have come to trust his taste and respond accordingly.

Right place, right time.

I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't this excited by the art. Because the hours this job eats up in a week is crazy. But it will never get old to receive a box of originals from any of these artists. And get to hold them in my hands, even if only temporarily.

[Nexus]

On 5/14/2021 at 6:45 AM, Hockeyflow33 said:

The amount of reps that are downright rude to customers is always shocking to me. Some of the big name reps at cons treat us like utter garbage, so much so that I know of many collectors who refuse to do business with their artists because of how off-putting the reps are. 

I'm always curious to know if these artists realize how their reps are viewed to the outside world. So many of the current big name guys are repped by dbags and it's always puzzling to see because you talk to the artists and they're usually very nice people and you wonder how that can mesh with their customer-facing representation.

 

On 5/14/2021 at 3:36 PM, Hockeyflow33 said:

Treating people poorly should never be part of an agent/rep's job. I don't know who the family members are that you're referring too, usually the husband and wife teams are very pleasant to chat with and I'll take that every day instead of some rep conglomerate that will lie to people to get a few extra bucks. 

Who are these reps? Why not just name them. You have nothing to lose, if you're boycotting them anyway.

[Rick2you2]

4 hours ago, Nexus said:

 

Who are these reps? Why not just name them. You have nothing to lose, if you're boycotting them anyway.

I can’t say I have ever been treated “rudely” by a rep, but there have been rep’s with poor communication skills, who are clearly stressed due to too much going on in front of them (which can happen to anyone), or who don’t follow up as quickly as I would like. And of course, they don’t make the final decision on pricing. 

[Hockeyflow33]

12 hours ago, Nexus said:

 

Who are these reps? Why not just name them. You have nothing to lose, if you're boycotting them anyway.

It's definitely not you guys. At NYCC your guys have gone above and beyond to help me get stuff signed. I drove in from Boston one year for a single day just to get Paul Pope's signature on a few things and one of your guys went so far as to give me text updates as to when Paul was coming. I definitely appreciated that and always recommend you guys to other fans and even to other artists when they've talked about looking for reps. 

Those types of actions go a very long way with me and many other fans too!

[Nexus]

1 hour ago, Hockeyflow33 said:

It's definitely not you guys. At NYCC your guys have gone above and beyond to help me get stuff signed. I drove in from Boston one year for a single day just to get Paul Pope's signature on a few things and one of your guys went so far as to give me text updates as to when Paul was coming. I definitely appreciated that and always recommend you guys to other fans and even to other artists when they've talked about looking for reps. 

Those types of actions go a very long way with me and many other fans too!

Thanks for the clarification. I didn't know which reps you were referring to, but when I see this

On 5/14/2021 at 3:36 PM, Hockeyflow33 said:

will lie to people to get a few extra bucks. 

especially, I know it's not us. But to someone just skimming this thread, it could mean any rep as far as they're concerned. So again, thanks for confirming it's not us!

[Hockeyflow33]

4 hours ago, Nexus said:

Thanks for the clarification. I didn't know which reps you were referring to, but when I see this

especially, I know it's not us. But to someone just skimming this thread, it could mean any rep as far as they're concerned. So again, thanks for confirming it's not us!

Sorry for the confusion! It seemed way too negative to just name who it is but in hindsight I can see how me leaving it vague would leave it open for interpretation. In my mind the offender is so notorious among con-goers that I thought it was safe

[aqn83]

On 5/12/2021 at 6:31 PM, exitmusicblue said:

Re: one of the above posts, I wouldn't paint Felix as a mere hype man / great sales guy, btw.  He's proven to have exceedingly good taste in terms of who he reps. Signal to noise kinda thing.  Many collectors and speculators alike have come to trust his taste and respond accordingly.

 

Well, I wasn't trying to simply paint him as a hype man with no substance. He has curated a list of incredible artists who are deserving of praise.

On 5/16/2021 at 12:34 AM, Nexus said:

Whether it's prices for commissions or published art, we always try to arrive at something that we feel is fair to both artists and collectors. We do not set out to gouge anyone. Pricing is in collaboration with the artists; sometimes I tell the artists they are charging too low. Other times, though, I have to tell them their expectations are too high. Ultimately, the market decides. And from the beginning, the market has responded very positively to how we price. (Our "market" being primarily comprised of collectors who would describe themselves as those with "smaller pockets".)

Now, we HAVE sold art for some surprising amounts (certainly, to me). But don't overlook the fact that we also very likely sell more art priced in the $100 (or less) neighborhood than any other dealer or rep. So that everyone has a chance to acquire an original from us, regardless of the size of their pockets. I love the art form, I love the hobby, and actively promote it via avenues like the podcast and YouTube. Call it "hype", but the passion, and more importantly, the talent of the artists, are real. I work hard to introduce OA to new fans and collectors. That new demand may be detrimental to other collectors when it comes time to buy, but I don't believe that's detrimental to the hobby otherwise. Quite the opposite. It's all certainly been a boon for other reps, artists, sellers, et al.

Oh, hi. Don't get me wrong Felix, I'm not trying to throw any shade your way. I do think you're the best rep in the business, and you do a really great job at promoting the artists. Perhaps i'm just a bit jaded by the increasing rise in prices, and the sudden influx of new collector whales into the hobby who seem to have endless budgets. 

[Rick2you2]

7 hours ago, aqn83 said:

Perhaps i'm just a bit jaded by the increasing rise in prices, and the sudden influx of new collector whales into the hobby who seem to have endless budgets. 

With the pandemic ending, and people being able to spend money on going out or on vacations, some of those prices may get harpooned. Although honestly, for what I buy, prices haven’t really changed much.

[exitmusicblue]

On 5/18/2021 at 2:46 AM, Rick2you2 said:

With the pandemic ending, and people being able to spend money on going out or on vacations, some of those prices may get harpooned. Although honestly, for what I buy, prices haven’t really changed much.

Sports card market apparently has gotten softer... OA, stay tuned.

[Rick2you2]

39 minutes ago, exitmusicblue said:

Sports card market apparently has gotten softer... OA, stay tuned.

I confess not to understand why people would spend so much on a duplicate copy of a face picture on cardboard, multiplied if “perfect”. At least we get originals, and sometimes like the imperfections when they were part of their production process. 

Edited May 19, 2021 by Rick2you2

[John E.]

On 5/16/2021 at 12:34 AM, Nexus said:

But don't overlook the fact that we also very likely sell more art priced in the $100 (or less) neighborhood than any other dealer or rep. 

I find it funny that a lot of reps and dealers emulate your sales strategy, but they don't emulate this (budget pieces). Tsk. Tsk.

[Marwai]

14 hours ago, John E. said:

I find it funny that a lot of reps and dealers emulate your sales strategy, but they don't emulate this (budget pieces). Tsk. Tsk.

Same amount of work, less money to be made.  Basically doing loss leaders for advertising and buzz for an overall effect to get the bigger things to sell and sell out.  Maybe they don't want to have all the attention because it goes positive and negative as we see in this thread.  Also depends if the artists are confident enough their loose prelims and sketches will sell.  It would hurt sales of regular art and commission requests if a prelim at $10 just sits around forever.

[Marwai]

23 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

I confess not to understand why people would spend so much on a duplicate copy of a face picture on cardboard, multiplied if “perfect”. At least we get originals, and sometimes like the imperfections when they were part of their production process. 

So collecting comics books graded by CGC is no good either?

[Rick2you2]

56 minutes ago, Marwai said:

So collecting comics books graded by CGC is no good either?

Comic book grading I understand, although I don’t pay attention to the fine points. Likewise, I do understand basic card collecting, but not to the degree, or pricing, some new cards has reached. Target had to stop selling them recently.

 

[MOStateSuperman]

41 minutes ago, Rick2you2 said:

Comic book grading I understand, although I don’t pay attention to the fine points. Likewise, I do understand basic card collecting, but not to the degree, or pricing, some new cards has reached. Target had to stop selling them recently.

 

From my understanding (based solely on reddit) the card collecting crowd had gotten way out of hand (making threats, fights breaking out among competing collectors, etc). I worked at Walmart for a number of years in college, but I never had to deal with anything beyond the occasional overzealous Hot Wheels collector. This was the period after Star Wars cooled off and before Marvel Legends heated up. Between Cards, Funko Pops, Marvel Legends, Star Wars Black Series, and everything else out there (not to mention the pandemic), I am not missing that retail life. 

Edited May 20, 2021 by MOStateSuperman

[John E.]

3 hours ago, Marwai said:

Same amount of work, less money to be made.  

You do it for the love of the hobby and fans for sure 

[BuraddoRun]

I have found that even though my pockets aren't deep, I've been able to find what I consider very good pieces of artwork, from some talented and popular artists, at prices I can afford. Sure, a lot of things are priced out for me, but I've gotten a nice Stegman page from Felix, a Jim Lee from Albert, a Ron Lim from Anthony, a Scalera from Jason (he's the guy at Essential Sequential, right?), a Daniel and a McKone (soon) from Tatiana, etc. These are all artists that, sure, I'd love to get some high end pieces from, but just the fact that there are affordable pieces available among the higher stuff makes the hobby accessible to me. There's LOTS of good art out there, and there are ways to get pieces from your favorite artists. Plus, most dealers allow for timed payments, which also helps with accessibility.

I don't have a Timm yet, but I almost pulled the trigger on a Watcher cover sketch he did a few months back. That was affordable. Kind of kicking myself for not, but it's OK. There will be other Timm pieces available.