Comic Book Sketches

COLLECTING Comic Art SKETCHES

The easiest entry into the world of comic art collecting is eBay. While for many years comic book conventions and advertisements in small circulation magazines remained the primary marketplace for comic art, eBay brought the hobby to a wider audience.  While the advent of online auctions contributed to the escalation of market prices, eBay has also made the hobby accessible to thousands of new collectors.

Some of the most in-demand comic art sketches on eBay are by Jack Kirby, John Byrne, Gene Colan, Adam Hughes, George Perez, John Buscema, Art Adams, Mike Mignola, Jim Lee, John Romita, John Romita, Jr., Todd McFarlane, John Totleben, and J.H. Williams  III.

Attending a convention still remains a popular method of obtaining a custom Comic Art Sketch. Most comic artists will devote some of their time at a convention to sketching, usually at a fee.  (The reselling of comic art on eBay is so frequent that one must not begrudge comic art creators were expecting compensation for their work.)  Some collectors bring a bound sketchbook to conventions, in which to commission drawings on a specific theme, or of a particular character.

COMMISSIONS

Another method of obtaining a piece of comic art is via commission.  A commission is a work which the artist executes at the request of a client.  Usually half the fee is paid in advance, the rest upon completion of the work. On eBay, you’ll find artists placing calls for commissions. While some artists welcome specific descriptions of the desired content, my experience is that the best commissions come out of finding a broad subject which excites the artist, and letting the artist run with it, such as “Batman in the rain.”

COLLECTING

I recommend finding area of specialization, a focus to your collection.  Specialization will allow you to learn details about and deeper appreciation of a particular artist’s work that will escape more diversified collectors or dealers.

Batman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl currently stand out as popular comic art sketch subjects, though degree to which the artist is identified with the character significantly affects the desirability of a comic art sketch.  While Jack Kirby co-created an entire universe of Marvel characters including Captain America, The Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, The Silver Surfer, and the mighty Thor.  For example, a drawing of Batman would be most prized if it was by an artist who made a significant impact on the character, such as Bob Kane, Carmine Infantino, Neal Adams, Frank Miller, Jim Lee, or Tim Sale.

Recent years have seen poorly-rendered forgeries (usually tracings of authentic drawings) turning up in the market, notably of work by Barry Windsor-Smith, Art Adams, Frank Frazetta, Jim Lee, and the late Michael Turner.  Forgeries can often be recognized by overly careful, restrained line work; very often the signature does not match the artist’s, or has been omitted altogether.

CONSERVATION AND STORAGE

The majority of comic art collectors store their artwork in Itoya artist’s portfolios.  While this method does not protect the work as effectively as archival matting and framing, much comic art is best appreciated at the hand to eye distance afforded by these binders.  Pencil drawings should not be placed in Mylar sleeves, as Mylar’s electrostatic charge can actually lift the graphite off the page. A pencil drawing should be professionally matted using archival materials.

Speed Drawing/Painting Comic Book Art

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Aquaman #52 NEAR MINT- Investment Quality! N.Adams art $127.50

RESURRECTION MAN #4~ORIGINAL PRELIMINARY COVER ART~DRAWN & SIGNED BY IVAN REIS~C $9.95

Black Panther Marvel Comic Books PREY Turner Art Africa $14.99

Savage Tales Conan 2 1974 VF+++ Barry Windsor Smith Art Huge Scan Free Shipping $29.99

Conan the Barbarian #9 VG 4.0 Barry Smith art Marvel 1971 No Reserve $7.50

Savage Tales Conan 3 1974 VF Jim Steranko Art Huge Scan Marvel Magazine Comic $19.99

ART OF VAMPIRE KNIGHT SC $25.99

RESURRECTION MAN #4~ORIGINAL PRELIMINARY COVER ART~DRAWN & SIGNED BY IVAN REIS~B $9.95

RESURRECTION MAN #4~ORIGINAL PRELIMINARY COVER ART~DRAWN & SIGNED BY IVAN REIS~A $9.95

MISCELLANEOUS COMIC BOOK SET (BLACK AND WHITE ART) $1.25

THE HIRE Scandal comics #1 NM 2004 Matt Wagner art $3.00

SUB-MARINER….No.10…..NEVER BOTHER A BARRACUDA…..GENE COLAN ART….FEB 1969 $4.17

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #7~ORIGINAL PRELIM COVER SKETCH ART~ BY IVAN REIS~C $9.95

Lady Death #17 Art Deco Comic Book NEW!! $0.99

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #7~ORIGINAL PRELIM COVER SKETCH ART~ BY IVAN REIS~B $9.95

GHOST MANOR #77 * Steve Ditko art * Jim Aparo art * Last Issue $1.99

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #7~ORIGINAL PRELIM COVER SKETCH ART~ BY IVAN REIS~C $9.95

THE LEGEND OF LORD SNOOTY BEANO 60 YEARS CLASSIC CARTOON ART 1998 VGC $7.89

Two Walking Dead art prints by Adlard and Rathburn, Kirkman zombies $10.00

Daredevil #5 G 2.0 1st Matador Wally Wood art Marvel 1964 No Reserve $34.00

EERIE 53 ADAMS ART $18.00

Daredevil #50 VG+ 4.5 Barry Smith art Marvel 1969 No Reserve $4.64

AQUAMAN #7~THE NEW 52~ORIGINAL PRELIM COVER SKETCH ART~ BY IVAN REIS~B $9.95

STARJAMMERS MINI-SERIES…MARVEL COMIC BOOKS…DAVE COCKRUM ART….UNCANNY X-MEN $9.95

SUB-MARINER…No.11….THE CHOICE & THE CHALLENGE…..GENE COLAN ART….MAR 1969 $3.79

AQUAMAN #7~THE NEW 52~ORIGINAL PRELIM COVER SKETCH ART~ BY IVAN REIS~C $9.95

Mad Magazine #370 Godzilla/Ally McBeal/Cops/Madonna/World Of Art/Footnotes/Cigar $5.95

INFAMOUS VIDEO GAME~ORIGINAL PRELIM COVER SKETCH ART~ BY IVAN REIS $9.95

Mad original art rear cover from the1960′s ‘Call of the Mild’ signed Dave Berg $825.00

GHOST RIDER NO. 22 VERSUS THE ENFORCER DON HECK ART $3.99

INFAMOUS VIDEO GAME~ORIGINAL PRELIM COVER SKETCH ART~ BY IVAN REIS $9.95

The Avengers #35 (1966) – VG/F – Silver Age – Art & Cover by Don Heck $9.99

SUB-MARINER…No.14….BURN, NAMOR…BURN..!!…..MARIE SEVERIN ART….JUNE 1969 $3.46

YOUNG LOVE VO. 5 #4 JOE SIMON AND JACK KIRBY ART $32.99

Western Bandit Trails #1 Tuska Art, Matt Baker Cover! Blue Monk, Ventrilo app. $75.00

RESURRECTION MAN #6~THE NEW 52~ORIGINAL PRELIM COVER SKETCH ART~ BY IVAN REIS~C $9.95

RESURRECTION MAN #6~THE NEW 52~ORIGINAL PRELIM COVER SKETCH ART~ BY IVAN REIS~B $9.95

WEIRD WAR TALES #60 Fine, Joe Kubert cover art, DC Comics 1978 $6.00

RESURRECTION MAN #6~THE NEW 52~ORIGINAL PRELIM COVER SKETCH ART~ BY IVAN REIS~A $9.95

Witchblade #7 SIGNED by David Wohl Top Cow Michael Turner cover art $9.99

THE PHANTOM #68 * Don Newton art $0.99

Mega Man Free Comic Book Day Spaz Art, Not Stamped, Free Shipping, Archie Comics $4.99

1966 Dick Tracy Chicago Tribune Ford Cartoon~Comic Piston Puss Autolite Art AD $8.05

SUB-MARINER…No.15…..THE DAY OF THE DRAGON…..MARIE SEVERIN ART….JULY 1969 $3.48

Strange Attractors Original Art- Issue #13 Pg 12 signed $20.00

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American History Comic Books (Paperback) $8.22 In this collection of engaging and entertaining mini-comic books, students share in the adventures of time traveler Scooter McGinty as he celebrates Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims, rides through Lexington with Paul Revere, joins Lewis & Cl…

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Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #42 (Paperback) $19.57 Description not available.

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