Your Comics Aren't Worth That Much (ft. Vintage Phoenix Comic Books) | [Indi]android Ep. 9

If you think that old box of comics you uncovered during spring cleaning is your next cash cow...you might be disappointed.
We sat down with Matt Traughber from Vintage Phoenix Comic Books in Bloomington to talk comics, the 90s speculation boom, and what makes a comic really valuable.
For more [Indi]android, check out: indianapublicmedia.org/indian...
Vintage Phoenix Comics: www.vintagephoenixcomics.com/
Find a comic shop near you: www.comicshoplocator.com/
Music: Killer Tracks

[@ghastlybat107]

I worked in a comic book shop for 5 years during the early to mid 90's boom. I'd get kids coming up to the counter with a couple comics and ask " Mister, which one of these is gonna be worth the most someday ?".... and I'd say " Kid, buy the one you like the best, then if someday it's worth something after you grow up then that will be a bonus". Buy them to enjoy or you're seriously missing the point

[@hahahahaha288]

Agree

[@j-g9463]

Same scenario with me as a little kid except the shop owner tells me to pickup this black and white comic with some funny looking turtles on the front. 😁

[@mannybruce8950]

The problem is that buying comics is now mostly a specialized adult hobby . One , the books has become way too expensive , and two , the access to comic books has been restricted to specialized stores and expensive conventions . Current comic books will never become rare and of value because the books are being collected by adults who are keeping their books in pristine conditions . Unlike the days when children were mainly buying comics at newsstands , pharmacies , and gas stations to read and to stuff in their crowded dresser draws or underneath their beds , to be later thrown away when they start becoming interested in girls and peer popularity . I stick to mainly collecting silver and bronze age books for the nostalgia of my childhood . Back in the days when a dollar could buy several comics , a pastry , and soda :-) . INFLATION SUCKS BIG TIME :-(

[@IZAYAJAY]

I think he did and wanted to know which ones you thought might be worth the most lol.

[@KFXG]

Exactly. People who are only into hobbies for the possibility of making money always end up ruining the hobbies, and can get lost. They aren't real fans. Period. Covid made it really bad these past few years, but thankfully people have brained up and prices are going back down again.

[@charleshemphill6923]

I'd never sell my comics they are mine and I still read them. The stories are part of my life man.

[@mattysixx]

Exactly, if you don’t feel this way about your comics you are just another fraud that’s watched too much Big Bang, is real comic fans know what’s up 👌🏻 I could never sell a single comic and have like 20 long boxes full and still growing, my daughter will be able to gather up a few dollars in the future when I’m gone so it’s all good 👍🏻

[@Beyondtheblackwall]

Yeah im not letting my comics go til im gone myself.

[@T.R.R.Jolkien]

Charles Hemphill yes!

[@prophet1020]

Hope you never get a divorce. That's where mine went.

[@The-Dyland]

@@prophet1020 wow, that sounds terrible.

[@muddfoot69]

Collect the ones you want....have another retirement plan

[@81artmonk]

I collect silver-age or older for the historical aspect. It's something that isn't around much anymore.

[@JAYBARTON1981]

That's what I do

[@grios5530]

Yes

[@JTManuel]

Agreed!

[@chriswest5360]

Right, I get the ones I can afford within my budget and has my favorite villains in it or a cover art I like... or I’ll grab $1, $2 cheap comics on eBay sometimes

[@ChrisP58]

So comic shops buying stuff is just like going to a GameStop to sell a game. Lol

[@dreamakuma]

Except it's pretty honest compared to GameStop. Most comics sell about as well as Madden 06.

[@ChrisP58]

dreamakuma Lol! The good ol McNabb cover

[@ricosuave6898]

Retail resale price on anything is all about how long it's going to sit on a shelf. If modern kids who think of themselves as "Marvel fans" because they like movies would actually put down their phones and seek out some of the actual source stories of their so-called "fandom', maybe the market for resale books would be a little better. Of course, the retail game industry has even less shelf life left to it than comics; by the end of the next console generation, Game Stop will be nose diving into Blockbuster land.

[@ranman4058]

C Monster7D Comics are up and down, mostly if a movie or show is coming out the characters key issues rocket but slowly die down.

[@lairdriver]

GameStop stopped selling comic books for good a couple days ago.

[@alfonsogarcia7773]

Stopped collecting in the mid 90's when the gimmick multiple covers and re-do comic line starting back at #1. Good thing i began collecting in the early 70's

[@timothykozlowski2732]

Comics ended up being like sports cards. Just way to many of them.

[@TheHorndOne]

Sadly, yes.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

That and being busy with college stopped my collecting. Reading The Sandman and revisting Steve Gerber comics brought me back, eventually to the point that I've even been getting Golden Age collections through interlibrary loan.

[@TheHorndOne]

@@scottandrewhutchins I have to agree. The combination of *really* good writers and *really* good artists are nothing short of a miracle. John Byrne & Chris Claremont's X-Men run is the first one that comes to my mind. Also their work on Fantastic Four when a TV interview with Susan Storm on her pubic change from Invisible Girl to Invisible Woman was hailed as a milestone in equality. For the most part, I began to stride away from most comics because of the rising costs. Printing quality & better paper stock were the main factors, but some artists & writers began to charge more, and freelancers were less costly, but the quality suffered as the industry turned to rapid-fire production. Collections did help, but not by much for a while. I have long since scaled back. Dark Horse Comics hasn't let me down. IDW captured my interest with their TMNT run (and I collected the original Mirage run before), & their revival of ROM Spaceknight (again, I had the Marvel run). These days, most titles I get interested in I can save a little by downloading them. I still have my love for the comics, & the stories that saved a lonely young soul by providing a better escape than the stench of funny cigarettes & foul-tasting cheap beer, but these days my tastes have modified.

[@domidayv]

Yup. Fuck Marvel! Issue #0 bullshit. Jim Lee and McFarland had the best ideas and Marvel's management kept fucking with them to the point where they were like "Fuck this! I just want to write story's make comics and every week it's a new complaint from these guys! ""Spider-Man has too much webbing; there's too much detail in the art making it longer fir the ink guys to complete. Mary Jane looks to provocative."" And left to do their own shit. I loved Todd's Spider-Man. He made him look way fucking cooler and the characters more modern.

[@flipflopmcgurt3403]

Been collecting since 1974. I was 8 years old. Have every Spider-Man including AM#15 I brought for $1000 back in 1984. #1-#441 and the Annual #1 as well. Can I sell them? Yes. Will I? No. Why? Cause they're my youth and it's a beautiful thing to have. Maybe my son will have them a sell them after I'm dead. But for now they're my little Safe Haven of childhood memories at my fingertips ...

[@timz9862]

So, you spent $1000 on a comic book when you were 18 years old? That seems highly unlikely unless your parents were rich.

[@loucipher9436]

@@timz9862 Really? I had a full-time job since I was 15 1/2 as a prep cook in a fine dining restaurant. My wage was a little over minimum, but I would take $40-$100 A NIGHT in tips. I could have bought that book in a month - tops.

[@timz9862]

@@PeterRepovski I guess my parents were a little more strict than yours, plus I had to pay for college.

[@tsdobbi]

@@timz9862 "So, you spent $1000 on a comic book when you were 18 years old? That seems highly unlikely unless your parents were rich." I bought a $2400 dollar computer when I was 17 and still in highschool. It took me about 6 months to save up working 7 days a week. It has nothing to do with peoples parents being "rich". There's these things called jobs.

[@tsdobbi]

@@timz9862 "I guess my parents were a little more strict than yours, plus I had to pay for college." What do you mean by strict? They took the money you made from you? I had to pay for college too, I joined the Army to do that. Just because someone can afford something at a young age doesn't mean their parents were rich or not strict, they just could have made choices that put them in a better financial position than you.

[@ronb113]

Plot twist, Squirrel Girl never took off lol

[@raulzavala9061]

- and she never will.

[@jonhall152]

Also notable nobodys in this video...Ms. Marvel and Moon Girl lol

[@drmodestoesq]

@@jonhall152 I found a Ms. Marvel Number 1. My jaw hit the floor when I found what it was selling for.

[@jonhall152]

@@drmodestoesq An original Ms. Marvel, or Muslim Supreme Ms. Marvel?

[@drmodestoesq]

@@jonhall152 Ms. Marvel #1. January 1977.

[@TreesOnTheBeach]

You'd be nuts to sell your comics to a store. They don't want to give you anything. I sold my entire collection to a private collector 5 years ago for $12k. It was a deal for the other guy, but it paid my share for my daughter's first year of college, so they had to go.

[@forestfire47]

Very cool story, and a great point. I think that's also the equivalent of going to a Gamestop for scrap change. Lol now a days you can easily sell comics yourself through the internet.

[@campkira]

well somepeople just want quick money... let face it... unless it's your grandfather collection.. it mostly worthless...

[@AARDFD]

Should have kept the comics and gave them to her in 5 years - Probably a much better investment than college is now - unless she is getting a real degree (medical etc)…

[@TreesOnTheBeach]

@@AARDFD terrible idea. She's already got a job as a civil engineer making really good money.

[@AARDFD]

@@TreesOnTheBeach Tell that to the millions of kids with huge student debt who can’t get a decent job - it’s supply and demand. I’m not anti college - I’m anti every kid goes to college. It is absurd- “higher education” for below average students. Better off in trades snd learning. Colleges have screwed so many the past ten years, it is a bloated beast. I can prove mathematically how bad college is for many - take cost and debt and opportunity cost (not working for years) and put in even a bit of investing - and the college myth is destroyed…

[@nerdrock8087]

I have tried explaining this to numerous people who don't collect comics and NOBODY ever believes me. Because of shows like Storage Wars and Pawn Stars, everybody thinks everything old is worth a mint.

[@clash5j]

Sold all my comics in 2001 at Jim Hanley's Universe back when they were right next to the Empire State Building. Paid for my move to Atlanta and furnished my entire apt quite nicely

[@bayfinest1938]

I got a lot of golden age and sliver age comic

[@Bu11yMagu1re]

How many golden age ones did you have?

[@bayfinest1938]

@@Bu11yMagu1re 30 long boxes

[@Blondie472]

You can make a pretty penny on ebay. Never sell to a shop or a seller, only to other collectors. A book is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it..

[@mikemiken1963]

EVERYTHING is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

[@campkira]

you had to ship it international...

[@KRw0lf]

@Green Grugach That commenter would not know what that meant if it was hanging in front of his face

[@gregorylove279]

Mid 1990s comics where and still are awesome. Who wouldn’t like a hologram cover comic or foil cover of your favorite characters. Priceless

[@Shadothecat]

And dumb. Most 9f those books are university issues and suck. Except for amazing spiderman 300

[@gregorylove279]

Christopher Marshal “and dumb” are you saying the books made you less intelligent? That’s a personal problem. Why take it out on the inanimate object?

[@jamesharazda5027]

I knew a guy long ago who ran a comics store. I asked him about the "values" given in places like Wizard comics lists. He said that it's like anything else. It's worth only as much as someone will give you for it.

[@joelindsey2105]

Exactly

[@diyapia]

If you collected to make money...that was your first problem.... Edit: I’d hate to be a comic shop owner these days....

[@Anth230]

Exactly this. It was a fun hobby as a kid. Adult speculation ruined it in the early 90's. I stopped collecting because it was a battle to get what I wanted. I have read a few books since than and they just don't resonate with me anymore. Plus the speculators are still there and to be honest if you can get better than what you paid for a book that's not a bad thing. But with all these movies and series you never know when a book that is worth a dollar may take off ..

[@A1Authority]

Comic shop owners are rarely just comic slinging anymore. Diversification into memorabilia, gaming cards, graphic novels, etc... this is what keeps most comic stores going.

[@thepanman8]

Perhaps....i bet people would still pay in the thousands for marvel/ DC/ #1's

[@alanguages]

That was also a problem for some comic shop owners also, because some of them were scalpers.

[@A1Authority]

@@thepanman8 That's a vague statement. There are more #1's on the planet than any other number, so...

[@brittondeweese813]

When I collected comics I got super lucky and collected X-MEN. I have almost every issue printed. I didn't collect for the value I collected because I liked them.

[@andu1854]

Britton DeWeese double win for you, also I love X-men so that is super cool, I know I have read every comic I own (not a huge collection, but two big boxes worth)

[@grahamfloyd3451]

Same. At some point I'd like to go through them and pick up the issues I've missed between X-Men #1 and Charles Xavier being killed off right before Marvel went bankrupt.

[@dahur]

I started collecting in the late 1950's, and quit around 1970. Amazingly I still have 95% of them. From golden age "Human Torch" (Atlas) to many, many EC comics (fifties 10 centers), and sixties Marvels. I always loved the artwork from Russ Manning, Steve Ditko, Jack KIrby, etc. I have no idea what they're worth.

[@brendanflynn5004]

Probably a pretty penny now….

[@Guero679]

Golden age human torch is all about $1000+ nowadays

[@stevemichael652]

I collect because I love comics and I love history and damnit I’m proud of my collection. Money isn’t everything in life. I just bought a king pin first appearance for 450$ after negotiating 65$ off his asking price. And I’ll never sell it. Collect because you love it, not to make money. Invest in gold and silver and collect comics.

[@bigbabysld]

well said

[@monstergonads11]

You don’t need to tell that to the people who truly appreciate the arts and enjoy them for what they are. There will always be capitalist conforming dead heads who only care about money and miss the whole point of life because they have no true values and are brainwashed by society and government.

[@luisseniceros7350]

When I was in high school I started collecting comics in the 90s for about 6 years. It got to a point where I was spending too much money on them. I would go to a comic book store and drop 100 to 150 every payday, and that was when the minimum wage was like $2.75 per hour. I kinda knew back then that they might not be worth anything in the future so I would read them at least once. I still have those comics. I pull them out every once in a while and read one. They might not be worth much, but to me the memories they bring back are priceless.

[@biohybrid_396]

I wouldn't sell from my collection at a comic shop.. I'd rather sell on eBay or any online store

[@mattysixx]

You can sell your comics??? Jesus you must either be reading trash or you aren’t really a comic fan, that shits sacrilege to most of us.

[@tommyakesson8858]

Its also a question of time vs money. I had boxes and boxes of Magic The Gatherring card. I knew roughly wich were most valuable, sonsorted those separelty. But the thusands and thusands of others? I sold in bulk,even tho I got alot less money. I DID sell it to a regular person, not a store tho. But the example is mostly about me just not having The time/energy. So I can understand if People go to stores

[@RustyBrickStudios]

01digga01 some people are in bad condition. I’d sell my comics any day if I needed money to pay for my mothers hospital bills

[@AuthenticGucci]

I usually buy hype comics that go up in value and then get store credit to buy my grail comics.

[@LastBastian]

Market may not be great for those only in it for money.... But it's great for those of us who simply love comics!

[@lamuel79]

Hell yeah it is. I love Going Through Bargin Boxes and picking up comics that catch my eye and just look interesting or fun.

[@AnkhInfinitus]

Yes. I stopped collecting when I was a teenager, but I've kinda taken it back up because the comics that were big when I collected are even cheaper to buy now.

[@o.b.7217]

@@AnkhInfinitus "...the comics that were big when I collected are even cheaper to buy now." --- No way.

[@stephenwatchesyoutube]

comics definitely have appreciation. just like benjamin graham said you have to do your research and pick carefully. almost all of the hip hop marvel variants are worth hundreds now

[@johnnyburger7409]

He said that sales are back to normal. They’re at all time lows. The comic industry has been on the decline for years and the creators have no one to blame but themselves. They made a decision to alienate longtime fans in favor of new fans who don’t exist.

[@stefanosprokopis3917]

Very true. It's all about appeasing the SJWs. I heard they are turning Peter Parker into a bi sexual . The industry can go to hell as far as I'm concerned, I'll stick with the back issues.

[@ChrisLamia]

@@stefanosprokopis3917 Fuck off neckbeard

[@heathmcrigsby]

aka go woke go broke

[@ChrisLamia]

heathmcrigsby Superhero comics are inherently “woke”. They’ve literally always been that way

[@heathmcrigsby]

@@ChrisLamia go woker go broker

[@fictionalreality1010]

Mine are priceless...childhood memories 😁

[@kilemiller6519]

Dont sell your comics to shops sell them on ebay and dont sell em all at once either, if you go to a shop you will be lucky to get $2 a issue.

[@AnkhInfinitus]

Yes. This. A shop is looking to profit. Sell to who the shops sell to.

[@steviebeavy9444]

Every shop says this, ah it's not worth much, than they offer to buy it lmao

[@c.h.5510]

I flipped my quick buy collection, by waving some quality issues infront of the owner.. He couldnt turn down the quality books, and the obscure books were just cushion for the sale. I bought all books for $0.25/ apiece 95% of the time... I doubled my money easily🤓. But thats from knowing 90s books, an eye for 80s arcs, and knowing hot creators... it can happen, I'm gonna try ebay this year, for gun

[@steviebeavy9444]

@@c.h.5510 I've done eBay had good luck with old books but with comics I got robbed half the time, lost a 1st appearance of molten man in great condition for 50 bucks and I got it in auction for about 80. Sold a FF 49 for 250, got it for 150 so that wasent horrible.

[@c.h.5510]

@@steviebeavy9444 that FF book, was a nice turn around.. Did the Molten man issue have to be sold?

[@thesaurusakasickakatheomc7688]

I was in a comic store last week giving this exact advise to an older gentleman. Great video.

[@shaunsteele4968]

Heck I've got comics from the 60s graded and everything will be dropping in price following the worldwide recession. So the title of this rings true for any collector.

[@ryan2stix]

Remember the hockey card boom in the 90s? same thing...I have a big box that I spent so much money on...so many paper routes, so many lawns cut...just to get that card/box..... aaaaaaand now they are worth nothing lol....and I still have them...ugh

[@stashmerkin9576]

He's right. Every word. I worked in a comic shop during the collectors boom in the 90's and I had this conversation almost every day. More copies are being printed, more copies are being kept. Which means supply will always be available. I used to tell people to buy the comics you enjoy reading. That way they'll always be worth something to you.

[@davesgoldenduck6066]

They are nostalgic and fun to collect.

[@markl1733]

I tried to sell my comics collection some years ago during the height of the superhero movie craze. I didn't have key issues in mint condition or anything spectacular. Still, I had taken good care of everything I had read, and they all were in better than average shape with bright colors and very few defects, most ranging from F+ to NM- depending on age. I had six long boxes of about 1500 titles, fully alphabetized and in order, ranging from the late 60s to the mid-80s, mostly Marvel with a variety of some others. Of that collection, 156 were Amazing Spider-Man ranging through time from #67 up to #300 with Peter and Mary Jane's wedding, all of which were properly bagged. A conservative estimate based on the most current Overstreet criteria put just those ASM issues alone at about $1800 retail. I had a business degree and I knew that the comic shops had to make a good profit, and since I wasn't trying to sell them myself, I expected to get just a small fraction of retail. I was hoping for at least $2000 for the entire 1500 comics, which I knew would allow plenty of room for dealer mark-up and profit. Instead, the best offer I got from any dealer for my entire collection was a measly $60! Hell, they could have sold them all in their bargain bin for 50 cents each and still made over ten times the amount I was offered! When I inquired regarding their reasoning, the excuse I was given was that the inventory they already had wasn't selling. However, while grading the initial batch of my collection, I had double-checked the listed grades of the comics in the stores to make sure I was being fairly accurate, and in the process, I had noticed that what they did have on stock was marked right at full Overstreet retail. So I asked a few of the dealers, hey, if your stock isn't selling, then why haven't you discounted your prices accordingly to reflect supply and demand since making some profit is obviously better than making no profit at all? And why is Overstreet still listing these issues at these prices if as you say seemingly no one wants to buy them? Now if even one dealer had given me an actual explanation of the situation and then made me any sort of fair bargain-level offer, I would have accepted both the explanation and the offer. However, when no dealer could provide me with a reasonable answer for these simple questions, I decided the comics business had turned into a scam. So now those six boxes sit in a spare room in my house. One day when I am retired and have time, I will read through them myself and enjoy myself in the process, after which when I am gone, my estate can auction them off. I am quite sure that they will sell for more than $60.

[@monstergonads11]

Honestly comics are quite the spectacle to me, amazing art brought to life with action, panels and story writing. They are one of the coolest things ever right next to video games, movies and music. Like many others say, I don’t give a crap about how much the market deems them worth, I have them because of the art. They are a blast to read and it sucks that some of the older titles are harder to find and are real expensive now. I can’t believe how much of an overlooked and underappreciated medium it has always been and it only seems to be getting more and more forgotten as time goes on. I also hate the newer look of most comics and am much more enthralled by the old school look of hand drawn and inked art as it just looks so much more natural and from the soul unlike the synthetic and artificial looking crap I see everywhere now, how do more people not agree. I guess it is easier and maybe cheaper to make comics digitally now but it just takes the soul out of them most of the time and i’d much rather the original look of an artist’s unreplicable handywork.

[@ignskeletons]

I'm just starting off with reading/collecting comic books for the first time and I'm just doing it for cheap fun to be honest. Right now I'm looking at getting a few CGC graded books to collect but then also using digital copies on Comixology to read them and enjoy the actual stories. I think there's a right balance of enjoying the medium and also enjoying the act of collecting. You can always buy a few #1 issues of newer series for like $2 to $5 each and put them in a sleeve and backboard and wait 20+ years and see if anything happens while also buying a second copy for reading purposes or again using digital copies to preserve your "collector's" copies.

[@TheShop90sKids]

Enjoy the hobby man

[@theodoremartin9333]

I started buying/collecting comics in the mid 70's as a child. I remember the comic craze of the early 90's post Tim Burton's Batman at the time not only were they making tons of copies to go out to the so called "collectors" but also the price of comics jumped up astronomically. I agree you should get comics to enjoy them, not as a investment. I have never met a coin collector who wasn't passionate about coins their history etc!

[@bigbabysld]

The best thing you can do is to collect the comics for love, I see all these videos on how much a comic is worth or how much they paid for it. Honestly, the video is right except for a couple of keys made in the modern age like WALKING DEAD#1 your comic collection is probably worth NOTHING! I have been collecting for 40yrs, and I own about 5000+ books...I told my wife when I am dead and buried you and my daughter don't expect to turn into millionaires off those books. Unless you have boxes full of pristine GOLDEN AGE books and early MARVEL (1963 thru 1966 and keys) you will not get rich off your books. The comic industry suckered everyone in the 90's thinking they were gonna get rich off of the DEATH OF SUPERMAN...what a joke. Mass producing books and making variant covers. 9 times out of 10 people your better off investing in a 401k

[@bigbabysld]

@Jurassic Coast Comics thats up to the wife, why would I sell a collection I love? I never said That I didn't own any keys...I'm just stating not to expect to live like a Kardashian off of my books.

[@maxkernfeld7928]

bigbabysld you need to watch ComicTom101 for example. Comics are still spiking. Especially with so much media,movies, tv series, Variants, limited editions etc. going on. The grind is still real.

[@maxkernfeld7928]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHmbc42FiJuNiNk

[@willisix2554]

Yeah The Death of Superman book, ruined comic books

[@bigbabysld]

@Jurassic Coast Comics Defensive...not at all, you are assuming what's in my collection when you have no idea, what's in your collection is your business. As far as me being a business man (as you mean to insult me...you really have no idea what or who I am just like most of the people on the internet you assume). I stand by my original comments if you don't agree that's fine...that's what this is all about opinions. your insults are hilarious...please show me where I said my books are worthless...honestly no man/woman on this planet (I'm assuming now) has 5K + books and they are worthless, I stated don't expect to live like a Kardashian...if you are going to quote me then please be thorough about it. Everybody thinks about the monetary value, how about that they are just worth something to me period...I just have a natural love for the books.

[@jvac1129]

I have a couple boxes of comics from the 70's-80's and its exciting to me looking at them from time to time. I've never looked at there value and dont really care to be honest. I still enjoy them.

[@1badjesus401]

THANK YOU for this! 👍

[@JOHNN01.82]

I sold all my comics in the early 2000s and now I'm in my late 30s it has cost me a pretty penny getting them all back plus more issues and complete runs, £4 a comic on average on Ebay 200 comics adds up in the long run .I mainly collect graphic novel books these days than buying every single issue

[@56postoffice]

I've been collecting since the late 1970s up until the early 2010s. That's still good going. But I still buy the odd Bronze Age (1970s) Marvel comics just to plug some issues I'd missed out on.

[@jasonserna8762]

Comics have sentimental value. Your favorite character,story and art/favorite artist. I don't care what there worth, I enjoy favorite artist like Sam Kieth,Todd McFarland,Jim Lee.

[@Schmohawkz]

Great video. This message needs to be heard more these days!

[@jonathanbrown4]

I’m still waiting for my Wizard renewal.

[@Spongemonkey26]

I've only found one comic in the wild when released in the last 35 years worth anything, New Mutants 98.

[@Noahide]

My gut instinct is that 80s and 90s glut will gradually be absorbed by the market. The key indicator that prices will probably gradually improve is census.gov/popclock which shows the world population continuing to increase for the time being, and the probability that, especially with popular comic book movies having a marked effect, the overall size of the panapictagraphia audience will likely increase. Supply and Demand thereafter.

[@henryseldon6077]

Worth is such a relative thing. I always collected the comics I liked regardless of worth. When I got out of comic book collecting, I trimmed my collection to the absolute best of what I had. I have no idea of what they're worth, don't really care. I like having them and that's what counts. I don't plan on ever selling them.

[@willisix2554]

I agree with every word you said, sometimes I take them out stack them on the floor sit down and read them, look at a few covers put them back in the plastic and stack them back in the dark closet

[@handsomebrick]

When I was little I liked reading the Sonic and TMNT comics that Archie Comics published, I wonder if any of those are valuable to anyone. Not that it matters since they were in a household of six kids, there's probably nothing left of them.

[@BoyNamedSue4]

Yeah. The ones actually worth something are pretty rare and have to be in good shapes. I sold 15 long boxes from my old collect. Kept some of my favorites (4 boxes worth total). I got roughly half of what I needed for my now wife’s wedding ring, mostly because I had a lot of full runs, where individually their not worth much but together you make an extra 10-30% because full runs are hard to find. But that took me nearly 20 years of collecting to happen. Your never going to get more than what you actually purchased them for. So read what you want and enjoy the ride. Also read Fables. Not Enough people talk about that series.

[@charleswallis709]

Finally, the perfect format and platform as an explanation of the comic book collecting genre. Kudos.

[@totallyradknits666]

I work at a comic shop, pricing comics. The most expensive one I ran across was a variant of x-23, for around 600 ungraded. If we got it graded it could be up to 1k. We got it in a bulk of comics, the majority 90 percent were dollar comics, the other 5 were 3/4/5 dollars, and then 4 percent were worth 10+. And most of them weren't even bagged, so pretty damaged. But the guy was convinced they were pristine. Bro they are moldy and stink like cigarettes because they weren't in bags.

[@xtraplayer7281]

If you're in it for the money, collect 1st appearances of characters only. Series runs are/were for your reading enjoyment only. That being said the card and comic collecting industry was destroyed in 1990. So collect 1st appearances before that time. Yes they are costly right now, but the more popular characters will go up in value.

[@lenardregencia]

Collect what you really love, for me, I collect popular and unpopular comic books. P.S. Those unpopular comic books sold fewer Issues might end up being a sought after Issue in the future or not. I still enjoy those things.

[@Dragonfly6160]

Some years ago, I had a large collection of what I thought were fairly valuable comics. I talked to a dealer and found out they weren't worth much at all and I donated them to a charity. The price guide and reality aren't always the same thing.

[@TheNecessaryEvil]

Also, be diligent when buying old ones. When I was a kid, my friend was about to buy an old Silver Surfer, literally taking his money out, and decided to look at the book. Found a massive stain on the back. A few years ago I was going to buy an older Superman, only about $20, and after looking in it, I found an ad had been cut out. So I passed.

[@DavidSmith-sb2ix]

I collected comics in the 50s and 60s. All the comics you could buy were on one rack. They didn't have all the titles printed today. Still kept buying old ones until now. I collected mostly Disney and other funny animal comics not the expensive super heroes. While discussing old comics with my students one day I mentioned that and said I guess I couldn't imagine people flying through the air or lifting buildings. A girl replied "Butt you could imagine rabbits talking and ducks driving cars." Touche!

[@bayfactor9384]

I own a TMNT #1 1st print 9.0 and tomb of Dracula #10 around 9.2... im set... the rest is for reading

[@startrekfanman]

Do you mean around 9.2 because it’s not graded?

[@bayfactor9384]

@@startrekfanman Correct, my Tomb of Dracula 10 is not graded. Maybe I'll do it one day. It has only one deffect, but it is kinda big. Spine 10\10, corners 10\10. But top middle, there is a kinda printing mistake that created a white line. Anyway I'm happy with it.

[@robertenyart9883]

If it was printed in the 80s or 90s, you're looking at 10 cents a book if you're lucky.

[@ComicPower]

It depends on what it is. Amazing Spiderman #300 first appearance of Venom from 1988 goes for big money.

[@Marcus-ru1ht]

10 cents? Bruh I promise you i will double that amt. Sell me all your 80s and 90s and I will buy them each for 20cents. 😂

[@A1Authority]

In general, perhaps. But that's not always true. It's more true to say that when a store purchases a box of books, they are paying you for the rares they can turn over and you're throwing in the rest for free.

[@ESport211]

FMV dictates otherwise

[@osheaoutdoorspnw]

Obviously you have no idea what you're talking about.

[@koloth5139]

This is why I buy the trade paperbacks. Death of Superman is actually a pretty decent story. And I remember the hype at the time. My uncle bought 4 copies, I bought none. But I did get the trade, it is a good read.

[@dagda825]

Might be time to start getting my epic illustrated collection going.

[@babooseven]

There's money to be made. There's plenty in the $50 - $200 range. You just got to know what to look for.

[@mrmnomad2810]

That's right. Not really looking for a once in a lifetime book. I have books that are in the 30 to 45.00 range all day long.

[@o.b.7217]

Problem is: if you don't have them by now, these $50 - $200 are the price you have to pay for them. And where is your "money to be made" then? Exactly. And even if you have one or two of these $200 comics...would you sell them now? Or would you rather keep them in hope that they'll be worth more in the future? Where's your "money to be made" then? But hey let's assume, you own one or two of these $200 comics and you are willing to sell them right now...first you have to find someone who's willing to pay that price, and second - congratz, you just made $200 - $400 bucks...what are you gonna do with that newly gained fortune? Buy a house? A car? Some new comics? People who think there's "money to be made" by collecting comics, have no clue. You're lucky if you find someone who is willing to buy your entire collection for the price you've spent on it over the years. That's the reality.

[@zipgow]

I grew up in the 90s, so I knew I wasn’t getting anything valuable-Gold and Silver Age-for cheap but if you collect, you tend to stumble onto lots of lucky finds.

[@handsomebrick]

The speculator boom probably changed that.

[@AnkhInfinitus]

I've found that a comic's value is also affected by who worked on it. I've been collecting the comics where Spider-Man becomes Captain Universe, and the first few only cost like five dollars, but the one where he punches the Hulk into orbit is around ten because it was drawn by Todd McFarlane. At least that's why I assume it's more expensive. Maybe it is more rare than the others, but I think it's the art that makes it more desirable.

[@wylier]

yes, good artists tend to help make the titles more valuable - not necessarily as high as the collector might wish, tho.

[@AnkhInfinitus]

@@wylier The value is never as high as the collector wishes.

[@SolveForX]

“Your 90s comics and modern comics aren’t worth anything.” Well this aged like milk. 🤣😂

[@john-tobeymaguirecena]

They are worth everything to me. My comics, are mine, & are being passed down to my kids

[@john-tobeymaguirecena]

RustyBrickStudios not all kids buddy. I’m a father of 3. & regardless, even if they don’t keep em, I’ll find some family who will

[@RustyBrickStudios]

Jael H. Velez I commend you for that.

[@john-tobeymaguirecena]

RustyBrickStudios I commend your commendment!

[@john-tobeymaguirecena]

RustyBrickStudios yeah my kids are already starting off strong with hulk & spiderman. & I am the type of dad to not force it upon, if they like it they like it fi they don’t then hey it’s fine too

[@RustyBrickStudios]

Jael H. Velez That’s how I got into it. My dad used to force me to play baseball but I didn’t like it. I liked hockey and that was my passion. We both realized that I shouldn’t be forced into stuff. He decided to not force me into his comics which was smart as when I got older I started appreciating them and now I’m obsessed

[@eladiocofresi5202]

I once picked up a first printing of Superman 75 for a dollar.

[@TheSickNeeds]

This video overlooks the main reason peoples comics aren't worth that much. Condition! People who are willing to drop top dollar on comics want them in top condition. The fact that so few people still collect comics these days compared to back in the day (late 80s) means they can afford to be picky since there is so much to choose from. Buyers want mint books.... people who have no clue what their collection is worth probably haven't taken care of it.

[@swolejszo]

Great video, thank you for this. I find one of the biggest reasons non-comic collectors think their books are worth more than they actually are is online price guides. There have been many times when someone has sent me a list of comics and asked for an estimate, and then are indignant that their 1000 comics that are supposedly worth $3 each based on those sites are not actually worth $3k as a collection.

[@o.b.7217]

That store guy is awesome. Finally someone tells it like it is. I've been telling the same to my comics collecting friend countless times over the years - but he never listened. He bought the comics, read them exactly once (always wearing white velvet gloves!), then bagged them and stored them away, never to be touched again. And - unbelievable as this may sound - he was still one of the more reasonable collectors. Then there are these morons who buy every single comic twice - and one of those only to be directly put away, so it stays in absolute mint condition. And all that only because they imagine their collection to be worth millions in some distant future,...completely ignoring the fact, that hundred thousands of collectors are doing the exact same thing right now.

[@cyryc]

I've been in the scene since my dad helped pioneer it with the first Star Trek conventions back with HoustonCon 76. Collecting can be like casting a fishing net, you might have a big one, but most of them (in modern age) are junk. BUT he's forgetting an essential part of collectibles, they only have as much value as there are people who want it. And everything recycles, the kids who grew up with those things they enjoyed tend to revisit them to recapture their more innocent days once they get to around mid-life age. So if you get it now, wait 30 years, and still have a mint new one when Bobby Joe goes pining for the old days, then you might make 10x its initial price.

[@o.b.7217]

​@@cyryc " *if* you get it now, wait 30 years, then you *might* make 10x its initial price." ---- Sure, buddy. *If* you're lucky. *If* Bobby Joe is willing to pay your price. *If* Bobby Joe doesn't spend his money on some other dude's collection...you know - one of the other one hundred thousand that "get the comics now". And even *if* you get the tenfold of what you paid (and only for a handful of interesting comics!) that maybe gets you half the money back, that you paid over all these years for all the other comics, that didn't raise in price by a tenfold, unfortunately...and that's not even counting the money you had to spend to buy sleeves and boxes to store them securely away.

[@PicklerEntertainment]

Comics are still worth quite a bit of Money, I just got a 2 copies of Batman 89 which is a $4.00 book released last week, currently selling for $50. Not too mention I got one standard release and one of the misprints. The misprints are selling for $300-$400.00. So those key issues, and misprints still exists. And, some of the books from the 90s also sell for a decent amount of money, like my 9.8 Amazing Spider-man #361.

[@kwhuisman]

what's the misprint?

[@johnnyfuture3524]

@@kwhuisman research and look it up

[@willspies5869]

I'd advise going to comic book conventions and flea markets and antique fairs if you're interested in building a collection. It is sometimes amazing how often I scored a valuable comic for just a few bucks over the years. Last year, I got Marvel Spotlight #5 (1st appearance of Ghost Rider) at the Gold Rush flea market in Oronoco Minnesota for $1 in the dollar bin. Sent it in for grading and it came back as an 8.0 and is worth about $450 to $550 (people generally pay more for graded books). That's just one recent example. Conventions are good too because most dealers are willing to negotiate (especially when you are buying larger quantities of books). I've gotten some real good books that way too.

[@Scorch1028]

In the mid-1990s, a comic book store owner told me that he was only interested in buying comic books that were published before 1980. Sadly, the same is true today. Furthermore, there are only a handful of comic books made after 1990 that you can sell for $100+ today. People are now selling their comic books from the 1990s on EBay for “whatever they can get for them.” These days, on the rare occasions that I go into a comic book store, I do so to buy a gift for a child. The employees of these places seem “desperate” for customers to buy more items than they intend to, and with many books selling at over $4 an issue, sales are often slow. Sadly, I’ve seen many comic book stores go out-of-business over the years. I believe that the main thing that’s keeping the surviving ones afloat, are the huge comic book conventions like Comic Con and Dragon Con, and the popularity of comic book-themed movies and TV shows.

[@adavari17]

It's actually the first appearance of rocket raccoon

[@Jedimo]

First comics appearance, first actual appearance is in Marvel Preview 7.

[@LORDGENERALEVILA]

da marvel preview mag waz black _ white so00o da Hulk apperance iz 1st rocket raccoon in color APP. in MCU.

[@retrotoon7946]

I was hoping my collection would be me an island and boat someday.

[@wylier]

well if you can find a remote / deserted island somewhere, and then rent a boat... you're good to go. Just bring some food you with you! :-)

[@bignut1769]

This is where graded comics comes in to play!

[@DJ-jq3pm]

If you want money you are better off not selling to a store because they need to turn it for a profit. I had about 200 comics made of (2000’s) runs from Power Girl, (Steph B) Batgirl, (Barb) Batgirl, Nightwing, and Batman and Robin. My comic shop offered me $30, of course I said no. A few months later I was able to sell everything in separate run locally on FB for about $400. I only buy new comics and dollar bin dives at comic shops. All of my comics that I don’t care about and are non-keys, I take to school for my students to read. Even if they won’t sell for much, they are books and books are meant to be read.

[@JonsDDVlog]

Good advice...in more ways than one. When I was a kid in the 80s, I collected the comics I loved. Because the comics I loved were ones that others also loved, those were the ones that increased in price. All of those stupid comics from the 90s...did anyone love them? I don't think so...not the majority anyway. Idiot collectors were just happy to buy a bunch of issue #1s.

[@blood_sausage9620]

You think the 90s were bad? Half the books every week are #1s

[@jonbishop9062]

To many covers. This makes the book itself more of a reprint then a rarity.

[@jerryp7721]

Absolutely, 95% of any comic collection is worthless! At 60, sold nearly all of my grails through Heritage for a pretty fair amount.,Realized afterwards I wasn’t prepared to stop. Understand also now that a collection like that can no longer be accumulated because of ridiculous overpricing. Slowly scratching and clawing my way back but it won’t be the same. The price gauging takes some of the fun out of it but I have the time and money so can be selective. Plus, I didn’t sell all of my grails!

[@samprime9010]

I honestly don't care how much my collection of comic books are worth I am just happy to be able to own them

[@goldschool9050]

Comics will be worth something when they stop printing them

[@adamfrasher892]

Comics is a medium, like books and film. Mediums don't just die

[@TheAnubis57]

Heck I can't even buy today's comics --too expensive now. Also the book compilations are not cheap either.

[@raulzavala9061]

Buy only because A) Its your favorite character, B) Your favorite creative team, or C) A combination of A and B. I purged a lot of my collection as it was a lot 1990s junk that I bought just for shits and now I've pared it down to what I actually like.

[@Mr.EmeraldTheGreen]

I just wish I knew where to start reading....I found a bunch of comics I had from when I was a kid in throughout my teens. But I want to know what happened before and then what happens after. But there are so many timelines and so many versions and so many universes it’s all confusing! Is there such a thing as compilation books per character? Like for example “Wolverine volume 1” where it would start his story from the beginning and continue his story through the volumes?

[@dreamakuma]

I collect a lot of 50's to 80's horror comics and magazines. The vast majority aren't worth ten bucks an issue.

[@dreamakuma]

@dan cussin EC issues can fetch a bit, sadly I run into folks that find the 90's reprints and assume that it's worth hundreds. I have 4 EC issues, I paid less than $50 a pop. I have the Reprints. Not one of them I paid more than $8 in the last 5 years.

[@pdp977]

@@dreamakuma A man with good taste. I have the reprint volumes.

[@dreamakuma]

@dan cussin I'm Unfamiliar with the Canadian reprints of EC from the 70's. everything I have in reprint is from late 80's to mid 90's. the 1970's stuff gets so overlooked and I love a lot of it. House of Secrets, House of Mystery, Vault of Horror, Worlds Unknown. A lot of folks look down at Post CCA horror comics like they suddenly were bad. That's just not the case. It's been great here because most books fetch like $10 or less. As for Gold Key, They Also did the Ripley's Believe it or not 'True Ghost Stories' which got me into this whole hobby. My favorite by far is Creepy and Eerie. I love them but most issues are dirt cheap.

[@IanZainea1990]

"They're automatically valuable. They're automatically collectible. Simply because their comics." ... He is so right that this is wrong. Also exemplifed by Ty beanie babies, and toys that people buy and keep in boxes. It's insane. But you trick yourself into thinking its valuable despite the fact that there are hundreds on the shelf of hundreds and hundreds of stores.

[@mannybruce8950]

Add Funco Pop to the list of worthless inheritance .

[@IanZainea1990]

@@mannybruce8950 not to mention, they're terrible tchotchkes ... far too top heavy, I have been meaning to toss mine out for ages, but I just don't even care that much about it lol.

[@Anth230]

Very True. My comics from the 80's and 90's may not be worth much. BUT since the MCU as a whole they are worth more than i paid for them now. Especially the 80's issues. I remember when this all happened. I had been buying comics since 1982 and right around the late 80's early 90's everyone started to buy thinking they would be worth a lot of money. I had a hard time finding stuff at the time..The death of Superman was the Pinnacle of that. I remember an old lady in an interview had one and said it was gonna pay for her grandkids college ...lol...oh and $15 for the death of Superman??? Better than what it was years ago...

[@ShortRound42]

The comics from the very first ones from the very late 30's, 40's, 50's were just majority thrown out by mom and many were donated to the paper drives during WWII. Kid's didn't keep them in plastics. They'd just stack them so the spines curled or they rolled them up to keep in their back pocket and newsprint deteriorates if not kept in a good place (no musty basements, or get wet or left near the window, etc). Even the 60's books alot were thrown out but then the teens, college kids were starting to keep them and collect them and the first comic conventions started then. Same for the 70's, lot's of comic magazines at that time too. I started late '70's. Mostly in the 80's and more books/titles seemed to be coming out. Some good indy books at that time with very low print runs. The 90's had tons of new books, variants, etc. More indy companies coming out but it got too saturated. All over NYC guys selling comics on the street, especially near Wall Street. Everyone thinking any new number 1 would be the next Action Comics #1. So people bought up TONS of books. There were stores that popped up and then the bubble burst. I forget also that Perlman guy bought Marvel(?) and ruined them if I remember right. That contributed to this too.

[@-PURPLE-HEAD]

Most comic shops survive by running game rooms these days, but im still just a comic reader myself. When im done id rather just give my old comics to a new young reader.

[@Rancoroth419]

Comic shops sell comics based on people with pull boxes who buy runs. Problem being, with the current state of comics, noone needs to buy runs, instead opting for variants or issues with premier artwork, because people buy comics as investment items instead of the stories. The need for the story run is declined, and people shop for the hot new thing, which inevitably ends up worthless...or might be worth something in 40 years ...after a flood wipes out half the existing stock lol.

[@derekteets4981]

Recently bought Spawn no1 9.6 CGC signed by Todd.. that thing is never gonna pay off lol

[@lowkey_exe1523]

i read its actually less copies not signed by Todd :oD

[@jonhall152]

@@lowkey_exe1523 lmao

[@zachlantern2827]

When he's dead that shit will go up in value. Fucked to say I know, but it's the truth.

[@blood_sausage9620]

@@lowkey_exe1523 todd himself said that, obviously he was joking, but making the point that theres so many signed spawn 1s to ever be worth much. Newstand versions are worth like 3-400 in a 9.8

[@BS-ib2ch]

What you can do to make these older comics more valuable is to get them graded and slabbed by a reputable company. Your $2 comic, plus the cost to get it graded and slabbed will get you at least double the cost amount...as long as condition is decent. Doesn't even need to be a key issue, just slabbing an old 80's or 90's comic will on average get you $45-60.

[@queenscomicparty]

great video. just read comics. enjoy

[@kaseyflemingart]

If you collected golden or silver age in the 50s and 60s. You made a pretty good investment.

[@meljackson9007]

Am key issues collector

[@Gbrodgersfan45]

I agree with this to an extent, but i don't believe that every single modern comic will never be worth more one day. There is always going to be new collectors and new fans that may have missed out on a particular key issue or cover art or exclusive. Also FOMO drives todays market

[@brianogden9023]

It all depends on what comic it is a what professional rating has been given it. If your comic is rated 9.0 or above there will be some real financial value in it. Your oppion does not count as you as emotionally attached. My collection has been in an air tight box, read one time, original bright colors, no torn pages, etc. Not touched since the late 1960's that is not the type of comics most people have since their childhood. I have several in the $1,000 plus catagory.

[@TJ347]

People talk shit about the 90s speculator boom, but when you talk about comics worth less than the paper they're printed on, you're talking about today's comics which are pure trash in every respect.

[@skykennedy3574]

So walking dead, the boys, Locke & key, criminal, stumptown, Saga, Chew, are all garbage? I suggest you sit again, citizen.

[@davesgoldenduck6066]

No current comicbooks will be worth anything

[@MrGrimjaw]

True

[@boosterg1015]

It depends on what your definition of anything is.

[@Robert-nu4vc]

Unless you plan on making a profit from your comics then it doesn't matter if they are worth anything, or if you even get them graded and slabbed. If you are never planning to sell them, then they aren't worth anything no matter what they are. If you just collect to read them or just to have your favorite books then there is nothing wrong with that. I collect certain comics because I either read them, just like certain ones, or to have ones that I always wanted and never had when I was a kid. I've heard people say "my comics are worth so much money, but I'll never sell them." Well, if you're not ever going to sell them, then they are completely worthless just sitting on that shelf or in those boxes.

[@boratb258]

Same thing goes with baseball cards, kids use to use them and destroy them. In the 90's people were collecting them in plastic cause of the value of the old ones, problem is a ton of people were doing it so they wont be worth much. 90's comics will become valuable eventually when the numbers dwindle, say in 50-100 years. But with Omnibus reprints people can get their hands on and read old comics at a reasonable price.

[@bradkoski]

These stores talk these books down but when you look at their prices, it just doesn’t add up! They’re scammers.....period!!

[@Eyrrll]

I’ve spent 10s of thousands of dollars on comics throughout my lifetime (most at or below cover price). Overwhelmingly, most of those books are worth 1 to 5 dollars each, so comic shop owners are generally speaking true when they say the value isn’t there. The books on the walls in comic shops (usually behind the counter) tend to be the exceptions. It’s not that your books can’t be worth a fortune, so much as that it happens so rarely that you can’t depend on it. As an example, I have dozens of long boxes in my collection... but about 70 percent of the value of the entire collection fits in less than one half of one box. Those are the kind of exceptional books that tend to line comic shop walls.

[@johnnyfuture3524]

its "they're" not their. Lol

[@bradkoski]

Johnny Future no, you f’n moron, it’s “their” they’re is an abbreviation of “They are!” Get your English right😂😂

[@bradkoski]

Johnny Future yup, seen it corrected it....👍😀

[@markherman1211]

Yeah, he's pretty full of s***. As a retail-based dealer with a physical shop, it pays for him to neg books. He may literally have to. Know your 🔑 issues, be persistent in your hunt and frugal with your wallet. *Ask him if he's got a newsstand Batman #386 in a 9.6 or higher. Then ask if he'd take less than $300 for it(currently goes for around 2 IF you can find it). That's a modern BTW...

[@tedlogan5628]

So you’re saying my “Death of Superman” comic from the 90’s isn’t worth much?!....Surely, you can’t be serious!

[@wtfu812omg]

Ted Logan I have one too

[@ThunderSummersPro]

Well if you payed a 1.25 for it in the 90's then 15$ is a pretty nice return if say.

[@ALCPEREZ]

I am serious and don't call me Shirley.

[@tedlogan5628]

@@ALCPEREZ this guy gets it ...lol

[@wtfu812omg]

Ted Logan I have death and return too and I was at a comic dealer on Tuesday and he says it’s worth nothing except in “the quarter bin” as it was mass produced.

[@ryancoulter4797]

All I have are the Spider-Man wedding dual covers and the McFarlane in plastic cover Local shop here in Saskatchewan did find a very early Fantastic Four comic amongst a guys attic box collection. The shop has since closed but that was the best day the shop ever had. Also had an early xmen that introduced The Blob but that one was in shreds

[@BrooklynAvenue]

Baseball cards never recovered from the speculation boom of 1988. You can STILL buy an 1988 set for less than it cost at the time of release 34 years ago.