Collecting! Article by aviewaskewed, 03:44 AM 06th Mar Disclaimer: The following column is entirely the opinions of the author (even at that we aren‘t sure), any similarity to the opinions of any other staff or affiliate of theendlesscrew.com is entirely coincidental and unintentional. Unless specifically noted otherwise, all creator comments have been gleaned from other sources and no creators have actually endorsed any aspect of this column. This column is however endorsed by Speakeasy Comics. Yes…I really am that mean of a bastard. So this week, we’re going to talk about comic book collecting. It’s been a big time eater for my the last couple of weeks, as I’m continuing to buy the books of a friend and I must say…it’s going quite well for me, as I’m adding some nice rarities to my collection, that should hopefully only grow in value. Which is really the point of this crazy hobby, other then the sheer fan joy of owning some of these books. But I’m not exactly a “pro” whatever exactly that is. Most people I know are simply fans who buy the books, and won’t sell them unless they must (I’d say I fit that bill), other people just outgrew the hobby, or hate storing the damn things, and want them gone (like my friend, though he’s slowly being pulled back in…but the books are still going to be mine! Sucker!!). So what we’re going to talk about today is the tools you need, what books typically make money, best places to get books, and who the best type of collectors are. So with the mission statement done, let’s begin getting you on your way to a hopefully lucrative hobby in collecting comics. The first thing you’re going to want to make an investment in is a copy of the Overstreet Comics Companion. Seriously, if you are buying comics, or selling comics, you NEED the most current edition of this book. Overstreet is THE definitive last word on what books are really and truly worth. Wizard is a bad guide for a couple of reasons, firstly, they tend to inflate prices (if you’re selling, that’s something you’re obviously going to like. But if you’re a buyer, this can really suck, as I’ve seen Wizard list books for upwards of 10 dollars above their Overstreet value) but they also can devalue them as well. The second reason Wizard is bad, and as of the most current copy of their price guide I’ve seen, is that they will not list EVERY issue of a given series. They’re now only listing the one’s that have major events, or character appearances. While these are truly the most valuable books you’ll find of a series, stuff that doesn’t necessarily contain such moments can also have some decent value and can climb for you (example, I own a copy of Tomb of Dracula #50 which is a story in which Dracula battles the Silver Surfer. This is the only really remarkable feature of the book, and it isn’t necessarily a “big deal” sort of issue, certainly it doesn’t make Wizard’s criteria for a highly valued book in the series. But I bought it for $10 from a back issue bin a couple years back, and according to the most current Overstreet, it’s now worth $22. A very nice gain for such a short passage of time). The most current edition is the 9th, which bowed in January. If you plan to do any serious buying or selling, this needs to be the first thing you invest in. Overstreet publishes a new guide annually. Next thing you need are “bags and boards” there’s two ways to go about this. The first are to get professional type bags and cardboard backings like comic specialty stores use, which are usually available for purchase from such establishments. Or you can do a poor man’s bag and board job with a well cut strip of cardboard, and a plastic bag that form fit’s the comic. The first way is probably much easier. You’ll also want to put a strip of tape to seal the book from the air, so it can stay as fresh as possible. I’m guilty of occasionally being lazy and not doing this. So the moral of the story is be better then me, bag and board ALL your stuff. You also have a two or three good storage options. There’s the way stores do it, big cardboard long boxes. That’s the preferred method. Me? I go with something a bit more attainable: Three ring binders with those paper pages you can get at Wal-Mart. Won’t cost you a huge amount in either case, and it’s easier for me since I just put a given series in there, slap a strip of paper to identify it on there, tape it on, and I’m good to go. These are just some ideas. Moving on to our next topic: What books will typically make you money? Also, what do you collect? Well, the first answer is pretty easy. We’ve already touched on it previously even, the books that make the most money are the one’s that introduce new, long standing characters, and or have major events. These things make #1’s so valueable. Since they introduce the world and most important characters to a series. The tricky part of that is that for the #1 to be worth anything, the series needs to succeed. You also want that book to then become scarce, to increase it’s value. It’s the reason a lot of 90’s books aren’t worth much. They were overprinted, and not a lot important happened in many of them. Things from the 60’s and 70’s are worth some bucks, and you have a good shot at finding material like that in some abundance since that’s when fandom and the idea of keeping the books for posterity and collecting kicked in. Golden Age are some real gold mine books though. Many stories from the Golden Age (40’s-50’s) are RARE as a lot of books were either thrown out by kids with no interest in collecting, or went into things like paper drives for the second world war. Because it’s hard to know what will and won’t make money, the usual rule of thumb is just collect what you like. It’s also in your best interest to try a variety of things, not just because there’s good work out there if you can find it, but because you never know what is going to be the next big hit. It’s also good to follow certain creators, after all, there are books out there that only have value because of creators like Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Frank Miller, just to name a few. The best place to get your comics is really from a comics specialty shop these days. Used to be you could get things from a grocery store, or a news stand, but those days are pretty much entirely over now. The comic store is about the only place to get new material now that will have any possible collection value. Trades are more about having old issues in a nice format to read, because nine out of ten of them are collected editions of reprinted material. At best, I’ve seen these gain about five cents above their cover price, but that‘s about where they stop. Trades are great for reading, but not for making any sort of long term gains (however if the material goes out of print, and with auction sites like eBay, this sort of rationale could become a thing of the past soon, that‘s an interesting area that bears some watching I think). Stunt books that promote some big event for like 10 cents, or a dollar, or some small price point like that are also pretty good if you’re looking for some quick returns. If you want to make some quick cash, buy a few of those at once, wait a couple of months, and then you can sell them off for about a good 14 or 15 dollars depending on how well the event it’s tied to does. The best time to rid of them is pretty early on, as they usually don’t hold these inflated values for long. Now, the best collectors? Fans! That one isn’t hard to figure out. You need to love whatever your collecting, and have a knowledge of it, to get the most for your investment. If you’re not able to recognize trends within comics, or characters or events that have become important, and will only gain in value, you lose money. Likewise, if you can’t recognize something that will crest in money, and then drop into the toilet bowl with time, and get rid of it while it’s hot, you’re going to be left with something that actually loses you money (I’ve had that happen before, yes, I’m looking at you Spawn #1). Know you’re material, know the pricing criteria, these things are laid out in Overstreet, so be sure to read those helpful pages in the front, and not just the price listings. That’s about all I’ve really got to offer all you amateur collector’s out there. Frankly, comics are one of the hardest things to make any money with, for the fact that unlike something like sports, which produce new stars every few years, comics have a set stable of stars that will never age, or go away. A lot of new material dies a dozen issues in. Or things climb up really high for a while, and then suffer a horrible crash. There are rewards to be had for the committed and long term person…but you really shouldn’t get into this hobby unless you have a real love and passion for the medium, or else you’re going to wind up burned like so many 90’s speculators were (and frankly, they deserve it, they nearly helped kill the industry). Have fun! We’ll be here next week with a look at…something or other. It’s difficult getting my books nearly a month late now. I’ll think of something. Until then, hope this column helps you, now it’s back to slaving over my own copy of Overstreet, and pricing my new acquisitions. Back to Rants