Category: Comic Collecting 101

Image Comics: The Explosion of the Modern Age

In order to get our collective hands around the comic book speculation and investment world, we have had to define and categorize the different comic book ages. The Modern Age is the largest of the comic book ages. It stretches from the debut of Image Comics in...

Collecting 101: Know Your Grades

"That's at least a 9.0." "This comic is in very good/fine condition." If you're a beginning collector, that means very little and can be intimidating to hear at a comic convention. But fear not, for I am here to help you make sense of the grading jargon....

Questions and Answers: ROI Basics and Whitman Variants

Some of our readers have questions regarding specific variant comics and the calculation of ROI. It is important to note that while writing this blog we love to hear from our readers as they often make salient points and force us to expand our knowledge base....

Collecting 101: the Label Cheat Sheet

For a beginning collector, understanding the ins and outs for the grading companies can be daunting. The first step is knowing your labels and what the colors mean. When you look at graded comics, you've got a rainbow of colors to choose from. If you're new to...

Collecting 101: Foxing, Color Breaks, and Spine Rolls

"Light foxing." "Color breaks." "Spine creases." Collector's jargon, and if you're new to collecting, these can be baffling. Get out a sheet of paper because I'm covering some basics to help you with the vocabulary. FOXING...

Where in the World is Mark Jewelers?

Being a collector can be frustrating at times.  Every collection has a natural evolution, but the goals remain the same.  First: find the best comics that fit your scheme and second: find the rarest available comics that fit said scheme...at least that's how I simplify it. ...

Oh Canada! Price Variants

There are certain topics that you should not discuss with friends:  politics, religion, and in the comic book world...comic price variants.  If you go to any message board on the topic, you will inevitably see a comment along the lines of "why would I pay higher...

Newsstand vs. Direct - The Basics

I am a big fan of finding the rare stuff.  The lower the census, the better.  However, sometimes you want a comic that may not be as rare as you'd like, for example there might be 2,838 grade 9.8 copies of a comic on the census...wait,...

Pressing Concerns

Comic books like all collectibles have value based off condition. This is not the lone determinant but it definitely quantifies the range of prices for a book. For instance, what is the range on a Spider-Man #1 in fair condition with a rating CGC of 1.0 grade?...

Notes on Collecting Comics (Pt. 3)

Last time I was looking at how demand drives value up on collectibles, and especially how different kinds of comics grab the attention of collectors at different times, leading to premiums regarding prices for select genres and titles that the same collectors fervently desire. ...