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

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.

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.