Buying Original Art

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Pricing on art is extremely volatile and changes all the time.  While there are pricing guides and guidance available (like those books shown above) DO NOT use these (or any price guide) for explicitly accurate pricing information.  Between the time any guide is written and then printed and made available for sale, the book will already be inaccurate.  Books can be useful/ interesting for a number of other reasons, including the articles on collecting they contain and the sheer fact that they catalog a lot of different art.

A better way to gauge market value for art (taking the factors below into account) is to look online at actual sale prices and get a feel for current value on the kinds of pieces you would like to collect.

It is ALWAYS a good idea to negotiate price on art if you think that the asking price is too high.  Walk away if it's more than you think is right or are willing to spend.  Art dealers will often negotiate a price downwards depending on how long they have been holding onto the piece, perceived demand, and your past buying relationship with them.  As with buying comics, if you buy a lot from a person/dealer and they know you they are usually more willing to cut you a deal.

Ultimately, art is worth what a person is willing to pay for it and in the past few years there have been people willing to pay a lot for comics art.

• Artist - Certain artists command higher prices.  In some cases it's because of their historical significance or body of work, other times it's just because they are currently considered to be a "hot" artist.
  
• Condition - Folds, creases, tears, etc. can affect price but keep in mind, with Original Art you're looking at the only one of something, so you're not going to find that exact same piece in better condition somewhere else like you can with a comic book.
  
• Type of Page - Covers, splash pages, etc. command higher prices than plain panel pages.
  
• Character - Popular characters (particularly super-heroes in costume) will increase the price significantly.
• Content - A significant story event or action packed sequence will command a higher price than people just talking.

There are many avenues for acquiring art, the main ones are detailed below.  When buying art over the internet, it's a good idea to ask questions about shipping: both the cost of shipping and how securely a seller will pack the art to ensure it is not damaged in transit.

Directly from the Artist - Many artists bring pages with them to conventions or can be contacted through the internet. Most have websites, tumblr pages, twitter, DeviantArt pages, etc.  
Artists will frequently sell their art at conventions if they have a booth or a table in Artist's Alley.  You can often get the best prices buying directly from the artist as you're not paying for the markup added on by middle men.
Be aware that some artists do not sell their original artwork.

Art Reps - Some artists turn the matter over to dealers that specialize in re-selling. This way the artist is not hassled by dealing with advertising, getting payment and shipping the art.  The Art Rep makes a tidy commission and you get your art.  

Art Dealers - There are certain individuals that specialize in the purchase and sale of original art pages. They typically have a website or sell on eBay and can often be found at conventions. Some tend to favor certain artists, genres, or types of pages. Many dealers also function as Art Reps for selected artists.  

Auction Houses - There are auctions that feature (or even specialize) in Original Art.  These are often great places to get art that the original owner needs to sell because they no longer collect, need money, or (unfortunately) may have passed away and a relative is selling off their collection.  Make sure you keep an eye on the various fees that auction houses charge, these can add up to 30% (or more) to the price you win an auction at.  Look for "Buyer Fees" and "Handling Fees", as well as their shipping charges.

Estate Sales - If you can beat the dealers there are sometimes pages available at estate sales for great prices.  Keep an eye on local newspapers & web-sites for information on these.

eBay - An excellent resource for Original Art, Back Issues, etc.  You should set up an eBay account even if you never plan to buy or sell anything there.  From your account, there are many tools to assist you in collecting information about the market.  You can search for particular artists or other items and they have a category of "Original Art" in the "comics" section that you can just browse at your leisure.  There are even sub-categories under Original art for things like covers, splash pages, etc.  Remember that you're relying on the seller choosing those particular categories so you may be missing out on items listed more generically whenever you use the eBay categories.  Categories may also be filled with spurious items placed there to get you to look at them.  We often see prints and color guides and other stuff that is definitely not original art in the Original Art category.

Much of the art is listed at a set price (or has a set minimum) that may be more than you want.  We suggest using the "Add to Watch List" option.  This will allow you to track the item to its final disposition.  Frequently the auctions will expire and then the seller often just relists the item, over and over again.  Each time it is relisted, eBay will notify you. 

You can also visit the seller's other items by clicking on the button that shows their other items.  Many of the sellers do an active business in multiple pages of original art.  If they seem to have things you like, you can add them to your favorite sellers list.  That way, you can periodically check their inventory without having to search directly.  From the seller's page, you can select to see their completed listings which will show you the price that the items sold for unless they were done as best offer deals.  This way you can see the prices actually being paid for pages of original art.  

There is an option for eBay to select similar items but for things like original art, the "matches" can be pretty different.  If you have patience, you can find good deals on eBay. 

There are a number of sites selling comic book Original Art that we have browsed and bought from.  Here is some guidance on places to start if you're looking to acquire Original Art.

Send e-mail to feedback@comicspectrum.com if you know any additional sites we should check out.

Albert Moy  - Pretty high-end stuff, but some really great artists like Amanda Conner, Darwyn Cooke, Jim Lee
** This site has a handy "New in the Past 30 Days" link **

Anthony's Comic Book Art - Reps Norm Breyfogle, JG Jones, Alex Maleev, Esad Ribic, JK Snyder & lots of other art too.
** This site has a handy "New in the Past 30 Days" link **

Art4Comics- This is a guy's personal collection that has stuff for sale. As such, it's kind of difficult to pick through all the NFS (Not For Sale) pages and stuff that is sold, but there are some hidden gems in here.

The Art of Comics - Brian Hitch, Paul Neary, Paul Renaud, Mahmud Asrar, Yildray Cinar, and others.....

The Artists Choice - Spencer Beck's site featuring a massive collection of repped artists including Jim Aparo, Olivier Coipel, Steve McNiven, Marshal Rogers, John Romita Jr., and many many more.

The Beguiling  - Some good indie artists (& some who've moved into mainstream like Jeff Lemire & Becky Cloonan).

Big Wow Comic Art - Lots of artists, some really nice stuff from 70s comics.
** This site has a handy "New in the Past 45 Days" link **

Black Line Fever - Lots of great "classic" artists

Cadence Comic Art  - Lots of artists that definitely have a following, but not the "big guns". A lot of out of this world prices, too, but some good deals if you dig around.
** Visit their Blog for recent additions **

Catskill Comics - Decent group of artists represented here including Mike Grell, Tom Mandrake, Pat Olliffe, and more!

Comic Art Collective - Some nice Indie guys here like Peter Bagge, Daniel Clowes, Jim Woodring, Tony Millionaire, and many more.

Comic Art House - Wide range of artists; Jim Calafiore, Paul Gulacy, Shawn McManus, JK Woodward and more.

Comic Book Pros - Some BIGGIES here: Alex Ross, Ernie Chan, Bill Sienkiewicz, and more....

Comic Art Shop - This is a hub for stuff on eBay & ComicArtFans.com, looks to be run by ComicArtFans.com (where I have my art gallery of stuff I own), it's got the same interface/UI.

ComicCon Art - Official rep for Ed Benes and many more up-and-comers. Lots of people here that you can get commissions from.

Dave Karlen Original Art - Some nice stuff at reasonable prices.

Essential Sequential  - Mike Choi, Dave Johnson, Dan Panosian & more.

Fanfare Sports & Entertainment  - These guys seem to have a really wide selection of artists and some decent prices on classic artists work who are not considered to be "hot" right now.

Golden Age Collectibles  - Art from a variety of of artists up thru current day. Some reasonably priced pages.

Got Super Powers? - Mike Allred & Toby Cypress.

Graphic Collectibles - Lots of artists, prices from mid-range to expensive, all the stuff I like on this site is WAY expensive. 

Kock Comic Art - Some REALLY expensive some, a few more reasonably priced pieces, but some neat stuff to browse through.

Kwan Chang - Reps Lenil Yu & Clayton Henry, but lots of other cool art on the site from artists like Mike Mignola, Jim Cheung, Mike Deodato & Olivier Coipel. Not Cheap.
** This site has a handy "New in the Past 30 Days" link ** 

NSN Art  - This site reps Ross Campbell, Cary Nord, Nick Runge, and more........ Some nice pieces at reasonable prices.
** This site has a handy "New in the Past 90 Days" link ** 

Out of Step Arts  - This site sells art for Nathan Fox, Toby Cypress, Greg Ruth, Chris Visions, Paul Maybury, Alexis Ziritt, Logan Faerber, Liz Suburbia, Andrew MacLean and Ming Doyle.

Paradise Comics  - On-line comic shop that has a decent amount of art at some reasonable prices 

Romitaman- VERY high-end stuff, including master Marvel artists John Romita, Sr. & John Buscema. LOTS of other classic old-timers.
** This site has a handy "New in the Past 60 Days" link **

Scott Eder  - Some really nice indie/underground/alternative art on this site. From Gilbert Shelton to Daniel Clowes to Milo Manara.
** This site has a handy "New in the Past 45 Days" link **

Serendipity Art sales - Mostly up-and-comers with a few old-timers like Rich Buckler & Donna Barr thrown in

Splash Page Art - Some very popular / well-known artists with prices that reflect this. Some deals to be had, but few & far between.

Will's Comic Art Page  - REALLY wide variety of artists with some classic & hard-to-find work (priced accordingly). A decent amount of reasonably priced stuff too.
** This site has a handy "New in the Past 45 Days" link