On Collecting Comics Today, Pt. 1

I decided to do this in parts because excising the backstory to this whole thing kind of renders it moot. So:

I got into comic books when I was really young - just always loved them, and superheroes in general (what kid doesn't?) - but didn't start collecting until I was about 11-12 or so. I have a decent collection but, as I well knew, it isn't worth what I'd hoped it would be - and neither is yours, if it starts in the 1980s. After all, the 1980s were when comic book collecting came into its own, so pretty much all those comics are not only still available, but in good condition - people became suddenly mindful of their collections.

Comic books are also more of an "eyeball" game than a "waiting game." I've also known that for years, just haven't been all that interested. In highschool, all I did was comic books and RPG - I was literally immersed in them! I knew which books were worth what, what happened in which issues, and so on - a bonafide comic book geek - but by 16-17, I was far more interested in the usual things a boy my age is interested in... girls, hanging-out with friends, girls, finding new friends to hang-out with (especially if they were, or knew, girls), getting a car, et.al. My problem has always been timing - this is true in all aspects of my life, but I digress...

Ten years ago, I was just as unwilling to let go of high-dollar comic books for a pittance as I am today. However, had I kept my eyeball on the market, I could have unloaded a handful of those high-dollar comics at far better prices than I can get for them now. Still, comic book prices always fluctuate according to character/title popularity, etc., so I'm not just crushed or anything, but it can be upsetting to look-up a comic book you know was worth $25-30 in 1998 only to find it going for a paltry $5.00 today. Of course, the real crux of the matter is that I only paid $1.00 for the damned thing in the first place; technically speaking, even if I sold the book at the now lower $5.00, I'm still making a profit!

I don't think that will be the case for comic books being printed today. Possibly ever. And it has everything to do with the companies, themselves.

In 1990, artwork was the matter - anything by a Todd McFarlane or Jim Lee couldn't even be packed at the printing plant, it was so hot - today, and thankfully so, it's the writing. As a collector, I'm tempted to buy the entire run of the recent Siege saga, especially since I have always collected in runs. My collection consists of the entire Mutant Massacre, Inferno story, and more - all of them - every issue from all the titles which were involved. While these comics would fetch, say, $100 individually, I'd prefer to sell them as a complete set for something like $125.00. But before I can, Marvel is going to reprint them all in one HC volume, then quickly capitalize on its renewed (and incredibly brief) popularity with a softcover TPB, thereby lowering my collection's value by half or more!

The whole scene is exactly where it was 20 years ago: Collectors falling all over one another to get variant covers and special editions, never really knowing which will be worth the price. You can easily spend $100 on a single comic book these days, if you get all the variants - just like you could in the early 1990s, when the companies completely blew the bottom out of the market.

Except that, these days, none of those variants is ever truly going to appreciate without an autograph, death, etc., because the issue will be reprinted three or more times before it is collected into a TPB available from any bookstore or website! Why pay $50 for a Spawn #1 when you can just pick up any one of the umpteen-hundred collections which include it - along with another 5-10, pertinent issues - for $15-20.00?

Actually collecting comics isn't half as interesting as reading the stories, and kids today know this. However, it is a lot of fun. I just hate that the companies are so perennially short-sighted and completely unmindful of us!

If an issue sells-out, why not wait a month or two t reprint it? And if you already plan on collecting it in a TPB next year, why not just wait to do that!? This complete accessibility to any and every issue, title, character, and property has robbed the hobby of most of its enjoyment! It isn't fun to have to decide between two comic books you really want because they cost so damned much and you don't know which one will still be available for a reasonable price once you do get the money. Especially when - time and again - the comic book you do choose ends up being worth less than the price you paid for it!

© C Harris Lynn, 2010