Commissions and The Fifty

When looking at pieces for inclusion in The Fifty some are easy and some are a bit harder to place accurately. As I said in my last post, the Simon Bisley commission I have of Dr. Strange and The Mindless Ones is one of the best pieces in my collection. Therefore its' inclusion was not even up for discussion. Then I looked at it among the other pieces and realized it was the only commission I had moved into the gallery.

You see, I may have a few pieces on display in The Fifty gallery on my CAF page but I have many many pieces in the gallery not yet active as well. So when I went to make the Bisley piece active I realized that the rest of the pieces are published pieces, pages and covers and the occasional pinup.

This made me think about what I was going for with The Fifty and if commissions really fit into my plans anymore at all. Because I once spent a large portion of my collection budget on convention sketches and home commissions. Seventy Five percent I would think. But those days are gone and in the last two years I have decided on far far fewer commissions and only a few sketches at any convention. I used to target about 20 artists and spend thousands of dollars on sketches and arranged commissions two or three times a year. No more.

I still get home commissions though. I got one of the two spots when Carlos Pacheco opened his list this past year. I got Dr. Strange and I love it. It is not for sale. It was $400, plus the stuff. But it will never be in The Fifty. It is 11X14 and just won't cut it in the end. So eventually it will be for sale. Five to ten years, but eventually. I have had a few Pacheco pieces over the years, even a published cover wit hDoc on it!, but have not yet found the one, the one that will make The Fifty. I would love a commission from someone like Art Adams, Mark Chiarello, or J H Williams 3rd (all possible sometime in my future so I hear) and will continue to give repeat business to people who have handled our past exchanges in exemplary fashion. That list includes Darryl Banks, Andy MacDonald, and Rudy Nebres - who have all agreed in principle but not specifics to their next assignments from Les Galleries Fedres.

And the same is true for convention sketches. Their is no way that I will not give money to Sean Chen for a convention sketch, especially more of the 17X5 pieces he has been doing for me these last few (FOUR!) years. Some guys, and some ladies as well, will always get my money if they have the time to take it. Andy MacDonald is again in this category. Tony Harris will never leave this category, even if eventually he will only draw cats and fish as superheroes and heroines from the 30s. And he will be dressed as Steampunk Tony as he does it! (Just kidding Tony, I love ya'! I always will! Come on up to NYCC or at least Baltimore!) Mark Texeira full figure graphic pieces when Renee is not around. (HA!) The days when I shell out $100 or $200 or $300 or even $500 (it'll be watercolor and everything!) hoping for the best are over. I spent ten thousand dollars over the last 5 years on convention sketches worth a grand on the open market. No more of that. But the guys I know are a sure thing, the Tonys and Andys and Marks, will always see my money at shows.

So I now forego those pieces for the most part in the quest for the next great piece. Or at least the next serious contender. But the ones that pan out? The ones that turn out truly special? Those may indeed find a spot next to The Biz in my comic art Valhalla! They have a chance at least, and now that I have thought it through I have a few more moved into the gallery awaiting active status. And as I look at them there, I know that they belong.

Some thoughts nearing year's end

I have to tell you, I have really had a good year. Many blessings have come my way. I started this entry to talk about my comic art, surprise surprise. But I would be remiss if I did not comment on my wonderful wife and my equally wonderful daughters. They really make each and every day better. We are entering the teen years, and I know it won't always be so easy to get along but it has really been a blast so far.

I coached soccer again this year, and that was fun. We had the year end dinner yesterday, a few weeks later than optimal. Only 6 of the 14 kids attended, but it was good to see those kids again. I look forward to coaching again next year.

Okay, comic art. I had a great year. I sold more art than I ever have in one year before (I think) and I bought a bunch of really nice things. Maybe nothing to compete with last year's BWS Storyteller splash page, but what year could compete with that? I usually place my better pieces in my CAF Lowry, and looking at it now, I think it was a good year. Only one of those five things is on my comic art want list but that is really because I could not have anticipated the others. But they absolutely fall right in my collection wheelhouse. This is the one on my want list, a page from Dracula 44 by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer

Tomb of Dracula 44 page 22 Gene Colan / Tom Palmer

Although not in my Lowry, I also got a page from Dr. Strange 14 this year. This is the issue of Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts that crossed-over with Tomb of Dracula 44. Gene Colan was pencilling the art for both books at the time, and this issue is again inked by Tom Palmer.

Dr. Strange 14 page 10 Gene Colan / Tom Palmer

I got a whole lot of Gene Colan this year; in addition to those two pages, I got the only page pencilled by gene Colan that Walt Simonson ever inked; a cool page from Dr. Strange 38 inked by Dan Green; and have paid off a little over 50% of a nice splash.

 The Chris Stevens watercolor was a real treat. How I could expect he would start painting and I would get one of the first ones? Look at that piece of art.

Storm of Asgard by Chris Stevens

I got a Mike Mignola cover. It was a bit of an impulse, and I would trade it for the right Starman/Hellboy/Batman piece, but it is a wonderful piece of art. It may not have hellboy, but it has so much more that you want in a Mignola than many Hellboy panel pages. Check that shit out.

Mike Mignola Witchfinder 4 cover

I have a few collecting themes. Well, that may be overstating it but I like to get a few specific things. I now have gotten a second artist to recreate an image I can no longer find, online or in the real world. But Andy MacDonald was nice enough to take on the challenge and make this homage to a John Buscema poster of Mephisto drinking souls from his chalice. Frank Brunner did it once for me as well, and Andy was right there with his execution like the old pro! (Go buy Andy's latest masterpiece, the adaptation of James Patterson's ZOO)

Mephisto Drinks The Defenders by Andy MacDonald.

This year also found me finally getting a commission from Eric Canete. I once bought, and have since sold, a Silver Surfer from Eric's portfolio. But this year Eric joined a few other comic artists and stopped sketching copyrighted characters. There are many reasons for this, and not every artist has the same reason as the next guy. But if it is a reaction to the Gary Friedrich case it is a total over-reaction. But Eric is taking that position and talking to him in the past made it clear he is a genuine man. So when NYCC came around in 2012 I decided to get Eric to do an underwater Valkyrie. He was all over that shit. Check out the insanity he put on paper for me.

Eric Canete underwater valkyrie convention sketch - my idea, his execution

The next piece I have here represents another want list acquisition. This is the fourth page from issue 170 of Dr. Strange that I now possess. This is page 18. I think that may be enough now that the Tomb of Dracula 44 pages and Doc 14 pages are surfacing, but you never know.

Dr. Strange 170 page 18, art by Dan Adkins

And this year was also the year I got my Mike Allred commission, another want list item. I initially wanted to get the Valkyrie, Dr. Strange, Clea and other Defenders playing volleyball on the sand. After thinking about characters and cost ($200 per after the first four characters) I decided to get Doc and his posse: The Ancient One, Clea, Wong, and Rintrah. Simon Miller was a keen facillitator and Mike Allred just killed it for me. I may have stripes added on Clea's suit, and The Ancient One's shirt is supposed to be a Hawaiian shirt and I will have that added soon enough digitally. I also wish there were a few creatures, seagulls and crabs and such, but I did get the cute beachgoer in the background.

One of the best pieces I got this year is this cover by Kevin Nowlan.

Strange Tales 11 cover - Kevin Nowlan

That is a thing of beauty. It may not be his best of that period, but it is a great representation of those covers and is a very strong cover by a master artist. I loved Mr. Jyp so when this cover was made available to me I was glad to see him and Cloak & Dagger, plus Doc as well! The Doc only covers are my favorites, but MAN look at what I done got!


I also was able to score a major coup when I commissioned Rudy Nebres early in the year to do another one of my themes, Dr. Strange vs. Dracula. Rudy and his lovely, and patient, wife have been at quite a few conventions in my area in the last few years and I got to talking with them on quite a few occasions. It turns out they live 10 minutes from me, two towns over. I arranged to pick up the commission at their house and look at what Rudy Nebres presented to me.

I had given Rudy five different heroines to put in the commission and he chose The Scarlet Witch. This is right up their with my Simon Bisley, Paul Smith, and Jae Lee commissions as one of the best I have received from an artist. I loved it so much I sought out the means to make it into a shirt and now wear it proudly. I wear a comic art shirt, or more than one, every weekend and that Nebres commission started that whole trend for me. It is that great a piece of comic art.

Let's see, I also got a Starman cover this year. Issue 3.

Starman 3 cover painting by Tony Harris

What can be said after that. Thanks be to God, I am blessed.


...to be continued.