Episode 17 of the Pipeline Comics Podcast asks why original art collects love splash pages so much?

Episode 17: Original Art: Why Splash Pages?

Today, we’re focusing on one of those “whole lot more” things.  We’ve talked a lot about European comics in the past couple of weeks.  Asterix took over for awhile there, as he tends to do in Pipeline Land.

So let’s take an episode or two to speak of more generic comic collecting things.

I started collecting comic book original art in 2000 or 2001 at the San Diego Comic Con, back when it was called the San Diego Comic Con and was filled with comics.

I picked up my first pages from Mark McKenna — a page from Vext penciled by Mike McKone — and Steve Lieber, a beautiful page from “Whiteout” with Carrie Stetko on it.

From there, I spent the next few years picking up sample pages from artists whose work I liked that wasn’t overpriced.  And, in some cases, I found sources for the art that were so affordable that I bought lots of pages.

That’s how I ended up with so many pages of Vic Bridges’ “Freak Force” and Tim Levins’ “Batman Gotham Adventures”.

The trick back then was to buy the pages from the inkers on eBay.

Prices have since shot through the roof and I no longer can afford to collect. But I have a nice stack of pages, some of which I’ll never sell, and others which I’ve sold strategically to help fund things like this website and podcast.

I own all of one or two splash pages in my entire collection, and zero covers.  And those splashes I bought as part of a run of pages. I had, at one point, a complete eight page sequence from a Superman issue by Mike McKone, and a couple of 3 or 4 page sequences to Batman Gotham Adventures.  In both cases, a splash page was part of that sequence and I wanted to keep it together, so I bought it.

But I’ve never been one to shop for splash pages.

This, by the way, is the dumbest investment thing I’ve EVER done.  Even dumber than not putting all my cash in 2000 into Apple stock instead of comic books.

Because it’s the splash pages that skyrocket in value.

But I don’t get that. Why?!?

I MUCH prefer panel pages.  You get more art that way.  The artist draws characters on four to nine panels.  I love seeing the characters act and move.  

It’s comics, too, so I like the ideal of sequential storytelling. You get that with panel pages.  You don’t get that with splashes.  

I have a two page sequence from Ultimate Spider-Man by Mark Bagley that’s just Peter and Mary Jane talking on the phone. I love it, because there are subtleties in the facial expressions and body language that show me what’s going on in the conversation. And, you get lots of drawings of the two main characters on those two pages.

That’s worth more to me than a splash page.

You get MORE for your money.  If I want a big splash image, I’ll just buy a poster.  If I want to own comic book art, I want that storytelling on it.  I want to see all the decisions and the parts the artist redrew and the pencil lines and the eraser marks and the panel borders

I also want the lettering, but that’s not a thing anymore. And, yes, I’ve picked up a page or two JUST for the lettering on it.

But original art splash pages?  They’re impressive in their own way, but they’re overpriced for what they are, to me.  They underperform for the price I’d have to pay. I want more characters, more backgrounds, more action on the page I just bought, and that’s why panel pages are the ones I’m happiest to have.

But I’m not complaining.  If I ever have money for original art again, I’ll be able to get something I want cheaper than a splash.  And I’ll have less competition. That’s not a bad thing at all.

Question Time!

You tell me now:

What kind of original art do you collect?  Do you have a theme or a style of art or a specific character you collect? Tell me in the comments section below.



What do YOU think? (First time commenters' posts may be held for moderation.)

One Comment

  1. For the longest time, I was a bit like you, collecting mostly classic newspaper dailies and sundays, starting with my all-time favorite, Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo, the double-page gags from my top French Series Achille Talon, which in my opinion is an undiscovered masterpiece. I used to go to proper auctions, in Paris mostly, and blow ungodly amounts of money on purely sentimental purchases, with no concern to the actual resale value. As a Kirby and Colan fan I fancied splash pages and covers but by that time they were mostly unaffordable. There are still plenty of those on Heritage. I go there sometimes, browse a bit and sigh a lot :D. I still have a few that I am keeping, but I’m not looking at them for what they represent objectively, analytically, but for the memories and the feelings they remind me of. As such, splash page or regular page does not really matter to me. I can understand the appeal of a splash or a cover though, visually more striking when framed, also more recognizable by the casual admirer, which obviously encouraged speculation.