When you decide to read a comic book, youll find as many types as you will novels. From a time perspective, it is easier to purchase a whole series, if one finds it. Its membership is composed of collectors, dealers, and other comic book enthusiasts. We offer modern, bronze age, silver age, and golden age comics. Collectors blog the call for comic books cryptozoic. Steve is honored by the fact that he has been called by many a comic book ambassador for our hobby, and is excited he started cbcs, a thirdparty grading and certification service that is hobbyfriendly, independent, and transparent for the collecting community he loves so much. That said, i find the best way to enjoy collecting is to just be open to it. With the release of comic book characters into pop culture through movies and television, however, there was a marked rise in the value of those classic comic books. If youve always wanted to start a collection hobby and didnt know what to start collecting, this is the perfect article for you. Get the best deals on comic book collecting when you shop the largest online selection at. An interest in reading comic books, nostalgia, financial profit. Starting or even just expanding an existing comic book collection can seem a little daunting. I decided some time ago that collection comics alone didnt qualify as a good enough hobby for me personally. And if there is a subgenre that did not survive into the 1970s, price declines could happen sooner.
Though considerably more recent than the collecting of postage stamps philately or books bibliophilia, it has a major following around the world today and is partially responsible for the increased interest in comics after the temporary slump experienced during the 1980s. If youre looking for a hard to find back issue, we probably have it. Due to the recent surge of superhero movies, ive recently found the joy of comic book collecting again with about a twentyyear absence from the hobby. The list of weird things to collect is endless, but there are plenty of ordinary and popular items that lots of people like to collect, and i fall into that category. Last week, i wrote an article comic books collecting as a hobby. The publication of the guide makes comic book collecting an accessible hobby to new fans and encourages market speculation possible outside of the comics community. It was a monster haul, sure, but you have to see it from his perspective. Collecting things, whatever they might be, has been a hobby for quite a while. Be careful, though, as the more whistles you add to your auction, the more it costs. Regardless of where you start out in a book, these divisions can give you the feel for a new book.
I realized that a hobby which consists entirely of going to the same place every week to spend money, but sometimes going to a much bigger place to spend heaps more money, isnt ultimately all that satisfying. The hobby of comic book collecting goes much beyond from its simple origin of. The collecting of coins is one of the oldest hobbies in the world. It is modeled after other hobbyist organizations such as the american philatelic society and the universal autograph collectors club. Linework fascinates me and i can spend hours admiring the way people like frank cho, jim lee, and terry moore make characters and worlds real out of a minimum of lines. I still had some of my original collection and began to go through them looking for what key issues i was missing.
Comic book collecting as a legitimate industry took a major step forward in 2000. Comic book collecting for beginners start collecting. As with any hobby, collecting comic books can be expensive. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and collect books is called a bibliophile. For a long time the 90s, comics speculation was huge.
I would say though the most important piece of advice i can give you or anyone else is dont collect comics to make money now or ever. A short documentary on comic book collecting, featuring an interview with the coowner of all star comics. Fifty percent nostalgia, fifty percent dc comics the new 52. Oh, when i first started reading them, things were fine. Comic book collecting continues to be a huge hobby. Local comic books stores are closed almost everywhere, diamond is no longer distributing, and books are no longer being published. Comic books originally were published as a means to redistribute comic strips. An interest in reading comic books, nostalgia, financial profit, or completion of a collection. Collectinga hobby that requires balance watchtower. When collecting old comic books was a new idea cbc archives. With the exception of china and japan, the introduction of paper money is for the most part a recent development meaning since the 18th century.
Starting a comic book collection appears in 3 issues. New comics are listed every day on, from the platinum age of the early 1900s to the current modern age of comics. Today i would like to share with you some of the benefits of comic book collecting. To be fair, youre asking if collecting comics is a good hobby in the comicbooks subreddit. Comic book collecting is a hobby that treats comic books and related items as collectibles or artwork to be sought after and preserved. I think its safe to assume that the majority of us will definitely recommend getting into the comic book graphic novel world. I wrote how i started comic collecting and how you can too. All you need is an account with them and youre good to go.
Not any more than any other hobby that centers around collecting. Although relatively more recent compare to collecting stamps or vintage clocks, it has now turned into a major pursuit of collecting antiquity in par with the fine art, rare jewels and antiques. That means that it needs to be placed in a bag and board after youve read it. The hobby of comic book collecting goes much beyond from its simple origin of just keeping the comics for keepsakes. Major comics companies have titles with histories that span decades of publication, and if you are new to a particular arc, it can be hard to even decide where to start. Some hobbyists work along traditional lines, collecting such items as rocks, stamps, or old coins. Comicreading friends and comic book store employees often love to talk about their hobby, so they can. To be considered antique, a comic book had to date from between 1933. The comic book medium offers whimsical fun, epic adventure, gritty realism, and everything else you can think of.
Sometimes, your local comic book store might have a sale on for some really old. In my many years of collecting and retailing comics, i have found these tips to be useful in collecting comic books. Sometimes, your local comic book store might have a sale on for some really old comics. If you want to be able to resell your comic book at a later date, you need to protect it. Comicbook storage and display one of the most consistently difficult challenges of the comicbook collecting hobby is dealing with the accumulation of physical objects that are fragile, valuable, and eventually after you have enough of them bulky. Like many adults, ive rediscovered one of my old hobbies. When trying to decide where to start a comic book collection choose something that your child would thoroughly enjoy reading. Comic book collecting as a hobby for kids all star activities. Interestingly, though, many take delight in collecting things that may never be useful in a practical way. With the development of original characters such as superman, they became recognized as a medium in their own right, and with. The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining items that are of interest to an individual collector.
I want to be able to buy new comics without driving an hour and a half to the city or ordering everything online. With the wide selection of comics available, it can be hard to find a starting point on your own. Whether physical or digital, starting a comic book collection is an excellent hobby. Comic books a hobby or an investment comic books a hobby or an investment 1 1.
Limited edition covers, ridiculously hyped first issues. The perils of comic book collecting jessica plummer aug 8, 2017. Todays comic books are as diverse as the collectors themselves. I came up with a list and began to try and track down the comics i needed. A complete series is valuable for collectors, depending on the characters or storyline and how old it is. Comic book collecting is not for the faint of heart. Comic book collecting in particular hit its stride and became more. It has drastically altered almost every facet of our lives, including the comic collecting hobby. Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. A few weeks ago, on free comic book day, bob bretall came back from his local indie comic shop with about 480 new comics. Digital comics can be cool, but i want to support my local comic book store. The comic book collecting association, or cbca, is an organization dedicated to promoting the hobby of comic book collecting. Bcw short comic book storage box plastic corrugated materials white or black comic book collecting supplies, black. I tried a series, i liked that series, i went to my lcs and dug up as many.
These smaller subplots interconnect to form the larger idea. The development of a direct market of comic book shops, replacing newsstand distribution, also facilities the rise of comic book collecting as a hobby and potential investment. People who are into collecting comic books are called pannapictagraphists. Starting a comic book collection concept comic vine. A short documentary on comic book collecting, featuring an. What comic book cover or character got you started into collecting comics. There are series of comic books that are published monthly or quarterly.
Collecting comics is my personal hobby, and i absolutely love it. This gives you the control as to how and when you sell your comic book collection. Comic collecting offers something for every budget level, from kids who can only buy books from budget bins to investors who can spend thousands on rare books. I first started collecting disney stuff back when my niece and i started watching the movies together on a regular basis. In 1970 a store called memory lane makes a business of selling old. There are many other aspects to collecting comic books, but these tips will help any new comic reader start their collection. These are individuals who have made a hobby of collecting. My dad and i truly believed that we could earn money fast off a hobby that we both enjoyed unfortunately, that hobby didnt quite work out for us, but that doesnt mean that your hobby couldnt start making you some nice cash on the side, or even if you just need extra cash flow to help pay off debt. The best place for the individual to sell is through an auction site, such as ebay. If we dont, add it to your want list and well notify you when its in stock. Comic book collecting for beginners start collecting comics guide. When you own the worlds largest personal comic book collection, with well over 100,000 individual issues, no purchase, short of maybe buying an entire comic book shop, is going to seem. As comic books gained in popularity and the people who owned them got older, value began to be placed on comics. Collections differ in a wide variety of respects, most obviously in the nature and scope of the objects contained, but also in purpose, presentation, and so forth.