NFT comics and art

Last Update January 23, 2023

The digital blockchain method of selling and owning artwork

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) began in 2012 with Bitcoin Colored Coins which contained a "satoshis," information that linked the coin to real-world assets.

More about satoshis at Investopedia

For traditional comic book art sales news

NFTs are still around: Bored Ape sale nets $1 million – FinanceFeeds

Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT #232 sold for 800ETH. But in truth, the sales of BAYC NFTs or Cryptopunks tell us very little about the NFT market.

Jan 23, 2023

Gamestop now has an NFT store – Tweaktown

July 13, 2022

...Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld and... writer Grant Morrison..... an alien invasion during prehistoric times and the ensuing war for Earth. It had all the makings of a theatrical release: a splashy premise, a built-in audience from the graphic novel, and a noted director and cinematographer in Sonnenfeld attached. It was certainly meant to become a film, except the project never got out of the development phase... Last year, Sharad Devarajan, cofounder of Liquid Comics (the publisher of Dinosaurs vs. Aliens) came to Sonnenfeld with an idea of resurrecting Dinosaurs vs. Aliens as a film—by way of NFTs.

The recovery of the NFT Market in 2022? – Itweb

June 24, 2022

While global sales of non-fungible token (NFTs) have declined amid the crypto-currency fall, 2022 will likely still see a steady growth rate of 239% compared to last year."

Stan Lee's "Chakra" gets an NFT – Deadline

Dec 13, 2022

Spider-Man NFT offered with ticket sales for No Way Home

Apparently some fans "hate it" – Cheatsheet

DC and Marvel tell artists no more NFT sales for now

September 10, 2021: Is this strife a continuation of the ongoing issues building up between the "big two" and artists? When it comes to controlling the comic book industry, the grip from the big two in the USA is loosening up as kickstarter and indiegogo projects grow in number, and artists (and writers) move into independent and second-tier level companies, and "high-profile" creators get contracts at start-up Substack. The industry seems to be simultaneously dying as sales on DC and Marvel titles struggle and trend downward, and then rejuvenating itself as other companies and independent artists carve out ways to get their work to fans, bypassing the old system.

Some of those artists, along with dealers and analysts in the wider industry, say it’s a significant blow and their livelihoods are less certain as a result.

“Creators have always had the power to sell their originals directly,” said Jason Schachter in an interview. The New Jersey-based comic dealer said it’s been that way for decades, with Marvel and DC permitting artists to sell original prints of their work once they’ve been published.

Illustrators who spoke to Bloomberg said their recent concerns with NFTs were part of broader reservations about whether the comic-book industry’s grasp of digital publishing posed a risk to future earnings. Parallel to this, some said, was the issue of how creators are paid for their contribution to the success of Hollywood movie franchises.

Story at Business Live

Ways to predict "winners" in NFT art sales

July 10, 2021: Interview with Social media icon Gary Vaynerchuk, also called "Gary Vee."

MarketWatch: Why are you so bullish on NFTs?

Vaynerchuk: I think it’s the next evolution in the digitalization of society. Web 1.0 was digitized information, Web 2.0 was digitized socialization, Web 3.0 is going to digitize assets. I’m completely convinced. I think the NFT thing is big, way big. I do think the prices of certain products, art projects are widely bubbled-out, but I view this exactly the way I viewed the Internet in 1999. Internet stocks and their valuations were through the roof, prematurely, and a lot of things collapsed. Meanwhile, eBay EBAY, -2.03%, Google GOOG, -0.69% GOOGL, -1.13%, and Amazon were all there.

Story at Marketwatch

The NFT Future

Forbes is saying that NFT "Idea Tokens" are the future of the economy, that they are "here to stay."

Comic art from Jose Delbo raises $443,000 in NFT sale

The piece, called “Satoshi The Creator – Genesis,” was sold for 222 editions each priced at $1,999. The creation was done in collaboration with 87-year-old Argentine comic book artist, Jose Delbo. Delbo, on his site, lists having worked on DC characters such as Superman, Batman, the Marvel-published Thundercats comics, and The Transformers in the ‘80s. In the ‘90s, he worked on Captain Planet, and Disney characters such as the 101 Dalmatians and The Little Mermaid.

Story at Rappler

The NFT "buying frenzy" and Marvel's teaming up with Australian NFT company VeVe

Since December, VeVe has sold more than 580,000 NFT digital collectibles to a user base of more than 340,000 customers. It has reported sales of over $40 million.

June 24, 2021: story at Stuff Co NZ

The questions being caused by NFT crypto art sales

Bought through cryptocurrency in a digital ledger called a blockchain, NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital properties such as jpeg files, GIFs, music, and short videos. The sale of limited NFTs or through auctions recently gained traction in the mainstream. Notable NFT platforms include SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, Rarible, and Foundation.

During a panel discussion with ArtReview magazine titled, “NFT: A New Revolution or the Emperor’s New Clothes?,” Dubai-based arts writer and editor Rahel Aima said that NFTs open up access not only to who can sell work but also to who is allowed to buy it.

“As an art critic, I tend to think a lot about where the work begins and ends and how much the context informs and functionality completes the work,” Ms. Aima said. “No matter what their material is, artworks aren’t stable. They’re contingent, messy, constantly building and unraveling. And I think this applies to digital works too. What an NFT does is to point to a single iteration of a work and freeze it forever in time.”

June 23, 2021: story at MSN News

Fathom NFT sells for $100K

Aspen Comics announced it was getting into the NFT game with the cover to Fathom No. 1, the work from late artist Michael Turner that became the top-selling comic of 1998. It felt like a safe bet, as in recent months, NFTs have seen an explosion in interest from comic creators and collectors, and Turner remains a beloved figure."

May 24, 2021: Story at Hollywood Reporter

Neal Adams is getting in on NFT art sales

Story at Baystreet

May 18, 2021

Limited NFT Collection for "Neon Future by Steve Aoki x Maciej Kuciara"

Story at AP News

Alex Ross getting into the NFT art scene

...Alex Ross, a longtime collaborator of Marvel and DC Comics, has announced plans to unveil his first painting series as a non-fungible token.

....Ross’ series, backed by technology company Otoy, is titled “Shooting Up the Mainstream” and serves as a permanent digital archive of the artist’s lifetime of work.

Story at Variety

More about NFT art

"NFTs give artists the chance to reverse their extinction" - Business Insider

...DC Comics has forbidden its freelance artists from selling NFTs featuring DC's intellectual property because the company itself is "exploring opportunities" to enter the NFT market, DC Comics' senior VP of legal affairs, Jay Kogan, wrote in a letter. The move comes after some artists started using NFTs to cash in on their depictions of iconic DC characters, including Wonder Woman artist José Delgo selling a Wonder Woman-themed NFT collection. This could be the latest skirmish over IP in a decades-long war within the comics industry about who owns the art: the publisher or the artist. If crypto art becomes something of permanence rather than fad, artists could see a rebirth."

APRIL 6, 2021

A question for the art world: Will NFT craze last or is it just another form of 1637 'tulip mania'? - Economic Times - April 1, 2021

NFT sales hit a record $200M in March, more than the past 12 months combined - Finbold - April 1, 2021

Warners send out warning about NFT art sales: no, no, no

The collison between digital rights and the unwritten law of freelancer art sales collide - story at bitcoin.com – March 15, 2021

DC Comics, the American comic book publisher may be getting into the non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem in the future.

Update: the most lucrative NFT art sales – artnet

DC Comics warns artists about NFT sales – Gizmodo

Jose Delbo generates $1.85 million in Wonder Woman art sales

Jose Delbo, an artist who illustrated the comic book series Wonder Woman during the late 1970s, has made $1.85 million in an auction selling non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, depicting the popular heroine.

The 87-year-old Argentian, who also worked on Batman, Transformers, and The Beatles' Yellow Submarine comic book, collaborated with Milan-based crypto art duo Hackatao to produce the NFT drop, dubbed "Heroines."

Story at Coin Telegraph

Here Are the 10 Most Expensive NFT Artworks, From Beeple’s $69 Million Opus to an 18-Year-Old’s $500,000 Vampire Queen

Story at Artnet – March 23, 2021

Global Comic Book Market Growth 2021-2026

Press release:

If you are involved in the Comic Book industry or intend to be, then this study will provide you comprehensive outlook.

More info at Openpr

What are NFT art pieces? How do they work? - Article at Beincrypto

APRIL 7, 2021

Original page March 22, 2021 | Updated June 25, 2021