Gene Park is a comic book and original comic art collector who recently purchased the original cover art of New Mutants #1 for $25,000. Park has been collecting comics since 1983 and started procuring original comic and illustration art in 2002. A longtime resident of New York City, he is a self-employed investment professional. Scoop spoke with him about the purchase of the iconic New Mutants cover and his thoughts on the market.
Scoop: You recently acquired the original cover art to New Mutants #1 for $25,000. This is the first time it’s been on the market in over 30 years. How did you locate and purchase this cover by Bob McLeod?
Gene Park (GP): It’s a funny thing about collecting original art – sometimes you can land the page of your dreams through a lot of networking, legwork, and perseverance, and sometimes one can land in your lap through blind luck! I’d say that this instance was a bit of both, but mostly the latter. I had actually been quietly trying to track down this cover for quite some time – it was a top-three want list item for me – but hadn’t made any headway. In fact, I even hit up the cover’s artist Bob McLeod at the New York Comic Con in October in my last unsuccessful effort to track it down.
So, imagine my surprise when, just two weeks later, the cover popped up out of nowhere in a “for sale” listing on the CGC Forum chatboards! I was actually flying to London that evening and was killing time reading the boards waiting for the car to arrive to take me and my wife to the airport. When I saw the sale listing, my eyes bulged out of my sockets and I quickly typed out a public post staking my claim to the cover. I then fast and furiously typed out a private message to the seller – who I had gotten to know a bit through the boards over the years (thanks, Bill!) – telling him that I was heading to the airport and needed to finalize the details within an hour. Thankfully, we were able to quickly work out the logistics and I scribbled out a check and dropped it in the mailbox before leaving for my trip to the U.K.
So, obviously it was a bit of good fortune that the sale listing popped up right when it did, Bill had just gotten the cover in a trade with a collector who had bought it directly from McLeod in the 1980s. If it had been listed an hour later, I would probably have missed out on it. But, having been on the hunt for this cover for some time, I knew what the cover meant to me and what I would be willing to pay, so there was no hesitation or haggling on my part when I saw the listing – it truly was a case of luck being preparation meeting opportunity. It took all of four minutes after the seller posted the cover for sale that I had secured it and taken it off the market.
Scoop: As a collector of original comic book art what is it about this cover that made you want it for your collection?
GP: I started reading and collecting comics in 1983, so almost any art from around that time period is hugely nostalgic for me. Show me a memorable cover from 1983 or 1984 and chances are that I’ll be more floored by it than even the most iconic and expensive covers from the Golden Age or Silver Age!
Anyway, as I was saying, my initial introduction to comics in 1983 had been through the Uncanny X-Men title, and I quickly became a big fan of Marvel’s two other mutant titles at the time as well, Alpha Flight and the New Mutants. Though New Mutants #1 had preceded the start of my interest in comics by several months, I was able to pick it up as a back issue early on in my collecting days, and I have very fond memories of both that issue and the first few years of the series in general. The cover features a wonderful shot of the entire team and is one of the most memorable and enduring comic book images from my youth. I’m of the belief that certain comic art belongs in certain collections, and this cover is a prime example of that!
Scoop: The original comic art market has been seeing strong sales for a number of years. Where do you see the comic art market heading currently? What areas in this market are undervalued in your opinion? Are there any areas that you think are overvalued?
GP: Good question! You’re right – the market took a sharp turn higher in 2012-13. And, after consolidating a bit last year, it seems to be taking another leg up this year. It seems that we are enjoying a “Golden Age” of comic art collecting, with people who grew up with comics in the ’60s through the ’90s participating actively in the hobby, bolstered by renewed interest stemming from the explosion of comic book properties in films and other media and by robust conditions for art and collectibles markets since the end of the Great Recession.
Prices ration demand, and demand for the better material has been outstripping supply for some time, so price levels have risen. That said, there’s no cure for high prices like high prices, and we have definitely seen more and better material hitting the market of late given both high valuations and the older generation of collectors starting to get more comfortable with letting go of their treasures. For now, though, the market is absorbing this supply with considerable aplomb. How long it will last, though, I have no idea – could be a year, could be five years, could be fifteen. I do have longer-term concerns that the Millennials as a cohort will not have either the collective interest or the financial resources in the aggregate to clear the market at ever-rising prices when the Gen Xers call it a day. But, that’s a concern for tomorrow, not today, as Gen Xers remain the driving force behind the hobby for now.
As for what is under and overvalued now, it’s hard to say. I mean, is the New Mutants #1 cover a good investment? On the one hand, if interest in comic art continues to increase as a whole, I suppose it could be. But, on the other hand, will any Millennial love the New Mutants as much as I did as a kid and be willing to pay big bucks for it at some point in the far-flung future? To be honest, that’s a lot tougher for me to visualize – which is why I prefer to just collect for enjoyment and not worry too much about how the numbers will shake out. I may play an investment professional in real-life, but, when it comes to comic art, I’m really just a big fan at heart.
Scoop: What suggestions or recommendations would you have for someone who wants to start collecting original comic art?
GP: My biggest piece of advice would be to take your time and learn the market before you dive in. I can tell you that most of my worst buys in the hobby were made in my first two years of collecting when I thought I knew more about the hobby and the market than I actually did. Join the CGC Forum, the Comicart-L list and especially ComicArtFans.com. Track the auctions at the major original art auction houses. Go to shows and introduce yourself to dealers and other collectors – I’ve become friends/acquaintances with dozens of fellow collectors in the hobby who initially reached out to me, or vice versa, in person and/or online for information and advice. Speaking of which, the hobby is not just about acquiring art – some of my best friends in life are those who I have met through collecting comics and comic art. Ours is a very social hobby and I would strongly recommend that people make the effort to get to know other collectors.
Also, think about what kind of art really interests and speaks to you, personally. Don’t just chase a particular artist because everyone else likes him or her, whether it’s the latest flavor-of-the-month or even an all-time great. This is probably even more relevant now than when I started collecting back in late 2002. Back then, prices were lower and many newer collectors like myself were able to cast a wider net in deciding what to collect. Where prices are nowadays, though, it probably behooves most collectors to figure out what they really love most and become more focused in the art that they pursue.
You can view Park’s gallery at www.comicartfans.com.
Scoop would like to thank Gemstone’s former Managing Editor and fellow collector Tom Gordon III for facilitating this interview.
