This channel highlights golden age and silver age comic books, from tips for collectors to showcasing high-end keys. I hope that viewers enjoy the content and come away more knowledgable about books that once cost 10c or 12c. Here are the types of topics covered in the videos. *How to value a comic book *Unboxing of golden age beauties *CGC *Top comic books in my collection *Alex Schomburg cover art *Captain America Comics *Action Comics 1 *Airbrushed Covers *Xela
I used to collect rare Gerbers, 7, 8, 9, Etc. The rarest comic I owned was called “Survey,” a Marvel advertising comic from 1948 or so. 1 copy. That’s it. Bought it on Heritage; sold it through Heritage. Sold it in about 2011. Wish I hadn’t. I even had a Red Raven 1, missing the centerfold. Bought it for about $60 in 1974 or so.
Awesome. Thanks CLG for sharing! They are fun to hunt down.That Survey book sounds interesting, and oh to be able to purchase a Red Raven 1 for under $100!
You are the man, Omega! Too bad you don't have them anymore. I've never owned the triad but do have some other cool L.B. Cole books. Always good to hear from ya.
Thanks, Laurence. I understand that Matt likely has to talk about front-line CGC stuff for the typical collector but man I love when he goes deep into history or technical aspects of silver and golden age books.
Shane! That would be cool. It's a tough challenge because it might start off quickly but the last 20 or 30 books might be torture to get...but that's what makes it good :-)
Wow I would love if stickers of the missing covers would come out to complete the guides. I’d be interested. Reminds me of completing the sticker books that came out every year for baseball, football, etc when I was a kid.
I like your info. Good tips. I do believe that there are some excellent vendors out there, so once ppl are comfortable with these tips they can expand their vendor choices.
CGC is a scam unless you're positive it's a 9.0 or above because of their grading system. Their .5 and .2 grading system makes everything under 9 much less valuable than they should be. I sent in a ASM #252, there are no ticks and a tiny cover blemish, it was sent back to me as an 8.5. I've brought it to dealers and asked them if they think it should be an 8.5 an all said no it was higher, some saying it should be a 9. The .5 system makes comics like this much less valuable, whereas if it were graded with the .2 system it would be an 8.8 and I could get a more reasonable price. I won't send comics to them again until they stop the two-tiered grading system and with the scandals surrounding them, maybe never again.
@@kestonsoldschoolcomicbooks6842 It has the names of the story, art and cover people. First Appearance of the black costume. White Pages. I've thought about cracking this one open and resubmitting, but not worth it to me.
There are additional grading notes too. If you enter in your CGC certification # here, that may give you insight regarding what defects CGC took off for. It's free. www.cgccomics.com/certlookup/
@@kestonsoldschoolcomicbooks6842 I got a coupon out of a Wizard magazine when CGC first started and sent them ASM #252, #100 and hero-for-hire #2 all for the price of one. Thanks, I'll look them up.
Yes, but you can’t turn the Hulk 181 into cash right away as you would flood the market with 17,000 copies and prices would drop on the book, whereas with Hulk 1 that wouldn’t be a concern.
Thanks for stopping by the channel and commenting, Brian. Interesting point. What would happen if all 2,000+ copies of Hulk 1 hit the market at the same time? Would prices hold up?
Hi, DumDumDugan! Good question. That's a recommendation for beginners because signatures add another layer of complexity to pricing. In other words, what premium should someone add to the price of a comic for a signature is complex depending on whose signature(s), the condition of the comic, and so forth. Like pedigrees or restored books, I think signed books can be a fulfilling part of the hobby. I encourage folks to pursue them once they have a command of the fundamentals.
I've been slowly re buying comics from my childhood that were lost or stolen. Holding some of these books in my hand gives me such a hit of nostalgia. I get a dopamine high every time I remember a book I used to have and can actually track a copy down. This is my forever collection.
Hi, Slappy. Thanks for checking out the video. Yeah, there's something about trying to recapture our childhood. I can get up in the investment side of comic books but the most important comics are usually the ones I had a connection with as a kid.
Nice concise information. Remember folks collect what you like even if a book is deemed worthless. Half of my collection is old 80's stuff that never really took off but is stuff that I loved as a kid.
Thanks, Slappy! Yeah, I hear ya. I created a video a few months on the topic of buying what makes you happy. If ya got a few minutes, check it out and let me know what you think. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OGO2Vno_qqI.html.
Shane! Thanks brother. I've had a couple people make this request for a new Top 25 video. I've got a really big book coming into my collection in a few weeks. When that comes in, I'll be justified in making a new Top 25 video :-)
Hey Keston ! Great info & a neat way to present it. But I must say, I relish the Danger Zone, Purple is my favorite color & I'm not good at listening ! Ha ! Oh yeah, I dont own a single comic book, I watch just to hang out with my buddy K. Talk to ya later
Tip for beginner: only buy what you enjoy reading, do your research, don’t get into spec books, only buy from reputable online stores with return (on line purchases), stay very far from Heritage/ Comic link auctions!, be prepared to lose money initially, don’t get caught up in hype from RU-vidrs.
Hi, Murray. I agree with all your tips except for staying away from Heritage and Comiclink. I've bought and consigned many, many times with each. My personal experience has been excellent with both. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Hi Bruce Wayne! Thanks for the comment. In a few weeks, I'll be talking about advanced skills. Page quality will be emphasized more. Personally, I'm ok with cream to ow for gold and silver, but I know and respect a lot folks who play a tight page-quality game :-)
@@kestonsoldschoolcomicbooks6842 Yes, My AF 15 has OW pages, but that book with no chipping, perfect wrap and ow/w+ is very hard to come across. My Detective 40 has Brittle Pages, but hey, it's a Det. 40 ! I usually try and steer away from low quality PQ but some books you just have to live with it.
Hi Bruce Wanye...so true. I've got a book I'm eying that has slightly brittle pages, which ordinarily would bug me. But this book ain't no silver-age key :-)
A footnote to Tip 1 - the My Comic Shop website includes details for many of the thousands upon thousands of comics they offer, such as cover price, page count, story titles, art and writing credits, and (when appropriate) whether a particular issue represents the first or last issue of a particular title. Plus, you can search by year and/or publisher, AND the website includes many comic-art products besides floppies. It’s one of the best free-of-charge online information sources on comics, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
You might want to see if founder/owner Buddy Saunders would be up for an interview. As you probably know, he’s been selling comics since (I think) 1961.
Thanks, Timothy for the comment. I made a video on just this topic. Let me know what you think! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OGO2Vno_qqI.html
Always happy to see a new Keston video. Excellent tips for beginners. I'd add having a friend who also wants to collect and then seeking out ways to buy in person can really help new collectors. There's nothing like taking a short road trip with a pal to hunt for comics even if you don't end up buying anything.
In regards to total numbers: don‘t forget the many many raw copies out there somewhere unbeknownst to us, and also there are not only CGC but PGX and CBCS graded comics, and yes graded ghost comics (resubmissions without old labels) are certainly a factor as well
This is a strange fact Fantastic. Four 1 was reissued and Fantastic Four.2 was hard to find limited amount. And during the 50s had.a book burning. Coverless comics were sold for 5 cents.
Rarity In Age. Rarity In Condition. Rarity In Numbers. Rarity In Existence. Rarity In Availability. Rarity In Value And Purchase Price. Seldom Seen But Hardly Ever Found And Actually Unique!😅*
Great interview and great to hear interpretations of the topic. Some have tried to pin a certain number while others seem to pick whether the book is even relative as a key issue or not. It also doesn’t quite address a newer fact of forced rarity in issues. I have a couple of precode horror books that are rare even by the count on CGC( under 30 or so) but may not be highly desirable like a key issue might be. Rarity does not sometimes equate to the value of a book but understanding how many issue of a certain book actually existing might really help in the end. Wish all these guys that slab books would share there info even more….it would tremendously help the community.
Thanks, David. Totally agree w your sentiment. What most collectors are seeking is a decent estimate of existing copies of books. For extremely valuable books, cgc census serves as a decent proxy. Anything else, it’s highly biased (underrepresentation, especially in low grade).
@@kestonsoldschoolcomicbooks6842 eek well then I guess I have uncommon books! 😉 I think too few discuss the amount of some of the common books out there. But also keep in mind the other side of the supply coin is the demand side too. But that can change w time. I guess supply is more set.
Loved the conversation on returned labels possibly influencing the grading. I've often wondered about this. I hope Matt moves forward with some type of monetary incentive. I think that would have a real impact on reducing ghost numbers.
CBCS and PGX have numerous books graded as well. I know they are nor respected like CGC price wise but they do have high numbers in highly sought after books. I like the point he made on attrition. Golden Age books are more rare and some books do command good price due to that rarity. Demand has a lot to do with it.
Ok-rarity is relative to the number of collectors- in other words supply and demand. So, if every single person on the planet, (around 9 billion) aggressively collected comic books, then every single existing comic book today would be extremely rare.
Hi, Christopher. I think that's an interesting take and logically accurate. Personally, I prefer to (mostly) separate out the variables of rarity (supply) and desirability (demand) when discussing comics. That helps me understand the more complex variable of price that is a blend of the other two variables.
