Jim Lee Uncanny X-Men 276 splash doesn't hit $4k on market

There was a great Jim Lee Uncanny X-Men splash page on eBay last week but didn't sell there.

Uncanny X-Men 276 page 1 featuring Gambit and Jubilee.

It was only a year (or maybe less than a year) that this same page would have sold for $4k easily but it didn't even hit that number in auction. Does this mean Jim Lee artwork is gonna take a big hit in the coming months and years? Only time will tell. Could also be that the Jim Lee art market is getting saturated with a lot of his art out there, so it's only natural that prices will not be as high. The collectors with deep pockets might not "have to" have that page anymore. It's easy to blame the recession and crappy economy, as to why fringe collectors are not willing to drop large amounts of cash on artwork. Collectors might be betting against this artwork getting back to those once higher prices. However, it is surprising that more sellers are not trying to "cash out" now while there is still a market for premium artwork. Or it's plain too late, evidenced by this unrealized auction. I'm sure there will be some nifty deals in the near future once those bills start piling up, or more people are affected by the economy. It's all cyclical, in the long run the art market will come back up, but short run is anybody's guess how low things will get and how long (years) before they eventually turn back up to recent high levels.

In the meantime, if you have any Jim Lee X-Men or Uncanny X-Men original artwork for sale, email us. We are also still seeking interior pages from Uncanny X-men 267 --2nd appearance of Gambit issue by Lee, Portacio, Williams.

We buy $$$ trade and deal for late 70s, 80s and early 90s original comic book artwork. McFarlane, Miller, Byrne, Adams, Romita, Lee, Cockrum, Sienkiewicz, etc.

Is original comic book art recession proof?

With all indicators pointing to the United States being in a economic recession, it's time to tighten your belt and start pinching pennies says traditional logic. But with original comic book art still flying off eBay at skyrocketing prices, maybe this is a sign we are already there. Don't agree? Hear me out.

When the Fed lowers key interest rates, they want us to spend more money. This subtle push is to keep the economy running, get people out buying and using they cash rather than investing it in a bank (and get some interest from it). Money stops circulating otherwise. But non-traditional investments, including collectibles such as comics, sport cards, original art, even movie memorabilia, tend to appreciate more during these times due to the high amount of quality items on the market (ie. those trying to sell to raise more cash) and so bargains can be had. I don't know off hand how many Kirby pieces were sold in the last month or two, but those blue-chip type pieces sold easily and often, and raised a lot of $$$ for their previous owners. It also made for great investments for those seeking an "in" to sought-after and rare gems of the original comic book underground. We can't forget that investing in original art also still probably has a higher rate of return than many domestic funds, and actually are relatively low risk, unless you buy something you don't like in the first place (Buy art you love).

It's not uncommon to see more than 20 bids and realized prices more than $4k for original artwork from the 70s-80s-90s, including gems from BWS, Romita, Miller, Byrne, McFarlane, and others. But I don't recall in recent history many Jim Lee (90s, early 2000s) hitting above that number. But did you catch that Hush splash selling for $6500.00 the other day? And I thought those art prices were artificially inflated when they first were sold into the market. Maybe the hype has caught up with the (limited) supply, and demand is finally coming around. Or people like that art more than their run on All-Star B&R. With that in mind, I still think Lee/Williams Uncanny X-Men have room to appreciate in my opinion. That time in X-history was significant, and really hooked many folks onto comics (including me), maybe starting to cement comics as a legit medium for story-telling as well. And then others will say that Image and the multiple cover syndrome killed any momentum it had. But you gotta admit that there have been many many comic book related movies since those 90s. I can't think of any core titles that hasn't had a movie yet, other than Justice League, and that's coming soon.

If we are in a recession, will you buy more original comic book art, OR are you selling?