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

Cockrum Uncanny X-Men 164 page 1 Title Splash For Sale

In gearing up for the big San Diego Comic-Con comic book convention coming up next month, I've got a small update to the original art for sale section. Added a few pages for sale and lowered some prices. Sorry been away from the site for so long, just busy with work and all that comes with work.

Email me if you have any questions, want to hold something, or ready to buy. Also I take time payments as well. My email address is burton@11by17.com

You can see it all here: http://www.11by17.com

• Dave Cockrum Uncanny X-Men 164 page 1
• 2 Jim Lee Uncanny X-Men pages
• Mike Mayhew pencil sketches and cover prelims
• Mike McKone "Teen Titans and The Outsiders Secret Files" cover
• George Perez "Teen Titans Archives 1" cover featuring the entire NTT team!
• Whilce Portacio Uncanny X-Men page
• New lower price for a John Byrne Wolverine 23 page with a large panel of Wolverine
• A Dave Cockrum Uncannny X-Men 150 page feature Professor X
• Lower prices on 2 Paul Smith sketches
  
• and much more...

Post-San Diego Comic Con news and Byrne/Austin Uncanny X-Men

Hello original comic book art collectors!! Sorry for the lapse, had a fun-filled early 2009 so far with lots going on in my personal life but hopefully most of that is now sorted out and I can try to share more of what I'm seeing in the market.

For those of you that attended San Diego Comic-Con several weeks ago, hope it was a great show for you. I've seen tons of photos and read many stories. But I'd love to hear more of your own personal stories and your own experiences. Were there any great original comic book art pieces for sale?? Notice any trends for what is selling or being marketed to sell?? Shoot me an email when you get a chance.

As a side note, I do know that Jim Lee X-pages are clearly increasing in value. I'm aware of a couple deals that concluded within the past year of nice pages moving. I'm not going to bother giving specifics but they were really *really* nice splash pages. Is now the time to shell out and upgrade that piece you have sitting at home? Can't answer that, but you can always try to see what you can get for it and if it works, move the piece.

If you have any Lee/Williams X-Men or Uncanny X-Men pages for sale, please do contact me. Would love to throw an offer your way!! :D

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Wanted to share a great looking page from Uncanny X-Men 137 that moved. This was from the Heritage Auction that recently concluded this weekend. Uncanny X-Men 137 page 43. This page features Wolverine and Colossus in a (Reverse) Fastball Special move against Phoenix on the moon. It was the all or nothing move. The layout is pretty sweet on this page and it's a key action sequence. Funny how the pages from this time were not as "splashy" as those in the current books you read. No doubt this is a great historic page!!

This gem sold for $16,132.50 including the gravy.

WonderCon 2009 SF Trip Report

Yes it's that time again. It was WonderCon 2009 this weekend in San Francisco. I walked through the floor on Saturday and partial day on Sunday.

First off, I would have to say that the show looked very healthy, very large crowds as it was packed even till 5pm when I left. Talking to the folks working and selling original art, toys, comics, etc from the booths, everyone said that sales were very good and people were definitely buying! The line to get in on Saturday could have wrapped around the large Moscone Center block if they hadn't started to let us in. I was in line watching the end of my line wrap around my line and block the sidewalks completely. The lack of rain on Saturday also helped. If this is any sign, I think Comic-Con in San Diego later this year will be big as well.

I started the show by hitting the booths that were related to original comic book art --Albert Moy, 100 Auctions (Bechara Maalouf), Anthony Snyder Collectibles, The Donnelly's, Heroes Comics Book (Alan Bahr), Schanes Animation Art (awesome stuff!!), Scott Eder Gallery, etc. I didn't find Romitaman but I heard he was there as well. As always, there were plenty of original comic book artwork gems lining their booth walls. Impressive pieces I saw included a Giant Size X-Men 1 page, various Neal Adams' Green Lantern covers, some Dave Gibbons Watchmen pieces, Kirby splashes, Jim Lee covers, early Amazing Spiderman covers, etc etc really just too many beautiful pieces to list here. There were also some bargains to be had as well, and I couldn't resist. :)

Cutting through Artist Alley on Saturday, the commission lists were full for the top artists it seemed. If Jeff Scott Campbell wasn't sketching commissions, he would be selling those great looking prints from his table. Same for the Jim Lee table manned by Eddy Choi with a sign that read "I'm not Jim Lee". Lots of great looking high quality color prints for sale there and it was tempting to buy. I wandered to Travis Charest's table to find Travis there sketching (no fans surrounding him) and selling a couple stacks of Space Girl Vol 1 books still available at $20.00/each. I bought another! Great book if you haven't bought it yet!! I also spent some time at Mike Royer's table --the long time Jack Kirby inker, and had a chance to talk to him and show him some of the pieces I picked up that day. He also signed my Kirby page (Thanks again Mike!). I appreciated his insight and great stories about how it used to be when he first started. If you don't know who Mike Royer is, I recommend you stop and talk to him, and buy something from him at the next show you see him at which will be San Diego Comic Con. He's done some great work on Winnie The Pooh, various work at Disney, etc.

Best costume prob goes to either the Batman and Catwoman duo, or the woman in the Planet of the Apes with FX makeup, hair and costume. I did a double-take when I saw her. She looked so unassuming walking the show. If I didn't know better I'd say she walked off a tv/movie set.

I guess with the New York Comic Con couple weeks ago and WonderCon this weekend, it is officially the opening of comic book convention season in 2009. Get your pocketbooks out and enjoy the shows. :)

cheers.

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.

Jim Lee Batman original art auction

Batman original comic book artwork by Jim Lee. Bid on this piece Jim created and is now auctioning off for a personal cause. Bid bid bid. :)

Quoted from the auction page:

As my schedule permits, every now and then I try and help out with worthwhile causes whether it's the CBLDF or the Clearview School Fundraiser...this time I am doing something on a smaller scale but for as big and worthy of a cause. Something for a friend of a friend. Someone I have never had the honor of meeting but has a plight which moved me into action.

On November 12th, 2008, a friend of a friend, Portia Cano, passed away after battling bone cancer. Diagnosed back in 2003, she underwent dozens of major surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments before she fell to the disease, leaving behind her husband, Marco, and four children, ages one to ten. Unfortunately over the years their bills mounted, as her health insurance didn't cover all of the treatment.

So every year, Will and Amy, friends of Carla and me put on an informal fundraiser to benefit the Cano Family. This year, I am contributing this piece I drew specifically for the fundraiser. I am giving any art collectors looking for an one of a kind holiday gift to check it out here first. It measures 11x14 and is on 2 ply bristol board and is drawn in ink and whiteout.

Jim Lee X-Men 3 page 13 for $2850.00

Nice Jim Lee interior page from X-Men 3 (page 13) recently sold on eBay for $2850.00. Nice amount of money given these less than stellar economic times. I'm sure this page would have sold for at least $3500 had this been a year ago, maybe more. The page features Wolverine in a couple panels and a large furry Beast face in the middle panel. All in all, a nice panel page.

Dark Knight by Whilce Portacio!

There are 2 sweet Whilce Portacio Batman pieces on eBay and ending soon. Some details.. The one ending first is inked and might be more "finished", the other sketch is tight penciled and I'd say is equally nice too. Whilce is still pumping out some cool stuff!

NOTE: One more Whilce Batman sketch showed up on eBay but it's a really nice one!!

Whilce Portacio original art hasn't really really taken off yet, in popularity nor prices. I can imagine that once people figure out that his early work on Punisher, X-Factor and Uncanny X-Men was actually very very good and solid, things will change. And let's not forget this body of work was done around the same time that Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, and the other "Image" artists came into their prime in the late 80s, early 90s. Maybe Whilce's work got lost behind their great work. His Image Comics Wetworks book was solid too. And don't forget Whilce also did some great work as an inker on a variety of titles including Alpha Flight and Longshot (over Arthur Adams), before getting his own book. His run on Heroes Reborn Ironman is very underrated.

If you have any of his early Punisher, X-Factor, or Uncanny X-Men original art for sale or trade, shoot me an email please!! Always interested in 70s, 80s and early 90s original art.

Spring, emails, and artwork

Spring is here. I've been away from the computer past few weeks, so I apologize for those waiting for an update. I'm back and have been thinking of only posting some thoughts here, and hope to have new art up on the main website as well. And will be adding some new stuff to the "Original Comic Book Artwork For Sale" section in a couple weeks. Get the inside track and stay tuned.

Email. Got an email from a couple collector friends recently asking about trying to help value some pages they have for sale. Got another email wondering if I've heard anything about a specific piece of artwork. First off, THANKS for your emails and keep em coming. I just want to reiterate that if you want to chat about art, please just shoot me an email anytime 24/7 and I try to help out as much as I can, and WILL respond to every request. Curious about trends? Want an inside tip for certain art by a certain artist? Want an opinion on your art? Recommendation on framing? Want a second opinion on something you are selling, etc. I can't tell you enough about the many passionate collector friends I've met through this hobby. In fact I know a great group of collectors that are in France, and which I try to meet up with every time I visit Paris.

Hot artwork watch. Took a look at my trusty Most Watched eBay Auctions page, and noticed an interesting auction ending soon.

Jim Lee/Scott Williams Uncanny X-Men 275 page 1 Splash!

Yo. These splash pages don't come up for sale often, or if they do, they get snatched up quickly. I should know. I sold a couple decent Lee/Williams X-pages last year from my site, and they sold faaast. Throw in a bid here, or check out the pages I still have left for sale. :) Original comic book artwork, either as investment or to collect, can't get much worse than this, and as you already noticed, Jim Lee X-art is still worth buying. Why X-art (Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, X-Factor, etc)? Have you seen the prices of his Hush and Superman, and All-Star BM & R? It's only going to be matter of time before his past (X-Men artwork which put him on every fanboy's radar), will increase in value, or better put catch up, with his more current stuff.

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?

2007 Review - Byrne, Kirby, McFarlane, Romita and more

** Happy 2008 Comic Book Artwork Collectors! **

It's been a great year for collecting original artwork, collectible investments (short of historic homerun balls) and all forms of art seems to be a great investment value again. I can't remember a year where there has been so much good art showing up for sale or being auctioned off in the public market. Let me touch on the original comic book art market, from my limited perspective and extremely biased opinion. :)

Of particular note for me, I've noticed quite a few nice Byrne Uncanny X-Men pieces sell on eBay the past year. Could this be a sign that Byrne UXM pages will be hot again in 2008? McFarlane Spider-Man artwork seemed popular as well, and some finished "sketches"even went as high as $5k-6K range (Read previous posts for more historical info on previous realized auction sales). Kirby FF pieces were selling fast and furious early in the year. Even a Kirby X-Men 1 page made an appearance on eBay, albeit a couple times not meeting reserve.

Jim Lee artwork always seems to have a following. His comics still pretty much fly off the rack and his still hard to come by original artwork consistently sell from dealer/collector's portfolios. With his All-Star Batman & Robin book often late, and with many grumbling fans bitter from not getting their book on time, it is difficult to get a good read on valuation for "current" Jim Lee original artwork (ie. All-Star, Superman, etc), although the prices are high and pieces are in demand. His older work to me seems to be the better value, especially where he got his roots at Marvel --Punisher War Journal, Uncanny X-Men, X-Men were just a few of the titles he worked on early on. Prime pieces of his will always draw interest, but it does seem that even "average" pages/art of his are getting attention. Regardless, I recommend you always buy artwork you want to keep regardless of price and intent to sell.

Moving on to the Wonder Woman artist, Adam Hughes AH! artwork has been hot, no need to mention that. I remember a mega-auction of his artwork that averaged something like $200+ a piece of art. Impressive. And Ethan Van Sciver artwork is still hot, especially his work on Green Lantern, and any Batman/Superman or Wonder Woman artwork of his gets some looks.

For 2008, I think Colan DD pages will start showing up more often, and more early Arthur Adams artwork will appear for sale. Buscema artwork is underrated and will become more collected once people figure out it doesn't show up for sale often. And Romita Sr ASM pages will sooner or later get hot in the public dealer/collector/eBay market, although it would be great if the one BIG Romita Sr art dealer would sell/trade me something. Hint, hint. ;)

Ok, I'm hoping for these things to happen in 2008 anyways.

What stood out for you in 2008? Any artists or characters get more attention that you expected?

It's almost comic book convention season. See ya at the next show and thanks for reading.

Jim Lee Supergirl artwork goes for $2849.00

4 pieces of Supergirl art go for $2849.00 on eBay.

JJ Kirby, Michael Lopez, Oliver Nome, and Jim Lee versions packaged together in one auction. If I could make a guess at valuation for each, I'd guess that the Lee piece alone is $2500 and the others collectively are at $349.00.

What does $4,130.00 and 83 bids get you?

Today, 3 pieces of Jim Lee original artwork sold for $4,130.00 with a combined 83 bids on eBay. Nice. Things seem to be picking up in the original art area..

$1469.00 - X-Men #9 page 23 by Lee/Thibert
$1436.00 - Uncanny X-Men #269 page 8 by Lee/Williams
$1225.00 - Unpublished (?) 1990 Wolverine sketch by Lee/Portacio/Williams

Shown here is Uncanny X-Men 269 page 8. This is the Rogue issue.

Spider-Man 1 pg 5 McFarlane $7500

Another cool page came and went, sold on eBay. This time, Spider-Man #1 page 5, by Todd McFarlane.

Could this be a revival for McFarlane art? Seems like McFarlane pages are getting hot again and I don't say that because this page went for a nice number. This was a page from a first issue and a landmark best selling issue, from an artist that no longer or doesn't often draw anymore. Anything with McFarlane's autograph or a doodle seems to get a lot of attention. The pages I had for sale from All-Star Squadron #47 and Hulk #330 sold earlier this year too.

Hopefully those that have McFarlane art will start putting out some gems for sale. Also noticing some nice Kirby pages for sale lately. Even Jim Lee Uncanny X-Men art is showing up on eBay again.

First actual appearance page of Gambit sold!

If you were watching at home, the Gambit first actual appearance page from Uncanny X-Men #266 just sold on eBay for more than $1200.00 ! That's a nice realized price for a piece of art that was done by Mike Collins, an artist that doesn't have as big a following as other Uncanny X-Men artists. This is a nice page of art for any Gambit fan however. This was page 18.

I think I was expecting it to sell for around that price, maybe just shy of $1000.00. As popular as Gambit is today, he could get more popular if there is a new X-Men movie and he plays a key role. Then this page might just be considered a bargain..

Would love to hear your thoughts on this transaction.