Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Suspense Comics #3 Sale: SDCC 1996

















San Diego Comicon, July 4-7, 1996: After selling my copy of Suspense Comics #3 (Continental, 4/44) to a dealer, I ran around the dealers room and spent all the money from its sale on these 23 pages of original art:

John Severin/Bill Elder - "Two-Fisted Tales" #27 (EC, 5/52) - "Luck," complete 8-page story
Jack Davis - "Frontline Combat" #4 (EC, 1/52) - "Death Stand," page 4 and page 8
Johnny Craig - "Crime Patrol" #7 (EC, Summer 1948) - page 3
Russ Heath - "Our Fighting Forces" #55 (DC, 5/60) - page 4
Jack Kirby/Dick Ayers - "Two-Gun Kid" #62 (Marvel, 3/62) - page 4
Alex Toth/Dick Giordano -"Hot Wheels" #1 (DC, 3/70) - page 11 and page 21
Dick Ayers/Sam Glanzman - "G. I. Combat" # (DC, 6/81) - complete 8-page "Haunted Tank" story


Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Autopsy of an Auction: Showcase #4, 2018



The comic was prominently displayed at the check-out register area of the book store.



A show card touting the importance of this issue, at the book store.



This issue is a high-demand item.



The comic is purchased with VISA card payment at 12:12 PM on Thursday, 10-29-18.


A high-demand comic should always be graded and "slabbed" by a "third-party"certification service, so it is submitted to CGC. The invoice for the CGC grading fees, 11-12-18. Graded at 1.8.




Heritage Auctions Grader/Consignment Director Jerry Stephan holds up the now slabbed CGC 1.8 graded comic, 11-12-18.



Front of the slabbed copy in the online weekly auction listing.



Back of the slabbed copy in the auction listing.



The auction write-up



The upcoming auction dates.



The graphic for the weekly auction on the Heritage Auctions home page.



A graphic displaying a list of the previous HA auction prices for a copy in CGC 1.8 (Good-) grade.





A report on all the graded and slabbed copies of this issue in various conditions.

More stats for the potential bidders to make an informed bid, based on recorded information of comparable items.





The bid price on Monday 12-24-18.


The bid price on Tuesday 12-25-18. Most likely, near the top price, but time will tell.


The bid price has remained steadfast since Tuesday, but with 67 tracking and 6 bidders, the final price may yet climb during the live bidding session. Sunday, 12-30-18, 6:55 PM.













Monday, December 10, 2018

Tales From the Auction Block: The Cover-Up Caper















I wanted to continue my auction experiments of the hypothesis that "all the profits come from an outlier or two, in any group of similar offered lots." Turning to eBay, I found the cheap-o items for my next round of experimenting.

As is so often the case, an artist was creating inked sketches of popular female comic book characters. Only this time, they were TOTALLY naked, with all the anatomically-enhanced details -- and he only wanted $10 each. Still, they were a bit explicit for my taste. No mystery, no "je ne sais quoi." The problem with such explicit material is you really limit the size of the audience and narrow where the art might be displayed. As I studied the drawings, I decided that I could ink on some clothing to "tone down" the content. And that's what I did.

I inked on clothing for Lois Lane, the Huntress, and Sheena. No one would be the wiser, as I had some cartooning talent myself. As predicted, most of the profits came from the Black Cat illustration. In its original form, she was "buck naked," and riding her motorcycle. I added in her trunks and left her topless, but I added some humor by inking her now-removed top into the formerly waving hand. Now it looked like she was "free-wheeling -- born to be wild." I like to think that those changes helped sell the piece. All-In-all, I made a tiny profit. More importantly, this little experiment supported the basic hypothesis.

But then, as always, it got weird. A graduate of the Joe Kubert School wrote an outraged email about how his drawings had been "plagiarized" by this artist.  This, in an industry of "swipers" and copycats. Not only that, the characters in question were drawn in the style of the "Animated Batman" comics. This simplified style was perfected by Bruce Timm -- and he was not the artist who was complaining. In that style you are SUPPOSED to stay "on-model." I mean, these were purposely "low-end" items. My co-worker made a huge stink and dramatic scene about how "the auction house could be sued." He screamed to the high heavens, etc., etc., -- and on top of all that, he even sent out out an embarrassing  email string about it all. I was told to stop by the managers -- no more lots were to be offered by this artist. OK, you got it. The fun was only momentary.

No matter, the scientific results were in. On to the next trial.





Tales From the Auction Block: The Charlie Tuna Principle










I forgot that I had these "restrikes," printed from the actual etching plates of Rembrant, Whistler, and Renoir. They went for "bupkis" in my auctions -- less than $40 each. Obviously, not trashy enough. Good taste doesn't sale. The "Charlie Tuna principle"...

"...I had been accustomed to thinking of Rembrandt etchings as quarter-million-dollar commodities.

How come these were so cheap?

From Craig Flinner, an art gallery owner, I learned that the etchings offered for sale were not made during Rembrandt's lifetime but rather were later impressions printed anywhere from 100 to 150 years after the master's death.

Because the printing process gradually erodes the clarity of etched images, later engravers had had to rework the original copper plates that Rembrandt made. These reworkings subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) changed Rembrandt's lines and altered the delicate interplay of light and shadow for which he was famous.

Etchings made during Rembrandt's lifetime and under his supervision indeed sell for between $200,000 and $300,000 today, Flinner said. Images from the same plates 50 years later sell for slightly less.

But for more recent printings, the price drops precipitously. Flinner says he has sold some 20th-century Rembrandt 'restrikes' for as little as $400.

'A serious collector of Old Masters probably wouldn't want those impressions,' he said.

'The people who buy them are mostly general collectors of old prints who want to say they have a Rembrandt in their collection.'

Still, I have not completely abandoned my original feeling that I had found a bargain. Flinner's comments just made me think more deeply about what is called 'authenticity' in art and how it is valued.

The Rembrandts in Flinner's gallery, for example, may be later impressions of the master's work, but they are supremely beautiful nevertheless."


Tales From the Auction Block: The Killing Jest






Here's the "corker." You have to throw out a lot of auction lots -- it's like diversification in stocks or other investments. Some lots go a little higher, some a little lower than what you have paid -- then, Wham -- a break-away, a home run. But, you don't know which one will be the winner, so you can over-spend and go bust on such "pure speculation" lots if you're not careful. Money management is key.

Risqué pin-ups of popular female super-villains are practically a cottage industry on eBay. The Filipino artists are very talented at this sub-sub-genre, but you have to pay that shipping cost from around the world. So to make up for the steep shipping charge, you buy several drawings for one package -- say, a couple of Harley Quinns, a Poison Ivy, a Vampirella, a Catwoman, etc., etc.

So I put up a typically big and bouncy $40 Harley Quinn drawing in a weekly auction -- my first offering of this type. 

By Tuesday, it's up to a mind-blowing $2,868. I can't believe it. Will the price stick? Is it a mistake? Meanwhile, a few of my perhaps-overly-concerned co-workers are alerting each other to this incredible outlier. They're getting phone calls from their fanboy buddies, What's going on? It stuck. I got the money. Naturally, I immediately threw up another Harley Quinn by the same artist. That one sold for $26. 

No matter -- I already had the home run.


Tales From the Auction Block: Shake That Mexican Money-Maker









I bought a pile of painted erotic scenes, created for steamy Mexican paperbacks, at a very, very, low cost. Low risk with good potential for "up-side" on the bidding. These were to be for my "sexploitation sector" lots. They started out great guns, pulling in hundreds of dollars each, but as time went on, they deflated down to nothingness -- totally spent. But, all-in-all, they were a great return on investment. A winner. By the end, it was time to move on. "It's not them it's us."

BTW, I blame those school Science Fairs of yore for encouraging these "experiments" in auction theory. This research was definitely more fun than drawing up geologic exhibition posters. It was a kick to chart the results. More "walking around money."



Tales From the Auction Block: That Low Down Fake











After the 2008 financial crisis, I realized I knew nothing about investing. I immersed myself in a "popular science book" study of the mathematical concepts of diversification, risk, gambling, behavioral economics, and of course -- auction theory. I found these topics intellectually fascinating. Of course, I later learned than most of the real financial sharks of Wall Street and banking simply relied on lying and cheating (not math) -- then settled any lawsuits, admitted no wrong-doing -- and still netted a huge payoff.

Be that as it may, I still wanted to "test" the concepts I'd read about using real auction lots. Of course, to do that, with my limited finances, I needed cheap (but still saleable in the collector's market) items. Sex always sells, so in that "sector" I bought this modern Chinese stretched canvas painting (a knock-off of a Gil Elvgren Classic) on eBay. It's a "re-creation" of the 1957 scene,  "That Low Down Feeling," which has been heavily exploited in many modern products. I flipped it immediately, for a 70% profit (ok, it was only $70, but it was fun-- and I had some "walking around" money.)

You can only promote these low-end "junk" offerings a few times, and then you have to find an all-new gimmick.