Speculators and Dealers tend to ruin everything. I've lost count of how many times I've seen people outraged, or parents with heartbroken kids because the store ran out of a specific toy or comic because one person bought all of them for "collector's value."
That's what they started doing with those the NES and SNES people started buying them all out and then selling them for two to three x what they're worth
I used to have 2 stores and saw this constantly. I now do a local flea mkt and get people that brag that they have the last superman (when he died.) I then grab any and say so do I. Came out last Wednesday. And they can't belive he came back.
Personally, I like owning physical things. It's why I still buy CD's (and vinyl and cassettes), DVD's/Blu Rays, books, and comics. It's nice actually owning the thing I paid for, rather than paying for the right to use it for however long that digital distributor decides I can use it. Plus, if I get tired of whatever it is I have, I can either sell it or give it to someone who would want it.
+Ian O'Hara No, digital takes virtually no room, can't get torn up, and you don't have to go anywhere to get them. Digital is better but you just prefer physical.
digital is no way better, they only saves space not quality. not at all. today print quality is superb and I dont want to invest more than 1000 bucks for an ipad.
+Skeptnick I remember some guy in real life had a stamp that was one of only two in the world. But he wanted to have the ONLY one. So he hired a "Hitman" to break in to the other guys house and burn the other stamp. I think he managed to burn it before he was caught.
If Superman had actually stayed dead and there were only a few dozen copies it might be worth something. But he didn't and I knew several people including my uncle that bought 3 or more copies. And they were sold in the stupid black poly bag that people refused to open less it diminish its value. LOL. I bought none, but the trade is a decent read.
This era was what did it for me and largely why my children haven't grown up reading comics like I did. When I started buying comics in the late 70's, they were $.25 and I bought them from the magazine rack of the local supermarket. Mostly, these were Spider-man and Hulk, with any number of other Marvel and DC titles depending on what was left by the distributor. I actually got a lot of 1st issues because these distributors often left them on the racks to see if they wanted to carry the title. Later I got them through the mail and moved to Daredevil and the Avengers, plus Crisis, I loved Crisis. But throughout this time one thing remained true, comics were inexpensive. Even as they went to 50 and 75 cents, it wasn't a lot to buy a couple comic books. During the collector boom, I was a young man in college and had adapted to the idea of the comic shop as my primary source of comics. I enjoyed Savage Dragon and other "mature" titles alongside my old favorites. Then it happened. The price shot up, I had to often buy the entire lineup of Image comics just to follow a single story arc, and comics became expensive. HOWEVER, something else happened, which has kept me away from comics even more. The "new" style comics, while loaded with artwork, were woefully short. Suddenly, I could read a $3 comic in 10 minutes. Compare that to my old $.15 issue of Conan the Barbarian which was almost an hour to read. The final nail? The internet happened. About the time I transitioned fully to adulthood and comics were an expensive hobby, I was introduced to a wealth of material for FREE! I just never went back. Today I buy the odd graphic novel and occasionally buy a digital comic, but comics to me were poorly colored newsprint issues from the bronze age, not expensive computer generated glossies. I like your site, and I love these characters, but at 44, you can have the comics industry!
@@KeithKillingly I respectfully disagree with you on video games. Games are already just intangible images you see and interact with on a TV screen. Comics and books on the other hand you actually feel that you own them.
I collect comics because I love them. I have lots of digital comics, but they never compare to the real deal. I've got a fairly extensive collections The Flash vol. 2 comics, with Wally West. Not because I want to sell them for millions, but because Wally West is my favorite superhero, and I want to own his adventures for real. Even if I ended up having a valuable book, I probably wouldn't even sell it, because I wouldn't be able to. I love comics too much.
Oh, I know... I remember when online auctions first took hold, like with Yahoo, I was buying up shit loads of comic book lots and then read them. Like "Oh man... this one has Uncanny X-Men #325... I HAVE to know what happened... -bid-" then when getting it, "Oh hey, yea, OK it has Batman #497, I guess I'll read it while waiting for the next shipment... oh shit, Batman's back got broken!" Or a lot of the boxes I'd get would have seemingly obscure titles (at the time) in them... like Sin City, Michael Turner's Fathom, Guardians of the Galaxy or Strikeforce Morituri. Or even cool runs of characters that I didn't know had their own series, like Archangel (Phantom Wings), Beast or Gambit... and team ups like Wolverine and Venom in Tooth and Claw or Sabretooth and Mystique in their title series. Doing that actually opened me to a wealth of stories and possibilities that I'd have never encountered otherwise. I always thought "To hell with how much they're worth, not like I'm going to sell them." Jaja, which used to piss my dad off when I'd pay like $12 for a "rare" comic at the store, only to take it home and open it to read it... like the wedding of Spider-Man. Though not to say I didn't try to keep them in pristine condition after I read them.
I will never sell my 2000AD collection.....by the time I finish reading them ALL! I can start again from the beginng! I think part of the joy of old comics is in the imperfections.... well thumbed ones where the ink wears away... the odd rip or tear where a since passed pet took it off you cos they wanted some attention..... spill stains where you dribbled TAB Clear through laughing (yep that would date my collection).. digital..?.. nah
I feel the same about my spawn, batman and incredible hulk collection can't forget about my X-Men .I just love the stories.i fall into my quiet space in my crib and just lock-in.
I like don't collect comics per-say but I do collect DVDs. I collect them because I want to build up a personal library of something that I have access to so I can share with other friends and or my future kids. I feel like tangible items like DVDs and comic books have more personal history and story to it.
Stewdippin : Fun Nerdy Videos Every Week And I think the point about sharing them with friends and future kids is an important one. It's so much simpler to hand someone a physical object to borrow than it is to send them a digital one. That's why I'm only _mostly_ digital. I still buy trade paperbacks so I lend them out to friends for easy binge reading.
Stewdippin : LET'S GET NERDY My family has a big library of DVD's and its so convenient to just be able to grab a movie when you want to watch it, it's a valuable commodity IMO
The comic book market is in a huge bubble right now because of speculators just like in the 90s. Every comic movie and tv show pushed the prices up. Turns out I have around 15 grand in comics because I bought key vintage comics in the mid-late 90s as a kid. Thank god I loved marvel comics like Amazing Spider-man and the Uncanny X-men, lol.
There's nothing that can replace going to the comic book store and discussing/debating things that are going on it comic at the moment or just in comics history in general. Also I just love the "feeling" of having a comic book in my hand. I'm just old school I guess. I will readily admit though that my collection got WAY out of hand and I started trying to thin it out and got basically nothing. Who cares though? I enjoyed reading pretty much each and every one and now someone else can enjoy reading each and every one.
My grandma was a beanie baby fanatic! Had me standing in lines as a kid all over town with lists of specific one's to buy. It was ridiculous. She probably spent $10,000+ on beanie babies during the course of 1 year. Years later she had trouble GIVING them away as Christmas gifts.😂
In the 90's, when people starting to collect these novelty instant collectibles, they stopped reading the books. The comic companies spent all their money on novelty covers and forgot about content. This combination of not reading the books for fear of damaging them, especially any #1 book which would start a storyline, and the lack of any quality content created a perfect storm.
*The Great Comic Crash of the 90s* Recently, a copy of Action Comics No. 1 sold for $3.2 million! This may have people looking at their own collections wondering if they are sitting on a goldmine. But be careful. There was a time not so long ago when the idea of collecting comic books actually crashed the entire industry. Does this mean that we shouldn't collect comics? It seems unlikely that the industry will crash so violently again, but we should still learn from the past so we don't repeat the mistakes that were made by speculators. Just like the birth of Superman was the birth of the industry, the Death of Superman almost killed it. *WATCH:* ruclips.net/video/W9Xq6sDntpE/видео.html _Every Wednesday, Comic Misconceptions explores fascinating trivia, crazy stories, and mind-blowing theories about the comic book universe from Marvel, DC, and beyond!_ Hosted by ***** *SUBSCRIBE now!* nerdsyn.cc/subNS *LIKE NerdSync on Facebook:* nerdsyn.cc/likeNS *FOLLOW NerdSync on Twitter:* nerdsyn.cc/followNS *JOIN NerdSync on Google+:* nerdsyn.cc/circleNS *LISTEN to the NerdSync Podcast:* nerdsyn.cc/podcastNS #comics #comicbooks #superman #deathofsuperman #industry #youtube #video #nerdy #geeky #Comiccrash #90s #marvelcomics #dccomics #nerdsync #comicmisconceptions #scottniswander #actioncomicsno1
Maybe the fact that comics are going to the digital medium will make publishers print less physical copies to save money and the collecting the books will actually become viable again. Not any time soon but eventually.
People should buy\collect physical copies of comics to support comic shops, to support your favorite character or team and simply because collecting things can be fun.
***** Even some Rare comics don't have that much value on Ebay, like before hand I managed to find Godzilla vs megalon the first american comic ever made for Godzilla at the time it was worth around 32.00 or 15.00 at most and then not that long after the 2014 movie came out they have fetched up to higher prices from 150.00 to 275.00 on eBay. one man even tried to sell it several times for 39,999.00 which i knew it can't go up that high you should do a video about Godzilla's early history in the american comics. Collecting godzilla is fun, but hard work, because when you go after one item and another is going for the same item then it's a bidding war.
I love collecting them. A lot of the things I collect I collect them not because of money because they might be worth something but because I enjoy collecting them they make me happy being able to now as 23 year old be able to get things I was never abled to get or have as child because my family wasent the richest I mean we weren't poor but we didn't have a lot of extra money and it mostly my mother raising me and brother and she did the best she could and I enjoyed and cherished wat little I did have and I cherish wat I have now. I'm by no mean matirialistic but I do appreciate wat I have and enjoy the things I have and never take things for granted and now that I'm diabled at such a young age I never complain cause things could always be worse and I live my life the best I can and cherish wat I got. Collecting is a happy thing for me and a lot of people that's done again as I said before because we enjoy it not because of any monetary value it might have. If it has value that's nice and cool but still collecting just for fun and enjoyment is worth more than the money.
This is why I buy graphic novels. People end up with collection like that and they look like a mess, plus most of the time people don't have the whole story. Just one or two of the comic.
I went to trades years ago. There is no way of ever knowing what books will be big in the end with little exceptions. But once the buzz gets around and you missed the next big thing, a trade gets you caught up jsut fine for less money, and the same story without having to buy every comic released on the hope that one might be the next Walking Dead or something of that magnitude.
Crazy how much some of the comics you show in this video have gone up in value since this was originally posted. Especially that copy of Lethal Protector....
In 1993 I was 12, and I was exclusively interested in Marvel, but the one DC comic that I did buy was the death of Superman. The town I lived in was only around 50,000 people but the hype was still very real. When you held up the Venom comic I laughed, I definitely remember that one.
I'd rather read Golden Age or Silver age stories, than today's newer stuff. Does anyone remember the old 80 page Giants that came out in the 60's and 70's/ Reading those older (to me at the time) stories gave me a sense of the history of the character.
Funny you should say that. I kind of petered out before the X-Men movie first came out and to me, having read them from the late 80s through the mid/mid late 90s... they seemed like shows to me, on account that it usually took me about a half hour to read them. However, then I began reading them again in around 2004 when Emma Frost, Mystique and Nightcrawler had their own series... and I was banging them out in under ten minutes. Leaving me to think "Oh, it's because I'm an adult now, that's probably why..." only to get one from about '96 and it took me a half hour again. Or any others that I'd gotten from back in the day. Sure, the art of the newer ones were pretty cool still, not like MacFarlane or Jim Lee... anyone with the last name of Kubert, but I digress. However, I tried to pick one up recently and they all look cartoonish now... even with things like the coloring being off and such. It's hard for me to get into them that way. Sure, I get sometimes that the coloring might be off once in a while back in the day, like X-Men #30 where Jean Grey and Cyclops get married, only to look like Domino's breast is showing through the back of the crowd... but as not often as it was, I didn't find it distracting... though with as cartoonish as they look anymore and lack of story... it's just hard to get wrapped up in them like i used to.
I buy Golden Age comics almost exclusively and earlier ones Platinum and Victorian Age comics especially. My back issue dates are from the 1800's to 1945 roughly. These range from Pucks and Judges and Thomas Nast political cartoons to comic strip reprints done as comic books from the 1910's to the 1930's to Superhero books from the late 1930's to 1945 to humor and funny animal books. especially by Walt Kelly & Carl Barks. I just really love them all and have about 10 boxes worth, A lot of which I started buying in the 1990's when books of this vintage were still somewhat affordable.
There was the war time efforts for paper and in the 50's the book "Seduction of the Innocent". Parents tossed their kids comic books out because they thought they would corrupt them. This caused silver comic books to sore in value as they became rare.
That 90s glut is slowly being absorbed by genuine collectors. It was great for the industry becasue it created a wonderful large supply of these comics, so the industry has a great large supply of 90s comics, which will keep the industry strong as time passes by because the collector who actually wants the comic can find them at a great price. This is good for the comic 'Collector'.
Digital comics just don't do it for me, I have to have a physical book in my hand whether it's a TP or single issue...digital just doesn't feel the same
iPlay0ldGamez I thought the same until I really started diving into Marvel's back catalog with Marvel Unlimited. After a while you just get used to it.
iPlay0ldGamez When you have access to hundreds of comics on your iPad, at the flick of your finger, and you're on the subway or in an airplane - digital is pretty tough to beat. I still collect physical copies, but I only read digital.
I actually seem to be transitioning from that same belief. I THOUGHT I preferred physical copies of comics (I'm still that way regarding non-comic books, reference books in particular which don't "work" for me in digital). But I notice it's becoming easier to read digital comics in bed, which is the only time I get around to them anymore; plus the picture is so much brighter and the pages look much better in digital form. Example: I have some hard copy reprint collections of EC comics, but lately they tend to stay on the shelf while I find I prefer to read the same stories in digital format. I would never have foreseen I would one day prefer digital, probably because there's a part of me that likes HAVING a collection and looking at them on the shelf. But when you think about it: WHY? I'll likely be dead within twenty years, and my kids won't benefit because there really is no substantial resale value in reprints, and the hundreds of old DC comics I have stored in long boxes have substantially DECREASED in value since I bought them in the 80's and 90s. When it comes down to it, the only value any comics actually have to me is the value I get from actually reading them; which, ironically, is the same reason comics were so disposable during my childhood in the 50's and early 60's. We never thought to save or protect comics then because after we had read them, what good were they? Digital comics may portend the death of collecting, but on the other hand, they guarantee that the stories we love will always be available at our fingertips. No more chasing around looking for that particular hard-to-find back issue. As if I have either the time or money for that sort of thing anyway.
the same argument for CD's versus iPod, public demand goes to digital, it's more practical for most you can back them up multiple ways in case something goes wrong. I can read on the train or bus without having to worry if some random junkie throws up in front of me and ruins the book
Don't know about you but digital doesn't work for me like the way physical copy. The first thing I notice that my eyes don't get tired or dizzy looking at the screen.
I stared reading and collecting comics during the 90's. For a time my spending on comics was out of control in the early to mid 2000's and I currently have 20 long boxes of comics and a large collection of digital comics. Comics are my primary source of entertainment and comics helped me overcome my struggle learning to read as a small child.
I've been collecting comics since junior high (just turned 41 this year). I loved the rush (and still do) of going to the store and getting a stack of comics out of my subscription box, going home, setting the stack on my bed, and spending an afternoon soaking in the art while getting lost in great stories about Superman, Ghost Rider, or the X-Men. I would usually pick up a copy of each variant cover just to have. I do remember buying a second copy of the "bagged" edition of Superman #75 (the death issue) because my dad wanted to wear the armband to work. Now that I'm older, and have three kids of my own, space is definitely an issue. At its peak, I think I had 8 long boxes (maybe 10) and 4 short boxes. Enough to fill a bedroom closet, at least. I've slowly been selling off my collection and picking up trades of my favorite story arcs/characters. The bulk of what I still have was published during the glut of the 90s and has sold on ebay for an average of .30 cents an issue. It's frustrating not to at least make my money back, but I never bought as an investment. For the most part, I feel that I got my money's worth in entertainment value. I probably would still hold on to my old monthlies if it wasn't such a pain to take them out of the bag to read, then put them back in when I was done.
I noticed all your ebay examples are BIDDING examples... with TWO DAYS LEFT on the auction... Everyone knows the bidders just "watch" until the last few hours or so... I don't think i've ever made a bid on something with more than 2 hours left on it... I get all my comics on eBay... Try some buy it now examples....
+Keith Killingly Buy It Now examples have the opposite effect though. People will try to post "buy it now" at outrageous bullshit prices with fancy descriptions like "Gold Zelda NES game! very rare WOW!" And list it at like $200. That shit aint worth more than $20 at most on bidding.
+Keith Killingly Yep, you can start as low as $ 0,20 and it can still go up to $ 500,- I just had this happen to me with a Chinese imperial banknote and I really wasn't planning on spending more than 20 U.S.Ð. on it.
My dad recently gave me half of his comic stash (about 150 comics!). I was really excited to get them because I knew they meant a lot to him in the day and I am a huge Marvel fan. I thought about this video while looking through them, and I actually have that holographic Venom comic! I love your videos and have learned a lot about the comic world with them. So thank you a lot!!
I remember my ex brother-in-law talking about having Death of Superman and relishing in its probable worth. What an ass. And this was recent. Comics aren't a solid investment, though if you know comics, you can make a living off of them.
Punk Rock Penguin Who knows, maybe everyone will burn/recycle/throw-away their useless copies of the comic and, in the distant future, it will be worth bank!
I definitely remember The Great Comic Book Crash of the 90's. Visiting my small town comic shop and witnessing two men in business suits getting kicked out for fighting over a couple remaining issues of the Death of Superman. That's really the moment I stopped collecting, that and getting sick and tired of waiting for the first issues of Jim Lee's Wildcats to come out!
+Canadian Food and the amiibo market is already crashing and it hasn't been a full year. lol Already I see people posting about "rare" amiibos then someone else gets it and people are like "omfg how much did you pay?!!!!" and they're like "on ebay... $16 with shipping included" "oh so the basic price of the damn things."
Speculative bubbles have happened with every kind of commodity for hundreds of years. It seems to be a property of human nature in interaction with markets. In the 2000s, it was real estate and crazy financial instruments based on it, and the crash wrecked the entire world economy. But toy fads seem to be particularly fertile territory. At some point you always get the people who are buying in just because they think they can find a greater fool to sell to. And eventually the world runs out of greater fools.
I bought comics in the '70's and early '80's because I loved everything about them from the feel of the book, the smell of the ink to the fantasy escapism that it provided my young mind. I quit buying comics and sold my collection towards the end of the '80's. For 30 years I went into every comic shop I passed and read everything I could until it looked like the purveyors were ready to call the cops on me. I finally decided that there was no reason to deny myself the pleasure of my favorite pastime and started buying back issues on ebay. Then I found a comic shop near me and was off to the races with new titles. Needless to say, I have already amassed a sizable amount and probably won't stop until I drop dead. I BUY COMICS BECAUSE I LOVE THEM!! For me, the best it can get is to buy a NM copy of a book from the '70's that I had as a kid and when I take it out of the bag to read and open it up I can still smell the original ink smell. Maybe it's that tangible thread to the past, that bygone era of youth, that got me started again but I have to say I genuinely love the stories. A week without Batman would be a bad week indeed!!
The idea of going all digital has always been intriguing to me. I think I'd miss floppies, but if you really want to go back and get 'em, and you wait a little while, you can get most for $1 at a con or at a LCBS.
I like collecting physical comics, mostly for sharing purposes. It's also a way, I feel to support not just the industry, but also local businesses. I do, however, still use comixology for collecting series that have long gone the way of the dodo.
Slaggathor12 I go out and get a few series each week from my local comic book store because those guys are awesome. But I'm about 95% (or more) digital.
Since I've subscribed, I've been binge-watching episodes... Man I love these informed breakdowns. You're helping me find some absolution for some pretty obscure details, while at the same time furnishing me with some fun-facts. Great job dude.
I was working at Disney in the middle 90’s and in a two block area in North Hollywood there were two comic book shops, same thing happened in Burbank. I feel for those guys. They lasted for maybe two years and in the end, the one shop that was there before the buildup was the only one that survived.
Well how about keep them and pass it down to your children I'm sure in the 2020s or 2030s if we're still around comic books and many other items will cost much more.
+Razvan Suiogan I can literally go on a torrent site and find a 200GB torrent file for all known comics of "insert popular hero here" for free. Unless you are assuming that in just 5-15years there will be a post apocalyptic landscape in which physical copies are the only thing available its pretty safe to say that in the future finding old back issues online will not be a problem. Even in recent years Marvel and DC have been pushing out their old back issues online at dirt cheap prices to encourage people to buy that instead of pirating.
M W Torrent 101(aka pirating 101): 1. Good and popular sites like Pirate Bay or Kick-Ass have identifying markers on reputable uploaders. For example on Pirate Bay its a green or pink skull and crossbones. Downloading torrents uploaded by these users are usually pretty good. 2. Use Peer-Block. It stops sketchy IPs from connecting to you. Including DCMA trackers and known Trojans etc. Absolutely always have Peer Block on when downloading torrents. Its basically your condom online. 3. Check the comments section of torrents, If its good to go there will be a few people commenting and thanking the uploader on a job well done... If its fake, virus, etc... there will be a crap ton of comments wishing the cruelest fate upon the douchebag that uploaded it. 4. I don't personally do this.... but if you have an anti-virus program, a good one, scan the files after you download them BEFORE opening them. if they're clean you're good to go. 5. Still don't want to risk torrenting? Well you are in luck! Thanks to the magic of youtube people upload entire issues when they are released. Usually for new issues though, no back logs and stuff. search for HouseOfRM, they usually upload the newest popular issues like Batman, Justice League, Avengers, etc.
Pirating online is like going to the red light sex district. 1. the girls at the brothels are usually clean as opposed to the ones in the streets. 2. Peer block = condom 3. Ask around for the best places and reviews. 4. Getting tested at the clinic. 5. too scared so you just watch porn.
You are so on the money with this video, in the 90's everyone rushed to get multiple copies of THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN hoping to get rich. I am a genuine collector of comics for 30+ yrs and have a love for the books...never have I once collected a book for monetary gain, it was all for the love of the books. My favorite in the 90's was the creation of the variant cover (different cover but same issue inside) I even got suckered when X-MEN #1 came out, I thought I was buying a different book because it had a different cover and I ended up buying the same book because I didn't look at the issue #...NEVER AGAIN! Nice video...you now have a new subscriber!
I love the physical thing. I love that I can carry it and it literally has some weight, I love being able to smell it. I love having them all one next to one another. So having em makes me happy!
I am with you on this. There's also something vaguely comforting about the scent of vintage paper. Like "hey, we've been around a while, but we're still here, dammit!" lol
I sell comics at a flea mkt, and have had 2 stores. This is basically the only reason people buy comics today. Not to read, but invest. I constantly tell people that if you are buying to make money, take that money and light it on fire. That way you'll at least get 30 seconds of heat and light out of it. I have parents that won't let their kids buy a certain book they want because it "Won't be worth anything."
I remember 'collecting' Fury of Firestorm and New Teen Titans not cuz I thought they'd be worth anything (maybe i kinda hoped they would be) but cuz i honestly enjoyed reading them and wanted to know what happened next each month. After college I gave some of my comic book collection to a friend who worked at a comic book store at the time and was into collecting more than i was, and i think i sold some to a bookstore to help cover bills one month. May have gotten fifty bucks out of em, but there were also regular books in that trip to Half Price Books that day. Was just clearing house. There are some comics still in a couple boxes in a closet around here somewhere. The ones I just couldn't bare to part with at the time. Sentimental value mostly. I doubt there's an "Action 1" equivalent in there. Comics are meant to be enjoyed, not turned into a financial commodity. I never understood the logic behind mylar, except maybe to protect it for when you're not reading it, so that your great grand children can read it.
Zachs Mind We're going to have a podcast soon about some of the topics you touched on here, but I think you and I agree on a lot here. For me, I subscribe to a handful of physical issues because my local comic shop offers a deal that if you subscribe to 5 series or more, you get a 10% discount on everything in the store. This is great for checking out a new series because I can buy it cheaper in physical form first to see if I like it, then buy digitally for the rest of the series.
When I first got into collecting about three years ago, I went into one of my local stores, got a few 90's comics off the $1 rack, and the store owner was like "man, I remember back in the day we all thought this single issue was gonna put our kids through college. And this one was going to let us retire early. And this one was gonna get us each a corvette."
When I sold my 32-box collection, valued at over 18,000 by Overstreet, the best price I could get was 1.800. This included many silver-age titles and one or two golden age ones. It's pretty standard for buyers to pay 10%. Price guides claim to represent what titles are actually selling for, but I don't know where because I've never seen anyone pay those kinds of prices. The publishers of the guides are motivated to exaggerate the value of the books because that's what collectors want to read. (I should mention that Overstreet is no more guilty than anyone else, and in fact was the most conservative source at the time. Wizard frequently made outrageous, exaggerated claims about the value of titles that were clearly not in demand.) Death of Superman was a totally different thing. DC issued only 30% of what was ordered to comic book vendors. The day of it's release, it was going for 80 bucks or more per copy. This wasn't a result of people buying 5 copies each, it was because the publisher deliberately under-supplied it in order to generate excitement. The press carried leading stories about Superman dying that sent non-collectors and even non-readers to the stores demanding copies. Their follow-up Return of the Supermen was ignored by collectors and vendors overstocked. That month ('Black April'), DC and Marvel came out with an array of new titles as well, and since #1 issues were considered must-buy by collectors, this meant that many small stores purchased tons of supply from the publishers. None of it sold (partly because issue prices were growing out of reach thanks to the Image generated competition for who can print the glossiest, computer-colored product), and literally something like 2000 stores went out of business.
Not to be too nit-picky, but you are not telling us the actual buyer of that collection. Was it a dealer? They tend to buy for a percentage of the actual value, so that they can resell the books at a profit.
I love collecting comics....i got over 15,000 almost touching 16.......almost completed most of my collected runs....I like going to comic marts and searching second hand stores..... I hardly go comic book stores because its quite expensive.... And graphic novels I only buy online.
Those investors were idiots. Golden Age comics were expense because they were rare, because (in the 90s) they were 40-50 years old. They thought the price would go up after a couple of weeks? Take any issue, wait 50 years, and maybe it'll be worth something. But maybe not; any investment is a gamble.
Ryan Watts I'm not really sure where you live in the UK so I can't comment on how easy it is for you to access a comic book shop but to suggest that there are barely any AND that we have to pay extra isn't exactly truth. There are many shops that match the price of the US or sell them for slightly more (less than £1 which I don't think falls under the 'ridiculous' category) - not to mention that there are plenty of online shops that sell comics for reasonable prices & shipping so you have access no matter where you live. If you're having trouble finding a shop nearby try searching here: www.ukcomicshops.co.uk/index.php
Pedro Lambrini I feel you on the space issue. Transitioned from a casual trade collector to a serious floppy buyer a few years ago and now I'm drowning in comics. Viva la digital!
I completely agree with your conclusion. Collect something because you love it, not because you plan to sell it later. If you collect out of love, you will never be disappointed.
Comic Taco Productions I'm almost all digital, but I do buy a trade paperbacks. It's easier for me to lend out to people and to binge read. Plus, they do look better on a shelf than individual issues.
Crazy how much some of the comics you show in this video have gone down even more in value since this was originally posted. Especially that copy of Death of Superman....
I am a collector and I thought the 90's were a blast. The Death of Superman, Image etc. I know now that people trash Image of the 90's, but I think it was such a fun time. The line at the conventions were enormous. People love the Image of today and I do too. I have been collecting since the 70's. It has been a joy to me.
I love that you brought up Beanie Babies, because that's exactly what I thought about in comparison to the comic collecting boom. I have to admit, I was one of those kids in the '90s with grand ideas of buying lots of comics that would (theoretically) eventually be worth tons of money. In my defense, I was like 10 at the time. What's sad is that you see the publishers still trying to push this way of thinking by putting out "special collectors issues" and the like, despite the fact that millions of copies are being printed. They're definitely capitalizing on it to an extent, in a way fooling collectors into giving them more money for something that really has no return value. Of course, there are also those that are just huge fans and want to collect for the love of comics, like you mentioned. While I more or less grew out of my comic collecting phase (still love comics though), I see myself still doing something similar when it comes to records; I will buy more than one copy of the same album if it comes on a different color vinyl, or maybe has a bonus track or something else. However, I'm not really expecting to eventually sell them for higher prices, and even if I could, it would be hard to let them go. So yeah, I think both mind sets (collecting for investment vs. collecting for love/interest) exist in almost any form of fandom, but those hopeful for huge profits on comics did get way out of hand, and it's something really interesting to think about.
You provided great knowledge, but I do not support your click bait title. Collecting comics did not ruin the industry, and I feel titling this video as such was an injustice to the actually content of the video which was very well done. Though, 6 years later, that Lethal Protector in that grade is a $50 book. The industry, in all of its flaws still to this day, is alive and well. The collectors, and even the speculators, didn't ruin the industry in the 90s either. It was solely the fault of the publishers not understanding that limiting print runs would have sustained the industry, and kept the value of books like Superman 75 much higher than what they are today.
Amiibo Collectors beware. Sell high now sell low later. I have a problem digital goods in general because if the service stops you lose access to that good. Like when PSP no longer had comics on it. I would've been better of buying the physical so I can go back to it.
likenem My physical media died usually faster than my digital backups which can move from one physical media to another at ease. I can still play gog.com games, while the retail copies that I have from the very same games are not only broken because of the media died years ago, but as well because even the backups that I have will not run on modern hardware anymore. The issue with digital goods is not when service providers die, because that is a given, but a question of DRM and curation software and hardware to use those media. What are the awesome LPs of my farther worth to me (outside of selling them to collectors) when I don´t own a turntable anymore? So, in other words, digital comic books itself are fine, but the consumer needs to have free access to his own media, meaning the DRM needs to be reasonable, like for example non and at least one reader software needs to be non-priority to guarantee access to those comics. Anything else is just renting. Which in itself is fine, but I am not paying top dollar to rent a comic book which can vanish from my kindle anytime when someone at amazon hits the delete button (See the animal farm incident). And I am not buying first either to than get pirated drm free copy for my licenced comics either. So it seems that currently it mainly "buy physical comics or gtfo", though I might be wrong. I know there is gog.com for DRM-Free games, so there might be a good comic online store that I simply do not know with DRM free content, but I doubt it and especially for brands like marvel, dc and image. Comixology has for example only 32 series of DRM-Free comics. Hmm, might actually buy 'From Hell' there, that is at least something, but not much really.
+Sandy McTire That is soooo much... Have much have you actually read? I bet a lot of it is just awful.... I'm always tempted to download those "X-Men all issues from #1-600" for example. But I fear there is really only 100 issues worth of good story and the rest is garbage.
another great video Scott. I prefer physical comics though, one of the main reasons being the feeling of completing a collection, and searching for that one issue that you need. i dont mind digital though, but i only usually get the free ones.
You have to add into the mix that the quality itself of the stories was really lacking. This was the age where artists started to write the titles and the results are the thing of infamy.
+Dr Wolfenstein This was a huge factor, as Image emerged and started selling glossy comics on high-quality paper and using an expensive inking process, at higher rates. The other publishers followed suit, and the cover prices went from about 1.50 on average to well over 3.00 across the board. Suddenly kids who were collecting all kinds of titles had to limit themselves to what they could afford - maybe JUST Spider-Man, for instance, and it reduced casual buying severely. Titles like X-Men or Spider-Man weren't affected much but who had the extra dough anymore to buy the more obscure stuff?
+WalterLiddy I really prefer the current Image era to that one, I mean I'll take Saga & Wytches over Spawn & Youngblood every time. :-P I think the only early Image title I followed at all was The Maxx.
+Dr Wolfenstein Like Hellraiser 9, they actually let the make-up artists, write, film, and distribute the film... it didn't end well, but in their defense they had a low budget, and the studios just wanted to keep the Hellraiser trademark.
One thing for sure, comic books are not for kids anymore, at 4, to 10 dollars each makes it difficult for a teen to get involved, I buy like I would a painting, hold it for 10, 20, years enjoy it and hope for the best. And as U said, not all have a value, however, the golden and silver with some modern are very, very expensive! Collect what I like, keep what U love!! 🤗
Didn't many parents also burn their kids books in the golden age as they thought they were making their kids violent, similarly to how many believe video games affect children today.
Exactly-it wasn't collecting that was the problem-it was speculating. What people never realized in their greed was that the only reason the Golden Age comics were so valuable was due to their rarity. If people hadn't thrown out so many of those old comics thinking they would be worthless, Superman # 1 and Detective # 27 would still have some value due to their age, but nothing like you see because of their rarity.
I collect comic books just so I can go back and read 'em for myself. Staring at a digital screen hurts my eyes if done too long, and waiting for stories to turn into trades is too long of a wait for me. . . The problem I have is mostly space, but it's like owning a movie on DVD. You don't throw away the DVD. You like to keep it so you can go back to it and share it with friends. As for variants, if I like a cover, I'll usually get it.
I have over 15,000 comics..... I'd never sell em I give my doubles away.....been collecting 36 years now.....not a fan of digital comics....but not against them.....I get most if my comics from comic marts now.....shops are expensive..... So only buy a couple of titles there .
Great video! I agree that you should collect comics for love of the medium and also for fun. I’ll admit that in the past I sold a lot of my comics, but that was because a) they started taking too much space and b) I really needed the money back then. But when I bought them, I had absolutely no intention of selling them. In time, I started collecting them again as trades and I think it’s much more practical. I wish I had the space to store physical comics, as I think that reading them digitally isn’t quite the same thing. But I don’t. So, nowadays, I read them digitally and, if I like them, I then buy the trades. I still buy actual comics once in a while, especially when they aren’t collected in trades. The point is that, when I buy a comic, its future monetary value is not at all a concern.
Mody Tarek You are right...too costly. Think alot has to do with the fact that most readers now are adults whereas before children...so gives publishers excuse to charge more and recoup money from previous years?
***** That is interesting idea. I agree that the "big 2" have, IMHO, treated their "fans"/customers/collectors in a awful manner. And wtf is Marvel doing not having a standalone FF title at the mo all about?!
+Mody Tarek My advice is go for back issues. When I began collecting, I didn't buy the new stuff. I bought from a box at my local comic shop that had 25 cent copies of stuff like Alien Legion, Omega Men, and Thor. Turned out later that one of those Omega Men comics was the first appearance of Lobo. Regardless of that though, just for the stories I found them as good as any of the current stuff.
+Mody Tarek If you want to "collect" well you're fucked with pricing. If you just want to read... then digital is much cheaper... and if done in certain circumstances completely free! But the big reason is the talent. Guys like Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo on Batman are award winning seasoned vets. You want them working for your company you have to shell out big money to them.
I liked where you went with this. I'm sad to say that I was turned off comics around the 1990's because there were no stories that kept me hooked. Everything was about this "hologram cover" or that "variant cover". A few years ago, I walked into a comic book store and the owner asked if I was looking for anything in particular . I told him, "I'm looking for a good story." He led to the Jim Ross artwork re-telling of the Fantastic Four and other Marvel classics. They were great and I still go in to comic stores with that same attitude. I believe that greed is the limiting factor of societal progress. The fact that you point this out with something as relatively harmless as comic books shows that. Let's get back to good stories.
I buy all my comics 2nd hand (I know I know, not supporting the industry... but I'm cheap) and just keep them and hoard them forever without planning on reselling. I just love to have them and take them out from time to time, hahaha. I hate digital though. I just don't find it attractive at all. Nice vid though Scott, great content as always.
Lottie Thanks! I will probably do a video sometime in the future about why I am all digital, but I'm curious as to why you don't find it attractive. I get a lot of the same reasons like the weight, feel, and smell of physical books, but that's never really affected how I enjoy a story. So, I'm interested in your thoughts!
***** I'm sure there are plenty of good reasons to go digital, space being a major one like you mentionned. I have nothing against people who read digital. I just love the hold of books man, you know? Part of why I enjoy comics is because I read many as a kid and having the actual book is part of the thrill. When I recieve a box full of comics in the mail or go to a comic book shop it's like being a kid again (those shops won't exist if everyone goes digital!). Plus I just love to look at the covers and just go through the pages to look at the art sometimes. I'm really not much of a kindle person is all, it doesn't feel natural for me. Same goes for normal books. It's all very personal mind you, technically speaking digital IS better.
Lottie Yeah, I hear arguments like that a lot, and I guess something's just wired wrong inside of me because I don't see the appeal. I get what you are saying about that feeling when you buy something new. It's still fun to get stuff in the mail. I order a lot from Amazon and I almost can't do anything until the package arrives because I'm too excited. Haha
***** I started out reading comics digitally (with Marvel's subscription service) but I have moved to print. For me, I like owning a physical hard copy (And this goes for anything, i'm that person who still buys CD's!) With a hard copy, I can lend them to friends/family if I wish, and barring any natural disasters, I will always own them. This would allow me to pass them onto my future kids or if something was to happen where I needed money, I could get some return on them. Also, with print, you will get the full effect of the page no matter where you read it. While digital, you have to scroll or zoom to see everything and to get to all the panels. Depend on the device and screen size, of course. The few digital comics I have I bought in a HumbleBundle and I have them in PDF format. I don't have to read them with a specific kind of reader or anything and they're a bit more "mine" than comics bought through Marvel I believe. The only down side to this is that the 2 page spreads were ruined - which then leaves me still loving print comics over digital.
I think the crash is still going on. The local comic shop I went to closed its doors a few months ago because of low sales. It is SO hard to find comic shops nowadays.
The pitfall that many collectors fall into is failing to realize that something is only worth as much as what others are willing to pay for it; and not what a price guide or the opening bid on eBay says its worth, and that condition and desirability are the most important quality. Four stories from my comic's collecting experience that illustrate my prior statement: 1. I once answered a newspaper ad for someone who was selling their comics. The seller lived in a Victorian-style home on the Mississippi river, which gave me great hope of a rare find. What I was presented with was a decaying box of comics in genres that no one collected. I declined to purchase the books and explained why to the seller, which caused both anger and confusion. Just because his stuff was old, the condition and lack of public interest in the genre made it worth less than the cost of his classified ad. 2. I responded to yet another newspaper ad which led me on an hours drive into the Iowa countryside. This seller was attempting to unload his brother's comics collection; which consisted of a dozen long boxes in the garage. After picking through every box, all I found was copy after copy of Image comics published a few years prior. I picked a few comics that I really didn't want, but since I had burned an afternoon I didn't want to go home empty handed. When asked why I didn't want to buy more, I explained to the seller that most of the comics he had were not worth much more than the cover price. I suspect that the comics eventually found their way into the garbage. 3. Working on a Y2K project in Minnesota (Yeah, I's old.), I sought out a book store that also sold comics. Among the comics were a few long boxes with silver-age Marvel comics. I asked the retailer if he could work me a deal on the books, but he couldn't because they were for sale on consignment, and I would have to ask the owner of the books. He put me in contact with the seller and I met him at his house to see what he had to offer. This guy had a group of mostly silver-age Marvel comics already waiting for my perusal, but what lay in his basement was a comic book shops worth of comics. He offered to let me take the books for inspection and give him a quote later. A few days later I nervously presented an obscenely low bid, expecting him to counter my offer, but he imminently took my offer of $250 for what I estimated from the Wizard price guide to be worth several thousands of dollars. Not only worth what I was willing to pay, but also what he was willing to take. 4. Lastly, I worked briefly for a comics retailer in the Dallas area that has a considerable online presence in the back-issue market. In the warehouse were numerous long boxes of X-Men vol 2 #1 and X-Force #1 from the 1990s, all worth less than their original retail price. Don't feel bad speculators, even long-time professional retailers get caught up in the frenzy and end up with hundreds of worthless books.
I saw that your venom had a bar code... My dad told me that if they had them they were from markets and regular stores, like walmart, etc. therefore it loses value... I have that venom without it...but idk
Cesar Felix That's fascinating because I had not heard that before. So, I did some research and found out that, yes, that is true, sort of. So there were always barcodes on comics until the late 70s to early 80s. When comic shops started getting more popular, publishers sent direct-market copies to the shops without barcodes, while the still sent copies with barcodes to newsstands, drug stores, malls, or any other place that isn't a comic store. The direct-market copies either did not have barcodes, or had the barcodes crossed out for a few reasons. The main one being that it made it impossible for the comic shop owner to return comics they didn't sell to the publisher. If it doesn't have a barcode, then the publishers can't scan it back into the inventory. Shops would buy however many issues they thought they would need, and if they overestimated then they had to just deal with it as they can't get their money back on the remaining issues. As for which version is more valuable, it's a tossup. Most collectors will tell you that it doesn't matter and they see each version as the same comic. However, there are definitely cases where direct-market copies are slightly more valuable because they are usually treated with more care. On the other hand, there have also been cases where the newsstand versions are more valuable because it's much harder to find one in good condition. Thanks for the thought, and I hope I answered it well enough!
Wow I have gotten a response this big from a major channel... Its nice to know there are actual living people who care about the audience of their channel
***** So now that I kinda got your attention... I wanted to tell you that your a big inspiration to me and I decided to make a comic utube channel I'm almost done with my room I started to hang some comics and get my old action figures out and use them as decorations. And I wanted to thank you because you've been a big help.... And plz could you make an image comic episode someday
Awesome perspective and dose of reality. I came back to collecting after 20 years only to find all of my early 90's #1's were still available for below cover price. There are exceptions to the rule, but at the end of the day comics are fun to collect because you love the art and stories.
who else thinks 4.99 is too much for a comic? I wouldn't mind if there is more pages! 3.50 or 3.99 still seems high (I'm following southern bastards) and 2.99 seems like a good price. who agrees?!!?
You are putting forth false information here. It wasn't collectors that crashed the comic industry, it was bad moves by Marvel Comics. Have you ever heard of the DC implosion? Well the same thing happened in the 90's. Marvel kept beefing up the number of comics it was publishing in order to seem more robust than they were. Let's not forget their attempt to buy out Diamond and become in charge of all comics distribution. Read Marvel Comics the Untold Story by Sean Howe. Often times, there is reality and there is myth. This is a myth that has been said over and over again in documentary films. This is the same as people who still say the crash of 2008 was caused by the government forcing banks to loan to people who couldn't pay their debts to buy houses. It doesn't have a shred of truth.
that last remark seems off-topic, but it makes me a bit curious. What was the actual cause of the crash, if not the bank-lending situation coming to a head?
just ran across your video, and you are spot on. i was one of those people who bought multiple copies of every variant of xmen 1, spiderman 1, etc. i sold everything i had when i bought a house for pennies on the dollar. just now getting back into it slowly. i will be checking out your other videos
In the 90s I gave a local comic book dealer a ride to pick up his comics for the store. Giant warehouse full of them. Made me realize how worthless they would be.
***** yes i would if i could get my hand on some and i also tried online shipping but the rates are to much and i am college student so i am a little bit short on money
I recently started collecting comics, I'm Mexican and I've always been a fan of superheroes in general but I almost never bougth comics 'cause it's kind of expensive, so last month I got my first job and man, I just went crazy searching for new comics to get. And what i have encountered is that there is a lot of speculation over certain comics, I'm in some facebook groups to buy and sell comics, and sometimes there is people selling them doble or triple the price the same day they are realaed! It's something that specially happens with the Spider-verse event and variant covers (here we are just beggining the event, the last one published was Edge of spidervers 3), it's pretty insane, and your video really made think about it. Just wanted to share that, great channel by the way, in my favorites allong with Comicstorian and TopComics (Mexican channel) See ya :D (sorry if I have misspellings or bad grammars)
I collect '60's & '70's comic books because it takes me back to childhood and I enjoy it. I usually by low grade reading copies so I'm not really spending alot of money on it. Thanks for posting this video.
I remember seeing the variant comic book covers of many different issues back in the 1990s and early 2000s and I thought they were pretty cool. It was later on when I saw them make variant covers for almost every issue, across different companies, that I began to wonder if they were going a little too far with it. At the time, I was oblivious to the whole "Crash" in the 1990s, because, I personally wanted to just read and enjoy the comic books themselves. I was not after their resale cash value. I enjoy comic books and comic book characters. I still collect them today, but mostly in the form of Trade Paperbacks, and Omnibus-style hardcover collections.
I remember when the death of Super man happened a tiny comic book store down the street, not my usual comic store, had gotten several copies so i saved up the money to buy it, 3 weeks after its release was when i happened to walk in the store, by that time it was $20 so I had to save up as I was a wee lad. So once I had finally gotten the $20 I went in and they had one copy left and they had raised the price to $100. Saving twenty was hard enough 100 would have been an astronomical feet and was a number I couldn't even comprehend at the time. Then a couple month later the tiny comic shop shuttered cause soon after that people stopped buying comics and the comic store I would always go in took a big hit too but they were diversified and had old music, movies, video games, girlie magazines, cards think the 3 to 5 largest collectors markets and this place catered to all of them.
Actually, I'd really like to see an episode on paper v. electronic. I'm with you on the portability of electronic, and there's nothing like the ability to get into a book you like and be able to buy the next one instantly. At the same time, I don't find myself marveling over the colors and textures like you do with print.
I started collecting during that time (Image Comics). It SO wasn't worth it. The comics I gathered were all horrible. They were shallow, all flash but no substance. Now I'm far more choosy, far more practical (I just go for collected volumes, TPBs, and graphic novels), care only for the story, don't care for the monetary value... And as a result am far happier and more appreciative of the medium and genre. :-)
I've got a bunch of books, mostly from the mid-80s. Haven't read them since I bought them back then. Decided to look into them last week and found there are some valuable books in there. The weird thing is that it's nothing that would have been considered a big deal back when they came out. Well, okay, the first few issues of TMNT were hot back then, but G.I. Joe #21? The vast majority of my books are worth a buck or two at most, though.
I remember when they started printing trade paperbacks for all the major story arcs; they weren't as common when I was a kid. I donated most of my collection to a charity fundraiser, figuring that with the trade paperbacks out there, some of them even available at the library, I didn't really need individual issues. (I kept a few, like Spectacular Spider-man #138, because it was the first thing I ever read.) Then, a few years later, when I had a little spending money, I bought a box of back issues on a whim. No value, just a lot of stuff that I liked to read growing up, spanning four of five decades. I realized that even though trade paperbacks contain the entire run of a storyline, they still miss something: the ads, the feel of the paper, the smell. Now, years later there are more boxes in my house than I'll confess to here.
I love collecting comics. I know if I did the things right I could sell them and make money but I really can’t I love the covers and variants that’s the reason why I keep them. But I do love reading the story’s and appreciating the Arts in the books. You can make money selling comics Getting them signed or Graded through CGC or some other Grading company but. I’m in it for the reads not the money.
Great video,youtube is full of geek sites-your channel is attempting to go in-depth towards the Comic World we grew up and cherished.Your script is very nice,always deliver the piece in a natural way,do not go into the temptation and start with trivial comic origins and don't forget that older audiences love a good teller.You are like the
A huge contributor to the comic book crash of the '90s (besides high print volume and compromised quality) was technology. Video games specifically. Advancements in gaming technology brought the sort of things you see in comics to life on your TV at home. This appealed to the same demographic that bought comics. Many people had to choose between comics or games when it came to their weekly spending cash. Essentially gaming took away a lot of existing readers as well as the next generation of readers.
Video games were probably a big contributer as well. Startin with the NES/Super NES, video game popularity skyrocketed in the early 90s. Samething happened with the sports trading card industry, they became over mass produced. In the end, the value of comics, cards, etc. will always be determined by how much people are willing to buy them for.
I personally buy all my comics digitally because there are no comic shops in my area and I don't want to take the effort to keep a physical in good condition.
![Twenty One Pilots - “The Line” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E2Rj2gQAyPA/mqdefault.jpg)
"Comics are like Boobs, it's great to look at them online but it's better to hold them in your hands"
-Stan Lee
...man I love Stan Lee and his references
Fake quote
The quote is real, it just wasn't by Stan Lee.
Who cares where the quote originated from. It's absolutely correct regardless. Sucking on them is also better than looking at them.
Art Boston do you suck on your comic books?
Speculators and Dealers tend to ruin everything. I've lost count of how many times I've seen people outraged, or parents with heartbroken kids because the store ran out of a specific toy or comic because one person bought all of them for "collector's value."
That's what they started doing with those the NES and SNES people started buying them all out and then selling them for two to three x what they're worth
Tell me about it, my roommate wouldn't stop complaining about that.
That's Nintendo in a nutshell
I used to have 2 stores and saw this constantly. I now do a local flea mkt and get people that brag that they have the last superman (when he died.) I then grab any and say so do I. Came out last Wednesday. And they can't belive he came back.
It sure sucks when speculators buy all the comics.
I collect comics for the art and the stories
+Kelly Robinson Don't tell people that! Then they'll all start doing that!!!!
you're doing it right
_Everyone_ should collect comics for the art and stories.
The art is pretty bad and the stories are even worse.
I collect them because I love the charcters, the stories and the history. That being said I've gone about 100% digital.
Personally, I like owning physical things. It's why I still buy CD's (and vinyl and cassettes), DVD's/Blu Rays, books, and comics. It's nice actually owning the thing I paid for, rather than paying for the right to use it for however long that digital distributor decides I can use it. Plus, if I get tired of whatever it is I have, I can either sell it or give it to someone who would want it.
I love comics I don't give a damn if they're worth anything
I agree
GG
Agreed
Same here
The Joker Agreed!
digital comics are okay if you're on the go but physical copies of comics will always be better than digital.
That's your opinion
+Ian O'Hara I dont like digital stuff buddy, really I dont support them
+Ian O'Hara I'm old school. I can't get into digital. I love the physical part of reading comics. That smell, the feel, the experience.
+Ian O'Hara No, digital takes virtually no room, can't get torn up, and you don't have to go anywhere to get them. Digital is better but you just prefer physical.
digital is no way better, they only saves space not quality. not at all. today print quality is superb and I dont want to invest more than 1000 bucks for an ipad.
So your telling me I should buy up cheap copies of the Death of Superman and burn them?
Yes
+SEO Toy Review Why burn them when you can use it as cheap toilet paper.
+Skeptnick I remember some guy in real life had a stamp that was one of only two in the world. But he wanted to have the ONLY one. So he hired a "Hitman" to break in to the other guys house and burn the other stamp. I think he managed to burn it before he was caught.
If you've read it you know there are PLENTY of other reasons to burn the Death of Superman lol.
If Superman had actually stayed dead and there were only a few dozen copies it might be worth something. But he didn't and I knew several people including my uncle that bought 3 or more copies. And they were sold in the stupid black poly bag that people refused to open less it diminish its value. LOL. I bought none, but the trade is a decent read.
This era was what did it for me and largely why my children haven't grown up reading comics like I did. When I started buying comics in the late 70's, they were $.25 and I bought them from the magazine rack of the local supermarket. Mostly, these were Spider-man and Hulk, with any number of other Marvel and DC titles depending on what was left by the distributor. I actually got a lot of 1st issues because these distributors often left them on the racks to see if they wanted to carry the title. Later I got them through the mail and moved to Daredevil and the Avengers, plus Crisis, I loved Crisis. But throughout this time one thing remained true, comics were inexpensive. Even as they went to 50 and 75 cents, it wasn't a lot to buy a couple comic books.
During the collector boom, I was a young man in college and had adapted to the idea of the comic shop as my primary source of comics. I enjoyed Savage Dragon and other "mature" titles alongside my old favorites. Then it happened. The price shot up, I had to often buy the entire lineup of Image comics just to follow a single story arc, and comics became expensive. HOWEVER, something else happened, which has kept me away from comics even more. The "new" style comics, while loaded with artwork, were woefully short. Suddenly, I could read a $3 comic in 10 minutes. Compare that to my old $.15 issue of Conan the Barbarian which was almost an hour to read.
The final nail? The internet happened. About the time I transitioned fully to adulthood and comics were an expensive hobby, I was introduced to a wealth of material for FREE! I just never went back. Today I buy the odd graphic novel and occasionally buy a digital comic, but comics to me were poorly colored newsprint issues from the bronze age, not expensive computer generated glossies. I like your site, and I love these characters, but at 44, you can have the comics industry!
I love physical comics cause I feel like I own them and it's cool to see a shelf full of them
ThePandaSupreme Same goes with video games, I hate how it's slowly going to digital copies... I like my hard copies
Ya I only get digital if it's a mmo... Physical is just better having the game or comic in your hand feels like you own it
+ThePandaSupreme I like the smell of old comic books!
Yeah me too
@@KeithKillingly I respectfully disagree with you on video games. Games are already just intangible images you see and interact with on a TV screen. Comics and books on the other hand you actually feel that you own them.
I collect comics because I love them. I have lots of digital comics, but they never compare to the real deal. I've got a fairly extensive collections The Flash vol. 2 comics, with Wally West. Not because I want to sell them for millions, but because Wally West is my favorite superhero, and I want to own his adventures for real. Even if I ended up having a valuable book, I probably wouldn't even sell it, because I wouldn't be able to. I love comics too much.
Oh, I know... I remember when online auctions first took hold, like with Yahoo, I was buying up shit loads of comic book lots and then read them. Like "Oh man... this one has Uncanny X-Men #325... I HAVE to know what happened... -bid-" then when getting it, "Oh hey, yea, OK it has Batman #497, I guess I'll read it while waiting for the next shipment... oh shit, Batman's back got broken!"
Or a lot of the boxes I'd get would have seemingly obscure titles (at the time) in them... like Sin City, Michael Turner's Fathom, Guardians of the Galaxy or Strikeforce Morituri. Or even cool runs of characters that I didn't know had their own series, like Archangel (Phantom Wings), Beast or Gambit... and team ups like Wolverine and Venom in Tooth and Claw or Sabretooth and Mystique in their title series.
Doing that actually opened me to a wealth of stories and possibilities that I'd have never encountered otherwise. I always thought "To hell with how much they're worth, not like I'm going to sell them." Jaja, which used to piss my dad off when I'd pay like $12 for a "rare" comic at the store, only to take it home and open it to read it... like the wedding of Spider-Man. Though not to say I didn't try to keep them in pristine condition after I read them.
I am the same way with Batman.
I will never sell my 2000AD collection.....by the time I finish reading them ALL!
I can start again from the beginng!
I think part of the joy of old comics is in the imperfections....
well thumbed ones where the ink wears away... the odd rip or tear where a since passed pet took it off you cos they wanted some attention..... spill stains where you dribbled TAB Clear through laughing (yep that would date my collection)..
digital..?.. nah
I don't collect for value even the graphic novels collect to read them and I try to keep them in good condition to be able to read more than once
I feel the same about my spawn, batman and incredible hulk collection can't forget about my X-Men .I just love the stories.i fall into my quiet space in my crib and just lock-in.
I like don't collect comics per-say but I do collect DVDs. I collect them because I want to build up a personal library of something that I have access to so I can share with other friends and or my future kids. I feel like tangible items like DVDs and comic books have more personal history and story to it.
Stewdippin : Fun Nerdy Videos Every Week And I think the point about sharing them with friends and future kids is an important one. It's so much simpler to hand someone a physical object to borrow than it is to send them a digital one. That's why I'm only _mostly_ digital. I still buy trade paperbacks so I lend them out to friends for easy binge reading.
Stewdippin : LET'S GET NERDY My family has a big library of DVD's and its so convenient to just be able to grab a movie when you want to watch it, it's a valuable commodity IMO
They degrade over time.
Me to I have almost 5000 DVD, 1200 Blu Rays, 300 VHS. Only have VHS cause they did not make a DVD or Blu Ray yet.
I have the whole Infinity Saga and Thanos quest. They've probably worthless, but they're important to me cause this is my favorite story in comics
Infinity Gauntlet *
This is a couple years too late but did you like the movies
The comic book market is in a huge bubble right now because of speculators just like in the 90s. Every comic movie and tv show pushed the prices up. Turns out I have around 15 grand in comics because I bought key vintage comics in the mid-late 90s as a kid. Thank god I loved marvel comics like Amazing Spider-man and the Uncanny X-men, lol.
Fuck digital books they suck it feels better to read a physical book and most people agree with me
ah the classic echo chamber effect.
+Daniel Green say what?
There's nothing that can replace going to the comic book store and discussing/debating things that are going on it comic at the moment or just in comics history in general. Also I just love the "feeling" of having a comic book in my hand. I'm just old school I guess. I will readily admit though that my collection got WAY out of hand and I started trying to thin it out and got basically nothing. Who cares though? I enjoyed reading pretty much each and every one and now someone else can enjoy reading each and every one.
Soooo true!
I love the smell of old comic books...
My grandma was a beanie baby fanatic! Had me standing in lines as a kid all over town with lists of specific one's to buy. It was ridiculous. She probably spent $10,000+ on beanie babies during the course of 1 year. Years later she had trouble GIVING them away as Christmas gifts.😂
In the 90's, when people starting to collect these novelty instant collectibles, they stopped reading the books. The comic companies spent all their money on novelty covers and forgot about content. This combination of not reading the books for fear of damaging them, especially any #1 book which would start a storyline, and the lack of any quality content created a perfect storm.
*The Great Comic Crash of the 90s*
Recently, a copy of Action Comics No. 1 sold for $3.2 million! This may have people looking at their own collections wondering if they are sitting on a goldmine. But be careful. There was a time not so long ago when the idea of collecting comic books actually crashed the entire industry. Does this mean that we shouldn't collect comics? It seems unlikely that the industry will crash so violently again, but we should still learn from the past so we don't repeat the mistakes that were made by speculators. Just like the birth of Superman was the birth of the industry, the Death of Superman almost killed it.
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Maybe the fact that comics are going to the digital medium will make publishers print less physical copies to save money and the collecting the books will actually become viable again. Not any time soon but eventually.
People should buy\collect physical copies of comics to support comic shops, to support your favorite character or team and simply because collecting things can be fun.
check this out comic-one-o-one.wikia.com/wiki/1990s_Comic
***** Even some Rare comics don't have that much value on Ebay, like before hand I managed to find Godzilla vs megalon the first american comic ever made for Godzilla at the time it was worth around 32.00 or 15.00 at most and then not that long after the 2014 movie came out they have fetched up to higher prices from 150.00 to 275.00 on eBay. one man even tried to sell it several times for 39,999.00 which i knew it can't go up that high you should do a video about Godzilla's early history in the american comics. Collecting godzilla is fun, but hard work, because when you go after one item and another is going for the same item then it's a bidding war.
I love collecting them. A lot of the things I collect I collect them not because of money because they might be worth something but because I enjoy collecting them they make me happy being able to now as 23 year old be able to get things I was never abled to get or have as child because my family wasent the richest I mean we weren't poor but we didn't have a lot of extra money and it mostly my mother raising me and brother and she did the best she could and I enjoyed and cherished wat little I did have and I cherish wat I have now. I'm by no mean matirialistic but I do appreciate wat I have and enjoy the things I have and never take things for granted and now that I'm diabled at such a young age I never complain cause things could always be worse and I live my life the best I can and cherish wat I got. Collecting is a happy thing for me and a lot of people that's done again as I said before because we enjoy it not because of any monetary value it might have. If it has value that's nice and cool but still collecting just for fun and enjoyment is worth more than the money.
Comic books are like boobies. Yeah I can see as many of them as I want online, but I'd rather have the real thing in my hands!
John DeLong ha-ha bit like watching so much rather be doing!
+John DeLong -Stan Lee
Except I won't get arrested if I put all those comics in a box locked up in my closet to be fondle every couple of years.
+John DeLong haha same here sort of
Loooooool
This is why I buy graphic novels. People end up with collection like that and they look like a mess, plus most of the time people don't have the whole story. Just one or two of the comic.
Cody PImentel same here bro
I went to trades years ago. There is no way of ever knowing what books will be big in the end with little exceptions. But once the buzz gets around and you missed the next big thing, a trade gets you caught up jsut fine for less money, and the same story without having to buy every comic released on the hope that one might be the next Walking Dead or something of that magnitude.
Crazy how much some of the comics you show in this video have gone up in value since this was originally posted. Especially that copy of Lethal Protector....
In 1993 I was 12, and I was exclusively interested in Marvel, but the one DC comic that I did buy was the death of Superman. The town I lived in was only around 50,000 people but the hype was still very real. When you held up the Venom comic I laughed, I definitely remember that one.
I'd rather read Golden Age or Silver age stories, than today's newer stuff. Does anyone remember the old 80 page Giants that came out in the 60's and 70's/ Reading those older (to me at the time) stories gave me a sense of the history of the character.
Funny you should say that. I kind of petered out before the X-Men movie first came out and to me, having read them from the late 80s through the mid/mid late 90s... they seemed like shows to me, on account that it usually took me about a half hour to read them. However, then I began reading them again in around 2004 when Emma Frost, Mystique and Nightcrawler had their own series... and I was banging them out in under ten minutes. Leaving me to think "Oh, it's because I'm an adult now, that's probably why..." only to get one from about '96 and it took me a half hour again. Or any others that I'd gotten from back in the day. Sure, the art of the newer ones were pretty cool still, not like MacFarlane or Jim Lee... anyone with the last name of Kubert, but I digress. However, I tried to pick one up recently and they all look cartoonish now... even with things like the coloring being off and such. It's hard for me to get into them that way. Sure, I get sometimes that the coloring might be off once in a while back in the day, like X-Men #30 where Jean Grey and Cyclops get married, only to look like Domino's breast is showing through the back of the crowd... but as not often as it was, I didn't find it distracting... though with as cartoonish as they look anymore and lack of story... it's just hard to get wrapped up in them like i used to.
Good books!
I buy Golden Age comics almost exclusively and earlier ones Platinum and Victorian Age comics especially.
My back issue dates are from the 1800's to 1945 roughly. These range from Pucks and Judges and Thomas Nast political cartoons to comic strip reprints done as comic books from the 1910's to the 1930's to Superhero books from the late 1930's to 1945 to humor and funny animal books. especially by Walt Kelly & Carl Barks. I just really love them all and have about 10 boxes worth, A lot of which I started buying in the 1990's when books of this vintage were still somewhat affordable.
Yeah I read DC comic's 80 page giants and Marvel comics 72 page giants also.
I'm new school and you're missing out on a lot of good stuff like the Joker becoming normal and the city of Gotham turning on Batman
There was the war time efforts for paper and in the 50's the book "Seduction of the Innocent". Parents tossed their kids comic books out because they thought they would corrupt them. This caused silver comic books to sore in value as they became rare.
I'm surprised the channel isn't higher subscribed. Really interesting content, and really good production quality.
TheJaredtheJaredlong Thanks!
That 90s glut is slowly being absorbed by genuine collectors. It was great for the industry becasue it created a wonderful large supply of these comics, so the industry has a great large supply of 90s comics, which will keep the industry strong as time passes by because the collector who actually wants the comic can find them at a great price. This is good for the comic 'Collector'.
Digital comics just don't do it for me, I have to have a physical book in my hand whether it's a TP or single issue...digital just doesn't feel the same
iPlay0ldGamez I thought the same until I really started diving into Marvel's back catalog with Marvel Unlimited. After a while you just get used to it.
iPlay0ldGamez When you have access to hundreds of comics on your iPad, at the flick of your finger, and you're on the subway or in an airplane - digital is pretty tough to beat. I still collect physical copies, but I only read digital.
I actually seem to be transitioning from that same belief. I THOUGHT I preferred physical copies of comics (I'm still that way regarding non-comic books, reference books in particular which don't "work" for me in digital). But I notice it's becoming easier to read digital comics in bed, which is the only time I get around to them anymore; plus the picture is so much brighter and the pages look much better in digital form.
Example: I have some hard copy reprint collections of EC comics, but lately they tend to stay on the shelf while I find I prefer to read the same stories in digital format. I would never have foreseen I would one day prefer digital, probably because there's a part of me that likes HAVING a collection and looking at them on the shelf. But when you think about it: WHY? I'll likely be dead within twenty years, and my kids won't benefit because there really is no substantial resale value in reprints, and the hundreds of old DC comics I have stored in long boxes have substantially DECREASED in value since I bought them in the 80's and 90s.
When it comes down to it, the only value any comics actually have to me is the value I get from actually reading them; which, ironically, is the same reason comics were so disposable during my childhood in the 50's and early 60's. We never thought to save or protect comics then because after we had read them, what good were they?
Digital comics may portend the death of collecting, but on the other hand, they guarantee that the stories we love will always be available at our fingertips. No more chasing around looking for that particular hard-to-find back issue.
As if I have either the time or money for that sort of thing anyway.
the same argument for CD's versus iPod, public demand goes to digital, it's more practical for most you can back them up multiple ways in case something goes wrong.
I can read on the train or bus without having to worry if some random junkie throws up in front of me and ruins the book
Don't know about you but digital doesn't work for me like the way physical copy.
The first thing I notice that my eyes don't get tired or dizzy looking at the screen.
I stared reading and collecting comics during the 90's. For a time my spending on comics was out of control in the early to mid 2000's and I currently have 20 long boxes of comics and a large collection of digital comics. Comics are my primary source of entertainment and comics helped me overcome my struggle learning to read as a small child.
I've been collecting comics since junior high (just turned 41 this year). I loved the rush (and still do) of going to the store and getting a stack of comics out of my subscription box, going home, setting the stack on my bed, and spending an afternoon soaking in the art while getting lost in great stories about Superman, Ghost Rider, or the X-Men. I would usually pick up a copy of each variant cover just to have. I do remember buying a second copy of the "bagged" edition of Superman #75 (the death issue) because my dad wanted to wear the armband to work.
Now that I'm older, and have three kids of my own, space is definitely an issue. At its peak, I think I had 8 long boxes (maybe 10) and 4 short boxes. Enough to fill a bedroom closet, at least. I've slowly been selling off my collection and picking up trades of my favorite story arcs/characters. The bulk of what I still have was published during the glut of the 90s and has sold on ebay for an average of .30 cents an issue. It's frustrating not to at least make my money back, but I never bought as an investment. For the most part, I feel that I got my money's worth in entertainment value. I probably would still hold on to my old monthlies if it wasn't such a pain to take them out of the bag to read, then put them back in when I was done.
I noticed all your ebay examples are BIDDING examples... with TWO DAYS LEFT on the auction... Everyone knows the bidders just "watch" until the last few hours or so... I don't think i've ever made a bid on something with more than 2 hours left on it...
I get all my comics on eBay... Try some buy it now examples....
+Keith Killingly Buy It Now examples have the opposite effect though. People will try to post "buy it now" at outrageous bullshit prices with fancy descriptions like "Gold Zelda NES game! very rare WOW!" And list it at like $200. That shit aint worth more than $20 at most on bidding.
+Keith Killingly Yep, you can start as low as $ 0,20 and it can still go up to $ 500,- I just had this happen to me with a Chinese imperial banknote and I really wasn't planning on spending more than 20 U.S.Ð. on it.
My dad recently gave me half of his comic stash (about 150 comics!). I was really excited to get them because I knew they meant a lot to him in the day and I am a huge Marvel fan. I thought about this video while looking through them, and I actually have that holographic Venom comic! I love your videos and have learned a lot about the comic world with them. So thank you a lot!!
Taylor Carpenter Thanks! I really appreciate you saying that. Keep being awesome!
I remember my ex brother-in-law talking about having Death of Superman and relishing in its probable worth. What an ass. And this was recent.
Comics aren't a solid investment, though if you know comics, you can make a living off of them.
Punk Rock Penguin Who knows, maybe everyone will burn/recycle/throw-away their useless copies of the comic and, in the distant future, it will be worth bank!
that's why I always had the mentality of " collect what you love and you'll always love what you've collected"
I definitely remember The Great Comic Book Crash of the 90's. Visiting my small town comic shop and witnessing two men in business suits getting kicked out for fighting over a couple remaining issues of the Death of Superman. That's really the moment I stopped collecting, that and getting sick and tired of waiting for the first issues of Jim Lee's Wildcats to come out!
Buying multiple copies in hopes of getting rich?
Sounds like amiibo to me. I guess history repeats itself.
+Canadian Food and the amiibo market is already crashing and it hasn't been a full year. lol Already I see people posting about "rare" amiibos then someone else gets it and people are like "omfg how much did you pay?!!!!" and they're like "on ebay... $16 with shipping included" "oh so the basic price of the damn things."
KeijiMaeda86 Nintendo 1, Mariotehplumber 0. ^w^
Speculative bubbles have happened with every kind of commodity for hundreds of years. It seems to be a property of human nature in interaction with markets. In the 2000s, it was real estate and crazy financial instruments based on it, and the crash wrecked the entire world economy.
But toy fads seem to be particularly fertile territory. At some point you always get the people who are buying in just because they think they can find a greater fool to sell to. And eventually the world runs out of greater fools.
I bought comics in the '70's and early '80's because I loved everything about them from the feel of the book, the smell of the ink to the fantasy escapism that it provided my young mind. I quit buying comics and sold my collection towards the end of the '80's. For 30 years I went into every comic shop I passed and read everything I could until it looked like the purveyors were ready to call the cops on me. I finally decided that there was no reason to deny myself the pleasure of my favorite pastime and started buying back issues on ebay. Then I found a comic shop near me and was off to the races with new titles. Needless to say, I have already amassed a sizable amount and probably won't stop until I drop dead. I BUY COMICS BECAUSE I LOVE THEM!! For me, the best it can get is to buy a NM copy of a book from the '70's that I had as a kid and when I take it out of the bag to read and open it up I can still smell the original ink smell. Maybe it's that tangible thread to the past, that bygone era of youth, that got me started again but I have to say I genuinely love the stories. A week without Batman would be a bad week indeed!!
The idea of going all digital has always been intriguing to me. I think I'd miss floppies, but if you really want to go back and get 'em, and you wait a little while, you can get most for $1 at a con or at a LCBS.
I like collecting physical comics, mostly for sharing purposes. It's also a way, I feel to support not just the industry, but also local businesses.
I do, however, still use comixology for collecting series that have long gone the way of the dodo.
Slaggathor12 I go out and get a few series each week from my local comic book store because those guys are awesome. But I'm about 95% (or more) digital.
Since I've subscribed, I've been binge-watching episodes... Man I love these informed breakdowns. You're helping me find some absolution for some pretty obscure details, while at the same time furnishing me with some fun-facts. Great job dude.
all of this is exactly whats going on with retro video games right now
I was working at Disney in the middle 90’s and in a two block area in North Hollywood there were two comic book shops, same thing happened in Burbank. I feel for those guys. They lasted for maybe two years and in the end, the one shop that was there before the buildup was the only one that survived.
Well how about keep them and pass it down to your children
I'm sure in the 2020s or 2030s if we're still around comic books and many other items will cost much more.
Who's gonna pay for black Wally west? Lol
+Razvan Suiogan I can literally go on a torrent site and find a 200GB torrent file for all known comics of "insert popular hero here" for free. Unless you are assuming that in just 5-15years there will be a post apocalyptic landscape in which physical copies are the only thing available its pretty safe to say that in the future finding old back issues online will not be a problem. Even in recent years Marvel and DC have been pushing out their old back issues online at dirt cheap prices to encourage people to buy that instead of pirating.
KeijiMaeda86 how do you torrent without viruses?
M W Torrent 101(aka pirating 101):
1. Good and popular sites like Pirate Bay or Kick-Ass have identifying markers on reputable uploaders. For example on Pirate Bay its a green or pink skull and crossbones. Downloading torrents uploaded by these users are usually pretty good.
2. Use Peer-Block. It stops sketchy IPs from connecting to you. Including DCMA trackers and known Trojans etc. Absolutely always have Peer Block on when downloading torrents. Its basically your condom online.
3. Check the comments section of torrents, If its good to go there will be a few people commenting and thanking the uploader on a job well done... If its fake, virus, etc... there will be a crap ton of comments wishing the cruelest fate upon the douchebag that uploaded it.
4. I don't personally do this.... but if you have an anti-virus program, a good one, scan the files after you download them BEFORE opening them. if they're clean you're good to go.
5. Still don't want to risk torrenting? Well you are in luck! Thanks to the magic of youtube people upload entire issues when they are released. Usually for new issues though, no back logs and stuff. search for HouseOfRM, they usually upload the newest popular issues like Batman, Justice League, Avengers, etc.
Pirating online is like going to the red light sex district.
1. the girls at the brothels are usually clean as opposed to the ones in the streets.
2. Peer block = condom
3. Ask around for the best places and reviews.
4. Getting tested at the clinic.
5. too scared so you just watch porn.
You are so on the money with this video, in the 90's everyone rushed to get multiple copies of THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN hoping to get rich. I am a genuine collector of comics for 30+ yrs and have a love for the books...never have I once collected a book for monetary gain, it was all for the love of the books. My favorite in the 90's was the creation of the variant cover (different cover but same issue inside) I even got suckered when X-MEN #1 came out, I thought I was buying a different book because it had a different cover and I ended up buying the same book because I didn't look at the issue #...NEVER AGAIN! Nice video...you now have a new subscriber!
I love the physical thing. I love that I can carry it and it literally has some weight, I love being able to smell it. I love having them all one next to one another.
So having em makes me happy!
I am with you on this. There's also something vaguely comforting about the scent of vintage paper. Like "hey, we've been around a while, but we're still here, dammit!" lol
I sell comics at a flea mkt, and have had 2 stores. This is basically the only reason people buy comics today. Not to read, but invest. I constantly tell people that if you are buying to make money, take that money and light it on fire. That way you'll at least get 30 seconds of heat and light out of it.
I have parents that won't let their kids buy a certain book they want because it "Won't be worth anything."
I remember 'collecting' Fury of Firestorm and New Teen Titans not cuz I thought they'd be worth anything (maybe i kinda hoped they would be) but cuz i honestly enjoyed reading them and wanted to know what happened next each month. After college I gave some of my comic book collection to a friend who worked at a comic book store at the time and was into collecting more than i was, and i think i sold some to a bookstore to help cover bills one month. May have gotten fifty bucks out of em, but there were also regular books in that trip to Half Price Books that day. Was just clearing house.
There are some comics still in a couple boxes in a closet around here somewhere. The ones I just couldn't bare to part with at the time. Sentimental value mostly. I doubt there's an "Action 1" equivalent in there. Comics are meant to be enjoyed, not turned into a financial commodity. I never understood the logic behind mylar, except maybe to protect it for when you're not reading it, so that your great grand children can read it.
Zachs Mind We're going to have a podcast soon about some of the topics you touched on here, but I think you and I agree on a lot here. For me, I subscribe to a handful of physical issues because my local comic shop offers a deal that if you subscribe to 5 series or more, you get a 10% discount on everything in the store. This is great for checking out a new series because I can buy it cheaper in physical form first to see if I like it, then buy digitally for the rest of the series.
When I first got into collecting about three years ago, I went into one of my local stores, got a few 90's comics off the $1 rack, and the store owner was like "man, I remember back in the day we all thought this single issue was gonna put our kids through college. And this one was going to let us retire early. And this one was gonna get us each a corvette."
When I sold my 32-box collection, valued at over 18,000 by Overstreet, the best price I could get was 1.800. This included many silver-age titles and one or two golden age ones. It's pretty standard for buyers to pay 10%. Price guides claim to represent what titles are actually selling for, but I don't know where because I've never seen anyone pay those kinds of prices. The publishers of the guides are motivated to exaggerate the value of the books because that's what collectors want to read. (I should mention that Overstreet is no more guilty than anyone else, and in fact was the most conservative source at the time. Wizard frequently made outrageous, exaggerated claims about the value of titles that were clearly not in demand.)
Death of Superman was a totally different thing. DC issued only 30% of what was ordered to comic book vendors. The day of it's release, it was going for 80 bucks or more per copy. This wasn't a result of people buying 5 copies each, it was because the publisher deliberately under-supplied it in order to generate excitement. The press carried leading stories about Superman dying that sent non-collectors and even non-readers to the stores demanding copies.
Their follow-up Return of the Supermen was ignored by collectors and vendors overstocked. That month ('Black April'), DC and Marvel came out with an array of new titles as well, and since #1 issues were considered must-buy by collectors, this meant that many small stores purchased tons of supply from the publishers. None of it sold (partly because issue prices were growing out of reach thanks to the Image generated competition for who can print the glossiest, computer-colored product), and literally something like 2000 stores went out of business.
Not to be too nit-picky, but you are not telling us the actual buyer of that collection. Was it a dealer? They tend to buy for a percentage of the actual value, so that they can resell the books at a profit.
I like collecting comics because it's fun. It may not benefit me at the end but at least I had fun doing it.
macmac mackoy It will "benefit" you...the fun you get from them, the inspiration, the looking forward to the next issue/series
I love collecting comics....i got over 15,000 almost touching 16.......almost completed most of my collected runs....I like going to comic marts and searching second hand stores..... I hardly go comic book stores because its quite expensive.... And graphic novels I only buy online.
And you can always go back to them and reread
The point of life is to be happy.
Those investors were idiots. Golden Age comics were expense because they were rare, because (in the 90s) they were 40-50 years old. They thought the price would go up after a couple of weeks? Take any issue, wait 50 years, and maybe it'll be worth something. But maybe not; any investment is a gamble.
I live in the UK where it is almost impossible to find a comic book shop. And when you do there prices are sometimes ridicules because of import fees.
Ryan Watts I'm not really sure where you live in the UK so I can't comment on how easy it is for you to access a comic book shop but to suggest that there are barely any AND that we have to pay extra isn't exactly truth. There are many shops that match the price of the US or sell them for slightly more (less than £1 which I don't think falls under the 'ridiculous' category) - not to mention that there are plenty of online shops that sell comics for reasonable prices & shipping so you have access no matter where you live.
If you're having trouble finding a shop nearby try searching here: www.ukcomicshops.co.uk/index.php
Unfortunate, but there's always the thousands of online shops you can get comics from.
Na you don't come across as a dick. And sorry to hear about the flood.
Pedro Lambrini I feel you on the space issue. Transitioned from a casual trade collector to a serious floppy buyer a few years ago and now I'm drowning in comics.
Viva la digital!
Ryan Watts I feel you bro
Can't believe I haven't seen this channel before today! It's great! Subscribed.
DeckThe Lols thanks!
***** your brilliant! Love the vids.
Nicky Ogilvie Thanks!
I completely agree with your conclusion. Collect something because you love it, not because you plan to sell it later. If you collect out of love, you will never be disappointed.
My dad gets all of his digital but I go for the hardback volumes
mostly because I just want stuff that will look
Nice
Comic Taco Productions I'm almost all digital, but I do buy a trade paperbacks. It's easier for me to lend out to people and to binge read. Plus, they do look better on a shelf than individual issues.
Crazy how much some of the comics you show in this video have gone down even more in value since this was originally posted. Especially that copy of Death of Superman....
I am a collector and I thought the 90's were a blast. The Death of Superman, Image etc. I know now that people trash Image of the 90's, but I think it was such a fun time. The line at the conventions were enormous. People love the Image of today and I do too. I have been collecting since the 70's. It has been a joy to me.
jwsjourney Awesome! Thanks for watching!
I love that you brought up Beanie Babies, because that's exactly what I thought about in comparison to the comic collecting boom. I have to admit, I was one of those kids in the '90s with grand ideas of buying lots of comics that would (theoretically) eventually be worth tons of money. In my defense, I was like 10 at the time. What's sad is that you see the publishers still trying to push this way of thinking by putting out "special collectors issues" and the like, despite the fact that millions of copies are being printed. They're definitely capitalizing on it to an extent, in a way fooling collectors into giving them more money for something that really has no return value. Of course, there are also those that are just huge fans and want to collect for the love of comics, like you mentioned.
While I more or less grew out of my comic collecting phase (still love comics though), I see myself still doing something similar when it comes to records; I will buy more than one copy of the same album if it comes on a different color vinyl, or maybe has a bonus track or something else. However, I'm not really expecting to eventually sell them for higher prices, and even if I could, it would be hard to let them go. So yeah, I think both mind sets (collecting for investment vs. collecting for love/interest) exist in almost any form of fandom, but those hopeful for huge profits on comics did get way out of hand, and it's something really interesting to think about.
ur right ....I collect comic books because I like reading it and I enjoy it ...not because it might worth some money....
Same here!
You provided great knowledge, but I do not support your click bait title. Collecting comics did not ruin the industry, and I feel titling this video as such was an injustice to the actually content of the video which was very well done. Though, 6 years later, that Lethal Protector in that grade is a $50 book. The industry, in all of its flaws still to this day, is alive and well. The collectors, and even the speculators, didn't ruin the industry in the 90s either. It was solely the fault of the publishers not understanding that limiting print runs would have sustained the industry, and kept the value of books like Superman 75 much higher than what they are today.
Amiibo Collectors beware. Sell high now sell low later.
I have a problem digital goods in general because if the service stops you lose access to that good. Like when PSP no longer had comics on it. I would've been better of buying the physical so I can go back to it.
likenem The joys of Piracy. I have 6TB of scanned comics.
Sandy McTire Nice
likenem My physical media died usually faster than my digital backups which can move from one physical media to another at ease.
I can still play gog.com games, while the retail copies that I have from the very same games are not only broken because of the media died years ago, but as well because even the backups that I have will not run on modern hardware anymore.
The issue with digital goods is not when service providers die, because that is a given, but a question of DRM and curation software and hardware to use those media. What are the awesome LPs of my farther worth to me (outside of selling them to collectors) when I don´t own a turntable anymore?
So, in other words, digital comic books itself are fine, but the consumer needs to have free access to his own media, meaning the DRM needs to be reasonable, like for example non and at least one reader software needs to be non-priority to guarantee access to those comics. Anything else is just renting. Which in itself is fine, but I am not paying top dollar to rent a comic book which can vanish from my kindle anytime when someone at amazon hits the delete button (See the animal farm incident).
And I am not buying first either to than get pirated drm free copy for my licenced comics either. So it seems that currently it mainly "buy physical comics or gtfo", though I might be wrong. I know there is gog.com for DRM-Free games, so there might be a good comic online store that I simply do not know with DRM free content, but I doubt it and especially for brands like marvel, dc and image.
Comixology has for example only 32 series of DRM-Free comics. Hmm, might actually buy 'From Hell' there, that is at least something, but not much really.
Traumglanz
What media though because they're are 45's that are like 60 years old with better quality then MP3
+Sandy McTire That is soooo much... Have much have you actually read? I bet a lot of it is just awful.... I'm always tempted to download those "X-Men all issues from #1-600" for example. But I fear there is really only 100 issues worth of good story and the rest is garbage.
another great video Scott. I prefer physical comics though, one of the main reasons being the feeling of completing a collection, and searching for that one issue that you need. i dont mind digital though, but i only usually get the free ones.
You have to add into the mix that the quality itself of the stories was really lacking. This was the age where artists started to write the titles and the results are the thing of infamy.
+Dr Wolfenstein This was a huge factor, as Image emerged and started selling glossy comics on high-quality paper and using an expensive inking process, at higher rates. The other publishers followed suit, and the cover prices went from about 1.50 on average to well over 3.00 across the board. Suddenly kids who were collecting all kinds of titles had to limit themselves to what they could afford - maybe JUST Spider-Man, for instance, and it reduced casual buying severely. Titles like X-Men or Spider-Man weren't affected much but who had the extra dough anymore to buy the more obscure stuff?
+WalterLiddy I really prefer the current Image era to that one, I mean I'll take Saga & Wytches
over Spawn & Youngblood every time. :-P
I think the only early Image title I followed at all was The Maxx.
+cha5 I still have all of The Maxx.
+Dr Wolfenstein Like Hellraiser 9, they actually let the make-up artists, write, film, and distribute the film... it didn't end well, but in their defense they had a low budget, and the studios just wanted to keep the Hellraiser trademark.
+Tika Gitzen jdjsdjdjdk
One thing for sure, comic books are not for kids anymore, at 4, to 10 dollars each makes it difficult for a teen to get involved, I buy like I would a painting, hold it for 10, 20, years enjoy it and hope for the best. And as U said, not all have a value, however, the golden and silver with some modern are very, very expensive! Collect what I like, keep what U love!! 🤗
Didn't many parents also burn their kids books in the golden age as they thought they were making their kids violent, similarly to how many believe video games affect children today.
Also, loving the videos, just subscribed! :D
ItsOnlyNoble Thanks! And yeah, I'll be talking about the CCA in an upcoming video.
Most were destroyed by actually enjoying them and then the paper recycling drives to support the war effort.
Several years later that Venom #1 is about $70
yup
***** You should use a real Generalization cap :)
That would be fun!
Exactly-it wasn't collecting that was the problem-it was speculating. What people never realized in their greed was that the only reason the Golden Age comics were so valuable was due to their rarity. If people hadn't thrown out so many of those old comics thinking they would be worthless, Superman # 1 and Detective # 27 would still have some value due to their age, but nothing like you see because of their rarity.
If you want more valuable space I'll take those comic books off your hands
I collect comic books just so I can go back and read 'em for myself. Staring at a digital screen hurts my eyes if done too long, and waiting for stories to turn into trades is too long of a wait for me. . .
The problem I have is mostly space, but it's like owning a movie on DVD. You don't throw away the DVD. You like to keep it so you can go back to it and share it with friends.
As for variants, if I like a cover, I'll usually get it.
I own 221 comics and love it
DBcuber just buy trade paperbacks off amazon
CactusCubing wow
I have over 15,000 comics..... I'd never sell em I give my doubles away.....been collecting 36 years now.....not a fan of digital comics....but not against them.....I get most if my comics from comic marts now.....shops are expensive..... So only buy a couple of titles there .
Great video!
I agree that you should collect comics for love of the medium and also for fun. I’ll admit that in the past I sold a lot of my comics, but that was because a) they started taking too much space and b) I really needed the money back then. But when I bought them, I had absolutely no intention of selling them. In time, I started collecting them again as trades and I think it’s much more practical. I wish I had the space to store physical comics, as I think that reading them digitally isn’t quite the same thing. But I don’t. So, nowadays, I read them digitally and, if I like them, I then buy the trades. I still buy actual comics once in a while, especially when they aren’t collected in trades. The point is that, when I buy a comic, its future monetary value is not at all a concern.
Why do comics cost so much??? I want to collect comics but a single issue is 4$ 😐
Mody Tarek You are right...too costly. Think alot has to do with the fact that most readers now are adults whereas before children...so gives publishers excuse to charge more and recoup money from previous years?
***** Or just collect the "1st issues" say...and borrow the hardbacks from a public library if poss?
***** That is interesting idea. I agree that the "big 2" have, IMHO, treated their "fans"/customers/collectors in a awful manner. And wtf is Marvel doing not having a standalone FF title at the mo all about?!
+Mody Tarek My advice is go for back issues. When I began collecting, I didn't buy the new stuff. I bought from a box at my local comic shop that had 25 cent copies of stuff like Alien Legion, Omega Men, and Thor. Turned out later that one of those Omega Men comics was the first appearance of Lobo. Regardless of that though, just for the stories I found them as good as any of the current stuff.
+Mody Tarek If you want to "collect" well you're fucked with pricing. If you just want to read... then digital is much cheaper... and if done in certain circumstances completely free!
But the big reason is the talent. Guys like Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo on Batman are award winning seasoned vets. You want them working for your company you have to shell out big money to them.
I liked where you went with this. I'm sad to say that I was turned off comics around the 1990's because there were no stories that kept me hooked. Everything was about this "hologram cover" or that "variant cover".
A few years ago, I walked into a comic book store and the owner asked if I was looking for anything in particular . I told him, "I'm looking for a good story." He led to the Jim Ross artwork re-telling of the Fantastic Four and other Marvel classics. They were great and I still go in to comic stores with that same attitude.
I believe that greed is the limiting factor of societal progress. The fact that you point this out with something as relatively harmless as comic books shows that. Let's get back to good stories.
I buy all my comics 2nd hand (I know I know, not supporting the industry... but I'm cheap) and just keep them and hoard them forever without planning on reselling. I just love to have them and take them out from time to time, hahaha. I hate digital though. I just don't find it attractive at all. Nice vid though Scott, great content as always.
Lottie Thanks! I will probably do a video sometime in the future about why I am all digital, but I'm curious as to why you don't find it attractive. I get a lot of the same reasons like the weight, feel, and smell of physical books, but that's never really affected how I enjoy a story. So, I'm interested in your thoughts!
***** I'm sure there are plenty of good reasons to go digital, space being a major one like you mentionned. I have nothing against people who read digital.
I just love the hold of books man, you know? Part of why I enjoy comics is because I read many as a kid and having the actual book is part of the thrill. When I recieve a box full of comics in the mail or go to a comic book shop it's like being a kid again (those shops won't exist if everyone goes digital!). Plus I just love to look at the covers and just go through the pages to look at the art sometimes. I'm really not much of a kindle person is all, it doesn't feel natural for me. Same goes for normal books.
It's all very personal mind you, technically speaking digital IS better.
Lottie Yeah, I hear arguments like that a lot, and I guess something's just wired wrong inside of me because I don't see the appeal. I get what you are saying about that feeling when you buy something new. It's still fun to get stuff in the mail. I order a lot from Amazon and I almost can't do anything until the package arrives because I'm too excited. Haha
***** I started out reading comics digitally (with Marvel's subscription service) but I have moved to print. For me, I like owning a physical hard copy (And this goes for anything, i'm that person who still buys CD's!) With a hard copy, I can lend them to friends/family if I wish, and barring any natural disasters, I will always own them. This would allow me to pass them onto my future kids or if something was to happen where I needed money, I could get some return on them.
Also, with print, you will get the full effect of the page no matter where you read it. While digital, you have to scroll or zoom to see everything and to get to all the panels. Depend on the device and screen size, of course.
The few digital comics I have I bought in a HumbleBundle and I have them in PDF format. I don't have to read them with a specific kind of reader or anything and they're a bit more "mine" than comics bought through Marvel I believe. The only down side to this is that the 2 page spreads were ruined - which then leaves me still loving print comics over digital.
I think the crash is still going on. The local comic shop I went to closed its doors a few months ago because of low sales. It is SO hard to find comic shops nowadays.
Midtown comics (based in NYC) has 3 outlets, if that helps. There is also Jim Hanley's Universe, they have 2 stores in the same locale.
Speculators suck, i missed mister miracle #1 because they got sold out in one day and dealers bought a lot copies to sell
The pitfall that many collectors fall into is failing to realize that something is only worth as much as what others are willing to pay for it; and not what a price guide or the opening bid on eBay says its worth, and that condition and desirability are the most important quality.
Four stories from my comic's collecting experience that illustrate my prior statement:
1. I once answered a newspaper ad for someone who was selling their comics. The seller lived in a Victorian-style home on the Mississippi river, which gave me great hope of a rare find. What I was presented with was a decaying box of comics in genres that no one collected. I declined to purchase the books and explained why to the seller, which caused both anger and confusion. Just because his stuff was old, the condition and lack of public interest in the genre made it worth less than the cost of his classified ad.
2. I responded to yet another newspaper ad which led me on an hours drive into the Iowa countryside. This seller was attempting to unload his brother's comics collection; which consisted of a dozen long boxes in the garage. After picking through every box, all I found was copy after copy of Image comics published a few years prior. I picked a few comics that I really didn't want, but since I had burned an afternoon I didn't want to go home empty handed. When asked why I didn't want to buy more, I explained to the seller that most of the comics he had were not worth much more than the cover price. I suspect that the comics eventually found their way into the garbage.
3. Working on a Y2K project in Minnesota (Yeah, I's old.), I sought out a book store that also sold comics. Among the comics were a few long boxes with silver-age Marvel comics. I asked the retailer if he could work me a deal on the books, but he couldn't because they were for sale on consignment, and I would have to ask the owner of the books. He put me in contact with the seller and I met him at his house to see what he had to offer. This guy had a group of mostly silver-age Marvel comics already waiting for my perusal, but what lay in his basement was a comic book shops worth of comics. He offered to let me take the books for inspection and give him a quote later. A few days later I nervously presented an obscenely low bid, expecting him to counter my offer, but he imminently took my offer of $250 for what I estimated from the Wizard price guide to be worth several thousands of dollars. Not only worth what I was willing to pay, but also what he was willing to take.
4. Lastly, I worked briefly for a comics retailer in the Dallas area that has a considerable online presence in the back-issue market. In the warehouse were numerous long boxes of X-Men vol 2 #1 and X-Force #1 from the 1990s, all worth less than their original retail price. Don't feel bad speculators, even long-time professional retailers get caught up in the frenzy and end up with hundreds of worthless books.
I saw that your venom had a bar code... My dad told me that if they had them they were from markets and regular stores, like walmart, etc. therefore it loses value... I have that venom without it...but idk
Cesar Felix That's fascinating because I had not heard that before. So, I did some research and found out that, yes, that is true, sort of. So there were always barcodes on comics until the late 70s to early 80s. When comic shops started getting more popular, publishers sent direct-market copies to the shops without barcodes, while the still sent copies with barcodes to newsstands, drug stores, malls, or any other place that isn't a comic store.
The direct-market copies either did not have barcodes, or had the barcodes crossed out for a few reasons. The main one being that it made it impossible for the comic shop owner to return comics they didn't sell to the publisher. If it doesn't have a barcode, then the publishers can't scan it back into the inventory. Shops would buy however many issues they thought they would need, and if they overestimated then they had to just deal with it as they can't get their money back on the remaining issues.
As for which version is more valuable, it's a tossup. Most collectors will tell you that it doesn't matter and they see each version as the same comic. However, there are definitely cases where direct-market copies are slightly more valuable because they are usually treated with more care. On the other hand, there have also been cases where the newsstand versions are more valuable because it's much harder to find one in good condition.
Thanks for the thought, and I hope I answered it well enough!
Wow I have gotten a response this big from a major channel... Its nice to know there are actual living people who care about the audience of their channel
I meant I have never... Not I have gotten a response this big
Cesar Felix Hahahaha. Well, it's kind of all you guys that allow me to make these videos. The least I owe you is a response.
***** So now that I kinda got your attention... I wanted to tell you that your a big inspiration to me and I decided to make a comic utube channel I'm almost done with my room I started to hang some comics and get my old action figures out and use them as decorations. And I wanted to thank you because you've been a big help.... And plz could you make an image comic episode someday
Awesome perspective and dose of reality. I came back to collecting after 20 years only to find all of my early 90's #1's were still available for below cover price. There are exceptions to the rule, but at the end of the day comics are fun to collect because you love the art and stories.
who else thinks 4.99 is too much for a comic? I wouldn't mind if there is more pages! 3.50 or 3.99 still seems high (I'm following southern bastards) and 2.99 seems like a good price. who agrees?!!?
if you are a big fan money should never be an issue
+Sheldon Cooper I'm a big fan.....a HUGE Amazing Spider-Man fan...trying to complete 1-700 (forget the other volumes)....money is an issue.
+daryl dixon new comics should be $2 state side and $2.50 in Canada.
Spencer COMICS TILL YOU PUKE it shouldn't be when it comes to your passion
I want more customers like you!
I buy physical comics simply to support my local comic book shops. Lots of them are closing and I would be devastated if mine did
Where do you live?
Canada
@@cray-zykrillin8868 Me too!
You are putting forth false information here. It wasn't collectors that crashed the comic industry, it was bad moves by Marvel Comics. Have you ever heard of the DC implosion? Well the same thing happened in the 90's. Marvel kept beefing up the number of comics it was publishing in order to seem more robust than they were. Let's not forget their attempt to buy out Diamond and become in charge of all comics distribution. Read Marvel Comics the Untold Story by Sean Howe. Often times, there is reality and there is myth. This is a myth that has been said over and over again in documentary films. This is the same as people who still say the crash of 2008 was caused by the government forcing banks to loan to people who couldn't pay their debts to buy houses. It doesn't have a shred of truth.
that last remark seems off-topic, but it makes me a bit curious. What was the actual cause of the crash, if not the bank-lending situation coming to a head?
just ran across your video, and you are spot on. i was one of those people who bought multiple copies of every variant of xmen 1, spiderman 1, etc. i sold everything i had when i bought a house for pennies on the dollar. just now getting back into it slowly. i will be checking out your other videos
welp I'm sold. subbing
Noreku You're awesome!
*****
no sir you are awesome! i never grew up reading comics but i'm learning fun facts from you
In the 90s I gave a local comic book dealer a ride to pick up his comics for the store. Giant warehouse full of them. Made me realize how worthless they would be.
i cant collect comics because i buy every comic digital and comics are not sold in my country
Harsh Bawaskar So it's more of an accessibility issue. Would you want to collect comics if you could?
***** yes i would if i could get my hand on some and i also tried online shipping but the rates are to much and i am college student so i am a little bit short on money
Harsh Bawaskar Gotcha. Digital comics to the rescue. Haha
yep
You can order comic books from BookDepository! free shipping :)
you should get more views
***** Thank you!
I recently started collecting comics, I'm Mexican and I've always been a fan of superheroes in general but I almost never bougth comics 'cause it's kind of expensive, so last month I got my first job and man, I just went crazy searching for new comics to get. And what i have encountered is that there is a lot of speculation over certain comics, I'm in some facebook groups to buy and sell comics, and sometimes there is people selling them doble or triple the price the same day they are realaed! It's something that specially happens with the Spider-verse event and variant covers (here we are just beggining the event, the last one published was Edge of spidervers 3), it's pretty insane, and your video really made think about it. Just wanted to share that, great channel by the way, in my favorites allong with Comicstorian and TopComics (Mexican channel) See ya :D (sorry if I have misspellings or bad grammars)
I collect '60's & '70's comic books because it takes me back to childhood and I enjoy it. I usually by low grade reading copies so I'm not really spending alot of money on it. Thanks for posting this video.
I remember seeing the variant comic book covers of many different issues back in the 1990s and early 2000s and I thought they were pretty cool. It was later on when I saw them make variant covers for almost every issue, across different companies, that I began to wonder if they were going a little too far with it.
At the time, I was oblivious to the whole "Crash" in the 1990s, because, I personally wanted to just read and enjoy the comic books themselves. I was not after their resale cash value.
I enjoy comic books and comic book characters. I still collect them today, but mostly in the form of Trade Paperbacks, and Omnibus-style hardcover collections.
I remember when the death of Super man happened a tiny comic book store down the street, not my usual comic store, had gotten several copies so i saved up the money to buy it, 3 weeks after its release was when i happened to walk in the store, by that time it was $20 so I had to save up as I was a wee lad. So once I had finally gotten the $20 I went in and they had one copy left and they had raised the price to $100. Saving twenty was hard enough 100 would have been an astronomical feet and was a number I couldn't even comprehend at the time. Then a couple month later the tiny comic shop shuttered cause soon after that people stopped buying comics and the comic store I would always go in took a big hit too but they were diversified and had old music, movies, video games, girlie magazines, cards think the 3 to 5 largest collectors markets and this place catered to all of them.
Actually, I'd really like to see an episode on paper v. electronic. I'm with you on the portability of electronic, and there's nothing like the ability to get into a book you like and be able to buy the next one instantly. At the same time, I don't find myself marveling over the colors and textures like you do with print.
I started collecting during that time (Image Comics).
It SO wasn't worth it. The comics I gathered were all horrible. They were shallow, all flash but no substance.
Now I'm far more choosy, far more practical (I just go for collected volumes, TPBs, and graphic novels), care only for the story, don't care for the monetary value...
And as a result am far happier and more appreciative of the medium and genre. :-)
I've got a bunch of books, mostly from the mid-80s. Haven't read them since I bought them back then. Decided to look into them last week and found there are some valuable books in there. The weird thing is that it's nothing that would have been considered a big deal back when they came out. Well, okay, the first few issues of TMNT were hot back then, but G.I. Joe #21? The vast majority of my books are worth a buck or two at most, though.
I remember when they started printing trade paperbacks for all the major story arcs; they weren't as common when I was a kid. I donated most of my collection to a charity fundraiser, figuring that with the trade paperbacks out there, some of them even available at the library, I didn't really need individual issues. (I kept a few, like Spectacular Spider-man #138, because it was the first thing I ever read.)
Then, a few years later, when I had a little spending money, I bought a box of back issues on a whim. No value, just a lot of stuff that I liked to read growing up, spanning four of five decades. I realized that even though trade paperbacks contain the entire run of a storyline, they still miss something: the ads, the feel of the paper, the smell. Now, years later there are more boxes in my house than I'll confess to here.
I love collecting comics. I know if I did the things right I could sell them and make money but I really can’t I love the covers and variants that’s the reason why I keep them. But I do love reading the story’s and appreciating the Arts in the books. You can make money selling comics Getting them signed or Graded through CGC or some other Grading company but. I’m in it for the reads not the money.
Great video,youtube is full of geek sites-your channel is attempting to go in-depth towards the Comic World we grew up and cherished.Your script is very nice,always deliver the piece in a natural way,do not go into the temptation and start with trivial comic origins and don't forget that older audiences love a good teller.You are like the
Interesting topic man, great video as always.
Ruben sibri I really appreciate that! Thank you!
A huge contributor to the comic book crash of the '90s (besides high print volume and compromised quality) was technology. Video games specifically. Advancements in gaming technology brought the sort of things you see in comics to life on your TV at home. This appealed to the same demographic that bought comics. Many people had to choose between comics or games when it came to their weekly spending cash. Essentially gaming took away a lot of existing readers as well as the next generation of readers.
Video games were probably a big contributer as well. Startin with the NES/Super NES, video game popularity skyrocketed in the early 90s. Samething happened with the sports trading card industry, they became over mass produced. In the end, the value of comics, cards, etc. will always be determined by how much people are willing to buy them for.
I personally buy all my comics digitally because there are no comic shops in my area and I don't want to take the effort to keep a physical in good condition.