Comic grading is only ONE part of collecting

Grading is a very important part of a comic book collector’s hobby. It is an essential piece of information that establishes the monetary value of a comic for buying or selling. However, as important as that is, it is not the only consideration, or even the most important one for me, when it come to collecting.

My personal collecting passion is for the old 80 Page Giant Superman and Batman annuals. They are beautiful books and I have many great memories of buying and reading them back in the olden days of the early 1960’s. For years I have wanted to get a copy of Superman Annual #1. I would come across near mint or better copies at shows all the time. But let’s face it, who has $1900 to spend on a comic book! So I did without my treasure. Over the years I drifted away from collecting and only recently have come back to it with a renewed zest. (Such zest brought on by my teenage daughter who is now a big collector and who brought me back to it.) It occurred to me that it was no longer essential to me to have a perfect copy. I found a very nice copy of Superman Annual #1 at the NY ComicCon in GD+ condition listed for only $85! This was actually a bit below guide price AND I was able to bargain the dealer down to $65. I now have a perfectly readable and complete, not to mention very attractive, copy in my collection. I am completely satisfied with my purchase and I am sure that it will even continue to rise in value though that particular book is in my NEVER SELL box!

The point is that, in my opinion, one should collect for fun. Comics and other collectibles are really not great or safe areas for speculation. They have CDS and Bonds for that sort of thing. But of course I never saw a long term bond with Superman on it!

Here are a couple of my collecting tips. I hope they help!

1)      Set a maximum price you are willing to pay for any book. DON’T go above it. You will only get buyer’s remorse! Plus there is always another copy of the book you covet just around the bend. Wait and see, you will get that comic at your own price.

2)      Though it is more difficult on Ebay, I urge you to bargain when you are at a show. The dealers are there to, well, deal! And if you are reasonable about it most dealers are more than willing to haggle. Don’t ask for a Batman #1 for $50 and you should be fine !

3)      Take your time. Look at the book and decide if you can live with the condition. There is really not a lot of apparent difference to the naked eye between an 8.0 and a 9.6. But there IS a great deal of price difference.

4)      This last one is purely personal but I would avoid those CGC encapsulated books. They are WAY over priced AND you can never read them! THOSE books I would say are really for speculators.

One last note. For those of you who have never read it, I highly recommend that you run

out and get a copy of Justice League - New Frontier. It is available in TBP for $20 a

volume and is one great read. The Darwin Cooke art alone is well worth the price.

That’s 30!

Holmes