Start and Build a Comic Book Collection -- on Collecting from Ghost and Page, a ghost in the shell blog

Start and Build a Comic Book Collection – On Collecting

by Jacob Malewitz author of Robotech 6 Captains

ghost and page ghostandghost.blogspot.com

ghost after ghost ghostandpage.blogspot.com

 

The comic market is a hit-or-miss for many. I've tried to make money collecting before; it's tough. Collecting can be fun and profitable, and not just for kids. (The adult market is hot for comics. Try to sell hard covers with real PG ratings.)

Ebay is the perfect spot for finding complete sets. Comics are notorious for cliffhangers, so what i do is buy complete sets. Even if you get it at the comic shop you can order it in the future. Years later, when you come back to it, you wont have to track down a comic at expensive sites like milehighcomics (which is good by the way, but can be expensive for only a couple issues), instead you can read the whole story.

To start out any serious collector should get Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. Alan Moore and Frank Miller are at their best here. Everyone has to call these out. There are plenty of other authors and series you should aquaint yourself with, like Akira and Ghost In The Shell. If you have a good library you might want to reconsider buying everything. It's good for the author, but not on your pocket book. My library has hundreds of graphic novels, and I utilize them for hope, money, and entertainment.

I read and write for a lot of comic sites as well. I would recommend silverbulletcomicbooks.com and paperbackreader.com for reviews on new comics. I would also recommend foreign publishers such as Arcaia, (publisher of The Killer and Okko).

You can get good deals on bags and boards on ebay. Also, while i mentioned making money off of comics is hard, Ebay is the best outlet for it. I used to sell there all the time, and with the earnings i was able to invest in different comics. Twice I've held huge sets of Deadpool comics, and twice I've earned income after reading them and selling them on ebay. You'd be surprised how much you can make, but there has to be a demand.

I currently get two comics every month: Batman and Iron Man. I have huge sets of each. It's very fun collecting comics, new and old. And you don't have to be a kid either, those two comics I told you to get before are for adults - Watchmen and Dark Knight - so don't think you have to be a kid to enjoy them.