clemson75

1 hour ago, ExNihilo said:

Following artists and writers on social media is one way to stay informed of upcoming stories/projects.  Following certain subjects will keep you abreast of publisher events (ie following the Marvel subreddit should keep you up to date on major line wide events).  There's really not much you can do to stay informed on first appearances, let alone identify what will become a key first appearance.  When Electra took over the Daredevil mantle, word didn't spread until the night before.  Same with the daughter of Bane or Punchline.  Nevermind the fact that those characters could be completely forgotten this time next year (whatever happened to Lobo's daughter?).

I pre-order all my books now through DCBS.  They come bag and boarded and out of all the books I've ordered, I can probably remember only two instances where a book came damaged.  But as with any discount subscription service, you have to place your order months in advance.  As for limited release copies, I find those are generally store exclusives.  Under most circumstances that's a very niche market and unless there's a cover that is out of this world, there doesn't seem to be much long term value for many of the variant covers out there.  There might be a market for the 1:100 or 1:500 covers, but that's not my cup of tea.

At the end of the day, most books aren't worth classifying as an "investment".  The major keys that have stood the test of time would make solid investments, and you can certainly roll the dice on certain moderns (Ultimate Fallout #4 for example), but otherwise subscribing to a bunch of books hoping a few will strike it rich is a fools errand.  Buy what you like.  The wealth of memories is more worthwhile than the paper value of these books as they rise and fall through the years.

Ok, excuse me but WTF!? Ultimate Fallout 4 it has over 73,000 copies, barely 10 years old, and has an asking price of $200-500 for a CGC copy. Why?

I guess I was naive in my question, I understand there is no way to know if a book will explode in value. My question which was not thorough is more geared towards how do you stay informed? Going back to Walking Dead comic as example...how do you learn this book was going to be released? How do you keep up with artists? Do you pre-order comics? Is there a way I should order a comic in order to reduce damage other than going to store and grabbing off the shelf? Are there limited releases where only 1000 copies are made, if so how do you keep up with the news in comic world? 

I collected comic books as a kid and recently found them at my parents house. Looking to get back into it. Is there a way to foresee a book may be worth a lot of money one day? I hear books selling for lots of money for example The Walking Dead issue 1. How do you stay informed of a book or series will be popular or is it all a gamble? 
 

I’m not sure if this is frowned upon in the community but greed is not my intention. I truly am thinking of ways to benefit my children. If I were to get a book of value it would go towards my children’s future. I have a 529 plan set up but estimators are predicting 300-400k for the cost of college when they turn 18...