On Collectibles: Comics - Using Comic Book Realm to Track Value

Comic Book Realm is a donation-based comic book site offering many services you would otherwise have to pay for, such as inventory and value tracking. But the interface is very basic, bulky, and counter-intuitive. This is a brief attempt to walk you through the process, then leave you to your own devices to figure out the details.

• Login
• -> My Realm
• Beneath the Donate button, you will see a link that says "Manage Piles." It sounds gross, but click it anyway; "piles" refers to your inventory. "Boxes" would have been better, but also more confusing, as Comic Book Realm's interface is checkbox driven.
  
• Click "Create Pile."
• Name your Pile. Choose whether or not to Share your pile with others. If you choose to Feature your pile, covers from that pile will appear randomly in your profile.
• Now use the search options at the top-left to find the first title you wish to add to your collection.
• When you discover the correct series, click on it and check the boxes beside each of the issues in the title you own. Once you've done this, choose "Add Selected" to My Collection. The page will automatically refresh. Or you can choose to add the checked issues to your Want List.
• Grade the comic to the best of your ability and populate the field; list the price you paid for it. As a tip, if you got the comic through a trade (specifically saying you did not pay for it), include this as a note.

There is a bit of a learning curve, but Comic Book Realm's interface requires more click-throughs than anything. The information is comprehensive, but not easy to access due to the counter-intuitiveness of the navigation. But despite its drawbacks, it is a free service (which gladly accepts donations) and there are currently no other, free comic book databases matching the function found at Comic Book Realm.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010