Good News for Impoverished Comic Art Collectors

Big news for anybody who buys prints, original pages, or who just wants to put up their own stuff on the wall. We in comics use the 11x17" paper size a LOT. It’s the right ratio for standard comic pages, so originals are often done in that size, and as we’re a fiscally frugal group we often cap our self-printed posters at this "tabloid" size, because the printing costs jump exponentially for anything larger. 11x17 has always been pricey to frame, because it’s always had to be a custom job. It’s one of the reasons I give out 5x7 or 8x10 sheets when I want to do an art trade – prefab framing is within my budget, and custom framing most definitely is NOT. But now, 11 x17 is in my mix. Wal-Mart (yes, everyone’s corporate chain boogeyman) now carries 11x17 frames – standard, non-nonsense black frames – for $6 apiece. Six dollars. The last (and only) time I got something 11x17 framed it cost me almost thirty dollars.

 Here’s an original page, which is a gift for a friend, and a print for my office, both framed using these new six buck Wal-Mart babies (Liz is out of town and has the camera, hence the drawing). So now you’ve got a reason to get one of those purty Smokers of the Marvel Universe prints the next time you’re at a con.