The Legend of Silver Surfer Black
It’s time to talk about one of the most fascinating works published in the last decade(s?) as well as one of the most interesting market movements in recent times. Tradd Moore’s art breakthrough with his mind altering Silver Surfer Black mini-series.
I decided to finally publish this article at this time as we come to the first public auction of a page from this masterpiece. In December ComicConnect will hold an auction for page 14 from issue 1 here: https://www.comicconnect.com/item/1050150 . This auction is sure to catch the attention of many in the hobby.
The Art:
Every decade or two someone breaks the molds and produces art that isn’t quite like anything we have ever seen. Tradd had already produced some amazing work in his career, and has stood out since illustrating the Legend of Luther Strode series which put him on the map. He then did several smaller projects for Marvel, DC and indie publishers and then came Silver Surfer Black. It had the audience from being connected to Donny Cates Marvel cosmic work, it was a beloved character and it made a large mark quickly. Comic art had never looked like it did in SSB. (And in the art Tradd has produced since, it is amazing.) He is doing things no one before ever has before. Mind blowing work. His artwork is on another level and every line is laid with perfection and purpose. There is so little correction fluid on the art is often doesn’t really look like it is done with human hands. There are multiple panel layouts that are Earth-shattering never seen before and they are a site to behold. The detail, the flow, the shapes….the art has earned the acclaim it has received and then some in my opinion.
The Art Release Story:
Some may be unfamiliar with the event of the art coming to market for the project. Tradd Moore is repped by the one of the best reps in the biz, Felix Lu of Felix Comic art. Felix sells a fair amount of complete issues, and Silver Surfer Black was no exception. Long story short the first three issues sold complete. While no prices for the complete issues are public, it is safe to assume they were all sold in the mid 5 figure range with issue 4 selling for the most.
The buyer of issue #1 traded in that issue for #4(which content/artistically is probably the best with Galactus all over the place) then in November 2019 Felix offered most of the pages from issues #1 and #5 on his website individually, which sold out in a few minutes. Finally and very surprisingly, in July of 2020 the buyer of issue #2 resold most of those pages through a Felix drop. The prices for the pages in the second drop were higher but still sold out in a matter of seconds. This is when the frenzy began.
The Market’s Reaction:
I don’t think anyone knows the exact number but a few pages had sold between the first and the second drop. There was a market for the pages and people were willing to pay above what they had sold for pretty much instantly. The prices however had not skyrocketed yet.
Demand increased even greater in the aftershocks of the second drop. At this point the cat was out of the bag, and prices shot up. Offers and asks went to the high 4 figure to low 5 figure range for solid panel pages. Prices have crept up slowly in the years since with so little supply and collectors not wanting to let go of pages while so many collectors at the same time wanting to add an example from the run.
The Present Market and Upcoming Auction:
The market is still in flux and the trading of the pages has slowed down a bit. I usually hear of a sale once or twice a year. With so little public data both buyers and sellers are unsure of fair values, which is why the auction is so important.
I feel it’s safe to say at this time any page from the run is going to command 5 figures minimum, with Surfer on board starting at about 20k. However, this is assuming an owner wants to sell, which few at present currently do. In this upcoming auction a lot of questions will be answered, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see other pages come to market soon after with the public data.
A lot of collectors have been waiting for this moment, some out of curiosity, some who want the chance to buy one, and many potential buyers or sellers wanting a feel for worth before doing a deal. This is one of the auctions of the year to keep an eye on.
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Happy collecting!
