Art collector Supreme

If you spend any time searching for original art pages from the Supreme series, you'll see that a lot of them are owned by a guy named Malvin V. I thought it would be interesting to talk to someone who is such a dedicated collector and he was nice enough to let me bug him.

Q: What got you into collecting comic pages? Is it a job or a hobby?

A: Comic art is one of my hobbies.  I started collecting original comic art around 1998.  There was an old website that has since been revamped (comicon.com I think) that talked about online conventions, where artists had online booths, and they sold comic art.  I think there was a section about comic art so I read up on those.  We had a series of local cons that sometimes had big name guests, I use to only get the guests to sign my comics, but after reading those articles, Tim Sale was a guest and I got a sketch and also bought a page from him.

Q: Where do you find them (conventions, online, etc.)?

A: I find them everywhere.  I don't attend a lot of conventions anymore, but I get them at conventions, at online auctions, contacting artists directly.  Basically everywhere.

Q: What kind of pages do you like/who do you collect?

A: I generally collect original art pages from comics I enjoyed reading.  My "peak" reading/nostalgic years were late 80's to early 2000s so anything I read then I would collect (if it was affordable).  Sometimes if I like an artist (primarily through enjoying a comic they created) I would also buy pages that I never read if I enjoy it visually.  Those purchases are rarer, and when I go through my culling cycles those tend to be the first I let go since there is less nostalgic connection.

Q: At what point did you start collecting Supreme/Awesome pages?

A: One of my first purchases was actually a Supreme page.  After buying from Tim Sale at a local con, I contacted Rick Veitch via that online convention website I mentioned and bought one of his Alan Moore Supreme pages and a MIracleman page.

Q: What makes for a good page for you? 

A: There is no right answer, if I enjoy the book and the price is right, I would buy.  Certainly any specific scenes/pages that were memorable would make me like the page more.

Q: Are some pages worth more than others, and if so, what makes them worth more (popular artist, splash page, etc.)?

 A:  The value of pages certainly varies, and it's all about supply and demand.  Demand is driven by many things, but I believe in general for original comic art, its the underlying popularity fo the comic.  If lots of people enjoy the comic (e.g. high sales) then more would seek out the art, and start bidding them up. A great example I always tell people are the 2 Rick Veitch pages I bought.  If you recall, I said I bought a Supreme page and a Miracleman page at the same time back in 1998. I paid $125 for both.  I don't know what they are worth today, and they have both gone up in value, but the Miracleman page is probably worth 3x or more of the Supreme page.  And remember, they were both written by Alan Moore and both drawn by Rick Veitch.  Miracleman is much more popular than Supreme unfortunately.

Q: How do you display or protect your pages?

A: I have limited wall space, my original art are generally in mylar sleeves and stacked inside plastic bins.

Q: Do you collect commissions, and if so, do you get them made from the artist or are more likely to buy them second-hand?

A: I do collect commissions or convention sketches.  Once again, they would be generally from an artists who worked on a comic I enjoyed, and I would ask them to draw a something related to that book. So when I met Chris Sprouse I asked for a Supreme sketch.  I also buy them from other collectors.  If you want to be specific to the awesome universe, I generally get them direct since there are very few people who ask for Supreme sketches (and later sell them).  But there are also artists who generally don't sketch today so you have to get it second hand.  For example, until recently Mike Zeck was not attending conventions so any sketch you want would have to be second hand. Even today when he sketches at conventions they are generally only head sketches.  But he attended conventions in the 80's/90's so there are quite a few full figure Punishers that he did and I have some that I bought second hand.

Q:  Do you have a favorite (or favorites) Supreme pages/pieces? Why is it/are they your favorite(s)?

A: I think I could go on forever, but here are some highlights:

One of the first Supreme covers I bought, and it happened to be a variant cover to the 1st Alan Moore issue (41) 

The main cover for issue 41, and I was surprise that Jerry Ordway still had it in 2011 so I bought it

I was excited when Alex Ross got involved with Supreme.  I thought originals would be generally unattainable.  But I guess thanks for Supreme's lack of popularity, when this came up for auction, I was able to afford it!

Issue 53 was my favorite issue, and this splash captures that issue well.