I have been a Dave Stevens fan from when he came on the scene with Rocketeer. You mentioned he was prolific, but I think you will find the opposite was true. He was notoriously slow in his output and he didn’t produce very many comics. Also, he sadly died very young cutting short all the great work he could have created. Oh, and Dave Stevens seemed to be a major contributor to the re-introduction of Bettie Page in pop culture. The Rocketeer’s girlfriend, Betty, was based (at least in part) on Bettie Page.
I picked up that planet comics book about 5 years ago for 2 bucks with the 3d specs in fantastic shape . I bought it because I loved that cover not spec . Who knew ..😊
Hahaha.... about 2 years ago I tried to sell my collection of Dave Stevens covers including Planet Comics and Space Vixens for like $10 a piece and no one was biting...
Coincidentally, I asked the exact same question about Dave Stevens in my upload today. Except I didn’t try to explain it, I just asked it lol. Thanks for the deep dive!
Ha ha haaaa! Great video! Thanks! I laughed imagining how many times Dave heard that comment, “Hey! Eyes up here fly boy!” 😂 fortunately I’ve been collecting the highest grade books imaginable over the years since purchasing them right off the shelf as I’m an cover artist collector of beautiful art. You made my day! By the way, I’m on both of your kick-starter books as I like 30s and 40s time era gum shoe detective genre which led me to the “Rocketeer” in the first place. You made my day with this video!
Great video Mickey! I do feel that Dave is established in many genres which does expand his appeal (especially the 8008 stuff 😂). But the documentary helped us connect the late artist to the art. I think we, as collectors, want our collection to mean something. And knowing Dave Stevens on a personal level creates value with his works.
These books are hitting a sweet spot for a lot of folks: the fantastic art, the -ahem- subject matter, the low print runs, the artist tragically cut down in his prime and his relatively low output. Speaking for myself, last year I set out to collect all of the original Rocketeer issues because I loved the movie as a kid, and I'm sure that's a pathway into Steven's work for many other folks as well.
I love Dave Stevens and have a nice collection that I've been putting together for years. Met the man at a show long time ago, where he autographed my Rocketeer comic. I'm ahead of the curve. I also have an amazing Matt Baker collection, maybe the best.
Awesome video and really amazing that we are celebrating Dave's work 15+ yrs after his passing. His legacy. As a collector i'm struggling with the amount of energy we put into CGC and their grades. All of sudden it feels like, "I have an awesome raw copy too, oh wait I don't know if its CGC worthy (let alone a high grade or anywhere near it). I guess what I have is not that awesome anymore." 😔
The snowball effect happens when something is presented as a rare object and is shown as a commodity or investment… people who collect what they love are not the sellers and buyers who drive up the prices… it’s the scammers with deep pockets… this has been happening in the vintage guitar realm too!
I started collecting these about a year ago, and I am glad that I picked them up when I did. Yikes these are getting expensive! I've been wanting to get these graded so I guess now's the time.
Didn't really mean to pursue Dave Stevens' stuff specifically, but I did just buy a Starslayer 2, and a friend of mine has offered to trade to me one of his Jonny Quest #5's, both within the last four days. LOL
Started collecting Dave Stevens from 1991 on. I have amassed about 8 copies of each across the board. Just to give you an idea of scarcity. That Planet Comics #1 in all these years of buying at auctions and buying at shows, I have only gotten three 9.8s. Very hard to find and you would think that the paper the book is made on is a thicker paper. The Alien Worlds set is probably the easiest to come but. My favorite is Alien Worlds #4 fantastic sci fi cover. The 1st story in that book is a short story only a few pages but done real well. Check it out if you get a chance.
I just bought Three Dimensional Alien Worlds #1 yesterday not realizing that the short story that DS inked features himself and Marilyn Monroe! Great fun.
Dave has been a well-known secret for decades. His "top 3" are always rare in any collection that comes in. Don't forget the Adam Hughes Tribute variant on Dirty Pair Run from the Future #1- almost impossible to find!
Part of the appeal of Stevens covers they're very collectible in terms of being able complete the "set". It also has been very, very possible to stumble across the books in back issue and dollar bins even into 2021. They're also hard to part with! Should I sell the Cheval Noir 7 i got for a buck or one of my Planet Comics? Probably, but man i love having them in my collection.
i heard you mention WonderCon, are you a California guy? i'm actually more of a Rocketeer fan than a Dave Stevens fan, Stevens does draw the best Rocketeer though. i've been buying Rocketeer comics for about 8yrs, glad i got them before the uptick.
8:22 I would expect a lot of prices from those times to be low because the recession. Also it kind of bothers me a little how much of these market spikes are influenced by movies/speculation. I bought Dave Stevens, Wally Wood etc because I like their art. Not because Im waiting for some biopic to come out so I can sell it. It would be cool to see more videos about comics people actually like and not just whats most valuable at the moment. But to each their own
I think this is WAY beyond FOMO. I believe there is a investor/speculator trend of picking something and hyping the ever loving hell out of it. They do this with cards, comics, video games, toys, coins. They are like locusts. They pump it up, dump it and noone ever sees them again. On the Stevens side, I do hope Starslayer 2 blows up in value. In the past 6 years I unwittingly acquired over 20 copies of the book =)
Comic book youtubers keep talking about dave stevens covers and his art. Then they talk about him to all there followers and its basically the power of suggestion. All in my opinion personally.
I’m not promoting him. I’m just covering why all of a sudden the covers are so hot and trying to add context/info. I say many times in the video that you need to be careful because these high sales (like what we got last week) will pull raw copies out of the woodwork and inflate the census.
of course I have books in the series talked about that are not the big books. lol I have a complete run of alien worlds in very high grade and a few rocketeers in 9.8 but the world today demands Boobies and butts lol
