The state of OA prices

boibleu22 · 02-18-2019, 01:46 PM

We're all aware that the prices of original art, both published and unpublished, has been creeping up steadily for the last few years. And I understand that it's a buyer's market and what people are willing to spend is the main driving force behind market prices, but I just for the life of me can't figure out why some artist's are pricing themselves so high.

This might come off as a rant, but I don't understand Jason's Fabok's pricing and his cult following that seems to enable it.

He started off 2017 selling these bust shots (of varying sizes) for no more than $600 for an 11x17. No more than a year later, he's asking $1600 for the same item at NYCC in 2018.

And now i see that he is asking $15k for his Detective 1000 cover? I know for a fact that the Lee Bermejo cover for that same issue sold for FAR less. Even the latest (and amazing) Gary Frank BoG cover sold for far less than that.

I can understand an artist like Jim Lee's asking prices. The guy is a legend. But Fabok? I don't even know what he got famous for.

You also have Tony Daniel's asking prices... but his are all over the map. He's been selling sketch covers for $400-500 with very little art on them, but some of his OA prices are even less than that with far more art on them. I can't make sense of Tony's pricing.

(Also, I could very easily rename this thread to "Alex's complaining thread about Jason Fabok")

Augen · 02-18-2019, 02:03 PM

I'm not sure how to describe art, but for me Fabok hit me the way Lee did as a kid. The first time I saw his Wonder Woman I just stared at the page for a while.

It is sort of shame I'll never be able to afford his work, but I get the appeal.

IG-64 · 02-18-2019, 02:49 PM

Fabok prices are crazy. Dunno where that came from, honestly barely know of the guy but I'm not too up on the most current stuff, nor am I a DC head so that may be on me. I guess the market is there though so good for him. Prices across the board are getting out of control though. I look at what I paid for things during my heyday 8-10 years ago, and the prices I was flinching at then are chump change now, and seems like I was getting more "bang for my buck" back then too. It's part of the reason I've slowed down a lot in this hobby.

**MONSTER** · 02-18-2019, 03:04 PM

Good for Fabok if he can get it. It is shocking how much people will pay for brand new art but it keeps happening.

galactus · 02-18-2019, 03:14 PM

I've never heard of this person. Must be new within the past 15 years, LOL.

Augen · 02-18-2019, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by galactus

I've never heard of this person. Must be new within the past 15 years, LOL.

I'd say 4 years ago with "Darkseid War" he really blew up on the comic artists scene. Since then he basically gets to draw what ever he desires. He did a Swamp Things one shot and has "Three Jokers" mini series coming up. He got big so fast you rarely see him do interior art and is frequently a variant cover artist. He's also currently working with Prime 1 on a statue line (maybe start releasing in 2020?)

carlito1978 · 02-18-2019, 11:14 PM

Its a sellers market, not a buyers market. Somehow comic art collectors have magically been loaded with a ton of money.

For fabok, he doesnt do alot of art traditionally. Doesnt do a ton of shows. So apparently theres enough demand for those high price pieces.

This clink auction will be a good case study on what normal auction markets price out some of his art.

joefixit2 · 02-19-2019, 09:07 AM

Isn't most of Fabok's stuff digital? Makes his regular art rare but not sure how to justify those crazy prices. Obviously people are paying that much but I don't see the value holding on long term for those.

**JadeGiant** · 02-19-2019, 10:06 AM

It’s not news that the art market has been on an upward trajectory for a while. When will it stop? It has certainly impacted my hobby decisions. I have stopped picking up statues almost completely. As for Fabok, he has his devoted fans and enough of them to keep his price where it is. With all the digital work he does, the supply is kept pretty low which there is more demand in the market. I would be curious to see what his prices would do if he were cranking out a monthly book and none of it was digital. I like Fabok’s work. He has a nice clean style that look really good in my eye … but not so much that I feel I need something from him. That’s also because he draws batman … it would probably be a different story if he drew the Hulk. Didn’t he start under Finch?

Mean Green · 02-19-2019, 10:11 AM

I've never heard of Fabok until just recently but can definitely admit the art is great. And I agree with Ken, happy for him that he can get people to pay those prices but I'm definitely out of market for it. It almost sounds like he's pushing the prices up as an experiment to see at what point will people stop buying. Either that or he doesn't really want to sell and this is his "Make me an offer I can't refuse" number, which is totally fine and his prerogative. I'm just glad guys like Dale Keown or Art Adams don't do the same, even though everything they produce gets picked up in a flash.