David I have always meant to apologize for hassling your wife back then at
that Comic-Con in the 1970s!
Bruce -- it couldn't have been you in the 1970s at Comic-Con who hit on my
girlfriend-who-later-became-my-wife. She remembers the creep being definitely
fair-haired and geeky. And though you're obviously no George Clooney -- my
wife doesn't consider you a geek, as is evident in the two pics she prodded me
to share (see below) that were taken with you both at your L.A. sale.
Meanwhile, I have to say that while showroom auctions are prohibitively
expensive -- (which explains the high buyer and seller premiums other auctions
charge) -- there's a wistfulness I feel about those sales of the past. That
sale of yours in L.A. in that massive building was something, with all the lots
displayed in floor-to-ceiling rows around the room -- and what was a "first"
for an "auction house" at the time -- you had lots of food stored in big
coolers in the back for everyone to help themselves. My recollection of the
news story I wrote -- was you had several hundred lots and only about 4-5
passes. And the happiest guy in the room (besides the winning bidders) -- was
a fellow in his late 30s named Marty Saltzman, who agreed to be interviewed and
proudly revealed he was the consignor of more than half of the lots. That kind
of openness among consignors and bidders -- with media present -- will likely
never happen again. I think the only reason why normally hide-bound people
would reveal themselves in this way -- was because they were not only happy,
they were ecstatic -- and the noisy party-type atmosphere in the showroom
helped -- (a big contrast to more stoic affairs held elsewhere). Whatta day
that was... -d. http://tinyurl.com/cjsft3
-----Original Message-----
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:26:22 -0500
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
David
I have always meant to apologize for hassling your wife back then at that
Comic-Con in the 1970s!
Seriously though, I really have to admire Steve Fishler. Back at the time of
that auction, Steve and around a dozen other guys were advertising hot and
heavy that each one of them paid the "most" for top quality posters.
Well, I knew when I got these two incredible posters (never before auctioned,
excellent unrestored condition, and straight from a man who had owned them for
50 years) that THIS would be the ultimate test of who was the real deal, and
who was "all talk".
My auctions have always been cash only, with no trades, no 6 months zero
interest, no pretend sales, etc. I made it clear before the auction that the
high bidder on either of these two posters would have to pay in full within 30
days of the auction date (and only in the world of collectibles where almost
all the top players for the most expensive posters are "collectibles rich, but
cash broke" could these be considered onerous terms).
Well the auction came, and not only did Fishler buy BOTH of these, but none of
the other "we pay most" guys even bid!
And of course I would have gone to my grave without revealing who bought these
except that Steve himself revealed that he was the buyer.
The collectibles world is filled with lots of big talkers, and huge sales that
never really happened, but these were two sales that did.
Bruce
On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 5:29 PM, David Kusumoto <[email protected]>
wrote:
** I confess when my good-looking girlfriend (who's now my wife) and I first
walked into Comic-Con in the 1970s (which was then held in the smallish El
Cortez Hotel and later the Civic Center here in San Diego) -- we were taken
aback by the geek factor, people dressed up in costumes and reciting every line
in Star Trek, going over plot lines and Trek-ideology, all that jazz. I have
never been a Star Trek fan or a collector of sports cards, but I did have an
interest in old comics and movies. Other than my aversion to Star Trek and
sports cards -- I confess I was still a little rattled that my interests were
otherwise very much aligned with others at Comic-Con -- who seemed geeky in
appearance and manner, very intellectual and socially awkward if they had to
talk about unrelated subjects like their jobs or what was in the news. I
seemed to need reassurance because I asked my girlfriend (who went only because
of my interest, not hers) -- "do I seem that way to you?" And she said no.
More than 30 years later, she remains above my standing, not what people
expect; I obviously got lucky because I'm not an attractive match for her and
I'm not rich.
** But what was funny, I'll never forget this -- one year we went to Comic-Con
to buy more comics and folded one-sheets -- and this guy, he looked like the
square dude who plays the NBC page on "30 Rock" -- kept following my then
girlfriend around whenver I strayed into another direction in the dealer's
room, peppering her with questions -- and I overheard this Boy Scout trying to
pick her up, asking for her phone number. I guess he was surprised to see a
girl like her at Comic-Con. (She worked at JC Penney at the time and
eventually became a department manager at Nordstrom.) My then girlfriend
politely declined to give out her personal information and then she swiveled
and gave me a glare that said, "get me outta of this place, NOW."
** Today, Comic-Con is gigantic, with crowds of around 100,000 or more held at
the huge San Diego Convention Center on the harbor -- and though the event
still retains its geek factor -- it's far more inclusive, with tons of stuff
for children and movie-related material and events going constantly. When
Comic-Con started, its only attendees were young adults and grumpy old men.
The trouble today is few can afford to attend Comic-Con. And I understand that
this year's bash is already sold out. In terms of its impact on traffic and
people crowding our streets -- Comic-Con is bigger than the Super Bowls our
city has hosted. Every Comic-Con, locals avoid downtown. But now that we have
a major league baseball stadium downtown, it's a nightmare.
-d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:13:34 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
To: [email protected]
Guilty on all counts (btw ... I finally got the beautiful woman, but she was
born waaaay after ST left the airwaves).
ad
--- On Sun, 3/15/09, David Kusumoto <[email protected]> wrote:
From: David Kusumoto <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
To: [email protected]
Date: Sunday, March 15, 2009, 2:46 AM
(truncated)
And we used to laugh because at lunch he would tell us off and on that any
woman he might marry in the future -- MUST first know all about Star Trek and
understand it. And oh, of course, that woman would have to be gorgeous. He
didn't collect movie posters, but he DID collect comics and action figures. I
bet if I drew a line connecting all of MoPo's members -- that I would find
(besides a shared interest in posters) -- a past or present interest in comics,
sports cards and sci-fi/sorcery stuff.
-d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:46:19 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
To: [email protected]
** I saw Fishler in person that one and only time -- and he struck me then as a
very quiet but intense young man, almost trying to hide from any attention.
When I tried to interview him, he was visibly uncomfortable and gave me only a
few one-breath quotes. But everyone in the huge room was curious about him.
"Who's the kid with all the money who looks like he just got out of high
school?," was the general buzz. Instead of letting someone else bid on his
behalf, Stephen flew from NY to L.A. to bid in person. That was a helluva sale
-- and it was striking in that you got the feeling that Stephen himself knew he
was not going to lose those two Universal horror posters; he had no limit. It
happened at Bruce's first stand-alone showroom sale (Dec. 1998) -- after
directing Christie's previous poster sales in New York. Fishler struck me as a
very mysterious figure. Since then, I've seen him quoted many times and have
learned that he has ALWAYS been a big name in the comic book world.
** My wife and I have always found it intriguing that so many movie poster
collectors are hyper-intellectual guys who used to collect sports cards or
comic books, who love sci-fi and Star Trek -- who have a high-geek factor that
people (esp. women) can instantly spot in a crowd. For example, the character
"Dwight" in NBC's "The Office" -- played by the hilarious Rainn Wilson -- is
the sort of guy you'd expect to collect comics and posters, a guy who treats
the Lord of the Rings or Star Trek-type universes like a religion. And so he
does.
** There used to be this quiet, portly guy in his 30s who was a graphic
designer in our office in San Diego. And we used to laugh because at lunch he
would tell us that any woman he might marry in the future -- MUST first know
all about Star Trek and understand it. And oh, of course, that woman would
have to be gorgeous. He didn't collect movie posters, but he DID collect
comics and action figures. I bet if I drew a line connecting all of MoPo's
members -- that I would find (besides a shared interest in posters) -- a past
or present interest in comics, sports cards and sci-fi/sorcery stuff. Speaking
for myself, I was real INTO comic books during the first 5-6 years of Comic-Con
before moving on to books and movies big-time.
-d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:36:24 -0700
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
David
first time I met Steve he was 12 years old looking for Fantastic Four #1 and
had the cash with him and much more.
a year later he was a dealer too.
Always a good friend, I know he won't be bothered by mentioning that his father
was a liquor distributor and that should tell you everything. His mother is a
sweet lady and Steve is a very smart businessman
Rich
At 04:28 PM 3/14/2009, David Kusumoto wrote:
On the AP wires today, see below.
[BTW, Fishler was/is a big buyer of movie posters and is loaded with $$$. I
saw him at Bruce's huge auction held in L.A.'s cavernous Pacific Design Center
that I covered 10 years ago for Movie Collector's World. At the time he was
only 31 -- and he walked away with the biggest prizes of the day -- two
unbacked one-sheets for "Dracula" ($74,750) and "The Invisible Man" ($55,200).]
-d.
----------------------
Rare Superman comic sells for $317,200
Mar 14, 5:44 PM (ET)
By DAVID B. CARUSO
NEW YORK (AP) - A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman has
sold for $317,200 in an Internet auction. The previous owner had bought it for
less than a buck.
It's one of the highest prices ever paid for a comic book, a likely
testament to the volume's rarity and its excellent condition, said Stephen
Fishler, co-owner of the auction site ComicConnect.com and its sister
dealership, Metropolis Collectibles.
The winning bid for the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, which features
Superman lifting a car on its cover, was submitted Friday evening by John
Dolmayan, drummer for the rock band System of a Down, according to managers at
ComicConnect.com.
Dolmayan, who is also a dealer of rare comic books, said he acquired the
Superman comic on behalf of a client he declined to identify.
"This is one of the premier books you could collect," he said in a
telephone interview. "It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books. I talked
to my client, and we made the move."
Dolmayan said the client has "a small collection, but everything he has is
incredible."
Only about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are known to exist and they
seldom come up for sale.
"Maybe in a booming economy, it would have done a hundred grand more, but
in this economy, I think the price is great," Fishler said.
The man who had previously owned the book purchased it in a secondhand
store in the early 1950s when he was nine years old.
He paid 35 cents.
---
Associated Press writer Adam Goldman in New York contributed to this report.
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