McFarlane's Amazing Spider-Man 328 cover original comic book artwork sells for $657,250.00 record price.

Before this becomes old news, the original comic book artwork for Todd McFarlane's Amazing Spider-Man 328 cover sold recently for a $657,250.00.  The original comic book artwork for Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man 1 sold for a surprisingly low (at least it was to me) $358,500.00.

Oh man, I remember when these books were so popular when they came out in 1990.  I remember rushing to the  comic book shop (sorry, nothing was available online back then) and buying multiple copies of the books.  I was fortunate to get copies of all the bagged and unbagged versions of the #1 issue.  Was so excited back then.  Alas, I still have them in some random closet , never read, still bagged and boarded (rebagged/reboarded since).  One of these days I will pull them out and reminisce over them.  Until then, I will enjoy looking at the original comic book artwork of the covers from these books.  :-)

While the Spider-Man 1 cover may be more iconic, could it be the ASM 328 cover is more noteworthy because it features not only Spidey but also Hulk?  And of course, Amazing Spider-Man is the grand-daddy of Spiderman comic titles, and I'm sure collectors place a premium on original artwork from this title.  Regardless, the ASM 328 cover artwork came at the peak time of McFarlane's run at Marvel.  Or could it have been that most collector's figured the cover for SM 1 was going to hit a higher realized value, and as such, didn't want to get into a bidding war with other high rollers.  Maybe Todd himself?  There was a lot of talk about the SM 1 cover hitting a million dollars weeks leading up to the auction.

As an original comic book artwork collector, I think this was a good thing for the hobby but not a great thing, at least I'm not sure if it is great yet.  It does make non-comic book art collectors take notice that this is a growing segment for the art collector niche.  I think it opens more eyes just for the fact this sold for as much as it did when the economy really isn't doing great still.  Judging from comments I read online at sites such as Yahoo, CBS and other "mainstream" non-comic/non-art, most people think this was a waste of money.  I think this may have been a shrewd investment as I can foresee original art continue to grow in the short and long term.  However my concern is if these high priced public transactions have pushed the smaller low budget collectors out of the hobby or have they separated them even more from the mid/high end art collector.  It already requires a substantial cash investment to get started in this hobby for those new to collecting original comic book art.  It will only get more pricey in the years to come.

Would love to hear your take on these record setting transactions of original comic book artwork.

Link to ha.com press release on the ASM 328 cover original comic book artwork record breaking auction.

Kevin Maguire Justice League International original poster artwork 1987

Here's a blast from the past.

You don't see Justice League International original artwork for sale on eBay often, or at least I don't remember seeing any late 80s/early 90s Kevin Maguire artwork on eBay in many many years.  So when the original art for a poster and original artwork from issue 4 went up on eBay last week, I was pleasantly surprised. 

Hopefully there will be more Kevin Maguire JLI original artwork coming out of art collector closets.  I would definitely be interested and you'd get some bids from me.  If you have some for sale, email me directly.  :-)

The original artwork for the poster sold for what I thought was an amazing amount of loot.  $8,877.77 is a lot of coin.  Granted, this is a great looking team shot done by the main artist of this best selling comic book title which had the quirky characters and stories.  Good times.

Kevin Maguire original artwork for a Justice League International poster from 1987.

Really Sotheby Girls?

Just found an interesting article about working at Sotheby's, and lessons learned. Sotheby Girls huh?

Artinfo.com article "Cool Girls Got off at Contemporary.."

N+1 Magazine excerpt

Jim Lee Scott Williams Batman 617 panel page from Hush

I remember when these pages were first available in 2002/03 and they were selling like hotcakes. Turns out these pages are still worth their weight in gold, and given the large number of bidders on this recent Hush panel page auction that just closed, things could be heating up in 2012.

20 bidders brought this auction to $3050.00. The original art of Batman 617 page 20 featuring Jim Lee pencils and Scott Williams inks is a nice example of the art from Hush. This is all-in-all a pretty nice panel page. Has some excellent large images of Batman especially the 2 large views of the Dark Knight at the top of the page.

Hopefully with the large number of bidders and high realized original art prices for recent auctions (see above and see previous post today re: Neal Adams Brave and Bold page), we will see more great pages come out of hiding and go up on eBay before comic book convention season starts.

NOTE This page sold on Heritage in Nov 2011 for $4780.00

Neal Adams Brave and Bold 86 page from 1969

Welcome 2012.

I've been distracted with life since my last post. But I have been browsing original art on eBay again since late last year and noticing original art price trends seem to be going upwards slightly. Am I reading this properly? If so, forget the banks. I'm investing in original comic book art. Case in point...

The post I'd like to share today is a sweet early Neal Adams Brave and Bold 86 page 4 that sold today. Iconic Neal Adams Batman in the top pane and gotta love the irregular shaped panels. This page is just so clean in layout makes me wish I bid a tad more. All Neal Adams artwork.

According to the auction description, this page was purchased from Heritage for $3107.00 in Nov 2011. Couple hundred bucks profit in a few months. :)

UPDATE 3/12/2012: Just saw this same page for sale on an art dealer site for $6500.00 this morning.

UPDATE 8/4/2012:  Artwork is still available for sale for $6500.  Great looking page though.

Adrianne Palicki is the new Wonder Woman

Adrianne Palicki is the new Wonder Woman. Good choice. I'll be watching the show.

They released some photos of her in the updated costume couple days ago. The new series is suppose to be less campy and portray her as a more "complex woman." We'll see how that goes but does seem in contrast with those shiny blue pants she got on. No red boots?

Does this mean artist will use Adrianne's face and body for their sketches and drawings of Wonder Woman moving forward? I hope so.

UPDATE 3/30/2010:
Ok, I guess we spoke and they listened. Here are some new images and video footage of the updated Wonder Woman costume shot while filming in LA.

Is it too late for them to change it back to the tight shiny hot pants? I keeed, I keeeed. :)

Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns original art sketch

Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" original artwork doesn't come on the market very often, if ever. I think the last public transaction for a page from that book was more than $35,000.00. So when this sketch hit eBay, it was difficult to figure out true value. While on one hand it is clearly era accurate and from Frank Miller, this sketch wasn't published and wasn't as detailed as his inked pieces. But it sure is a BIG 11by17 large piece of art, and features Batman and Robin from the mini series.

Regardless, this selling for a tad North of $10k seems like a good price for whoever was lucky enough to win the auction.

From the auction:

Important ... there is a bend ( maybe an inch or less) in the lower left hand corner (non live art area) ... and there is also a stain on the upper left hand border ( also non live art area) of what appears to be possibly rubber cement or another yellowish type substance... there is a bit of pencil smudging in places and on the back of the paper! see pics above please.. i do not want to mislead anyone of the condition... And only serious bidders please! thank you

Frank Miller original artwork ...drawn on dc cover stock paper (measuring 12 x17 inches) in 1990 as a special 75th birthday gift to former DC comics editor Julius "julie" Schwartz.... this is a fully penciled and inked illustration of Batman and Robin from Millers Dark Knight 4 issue comic series. It also has a signed inscription from miller on it to Julius. I had asked Julius to sign the artwork in the border area (non live area of the art work) ... and after much debate he agreed to sign the artwork ... my argument was a simple one... this type of museum quality piece has a great deal of historical significance to it and thus it would make perfect sense that Julius should sign it. After all it was the mans 75th birthday ( that's significant enough in it's own right.. a milestone indeed), but to be honored in such a way because he was so beloved by the artistic community , both comics and sci-fi! Julius was a no nonsense kind of a guy... he was the first one to tell you " to always be on time with the work " ... yet he was also the first guy to tell a dirty joke! He was a character all right... he will never be replaced! I miss the days of having dinner and hearing the best stories about the hay day of DC ... about Carmine Infantino...about the greats... the ins and outs of the business. Even after Julius retired from DC he was always welcomed back in the offices... in fact everyone was always excited to see him... this goes way back to the 666 address or the devil building as everyone called it ( dc has moved twice since ) .. and frankly without people like Julie ... the heart and soul of the industry no longer feels the same. Comics aren't comics these days... Thats why pieces of this magnitude are so vital to the legacy of comics ! Frankly i know i didn't even have to mention all this... most will look at this artwork... and the true connoisseurs of this medium will immediately recognize just how amazing this piece is. For one it was a period in Miller's life when he was about to do Sin City... his style ...his technique would soon blossom into what we old timers see as the Steranko-Eisener- Wood style. Yet Miller made it his own..that's what true masters of the medium often do, they transform, they morph... they emerge as front runners of evolution. This art is still inspired by Millers 1980's look yet it is a hint of what's to come on Sin City. Julie was still editor when Miller was doing Ronin--- his ode to Moebius and slew of other artists ... than he decided to simplify his look... once again... and so Dark Knight was born... This artwork is simply gorgeous . This is a holy grail piece in any collection... if it was published it would command way over $150,000 easily! But this is a different type of treasure. It was a gift made to a friend... and the work shows... it is a labor of love... it is a master piece ( just look at the detail in the work, wow.. that my friends takes skill, effort and lots of time). Like i said i didn't have to say any of this... but the old sales man in me just can't help himself. Just imagine trying to find something of this quality ...guess what ...an average dark knight page sells for $40,000.... try finding a splash or a cover ... over $100, 000 easily each one...maybe more ( what am i saying a cover would fetch more like $200,000)! and you can't even find them, no one wants to part with them! now try to get a sketch... good luck since miller hardly ever even does a doodle these days and if he does... it's just that a doodle... And lets play devil's advocate and say that somehow you convince Miller to draw you a piece... ( lets say you are a millionaire and it's for a good cause... and for the sake of argument he agrees... trouble is... miller no longer draws in this manner. This is a bygone era stylistically ... so unless you have a time machine you can no longer ask miller to draw in the same iconic style as his days of the Dark Knight! Simply put the odds of getting something classical like this are well... 1 in a million. Imagine being able to say to someone "oh yeah i own a dark knight miller piece circa 1990" than watch the jawdrop... now picture having this piece in your home... i mean it humor me .... close your eyes than pick out a wall in your home and picture this artwork hanging up in a beautiful lustrous thick jet black ( pure ebony) frame, with professional archival matting ( trust me don't cheap out .. a good framing job is worth it..around $500 to $600, after all this is an investment in art , in history, and for the real collector... the love of comics). What more can i say... i mean i can go on and on and never shut up... but it's late and i am tired and i have other auctions to put up... segway into... please check out my other auctions.. i have a drew struzan ...sent from drew to me personally ...we actually traded artwork! And from the master Jose Luis Garcia Lopez a beautiful illustration done for me... the images were used for DC Products.. lunch boxes.. etc... and there is a JC leyendecker painting and an Andrew Loomis painting! What can i say my life's collection... well its time to pass it to others... no no don't get me wrong this old war horse is not dropping dead anytime soon... i am just looking to acquire bigger and better things ( of course beauty is all in the eye of the beholder) Good day my dear readers! god bless..happy bidding! Cheers