Dragon Ink Comics Answers - Will Comic Books be Worthless in 20 Years?

[@joecop9530]

As a 22 year old collector, this question always floats in the back of my mind whenever I buy an expensive book. Kids my age don’t really collect anything, at least they don’t yet. I know once Gen Zers get more disposable income they’ll adventure into new hobbies and start collecting something. For me, it’s hard to belief that young adults my age won’t begin to become interested in collecting the source material of many of their favorite movies, tv shows, video games and toys from growing up.

[@Blacksheepcomics]

I am 25,and I share your thoughts and same interests with the Golden Age. I let the hobby fund itself rather than letting my 9-5 job. Therefore, if everything 'I doubt it after seeing the feedback' become worthless, I would not have wasted my 9-5 savings on it rather letting it be within.

[@DragonInkComics]

Yes, we collect what we love and know and then this becomes the entrance for deeper appreciation and interest in collecting. 🤓

[@DragonInkComics]

I think trying to get the hobby to fund itself is smart but not always easy.

[@kestonsoldschoolcomicbooks6842]

Nice analysis, Jame. I like the scenery too. Seems like any viewer could be sitting across from you at a vineyard as you respond to an excellent question!

[@DragonInkComics]

Thanks Keston. It’s always nice to hear from you. And, you’re always welcome to come visit the ranch. 😃🍇🍷

[@Paulies-Hideout]

Excellent wisdom. Happy you made this video because I was literally wondering the same thing myself. All comic book collectors I see speak about the hobby is around our age (I'm 45). Only a few years ago my interest shifted to the Golden Age. I find their art more alluring, hunting for them are a bigger challenge, and if you score that book you wanted you feel a greater sense of accomplishment. The last con I went to I asked which books are popular. The dealer told me it with this particular show, it was golden age horror and surprisingly many younger folks were asking about them

[@DragonInkComics]

Yes! The allure of golden age art is strong. I also collected pre-code horror when I was younger, but interest in it has really exploded. 😃

[@JonDelArroz]

Found you through sticky goose!

[@DragonInkComics]

YAY! 😀

[@Blacksheepcomics]

I appreciate you taking the time to make this video. It is very informative and very helpful. You showed me another way of thinking. Your videos are always well put together! Thank you!

[@DragonInkComics]

Even after two glasses 🥂 of Cabernet. 😉

[@Wr0ngNumb3r]

Your advice to collect rare stuff is spot on. I question the value of almost all post bronze area comics and a large amount of the bronze stuff. Gold, silver and some bronze I feel will still be valuable long after I’m gone.

[@DragonInkComics]

Thanks for the comment! I agree 100%. 😎

[@ronnielava3784]

I have never worried about demand for older comics...it's only grown over the time I've been around, and I really believe superior artistic quality comics like Frazetta, Neal Adams, will keep skyrocketing. As a collector it's mind-boggling how professionally produced older stuff that used to be "dollar bin" stuff is now getting hard to find cheap, too (because artistic quality of new comics is so low). My motto was "buy old good stuff cheap" but that's harder to do, now, with the advent of the internet...collectors are getting very knowledgeable (which spurs prices to go up). The main problem at my age (closing in on 60) as I see it is trying to slow down the physical deterioration of the paper...nothing lasts forever and paper has a comparitively short shelf life if not properly taken care of (temperature, light, air exposure are enemies)---even cgc holders won't protect paper from the elements for a hundred years. And if you're an older collector, the new comics that they print a million copies of probably wont be worth much even with high demand, so unless you only buy stuff you really enjoy (& unfortunately, not much new stuff I really enjoy, anyways), you're kind of wasting your money if only buying on speculating what will someday be valuable based on popularity instead of superior artistic quality. Thats where the fun lies for me---what/who's "good," story-wise, art wise...and what is garbage. But then you get into the kitsch factor... & that's a whole other matter 😂

[@DragonInkComics]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I still remember when most back issues from the 1970s were dirt cheap. Most of these books now sell for a lot more. I’m also concerned about paper degeneration. It’s the main reason I steer away from anything below light tan to off-white pages. Proper storage is key. Happy hunting.

[@ddougherty8266]

I agree with the "art" and pop culture aspects that make comics different than Stamps, antique furniture, Victorian anything, colonial anything, "General Store" collectibles, Juke boxes, Pez, Beanie Babies, pogs, Hess trucks, Trains, and automobile (and automobilia and gasolinia) - everyone of which is dead (or dying died off to a varying degree) and there's no one coming to the rescue for these niches. Now, while I agree that comics are pop culture - that statement is true NOW. Will comic and comic book superheroes continue to be a significant part of pop culture? That's the question... The problem that's too big to ignore it that for the past 10 to 15 years, there have been virtually no new entrants to comic book reading - despite massive interest that the MCU created. Kids are busy on their phones, they don't have $100 a month to buy 25 comic books, and they don't read paper. The idea that the 5 to 15 year olds of today are going to suddenly get religion, 20 years from now, at the age of 35, and decide they want to spend thousands of dollars on something that they never in their life had in their hands and enjoyed in the first place... that they're going to step up to absorb the collections of those who will be passing on, isn't realistic. There's far too much supply in collector's long-boxes for that to happen - and books after 1980 are not rare, they are extremely common, and they are common in high grade, and this lack of equilibrium is 10 times worse after about 1990. Also, the 10's of thousands of comics that have been published over past 30 years (i.e., the millions of copies that these 5 to 15 year olds are going to have to buy) are almost impossible to figure out... hundreds of mini-series, re-boots, new #1's. Even heavy duty collectors who've been following along for the past 30 years can't figure out what's what, and what's worth what. IMHO, the industry killed comics - they started paying "artistes" too much $, which made the cover prices go to $4, and they eliminating retailer returns (which killed retailer sales, which made everything LCS-only). Half of the USA's 5 to 15 year olds don't live near an LCS, so half the country's kids can't get comics even if they wanted them, and those who can get to one, aren't paying $3.99 for a comic consisting of 32 glossy pages of poster-art with art and origins that change every 18 months. I don't think they will "go to zero" but they're going to slowly decline into that direction.

[@DragonInkComics]

Thanks for your thoughts. I suppose we’ll have to see what the future holds. 🧐

[@getchatubeon585]

“Print is dead.” - Egon

[@DragonInkComics]

Haha! One of my favorite lines ever uttered. 🤣

[@brandonmetro7115]

I don't think so for being worthless. This younger generation appreciates artists more, fans are protective of them, artists are honored more; possibly due to social media etc. I think completely opposite, I think 20 years from now, comics will be considered border line fine art.

[@DragonInkComics]

Yes, I agree. Art always has a market. 😎

[@Kevin-fn1rn]

Not 20 but certainly a guarantee in 100-200 years Do we honestly think even an Action 1 will sell for 7 figures in the year 2200?

[@DragonInkComics]

Hard to say... I'll be dead. lol

[@thomaspalmer6453]

I've heard about people speculating that comics won't be appreciated as much by younger individuals over the next several decades and therefore won't be worth as much 20-30 years from now. We have to remember that comics are art, as you mention, and art will always be collected and cherished. Superheroes will remain popular for the foreseeable future. Sure, there will be periods when the comic market will be down, just like we're experiencing now, but there will always be recoveries, just like we've seen with stocks. People like to collect things like comics, coins, art, etc. I don't see this going away in the future.

[@Blacksheepcomics]

I asked the question, and even I agreed with what you said, but something else crossed my mind. Yes, comics are very popular, BUT think about this. In 20 years, the ratio between boomers and the newer generation as a whole is 3 to 1. Therefore, there are twice as many homes, classic cards, and well anything they have touched since the supply will out pace demand based on being too many.

[@DragonInkComics]

In general, the population is increasing even with age disparities. Home prices continue to climb, especially in areas with temperate climates. Classic cars like comics continue to rise. For example, there are a few classic cars I’m eyeing. I may be wrong, but the data I see indicates further growth.

[@AntinAchtymichuk]

Holy shit Jamie. I thought I was just jealous because of your collection but you live on a picturesque ranch? Def just from your videos I figured you are doing pretty well and had a great job or career ($$$ for sweet books), but goddamn, you live in a little bit of paradise too. Thanks for the vid.

[@DragonInkComics]

Thank you! Yes, they actually make postcards of our ranch! 😂🥂

[@brandonmetro7115]

I thought the same thing after seeing white car after white car. alot of white cars over there in pa.

[@AntinAchtymichuk]

Literally stop it Jamie. How does it get better? "and there's unicorns", lol! I'm already dead, no need to continue the beating. Thanks for the content., .@@DragonInkComics

[@DragonInkComics]

@@AntinAchtymichuk Haha! I suppose since I’m here, there are unicorns 🦄 🤣

[@AntinAchtymichuk]

😆@@DragonInkComics

[@johnedwards2051]

I collect golden age and ec I don't see them going down nice view at your ranch

[@DragonInkComics]

Thanks! GA books are good investments. 😎

[@johnedwards2051]

Your totally right have another glass

[@DragonInkComics]

🥂🤣🍇

[@Stickygoose]

this is an excellent idea for a video and very well done

[@DragonInkComics]

Thanks!

[@dragongamer2670]

Dude you need help!

[@Hectekk]

I agree to a certain extent but let's also get realistic. Most of us when young read newspapers, school books, novels, and comic books. Younger people now spend zero time reading anything on paper and it's all electronic now. They spend all their free time on phones or video games. Once they grow up they will hold zero connection to comic books. They may buy as alternative investments but collectors will disappear.

[@Blacksheepcomics]

The same thing is with classic cars, homes, cards, and anything touched by the older generation. Think about it right now it's 3 to 1 ratio between boomers and the newer generations. From that ratio, one can see they there will be twice as many open houses and a flood of everything since the demand is twice as much as it needs to be.

[@DragonInkComics]

When I began collecting GA comics, I had no connection to them. I think the primary obstacle for many young collectors is debt and scarcity of assets. I do think cultural forces are important to consider, but I think those with wealth will always prefer the physical to the digital.

[@Ken-g1x4t]

Using that logic.. all books should be worthless or not in print.

[@Hectekk]

@@Ken-g1x4t You think young people still buy and read paper books? lol

[@Ken-g1x4t]

@@Hectekk they be selling them to somebody.. because it's a billion $$ industry lol

[@dragongamer2670]

Why is this even a Question? NO! they still will be.. any artwork, that even being Video Games, Posters, Statues, Movies or Lost Media will still be Worth Money!

[@Future-Classic-Cars]

I think like anything it'll be a cultural shift, the same way some 40's 50's Cars are going down in value because their generation are dying out. Anything iconic and a household name like an ff48 vs raw hide #48 or whatever. I'm 37 so not Excactly old old yet! 😂 but I figure comics can die out if Gen Alpha and the next Gen don't pick up on the collectability of whatever is in the future. I do see however a rise of Manga, Anime appeals to younger people at prrsent.

[@DragonInkComics]

I suppose we’ll have to circle back on this in 20 years and see what the market is like. 😉