February 28 2007 Worth it...

Like most people (my age) who grew up on early/mid 1960s Marvel comics, there is a complete and utter mystique to owning the original art from this period. Perhaps it is just having stuff from the time period when you were a kid... you young'uns out there can tell me that. I am pretty happy with the Kirby FF pages that I own, and particularly happy to have the 4-page sequence where the Invisible Woman (nee Girl) actually does more than be invisible (hide) or throw up a shield (protect). You can correct me if I am wrong, but this is, I think, the only Lee/Kirby action sequence for the Sue Richards character. I just picked up page 18 the other day, which is why I was thinking about this. Hmmm, let's see how this business of depicting a strong female character (you might need to ignore the dialog) fits into the framework of Dave Sim's worldview...

February 27 2007 Now you see it...

Wowzer.

In case you missed it (and you might have), an original art posting over at eBay yesterday disappeared. That usually means one thing, y'know: the seller was willing to halt the auction for a price.

Framed and matted, two pretty decent pages, big display with the comics...

eBay item number 230097726222
Seller: kdc
Buyer: puknul
Price: $1200

Issue #153 p X (gotta look it up)
Issue #154 p Y

As I said a while back (whilst pronouncing with my Greenspan voice): there is definitely a downturn in the market. Using the October 2006 market report, nice pages from the Issue #101-200 range demanded the highest premiums (except for the super-dooper special gotta-have-it iconic pages), which were an average of $785 (and that is without glass, matte and frame).

Collector-investors are twitching... should I sell? Should I sell?

February 26 2007 That set of pages from a few weeks ago...

No reply to my counteroffer (or rather, the lack thereof) on those pages.

February 24 2007 DVS commissions

OK, then.

You have seen them.

I have seen them.

And, three for three: I simply do not like them terribly much.

February 21 2007

I literally do not have the words to describe my reaction to Dave's tulry Medieval discourse on "ill health" ... for the record:

"Most ill health is actually demonic possession. I have come to believe this because so many of my ailments tend to linger for long periods of time and then vanish—poof!—just as suddenly as they arrived. One of the reasons that I resist seeking medical attention is that most doctors are atheists, so I see them as being very much part of the demonic possession construct (I tend to see hospitals as Disneyland for the Infernal). You go to the doctor or you go to the emergency ward and essentially you present yourself to the demonically possessed while you yourself are in mid-possession and basically agree to do whatever they say. For some reason you've attracted a djinn within you and he's playing hob with various parts of your anatomy and in such a way that it will register on the various machines that doctors use to identify specific medical conditions. The doctor sees a dark spot on the X-Ray or a glitch in the CAT scan and, being demonically possessed, sees no recourse but to get in there with a knife or radiation and cut it out or burn it out. My own suspicion is that you would probably find evidence of a pre-cancerous tumour in just about anyone where you would care to look for it depending on when you look for it. I suspect that they come and go on a regular basis through our adult lives. As long as you don't go to the doctor at any point where the whatever-it-is is fully or partly incarnated you'll get a clean bill of health. Catch it in mid-sprout and you can let yourself in for months or years of being tortured by the demonically possessed as they try to eradicate something that would have faded away on its own in a matter of weeks or months. It seems to me that that too is an example of submission to the will of God. We have no idea why we attract a djinn or a demon. We have no idea how to get rid of it. But, it seems to me that the more sensible response is just to accept it. I'm in pain. I might be in pain for a week or months or maybe even years, but one thing I can be sure of is that I deserve this and I deserve this for exactly as long as I have it. If I face it uncomplainingly while maintaining my prayers and devotion to God, it'll be here with me for a little while (God alone knows how long). If I allow it to completely change my personality and undermine my faith it will be here for a good while longer. Instead of asking "Why me?" the correct approach, in my view, is to try to improve yourself through prayer and the reading of scripture so that you are no longer deserving of whatever it is that's taken up residence within you. The more faith and devotion you exhibit, the less amenable a "host" you are. I think our forefathers understood these kinds of direct correlations between faith and devotion and illness far better than we do. In practical terms, medical science separates you from any sense of personal responsibility or culpability or participation in your illness."

I'm thinking that blood-letting to balance the humours and the sacrifice of small woodland creatures is next.

February 20 2007

Memo to Gerhard: You might try getting your boat to the southeastern Caribbean at some point; it's kinda nice here.

February 17 2007 "Culture Wars..."

They held a war and we lost.

The top 7 money-making movies this week have a total combined percentage of positive reviews of 118% (out of a possible 700%, that is; 96%/700% from the 'cream of the crop' reviewers as defined by Rotten Tomoatoes).

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/movies/box_office.php

#1 Norbit (9%/4%)
#2 Hanibal Rising (17%/8%)
#3 Because I said so (6%/9%)
#4 The Messengers (12%/7%)
#5 Night at the Museum (45%/41%)
#6 Epic Movie (2%/7%)
#7 Smokin' Aces (27%/20%)

There is a 'Pariah King' joke in here somewhere, but I am just too sad to think about it.

February 16 2007

chirp

chirp

chirp

(the sound of crickets chirping in the silence of Cerebus-related artwork)

chirp

chirp

ch..

February 13 2007 "What would you...?"

Except for that sideways page from #48, I did not find any of these pages to be particularly interesting. I also have no idea what this dearth of stuff might actually mean, but inaction is inaction, so (in my most Greenspan-esque voice) I am inclined to think that the AV shake-up and Dave's whatever weirdness is lowering the market value of Cerebus original art stock. At this point, we don't even know if Dave might not want to have a big sale, himself. to help finance the AV buy-out (if this happens, you heard it here first, cuz I just made it up).

Anyhow, I offered $2000-2200 for the lot of 7, with an eye toward 3 of the pages being more interesting than the others.

The counterreply was those three pages (#48, #66, #108) for $2100.

My response was 'thanks but no thanks."

February 10 2007

Did I mention the food?

February 9 2007

alchemist57: "What up?"

Representative of the owner of the collection of pages: "I am waiting to hear back about what he was thinking. I will let you know. We will be going out of town for a couple of weeks. So I hope to have an answer to you, one way or the other. There is only one other page that he will be looking at selling. I just have to pull it down and take it out of the frame to scan it for you."

February 7 2007 What value would you put on this lot?

This is not the entire lot (there are three other pages being offered, but I have not seen them). But what if this was the lot (the colors are a prelim, not the cover), what would you offer in return?

February 5 2007

You did see where these last two posts were headed, right?

I walked into one of these antique stores on Liulichang Street, and there, on the top shelf, waaaaay up in the corner... there they were. Actual chicken men... filled with dirt and lifted or salvaged or something, from wherever they had once perched. I about laid an egg. In six years of travel, I had never seen any of my little buddies for sale. The sales person wanted 400 RMB (ca $50) each for them. But in China they call this the "SP Price" (the 'stupid people' price). I'll admit that I did not push as hard as I usually do, but I did get the pair of them for 250 RMB.

In the immortal words of those darn seaguls in "Finding Nemo": mine... mine... mine...

February 4 2007

Liulichang Street... the Left bank of Beijing

Liulichang Street was once a flourishing cultural center during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) where scholars, painters and calligraphers gathered to purchase materials, exchange ideas, compose poetry, write books and paint pictures. In the modern age, the street renovations and have transformed the street into an antique market that resembles a Chinese village. The shops that flank the street are filled with genuine and convincing imitation paintings, calligraphy, pottery, carpets, vases, books, scrolls and chops.

The street is a mixture of state-run and privately owned shops and you should definitely bargain before making purchases. There are also replicas of traditional teahouses.

In 1979, the State Council approved a recommendation to restore and expand Liulichang. The original shops have been restored and the road broadened into a pedestrian mall.


February 2 2007 Who is that Man?

You probably think I have a variety of compulsive obsessions anyhow, so this won't be much of a surprise. I tend to think of them as quirky yet endearing qualities.

Bwah-hah-hah-(Necross.The.Mad)-hahhahahaaa...

Rooftop edges on Imperial Chinese buildings have these little yellow-glazed figures on them. Perhaps it's because they seem like cartoon characters with rich back-stories, I focused on learning about them the first time I traveled to China. The parade differs in length, and there are a few rules. In general, the procession is led by, let's call him, the man riding the chicken. In between there are all sorts of beasties, always an odd number of them. At the end of the train, a dragon. The maximum number of beasts is nine (the number of sons of the dragon), with the greater the number indicating the higher the status of the building.

Ask your tourguide, and you will get the greatest variation about the fellow at the front.

In some versions, he was a minion of the Emperor who got too power hungry and was hanged from a gable, and now symbolizes the folly of ambition afgainst the Emperor... who, symbolized by the Dragon, is directing the traffic, and whose sons are keeping an eye on him to keep to the straight and narrow. The bird is a phoenix, which is also an Imperial symbol (although that fact that it is the Empress seems a little odd... would you have the traitor riding the Empress...?).

In other versions, he's the fearie prince.

One note about the phoenix: don't think in terms of the classic Western firebird, or even the X-Men. The Fenghuang bird is a union of East and West, appearing in peaceful times, a union of male and female virtues (feng = male, huang = female), of Yin and Yang, and symbolizing high virtue and grace. The bird is also called an August Rooster, and is connected to the zodiac sign.

Having been born in the year of the Rooster (or Chicken, depending on who is depicting it), along with one-twelfth of the human population, I was sorta drawn to the Man riding the Chicken. Looks like a good place to be, you know, at the head of the pack.

Year of the Rooster: 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005

People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy and are devoted beyond their capabilities and are deeply disappointed if they fail. People born in the Rooster Year are often a bit eccentric, and often have rather difficult relationship with others. They always think they are right and usually are! They frequently are loners and though they give the outward impression of being adventurous, they are timid. Rooster people¡¦s emotions like their fortunes, swing very high to very low. They can be selfish and too outspoken, but are always interesting and can be extremely brave.

Which is all well and good... but regardless of the story, just who is that man who rides the chicken?