If a comic is older than 2 minutes it has to be “rare” or “vintage” - speaking of the flipper who has no idea what so ever about comics just trying to make a buck.
I hate how I have to throw out all my suits after I wear them, but we all know that once you get a suit dry cleaned and pressed, it’s not a suit anymore.
Mystery boxes are the greatest thing to hit the hobby since eBay. I never know what comic I may like, or what new comics are out there to read. Plus sometimes there’s a chance I could win super give away box with a slab or New Mutants 98 or something like that. Love flushing my money down the toilet, I mean mystery boxes
I am such a purist I not only believe you shouldn't clean and press a book or garde it, I believe bags and boards take away from the purity of the books aging. Cheeto dust enhances grips on the spine
90s comics make the best joint papers. ONLY 90s comics! it's the vanillin-based light brown ink in all those pouches that gives the joints such a rich, creamy flavor.
Since James asked nicely, and I began collecting in the 1990s... 1990's and even some early 00's Bad and even Good Girl comics are seriously underpriced. The larger the "chestal cup region" on the cover should directly reflect the higher price of the book. This statement goes for direct editions, to variants, to even second and third printings.
I personally do get book cleaned and pressed but I understand those who argue against it. If you clean a coin the value of the coin drops. It is just how coins work. If you refinish an antique the value drops and so while I like cleaning and pressing I understand those that don't.
Love this video. Great commentary. I'm generally someone who avoids absolutes. The idea that someone else's ideas or behavior is wrong just because it isn't the way I do it is just stupid. If you collect comics are you happy? That should be the only question worth asking.
I love this video because there is an entire underbelly of the collecting community -- with its very own counterpart on social media -- that is composed of the most fragile "men" who literally post hour-long video essays on RU-vid about how women won't f*ck them & it's DEI/woke/communism's fault 😂😂😂 "Everyone has to like what I like or else it's woke garbage!" 😂 Only the real ones know how ridiculous that is.
A lot of people think a cameo is an appearance. Not only isn’t it an appearance, but every non appearance is a cameo. Action Comics #1 is a Wolverine cameo because Wolverine didn’t appear.
People who get mad at "Wokeness" in modern comics really need to take a look at themselves in the mirror because comics have been "Woke", with the Dennis O'Neil Green Lantern/Green Arrow, a lot of the 70s and 80s Captain America books and pretty much the entirety of the X-Men. If you want comics without "Wokeness" then go read the golden age Batman books when they introduced Batwoman and Batgirl so people wouldn't think that Batman and Robin were gay
Marvel value stamps were meant to be clipped, not kept intact. All hulk 181’s need to be checked to make sure the value stamps are clipped. And tattooz from all Asm 238’s should be used!
I understand your GL supplier's take on cleaning/pressing. When you clean and press a book, it can take away some of the character, some of the history, of that individual book. To put it another way, there's a reason that the crack in the Liberty Bell is still there. As a general rule, I don't clean/press my books prior to submission, but I'm also not going to look down on those who do.
I felt the barcode was unsightly, and always passed them up for a direct edition from the LCS. With somethingcool in the UPC box or even better, no UPC, making the cover pop more. funny how those are sought after now. Spawn #1 comes to mind.
Yes! It's funny how things evolve. I get they are going to be more "rare" in some cases. This is especially attractive considering how many people began hoarding comics around the same time as direct markets became dominant. It's almost always the things people don't care about or could never imagine being worth collecting that become valuable later on when they are no longer available.
@mrsolodolo967 I liked going to the lcs, but there were way more places that sold newsstand comics back then, and they were also more convenient to get to.
Growing up where I lived “newsstand” edition were not considered real comic books bc they were not bought at a comic book store. Kids were even made fun of if they owned a newsstand copy of a book bc the book was purchased from a Walgreens or Jewel Osco drug store etc. kids that had the direct edition copy were considered the “real deal” bc they went to their LCS . Crazy but true
The most ridiculous thing I continue to hear is that graded comics are an abomination -- an offense against humanity -- a comic is meant to be held, smelled, opened, read, appreciated from cover to cover, and loved. "If it's sealed in plastic and you can't read it, why collect it?" And this comes from my best friend in the hobby. We fundamentally disagree in this. Sigh. How dare someone tell me what my comics are for?
Unsold newstand comics were supposed to be returned and recycled. Comic book shops are breaking the law by having them in their possession without proof of purchase after their expiration date. Direct sale comics are supposed to go "directly" to the consumer. Comic book shops are breaking the law by having any comic in their possession after its expiration date. Comic books can only be sold for the exact amount shown as the cover price (**unless sold DIRECTly from the publisher through their discounted subscription). Anyone selling comics for more or less than the cover price (**) is breaking the law.
The whole “diversity/DEI” movement in comics is breath of fresh air and bringing in tons of new readers, while also catering to old fans alike. Comics have never sold more copies and the market has been solidified.
uumm when i first started 1st or 2nd grade had a reprint of action #1 thought it was real so when i heard or found out what is worth i thought i hit lotto (the real action#1)so this is so stupid thought statement "reprints are worth the same as original book" uumm sounded way better in my head🤫🤫🙄😏🙄
Talking about trading. I just traded three key slabs and two raw keys for one of my personal Grails, Avengers 4. I couldn't possibly have afforded that book without trading.
The introduction of color into comics has completely ruined the medium. Colors distract from the story and cheapen the ink work by the true artist. That’s why I only collect Platinum Age newspaper strips. Everything else is an impure art form meant to take your money. 🤘😎👍
(Not intentionally being absurd but also not meaning to be too nasty here) So if I buy a bunch of tickets to a show, or event or concert, and then I take those same tickets and re-sell them to other people for a higher price, I am called a scalper, and that's considered to be a bad thing, and there are efforts in place to prevent people from doing that. But if I buy a comic book and then take that same comic book and resell it to other people for more money than I paid for it, I'm just a flipper and there's nothing wrong with it?
Collecting comics is really hard. Trying to get Jim Gaffigan and Dave Chapelle to stand still long enough to get them in bags and boards makes it so not worth it.
Comics are only comics if the wood pulp used to make the paper comes from the Champagne region of France. Otherwise, they're just sparkling white funny books.
“Comics made for outside the US market aren’t considered real comics, and are worth peanuts in my opinion..” this was said to me many years ago by an acquaintance I knew visiting Canada from the US. I tried to assure him that wasn’t the case. He refused to believe me and continued on with comments about only being good for toilet paper and the like. He also made some derogatory comments about Canada several times whenever I interacted with him. I responded by giving him my address and phone number and telling him if he needed to get rid of some - give me a price and we will work something out. I told him I found foreign comics interesting. About a year or so afterwards, this guy called me up and said he would send a few of these “weirdo comics” - to use his words - if I paid the shipping. He wanted to “clear out the junk” to someone who might want them. Not long afterwards, received a large box with about 60-70 comics and a note saying some words that can’t be repeated on here. I still have most of those books to this day. Suffice it to say - they are far from worthless.
Comics were originally printed and sold to adults. It was not until the super hero comics that kids were marketed to. That is what brought about the comics code. The golden age horror and romance was sold and meant for adults
Comics as children's literature has been around forever. I'm not surprised that even today there are tons of people who view comics as "kiddie books" that have no socially redeeming value whatsoever. Of course, these people have no idea what the actual contents of a comic book are! Funny, but I guess to these people I'm just an immature, virgin, government puppet. LOL
I’d actually kinda agree with Flippers ruining the hobby. And I don’t consider everyone a flipper. I don’t really consider someone who does it for a living a flipper. It’s just certain ways people do it. Like buying every copy of a cover people are looking for just to flip it. Or like 100 copy’s of a #1 book. And then the book doesn’t even end up being popular. Just stupid stuff like that.
Comic Facebook groups are the best place for new collectors because the people there are unbelievably nice and inclusive and definitely not the most toxic place in the community 😂🍿
Cleaning and pressing ruins comics is a point I agree with. I bought a house and refuse to fix the roof, paint or fix the dishwasher because I’m keeping it in original condition. Flippers I didn’t know were ruining things, so I’m going to throw 99% of my collection away in solidarity.
30 years ago, a friend of mine bought 15 copies of Superpro #1 because it was tying the NFL to comic books. He told me "I'm going to be rich in like 30 years. This is the sleeper book of the century"
most people in the 60s and 70s used to keep their comics right next to the toilet so they can read then while taking a dump. Just remember that next time y’all talk about the pleasant smell and taste of those old books lol
Cleaning and pressing is a topic I go back and forth on. I believe that it is still a form of restoration that should be disclosed. If you clean a book where the colors are too bright, it can still get a purple label. So why does cleaning it a little not also get a purple label? I get that you can't tell if it's been done if it's done well but I still feel like it should be disclosed and given the purple label. I won't shame anyone for doing it as it is accepted in the comic community. Many other communities don't accept it, like the trading card or currency communities.
Cleaning and pressing is bad but what’s way way worse’s is opening up the comic and reading it. You should never under any circumstances open the book. Not even to check the front page info. Even if the book is low grade you shouldn’t further damage the book by opening it and reading it. Comics are for covers only. I can’t believe how many times I’ve had to yell at my kids for opening comics to try to read them. And books also. You can google the title and get the info online or even better in a you tube summary. The only exception is there are a few Bronze Age books that have super valuable stamps. Some of these stamps in the books can be worth thousands of dollars for a single stamp. In this case I think it’s ok to open the book and gently rip the one single page out. Other than that if you open the book you might as well toss it in the fire.
This video reminds me of the Comic Book Store I used to visit back in the 90s. The owner was literally a real life iteration of the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. Heavy, goatee, ratty pony-tail, and a very condescending attitude. Dude told me Newsstand Copies were worthless and technically don't even count...lol and of course the naive tween in me at the time believed him.
