Psycho on the condition of the books, how did you neat yourself? did you20449

Originally Posted by michaelekrupp
I used to suffer from this. I had a large collection of silver and some golden age books and in many cases I knew more about how many spine tics a book had than the contents of the story inside. Back around 2006 I lost my job and ended up selling my comics to support myself. By around 2010 I had no comics left.

Naturally, that didn’t last. Before long I jumped back in, and when I did I came to a realization. When I first started reading comics as a kid, I gave absolutely no thought about the condition of the cover. My focus was entirely on reading them. The pure joy of that time and that experience is unparalleled. That is when and where the magic happened! As I got into my teens, putting comics in plastic bags became fashionable. By my late teens/ early 20s I had morphed into a condition obsessed back issue collector, the type of which I am sure is common on this forum. What I realized was that the further I traveled down the path of condition obsession, the less joy I experienced. After all, there’s always a nicer copy out there, right? As I began buying comics again, my initial focus was on regaining the comics I owned as a kid and recapturing that magic. I made a promise to myself to keep it about the joy of reading and not the condition of the comics. Honestly, I do not even bag my comics these days! My collecting focus did expand somewhat; now I am looking to fill in the entire decade of the 1980s instead of just the ones I bought as a kid. I have tens of thousands of golden and silver age comics, but they are mostly in the form of hardcovers, trades and PDFs. I do still allow myself to indulge in an occasional higher end item, but nowhere near to the point of my past obsession. The end result? I enjoy the hobby more than ever, and every time I open up a comic I experience that old magic. It’s far better to be a magic junkie than a condition junkie!

Originally Posted by HAmistoso
I create an unboxing thread for all to enjoy!!!

Originally Posted by Joosh
I think most comic book collectors can relate to this, myself included. Even as a young teenager I handled my comics with extreme care and let no others handle them. When my interest in comics returned in my 30’s I found I am just as obsessed with condition, except now with the funds to get the books I never could in my youth. I take an inordinate amount of pride in some of my hard to find books in top condition. I understand it means little to those around me but I’m happy with it.