Masters of the Ninth Art: Masterpieces with a story.
At Comic Art Masters you will find original cartoons. Each piece is a unique masterpiece, carefully selected for the collector and art lover. Be enchanted by the magic of “the ninth art”.
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Ninth art is art with a touch of nostalgia
Ninth art is on the rise. Original comic art is art with a touch of nostalgia. Apart from the fact that the beautiful drawings have intrinsic beauty, you also get a dose of nostalgia for the time that you devoured comic books. It is very special to own a unique original. The recognition of this art is increasing rapidly and the value of this art is expected to increase further in the coming years.
Letter from Theo van den Boogaard
For me personally, the love for comic books started in my youth in the 1970s. The first comic book I remember is “The Jungle Flower” by Suske and Wise. I also tried to draw comics myself, but I will not elaborate on that here. As a teenager I was a big fan of the comic series “Sjef van Oekel”, phenomenally drawn by Theo van den Boogaard with texts from the also brilliant Wim T. Schippers. There is always a lot to see on Van den Boogaard’s drawings. That is why I could sometimes “look for ten minutes to 1 picture”. I wrote him that in 1985 as a 15-year-old in a fan letter, which I sent to his publisher. To my great surprise, I received a nice letter back with a beautiful drawing. A drawing that Theo had completely put in the ink. Sjef van Oekel reads my letter and says “Look, that is a man of my heart that Edwin Jansen from Dinxperlo! On one picture from the Van Oekel strips no less than ten minutes, I can see it!” On the next picture he says “ten minutes ?! And it takes hours to draw such a picture !!!”. This was a very special event for me. The letter is framed with the accompanying drawing.
Many years later, the strip virus flared up considerably. Certainly after a new meeting with Theo and a visit to the beautiful MOCA (Museum of Comic Art) in Noordwijk. (Visit this museum!)
In times of digitization and artificial intelligence, the artisan profession of cartoonist is under pressure. Nevertheless, original comic art is increasingly appreciated. In Brussels, Paris and elsewhere, there have been specialized galleries for years. “De Ninth Kunst” is also widely discussed at leading art fairs. In the United States and in France there are also specialized auctions where originals for high prices change hands. Amounts of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of euros and sometimes even above the million euros. In addition to enthusiasts, investors also see the potential. For works by Dutch artists, the “Dutch masters”, the interest is now increasing. Big names such as Hans Kresse, Marten Toonder, Joost Swarte, Theo van den Boogaard and Peter van Dongen should not be missing in (inter) national collections. Their work is also regularly purchased by leading museums. The appreciation is clearly growing. Nevertheless, it is still possible to purchase top pieces for a reasonable price. Maybe this is also a good time for you to purchase an original gem?
