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WATCHMEN Rorschach by Dave Gibbons

Artist: Dave Gibbons (All)

8 Comments - 4,759 Views - 1 Like

WATCHMEN Rorschach by Dave Gibbons Comic Art

Artwork Details

Title:	WATCHMEN Rorschach by Dave Gibbons
Artist:	Dave Gibbons (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	4,759
Likes on CAF:	1 2
Comments:	8
Added to Site:	11/14/2009
Comic Art Archive:

Description

Rorschach from Watchmen by Dave Gibbons.

Kindly presented to me by the artist in June 2006 - the occasion being the closure of the London store, Comic Showcase, that I had the pleasure of co-owning between 1980 and 2006.

For those of you that might be interested, here seems as good a place as any for me to relate the story of how the Watchmen art was originally sold.

When Comic Showcase moved to its third location in the mid 1980's we were finally blessed with a basement area that was sufficient in size to launch an original art gallery.

Those of you of a certain age will recall that way back then the art collecting world was well and truly in its infancy. Pre internet and pre ebay - those pages that I was able to pick up on my frequent visits to the US would only be sold to my existing customers and back then there was a certain amount of price resistance. It took me a good six months to sell a fabulous Ditko Spidey page for the princely sum of �300 ($475)!

Another example featured a Frank Miller Daredevil page that had the infamous Bullseye paper clip sequence - this one struggled at �55 ($80)

Against this background it would surely be a foolish fellow indeed that gambled on buying the original artwork from an entire 12 issue series of art by a relatively unknown (at the time) British artist?

I cannot recall exactly what inspired me to do so - my ailing memory recalls that it was probably after reading the second issue of Watchmen. My hunch was that here was something special, possibly unique, in modern comics.

Having done the deal I then proceeded to offer the pages to the buying public who, typically, had a few reservations at first.

The pages ranged in price from �60($100) which would get you a pirate page or a narrative page with few characters, all the way through to the dizzy heights of �120 ($200) for which you could have Manhattan towering over everyone in 'Nam or Rorschach getting busy with handcuffs and gasoline.

Gradually word got round and the pages started to sell - many to repeat buyers who mirrored the same faith I had shown but most, probably 90%, selling to collectors within the UK.

Fast forward to the present day.

Do I wish I'd hung on to some pages - well, does a bear **** in the woods?! Is the Pope catholic?

Could I have sold them for more money at the time? Frankly, no. I firmly believe that the price was right for the time and the prevailing market conditions.
Remember, for a secondary market in art to develop you have to have had the primary sales to begin with.

Anyway, hope the above has been of some interest and I, of course, welcome your comments.

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About the Owner

	Paul Hudson
Joined:	November 2009
Last Login:	August 2010
On CAF:	Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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Comments on this Artwork

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Felix Lu
Member Since 2005

Posted on 11/14/2009

Welcome to CAF, Paul! Thanks for the background on WM. Great history. Look forward to more stories from the legendary Comics Showcase!

Fr�d�ric Manzano
Member Since 2004

1 - Posted on 11/14/2009

Hi Paul ! So happy to see you. Fred.

Jonathan H
Member Since 2005

Posted on 11/14/2009

Hey Paul! Great to see you and thanks for the story. You've inspired me to get busy on that time machine again!!

Mike W
Member Since 2007

Posted on 11/15/2009

Thank you for sharing the story as well as the fabulous drawing. It makes me appreciate this hobby all the more. One of the beauties of collecting comic art is that the pieces one purchases out of love or admiration could one day become Grail-worthy. You just never know.

Justin Hutchinson
Member Since 2006

Posted on 11/15/2009

Hey Paul, Thanks for posting. I really miss that basement got some amazing purchases there most of what I still have now. As for Comic Showcase I spent many many enjoyable and mis-spent times there, the one at Neal Street was the best! Thanks for the memories.

Malcolm Bourne
Member Since 2005

Posted on 11/15/2009

Glad you've joined the party, Paul - the problems for all my misspent youth lie firmly at your door - now look where it's got me!!

Mario B.
Member Since 2004

Posted on 9/2/2015

oooouuuu woooooooooooooooooow

Michel Maillot
Member Since 2005

Posted on 12/10/2021

Always loved the Rorschach character, Dave Gibbons and Comic Showcase the coolest bookshop in Great Britain ever (Not to mention Paul his then manager).

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