Golden Age Comic Buying Advice9748
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tonnage71 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere, but as I know there are some GA collectors on this board, thought I’d seek some advice. Ideally I’d like to pick up a couple GA books for $500 or less each. Would prefer graded copies to avoid any surprises from restoration, actual condition, page quality etc. Obviously really high grade books are hard to come by with my target price range (except for maybe funny animal or Western books, which I’d like to avoid). I like horror, Sci-Fi and superhero books, so definitely have a broad scope of what would make me happy. I’m also planning to hold any books I buy for the long haul (10 years or more) rather than flipping. What types of GA books will hold their value more over time? Would appreciate your advice on what to target for my price range. Thanks in advance! | ||
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 It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
| this sounds like a job for @CatmanAmerica!! | ||
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 Collector
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michaelekrupp private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Key issues will always hold and gain value at a faster rate than common issues. You may have difficulty finding any GA keys under $500 to invest in unless they are very low grade. Another option is to find comics with outstanding covers. A really cool cover makes a book easier to sell, although it may take a little searching to find the book you want. Slabbed comics sell at a premium compared to their raw counterparts, which will further limit the books in your price range. It may be worth considering buying raw and having the book slabbed yourself if you can buy from someone you trust. GA books are much more rare than silver age, and if you have fine or better GA books you truly have something. Good luck with your search (that’s really the fun part!) and be sure to let us know what you come up with. | ||
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 Collector
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QuaBrot private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Buy what you like. Forget trying to look in the crystal ball to see what values will be in the future. Trends change, tastes change, and there is almost no way to figure out what sells (ok, sex sells, so if you're really that desperate for enduring value look for sexy). $500 can get you some nice books - Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, Strange Worlds, Flying Saucers, and so on. Many titles and you can get some decent copies. |
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 Collector
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Doc_Cop private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I would recommend GA books with historical covers, WWII images, Hitler etc. They always go up in value and have some amazing art work, | ||
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 Leftover Sundae Gnus
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CatmanAmerica private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by tonnage71 You’ll probably get some great advice from others here as well, but as a long time fan, collector and investment minded dealer/broker of GA comics I have specific insight into this market. Hopefully some of this will prove useful. The most obvious drivers of the current GA marketplace are superhero and pre-code horror. Both genres are hot and continue to perform well. Secondly, unless you’re a high grade only collector, there are still plenty of mid-grade opportunities that aren’t wallet busters. These will eventually dry up as high grade book scarcity increases, but for now there’s a collector’s smorgasbord. Also on the list of importance is desirability & risk, two competing factors, the former tied to personal perception (subjective interest), the latter to market perception (objective criteria). Both are important to market stability, but in the end, key books in any successful line of comics will determine overall interest. If you’re looking for financial investment only, keys are the best way to go (first origins & appearances, attention grabbing special issues, SOTI notations, etc.). Conversely, art can be reliable metric as long as there’s a broad consensus of appreciation for books featuring popular artists or unique cover art that can be flipped quickly. Other factors to take into account are apparent scarcity and current sales data. These require research because CGC’s census numbers are unreliable ...even though buyers tend to rely on them anyway... and sales data is often sketchy and biased (some analytical sites only obtain CGC related data, missing many auction and virtually all dealer sales). So, you’re probably wondering what specific titles I’d recommend. Without ratcheting up competition for the HG titles I’m personally interested in, there are plenty of mid-grade books popping up at reasonable prices on dealer walls, websites and occasionally through auctions. Among those often undervalued are Ace's hero titles, early Prize Comics, some Better/Standard hero titles, pre-Archie MLJ, Quality (WWII vintage Police, Military & HITs especially), Hillman (Airboy and Heap), and early Lev Gleason hero and various publishers crime titles. That just about covers it. Try to consider books on a case by case basis rather than focusing on runs, it makes collecting GA easier. Yep, looks like too much caffeine (again) today!   . |
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 I'll probably wake up constipated.
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Pre_Coder private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Pre-Code Horror. But keep in mind, that's just my personal interest. The super hero stuff is awesome, even more so value wise. | ||
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Collector
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tonnage71 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Thanks for the detailed feedback and suggestions @CatmanAmerica!  |
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Collector
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tonnage71 private msg quote post Address this user | |
  Made my entry into the world of GA collecting with a couple issues of Wings Comics that I got for a fair price. Should have in my possession today... |
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Collector
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QuaBrot private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Nice - they look to be in great condition! Enjoy and may they soon have many brothers and sisters! | ||
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 Captain Accident
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the420bandito private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Good move. The later books in the Wings run are on my radar as well. Great "damsel in distress" covers. | ||
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Collector
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tonnage71 private msg quote post Address this user | |
My thoughts exactly @the420bandito. I don’t normally seek out aviation comics or “girl” covers but these two spoke to me. Really excited to receive them. Might have found another collecting obsession (not that I need more!)...  |
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 Collector
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Darkseid_of_town private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Golden age early wonder woman comics are fairly easy to obtain in decent grade at fair prices and with another movie on the horizon soon those too have some great potential. Congratulations on your purchases and I hope they make you happy! |
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Captain Accident
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the420bandito private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by tonnage71 I snagged this one right before it shot up in value.  Bob Lubbers made some killer covers. Here is an ultra cool quote from him: Remembering his first, pre-World War II employment at Fiction House, Lubbers recalled "a young teenager who'd come in now and then to show a little sample book he'd made up called Panther Lady. We could see this kid had the right stuff. He had no luck selling it to Fiction House, but it was just as well. Frank Frazetta has become a glittering star in the world of fine art."  |
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Collector
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tonnage71 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @the420bandito...gorgeous book and very cool story! | ||
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