I enjoy watching auctions, even if I’m not bidding. I learn a lot, and honestly, it can be kind of vicarious fun if you’re not too vested in the results. I think about what pieces should be worth, and then watch to see if I was close. Sometimes, I totally don’t get why a piece goes for what it goes for – up or down. For example, there were are a lot of people surprised by the bidding on the cover to the X Men Annual #5 by Brent Anderson. It certainly caught me off guard.
Having said that, I have to admit it. I was the high bidder.
To be fair, I was really surprised that there were so many other people that were so interested in the cover, and two other bidders that were willing to pay as much for the piece as I was willing to pay - well, almost as much. Why was there such hot bidding on this piece? I could tell you that it’s a great cover from a time when many of us were devouring anything with X-Men or Daredevil that hit the stands. Or, I could tell you that it’s a striking image of the X-Men and Fantastic Four in action, and that there is a neat hidden drawing of Kitty Pryde under the UPC logo. Or, that it’s a memorable issue from the center of an amazing time for X-Men fans. Remember, the year was 1982, the “Days of Future Past” was hitting the stands, and the Claremont/Byrne/Austin run was at its peak. It was a prime time for comic fans, and only a year before Brent Anderson’s tour de force turn in the graphic novel, “God Loves, Man Kills”. Brent was also on a hot run of Ka-Zar. This annual featured the Badoon as the bad guys, and was one of the better annuals of the time.
All true. But, that’s not why I was willing to go to the mattresses for this cover.
So, why go mad on this piece? Well, I think in this crazy hobby where we argue “art” versus “nostalgia” on a daily basis, much like the “nature” versus “nurture” arguments of a century ago, for me this cover clearly falls into the “nostalgia” category.
Because I’m “Ron”.
Take a look at the dedication at the bottom of the page. It’s not a coincidence. Brent Anderson signed the piece for me in the early 80’s at the Chicago Comic Con. As I think I've told you all before, I started collecting OA in the late 70's and early 80's. I had a modest collection, with some published pages including this cover, and a few commissions. Shortly after getting married in 1988, I sold everything (my wife thought the images would be too scary for our children), and left the hobby. Roll forward 15-20 years, and I start collecting again.
I’ve always wanted to get this cover back, and so I knew it was going to be mine as soon as I saw it hit the Heritage site. The only question was how much was it going to hurt to buy this a second time. The answer? A lot. You see, the first time around, I paid $140. So, yes, this was a bit of a premium. But, I don’t care. This time it’s back for good and I’m thrilled.
