Adam Hughes stops convention requests at the con., One Bad Apple. Options

[Greg G.]

Just found this article on Bleeding Cool.

I'm really kind of bummed out, because fixed pricing would have made obtaining a sketch affordable; and I missed my opportunity to get a sketch at Mid Ohio Con last year.

It's nice that he'll still offer it on ebay for folks that can afford it, and that's the problem for me. As a collector I can't afford the high prices Mr. Hughes work will inevitably command on the site where there's more money than sense.

When I went to the Pittsburgh show I spotted an Ethan Van Sciver sketch there at a booth that I saw him drawing at Mid Ohio Con, marked up to $400.

Flippers continue to ruin it for the rest of us. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

[Tim Tilley]

They're not Sketches! I wish I had the link to Spazzy's Cover Run sketch he did for her. It is what I consider a sketch. These are the same type of detail that you see on the Dodson's con "sketches". To me a sketch is something that takes you less than 10 minutes. When he says he's worked on it all day, that's WHY he's only doing 1 per day it's not a mere sketch in my eyes any more.

If it were about the money then he'd be charging what Stephane Roux does.... know what a commission from HIM goes for???? $3000!!!! That's not a typo... THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS, and he does mostly covers too.

I think that a lot of Allison's comments are HER feelings on it. I've met Adam, he's a very quite man. I can't see him being this openly angry about it, but Allison, from my talking to her, seems like the protective type. She's seen the effect this has had on him and stood up.

I guess I don't see how, as an artist, you can continually say "Well screw him. If they make more money off him selling it to them then his loss." I can't believe that you've honestly put yourself in their shoes. Someone buys something from you, which you've put a fair price on and then makes $300 off YOUR work and it happens over and over again you're not going to get mad???

I'm sorry, there's no convincing me that he's a jerk. I think the guy that sold the piece is a slime ball and I DO hope he chokes. (not to death) Because of HIM I may never get my affordable Hughes piece.

That said, I'm done wasting my "breath".

I should clarify by saying that I was stating *some* of the art discussed, some are not Sketches--and I agree with that. When I speak of his sketches, I am talking about the ones he spends less than 20 minutes on, not the ones he spends hours on. Also, there is a difference between commission pieces, actual comic work, and con sketches. What Spazzy had was in-between what I call a sketch and a commission piece.


If people pay Stephane Roux does $3,000 for a single piece of work, that is not only sad but stupid. No one should charge that much for comic art, save for classic interior work from artists whom are no longer amongst the living.

Having taken some time to think it over, it does seem that Allison's comments are mostly her own feelings and not necessarily of his own. 've met Adam once and yeah, he is rather quiet but it does seem like some of those comments might be something he would say.

If someone makes $300 off my work and it happens over and over again... no, I will not get mad, because I sold it to them, once money is exchanged, the art is theirs to do with as they please. You would be surprised to know that I give more of my time away for free than that of making money from the work I do. I have given away full blown art pieces, not just comic art, or sketches but full illustrations. Even as a graphic designer, or with my coloring work... there have been more time spent working for free. What makes me made is that when it comes to paid work, that I spend 12 hours a day on a page and only make $10 off of it, where as some people charge that much per minute.


I do not recall flat out calling him a jerk, just that it comes off that way and that I disagree with their decision as well as the reasoning behind that decision.

"I think the guy that sold the piece is a slime ball and I DO hope he chokes. (not to death) Because of HIM I may never get my affordable Hughes piece."
Actually, it's Alison's fault that you may never get your affordable Hughes piece. It's their decision to do this, they don't have to go that route, but they
are opting for it. The better solution is to personalize the pieces, and offer to do them at home when he can and mail them out.

Anyway, I apologize for upsetting you so much and for striking a nerve. You didn't waste your breath, you had something to say, and you said it... it's not a waste.

Frankly, JSC's sketches don't take nearly as much time as Hughes, so I can understand why he really doesn't care what someone does with it. If I could get someone to pay me $100 for a head shot that took me a few minutes to do, I wouldn't care what they did with it either. :P

BTW, I'm not knocking JSC at all. Man's a beast, and he's a big influence on my work.

My guess is that JSC, knows that people are selling his work and that's why his sketches are more simpler and done quickly. I wasn't trying to knock Adam's work, he is a fantastic artist (I just think that Jim Lee is better) but my main argument was that if it really was about the fans, selling his work on ebay for as much as he is charging, isn't the answer to the solution.