Market Report – Sub-$100 Special
Welcome back everyone, in order to debunk the myth that original comic art is exclusively for the ultra-wealthy, this week we’ll discuss only sub-$100 pieces! ComicLink’s Focused Auctions are usually stocked with lower-value artwork, and their 3rd May event was no exception. For collectors on a budget, or those simply looking for a good deal, there was plenty of quality OA which sold for double-digit prices. Let’s dive in!
Guardians of the Galaxy #15 (2009), page 13 by Brad Walker & John Livesay – $62
Guardians of the Galaxy #15 (2009), page 15 by Brad Walker & John Livesay – $98
Adam Warlock is almost assured an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following his mention in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and the MCU Phase 4’s expected focus on Marvel Cosmic. With interest in the character likely to rise, affordable Warlock artwork looks particularly appealing, especially from quality low-cost artists such as Walker. Brad’s detailed pencils embellished by Livesay’s deep inks result in some pretty vivid renditions of Warlock – witness that gruesome page 15 half-splash!
Iron Man #58 (2002), page 5 by Michael Ryan & Sean Parsons – $65
Iron Man #58 (2002), page 6 by Michael Ryan & Sean Parsons – $61
Circa-$60 for pages chock-full of intricately-rendered Iron Men, by the solid Ryan/Parsons duo, seem like incredible deals to me. Moreso’s the case when you consider page 5’s use of Kirby Krackle and page 6’s intense battle half-splash!
Guardians of the Galaxy #6 (2008), page 17 by Paul Pelletier & Rick Magyar – $90
War of Kings #3 (2009), page 16 by Paul Pelletier & Rick Magyar – $80
Pelletier is another previously discussed budget-friendly yet talented artist, seen here strutting his stuff in these spacefaring action pages. Cult-favourite telepathic canine Cosmo looks rather ticked-off in that GOTG #6 page, and a massive Groot bludgeoning foes in the WOK #3 page should please his fans!
Invincible Iron Man #6 (2008), page 12 by Salvador Larroca – $95
Affordable art alumnus Salvador Larroca once again showcases his talent in this underpriced Iron Man page. Larroca’s technical renditions of the armoured Avenger gained him quite a following, and under $100 for this half-page splash of ol’ shellhead blasting a foe surely constitutes a bargain!
Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #28 (2007), page 18 by Cory Hamscher – $93
Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #36 (2008), page 17 by Cory Hamscher & Terry Pallot – $81
Hamscher does some fun work on the Marvel Adventures titles, infusing each page with effusive energy through his clean, smartly-rendered figures. $90+ for that half-splash of the massive Thing and his teammates squaring off against the Silver Surfer is a steal, and $80+ for that Spidey-filled fight page with a familiar-looking Goblin is also amazing bang for the buck!
My Little Pony: Micro-Series #9 (2013), page 11 by Agnes Garbowska – $40
My Little Pony: Friends Forever #13 (2015), page 17 by Agnes Garbowska – $55
The ongoing My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic TV series is a smash hit with children and adults alike; MLP comics likewise reach far outside a superhero-centric audience. Mid-2 figure prices for such captivating, broadly-appealing pages are hard to argue against, even if it’s for marker artwork (which may fade over time). And if you get a chance to meet Agnes at a convention, you’ll realize that she’s as adorable as the characters she draws!
Avenging Spider-Man #8 (2012), page 20 by Matt Clark & Sean Parsons – $90
Prices are getting mind-bogglingly low here. A finely rendered half-page splash featuring three key Avengers and the iconic web-slinger for only $90? I’ve no idea why this page sold so cheaply, but am sure the winner’s thrilled with their buy!
Inhumans: The Great Refuge (1995), page 28 by Robert Brown & Rey Garcia – $75
Fans of the early-’90s “Image” art style and/or the Inhumans should take note of this series, as CLink has been auctioning off groups of pages in recent auctions. $75 for a line-filled page, with multiple Attilan royals showcasing their powers and battle prowess, seems incredibly fair to me!
Spider-Man/Deadpool #6 (2016), page 11 by Reilly Brown & Rick Magyar – $75
Spider-Man/Deadpool #6 (2016), page 12 by Reilly Brown & Rick Magyar – $78
Deadpool is one of the Millennial generation’s most beloved characters, with massive pop culture appeal arising from the comics, movies and video games he’s appeared in. When looked at in that light, $70+ for pages featuring large shots of the merc with a mouth in action equate to no-brainer buys!
Thunderbolts #44 (2000), page 6 by Mark Bagley & Greg Adams – $98
Bagley’s one of comicdom’s legendary workhorses, having drawn almost every character imaginable over the past three decades. Values of his earlier works, especially from Amazing Spider-Man and New Warriors have been rising in recent years. With Mark’s Ultimate Spider-Man OA also gaining traction amongst art collectors, prices for his Thunderbolts artwork are beginning to appear increasingly appealing.
Until next time, happy collecting!
Here’s Part 1 & Part 2 of the guide to collecting original comic art; and my CAF gallery.
Original Art Aficionado archive
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November 17, 2017 Market Report – November 2017 ComicLink Focused and Heritage Sunday Auctions
November 3, 2017 Market Report – October 2017 ComicLink Focused and eBay Auctions
November 23, 2018 Market Report – November 2018 Heritage and Hake’s Auctions
April 13, 2018 Market Report – April 2018 ComicLink Focused Auction
September 29, 2017 Market Report – September 2017 ComicLink Featured Auction
Hhhmm, if I would have known 2 of my pages sold so low, I would have bought them back for myself.
John those are some great pages. It is amazing they sold so low.
@John Livesay
That’s some truly superb inkwork; hopefully collectors increasingly recognize the quality of these pages!
I love this article. And I agree John, fantastic work. Lots of the pages on here that went under 100 make me want to start buying art again and put the Golden Age purchasing on hold.
Thanks Ben… and I support that sentiment 😉
Are these eBay or ComicLink sales? I’ve really been enjoying this series of articles even though most of the stuff has been way outside my comfort zone. This is the first time i’ve seen OA that i not only like but could afford.
This article covered items sold in the ComicLink Focused Auction on 3rd May 2018.
Good Idea for this post!
Thanks Francesco, the response has been great so I’ll definitely look to do more like this in the future!
Do we know if these cheap pages are all inks over pencils, or inks over bluelines? I think it’s pretty common for blue line inks to go cheap. I also think we’re seeing a bit of a market correction these days, due to the fact that there are SO MANY AUCTIONS going on at any given time. Truly A-list stuff continues to increase in value, but the cheap stuff seems to be getting cheaper. Not that I mind, I’m a bottom feeder myself!
Great piece as always!
The 2 GOTG pages of mine were not blue line. Speaking of blue line,,I’ve did 6 pages from Venomized #4 that came out the other week, I’m thinking of selling them, (they are blue line). The set of 6 for $500, 2 of the 6 pages is a cool double page spread. If anyone on here is interested, hit me up.
@FForFake
As far as I’m aware, all pieces covered in this article are original pencils & inks.
You’re spot on about the increasing price separation between higher and lower tier OA – I think it’s just a natural progression of any maturing hobby/market.
Does it feel like ComicLink is becoming a little too flooded with product and not enough bidding? I sold some last year about this time and although I didn’t lose money I didn’t think I got what a lot of the pages were worth (especially when they showed up on here as steals)
May not be good for future sellers, but not too shabby for buyers…
I think the market as a whole is awash with oversupply! As mentioned in the comment above, I believe that leads to buyers becoming increasingly discerning and focusing resources on higher-tier pieces.
Great article! This discussion comes up often in several Facebook groups and online forums. It is nice to have an article to refer to when discussing the affordability of OA.
Glad you enjoyed it! Feel free to spread the word 😉
I’ll be taking more note of lower-priced OA going forward, after seeing how much interest there is in it!