I’m trying to help my husband flesh out his collection, especially E.C. classics like Weird Science, Weird Science Fantasy, and Weird Fantasy. I’d love some tips on what to look for, so that I don’t have to rely solely on the seller’s rating of the book’s condition. Since mint is out of my price range, what traits are most important to a collector? How much damage, and of what kinds, is truly detrimental to the book’s value?
Any advice?
Run to the bookstore and get a copy of the Overstreet Price Guide. The Guide is the most-respected authority on comic book pricing, and it has a grading guide in the front that tells you the difference between mint, near-mint, very fine, fine, very good, good, and poor. A near-mint book can have signs that it’s been read a few times (such as slight wear around the staples) and still be perfectly sellable at the high grade.
If you just want to collect the stories themselves, look into hardcover collections or trade paperbacks.
Age is a factor in all comics. You greatest enemy is Mr Sun due to the fact it ages comic pulp (the stuff that pages are made out of) like crazy so if you are looking at the mid fifties comics you mentioned, then you first need to eyeball the yellow factor. The more yellow the pages are, the more brittle they will turn out. I have seen some comic hawkers at various places have a comic they will not pull out of the sheath due to its age. That is one way you know there may be damage in the comic.
The fold on comics is sometimes critical. If you examine the fold you can usually tell if its been opened a lot or that there is any kind of damage. Pay close attention to the staples. Look for any rust or wear along the seams.
Of course, look at the cover for creases, water damage, old price stickers,tears or ragged corners.
Then consider the price vs the wear. If it looks like a good deal for a excellent comic then by all means purchase it. If there is slight wear, I would say still buy it and consult your local dealer or Overstreet’s guide for places that deal in comic restoration. You usually pay about a hundred dollars but they can sometimes restore a comic from mint to near mint. (This does not mean they can take a piece of crap and make a new comic. But slight problems can be handled). I only use it for absolutely special comics though. For instance, I bought a Avengers #1 for about 60 bucks with some problems and used a restorer to take out the mistakes. Overall I was pleased and got it re branded by a dealer at Mint(originally near mint). Overall a good investment.
Beadalin, your OP doesn’t make clear exactly where your husband’s interest lies. Does he want these comics purely for their monetary value as collectibles?
Or is he interested in the stories and the art?
If the former, you should sit him down and give him a good talking-to. Comics are terrible investments these days. They take up a lot of space and comics newer than 1960 or so have very little likelihood of ever becoming valuable. Older comics, like the ECs you mention, are already expensive, and IMHO they’re not going to continue gaining value at a fast rate.
If the latter, there are many excellent-quality collections, as Mr. Blue Sky said, many in hardcover formats that are, objectively, even better than the original comics: better paper, better color reproduction, better everything. I’d advise you to check out some of the web-based used book finders, since I think the collections are out of print.
Try buying on eBay. In my experience, you can buy most comix for 50 cents on the dollar, or less. For my own collection, I buy huge wads of X-Men, or whatever, peel out the ones I want, then retail the rest out of my pawn shop. Get to add to my collection AND make money. Anybody you know who could the extras for you?
Thanks for the responses, guys. After reading Max Torque’s post, I dug around at home, and found that Mr. Bead does in fact own a recent copy of the Overstreet Price Guide, so I’ll sneak out of the house with it on my next purchasing foray. Thanks.
Heath Doolin, you gave me some excellent things to watch for, too.
Five, my husband collects them for both the story and the art. There are some comics that he’s willing to enjoy in harcover collections (like Astro City, right now), and yet more that he reads weekly but isn’t truly collecting (Batman and Hulk). But the E.C.s are his luxury thing. He takes great delight in owning original copies, and since he’s serious about it, he’s gradually building up a full collection, hoping to have every book in those three series I mentioned. They may not be a great investment, but he really, truly loves them. Who am I to deny him, you know?
Anyway, since those books in near-mint, very fine, and fine condition are usually around $100 or more, I’d feel better buying them if I don’t have to rely on the seller’s assessment of them. I want to know what makes a book Very Fine as opposed to Fine. And I don’t want to ask my husband, since this close to Christmas he’d know something was up! So, guess it’s time for me to get up close and personal with the Overstreet Price Guide.
It sounds like your husband is a knowledgeable and sensible collector, Beadalin. Good luck in your search; I bet he’ll be thrilled to have the originals you’re able to score.
More tips for you, Beadalin:
If you purchase a comic that is in a protective plastic bag or sheath, be sure to take the comic book out of the bag for closer examination. (Ask the seller’s permission first, of course.) Many comics that look great from the front may turn out to have damage to the back cover or to the interior. In particular, check for coupons cut out of the comics, and check to make sure that the center pages are present. (They sometimes come loose from the staple and fall out.) Also, don’t buy comics with tape on them, as acids in the tape destroy the paper. Watch for pen and pencil marks as well.
Sounds like a great present idea, though. Your husband will worship you for being so thoughtful.
The eBay suggestion is a good one. I have had some success finding good comics there at prices significantly lower than a dealer would charge. Review the scans and the verbal descriptions carefully before making bids, though. Also review the seller’s feedback to see whether previous purchasers have been satisfied. Generally, my experience with eBay is that the sellers on eBay grade their comics pretty accurately. (If they didn’t, they would get poor feedback.)
Some years ago, various EC titles (Tales From The Crypt, Weird Science, Vault of Horror, etc) were released in several hardbound collections (Two slipcases with four hardcovers, to each collection). I have those, and they’re a must-have to every comic book collector. Only drawback is, they’re not that easy to find.
An old roommate of mine collected comics with a religious fervor. He told me to ensure that the fold is centered as nearly perfect as possible so the pages don’t get skewed (one side is shifted too close to the edge while the other has a large margin of white space if they aren’t). Also examine each page and make sure the colors don’t bleed into each other. Also, since they’re printed in multiple runs (one for each color), make sure that the colors line up with each other (you can see the bad effect from this in poorly done silkscreens - wallpaper seems to be particularly bad about this).