How To Start A Rare Comic Book Collection Part 1

I am a collector – I have been a collector since I was a little kid. I started off with hot wheels back in the 80’s. I had a set of toys I played with and a set of cars I kept in their original package. I don’t know what it was or why I did that but it definitely molded me into the type of collector that I am today. As I grew older I started buying redline hot wheels and used any money I made to buy more cars. I progressed from Vintage redlines to toys, video games, comics, etc. I personally don’t think there is a type of collectible that I have not owned/sold/kept. Yes I even had Pogs – if anyone remember those.

Today, I have things that I buy to read/display/etc and I have my items that I keep mostly as an investment. Over the years prices rise and fall but one thing that has been pretty steady are comics. If you are looking to start collecting, then I strongly suggest looking into comics. They have been around for a very long time and I don’t think there will ever be a point when people will not collect comics.

So, How do you start a rare comic book collection? Well the answer is not simple. It requires an extremely large amount of knowledge and does not happen over night. I am definitely not a comic expert but can easily distinguish between a comic that is worth a few hundred dollars and one that is worth a few bucks. In the next few paragraphs, I will be sharing some of the various methods and tools that I use for finding great comics and creating a comic book collection that you can potentially resell in the future – or simply brag about online 😉

1. What Comics To Collect?

This is the first question you must ask yourself. Do you want to collect only DC or Marvel? Do you want to collect new or old comics?

I personally like collection old key comics that are CGC graded. Over the years comics have increased in value generally speaking. With all the new movies, toys, video games and more that focus on comics, I think that this a pretty good collectible to invest in.  However that does not limit me. I have been buying many of the DC NEW 52 1:200 variants – especially the #1’s – Why? Well because DC re-released comics that potentially sell for tens of thousands of dollars (Batman, Action Comics, Flash) and there is a HUGE following already. Re-releasing them and starting the series all over with #1 was a brilliant way to attract new and old comic fans and ensure that the items will be an instant collectible. I was lucky enough to buy Batman #1 1:200 pencil variant and get a 9.8 from CGC!

2. How much money do you want to spend?

This is another very important question. Everyone has a different budget and price that they can afford to pay. I would first sit down and figure out how much money you have to invest or can comfortably spend on comics. After you set a budget it is time to start buying!

3. Time To start researching

After figuring out what comics to collect and how much money you want to spend, it is now time to start researching. I do not want to drag this post on forever so I am breaking it up into a few different parts.

Part 2 is going to focus on the methods I use to find comics. If you cannot wait and are new to comics, I would suggest you start off by buying the latest edition of Overstreet Comic Price Guide. This book contains the price for every single comic book ever released and is a must have for any comic collector.

With that I am going to end Part 1 and should have Part 2 in a week or so. In Part 2, you can expect to see some of the websites and tools I use to buy comics and how to find a potential deal! I will also discuss grading vs raw comics and how to spot key comics!