Comic book ubiquity and resulting fatigue

[AJD]

I think I have the answer to your problem - move to Australia...

 

Seriously, if not for the internet, I'd rarely find anything I am looking for. I really envy you guys who get to go to conventions, visit dealers or local auctions etc. For the overseas collector of US-produced comics, it's the net or nothing.

 

Oh, and the advice to take a break rather than force yourself to keep buying is a sound one. But let me add a caveat - I did that about 15 years ago and sold off my collection (which was mostly Australian comics and US bronze). There's a few I should have kept. So if you part with books, don't ignore that little voice that says 'are you sure you want to let this one go'?

[JohnT]

This is a great thread. Paul, I can totally relate to what you've said...right down to the example of Marvel SA. I have partial runs of many Marvel titles that I'll probably never finish and one reason is I lost enthusiasm for them because they're so damned common! Another reason is everybody and their brother has those runs, and it's not as fun to collect things that everyone else has already collected. And yes, this is all made possible by the internet.

 

So, even though for me I'd much rather have things the way they are than the way they were, with more selection vs. rarity, I can see what you're struggling with. My only advice would be to go with what you want, and don't feel guilty about the collecting interests you leave behind. Collecting is not like your relationships with women--as someone else cleverly brought up!--so you don't need to feel "disloyal" if you simply move on.

 

For me, I've gradually moved from SA to Atom Age to dabbling in GA, and even recently starting to explore the vast and seemingly unlimited field of pulps. That's not to say I don't still have some SA books I'm really wanting, but collecting is all about me (unlike all the other areas of my life) so I'm doing what I want and endulging my whims!

[adamstrange]

So if you part with books, don't ignore that little voice that says 'are you sure you want to let this one go'?

I would take a break before deciding to sell.

[*paull*]

Here is a book that I found on Ebay for 35 bucks. I have not found anymore of them. Not saying they are not out there, but I have been looking to see if I could find another. Gerber and Overstreet question its existence. Probably does not fit into your interests, but in your interests, there may be some like this hiding from you.

 

 

http://www.cgccomics.com/census/grades_standard.asp?title=Romeo+Tubbs&publisher=Superior+Comics&issue=27&year=1950&issuedate=1950

 

I can't view your link, but I understand your point. Was I jazzed to find my copy of G-I in Battle Annual (Farrell)? Sure was! Haven't seen one since, either.

 

 

 

OK, except for yours, and I was jealous when you showed it to me the first time!

[*paull*]

Interiors are actually really good too

 

I saw you buy the Bomber 2! I didn't realize that was the only one you needed for the set. Congrats!

 

Psst... first rule in Bomber Club....

[*paull*]

For me, I've gradually moved from SA to Atom Age to dabbling in GA, and even recently starting to explore the vast and seemingly unlimited field of pulps.

 

Actually, I could see myself expanding into pulps more in the future. However, I don't expect pulp prices to remain elevated. I prefer to wait it out and buy later.

[skybolt]

I've found that taking 6 month breaks from collecting has really helped in reigniting my interest in comic books. I've done this 3 times over the past 7 years and it has definitely worked. That being said, the key is to find a genre that you love to collect and to have a couple of hard to find grails that you're constantly chasing after.

 

Since I'm a mid to semi high grade GA GGA collector, I'm usually looking for books in the 6.0 and above range. For several years I had a hard time finding decent copies of Phantom Lady #23 and Seven Seas #4. Since I spent hours searching for these 2 issues every week on the Internet, I was able to pick up other books that weren't on my radar. It made the entire process exciting and fun. Now that I've finally picked up a copy of these 2 issues the enthusiasm level has died down a bit. Spending hours searching for another easy to find Sheena jungle book does not excite me that much anymore.

 

Having a collection of approximately 350 GGA books is great, but it can be a beast of its own . I can't explore other genres since funds are tight after buying a home, and I don't want to break up the collection to free up additional funds.

[thedude]

I say "Thank God for the internet!!" if not for the internet making books more available, I would still be scouring my LCS every week or so, wondering when he is ever going to get in any GA Action war covers, or early Tecs/Supes. or any decent early GA superhero books. Or looking at that coverless Supes #18 thinking... "man this is a good deal I'd better buy this cuz I won't ever see another copy ever, I'm so lucky to have found this one".

 

see, like some others have mentioned, I live in an area where there are no comic conventions to go to, so it's either mail order (good luck there as well with no scans) or your LCS. Growing up, I knew about the big conventions San Diego, Chicago, etc. but they weren't close enough regionally to attend. While you people in the big cities were livin' it up during the 80s/90s, I was getting excited about finding a FINE + copy of Superman #199 at my local shop.

 

It's only after joining these boards that I started going to conventions and enjoying the hobby MUCH more.

 

If not for the availability and selection of books that the internet has provided, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten serious about my collection and would just be doing something else right now besides typing on this board.

[adamstrange]

Having a collection of approximately 350 GGA books is great AWESOME

 

Fixed that for you. Congrats on the house!

[skybolt]

Having a collection of approximately 350 GGA books is great AWESOME

 

Fixed that for you. Congrats on the house!

 

Thank you. (thumbs u

 

Well if I ever decide to sell the collection, I definitely want to take some group pictures first to remember it.

[Hamlet]

I think that one thing that helps keep my interest in the the more common mid-grade silver age books is having a limit on what you will pay that makes the books harder to obtain.

 

Common Silver age Thors in 5.0-7.0 are fairly easy to collect. However, if you're only willing to pay $5 each for them ( including shipping), they can take a bit longer to find.

 

Basically, I adjust the price I'm willing to pay for these things down below what I think I should probably be able to easily sell them for. Sometimes that will be a fraction of guide, sometimes that will be much higher number for the hotter items.

 

Right now I'm collecting Wonder Woman issues from 80-110 because I like the covers and they aren't all that common. I'm looking for them in say 5.0 - 7.0, and I don't want to pay more than the VG price for them unless they are 6.0 or better. That rules out pretty much any books at the larger online retailers, since they have them all priced at way above guide. However, I've picked up two in the last couple months on Ebay for about 60% of guide.

 

Metropolis has 5 copies of 105, but since they are all priced at 50% over guide, they don't count as copies for me.

 

Now 105 might be impossible to find for 60% of guide, but I bet that I can find it for guide eventually. It can't be all that scarce if Metropolis is sitting on 5 copies

 

 

[Zonker]

There does seem to be at least a couple of different motivations at work in collecting comics, maybe along the lines of collector vs. owner mentioned earlier in the thread.

 

Maybe for one type of collector, it really is all about the challenge of the hunt. Maybe it is even less important what to collect, then the actual process of the collecting hunt. I confess that's a foreign idea to me: if something is that difficult to obtain, I'm unlikely to be motivated enough to even get started. And aside from science-fiction paperbacks or maybe certain LP records, I'd be hard-pressed to think of anything else besides comics I can even imagine developing an interest in collecting. So apparently that's just not the type of collector gene I'm carrying.

 

For me, it's all about building a library of the coolest comics stuff, all obtained at the optimum sweet spot of pricing. Who gets to decide what's cool, and what's the sweet spot price? I do, of course. That's what makes the collection my collection.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

I say "Thank God for the internet!!" if not for the internet making books more available, I would still be scouring my LCS every week or so, wondering when he is ever going to get in any GA Action war covers, or early Tecs/Supes. or any decent early GA superhero books. Or looking at that coverless Supes #18 thinking... "man this is a good deal I'd better buy this cuz I won't ever see another copy ever, I'm so lucky to have found this one".

 

see, like some others have mentioned, I live in an area where there are no comic conventions to go to, so it's either mail order (good luck there as well with no scans) or your LCS. Growing up, I knew about the big conventions San Diego, Chicago, etc. but they weren't close enough regionally to attend. While you people in the big cities were livin' it up during the 80s/90s, I was getting excited about finding a FINE + copy of Superman #199 at my local shop.

 

It's only after joining these boards that I started going to conventions and enjoying the hobby MUCH more.

 

If not for the availability and selection of books that the internet has provided, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten serious about my collection and would just be doing something else right now besides typing on this board.

 

+ 1. Well said Alton.

 

I was facing my own bit of Comic "burnout" a few years ago...and then I gave up on collecting Silver and Bronze (for the most part) and started focusing on Golden Age. Instantly, you leave the realm of the common to the ridiculously obscure, and its great!

 

In fact, its in part due to the Internet, and the boards in particular, that I've been able to expand my knowledge of comic rarity and elusiveness tenfold. I used to look at the Overstreet guide as a sort of comic catalogue, now I realize that many of the books in there either aren't available in the grades I want, or never come up for sale.

 

Silver Age had become such a dead end for me...as much as I love SA Marvels, I pretty much learned all there was to learn about them in the 20 years that I was a fan and off-and-on collector.

 

But Golden Age as a whole? Man, I could spend the next 30 years learning, discovering, delving, and collecting the multitude of titles and runs I want (and even those I don't yet know I want), and I'd never get bored.

 

As for the financial factor, I finance my obsession by buying and selling SA and BA. I'm still applying my knowledge and experience in those two areas, and putting it to good use, even though I don't actively collect them. And even on those occasions where I book I want exceeds my financial ability to own it (and there are lots), I don't get discouraged because I always know that tomorrow will bring something else that's equally cool.

 

Heck, I even have taken to collecting catalogues and mailers from the 90s-current, just thumbing through them and seeing what books sold for 10-15 years ago, and finding one of them that you now own in a catalogue from that long ago can be a trip.

 

I don't know...I love this hobby, and am having more fun then ever.

 

 

[JohnT]

I think that one thing that helps keep my interest in the the more common mid-grade silver age books is having a limit on what you will pay that makes the books harder to obtain.

 

Common Silver age Thors in 5.0-7.0 are fairly easy to collect. However, if you're only willing to pay $5 each for them ( including shipping), they can take a bit longer to find.

 

Basically, I adjust the price I'm willing to pay for these things down below what I think I should probably be able to easily sell them for. Sometimes that will be a fraction of guide, sometimes that will be much higher number for the hotter items.

 

Right now I'm collecting Wonder Woman issues from 80-110 because I like the covers and they aren't all that common. I'm looking for them in say 5.0 - 7.0, and I don't want to pay more than the VG price for them unless they are 6.0 or better. That rules out pretty much any books at the larger online retailers, since they have them all priced at way above guide. However, I've picked up two in the last couple months on Ebay for about 60% of guide.

 

Metropolis has 5 copies of 105, but since they are all priced at 50% over guide, they don't count as copies for me.

 

Now 105 might be impossible to find for 60% of guide, but I bet that I can find it for guide eventually. It can't be all that scarce if Metropolis is sitting on 5 copies

 

 

Yeah, when you factor in grade and price points books become a lot less common. I rarely pay guide, or anywhere near guide, for books. But that eliminates all the back stock owned by big dealers, and even many board members. So that makes the hunt much more interesting!

[jbcomicbox]

I can't believe that Mark Zaid (esquirecomics) does not have books rare enough for you to add to your collection. There are some others here also that could meet your challenge. Try thse ashcan editions from years gone by.

 

I'm not looking solely for rarity, but rarity combined with a theme/artist/character that I enjoy. Seriously though, how many books haven't passed through the Boards or all of the auction sites at some point in a 2-5 year span? Not a whole lot, I venture to guess.

 

Got just the thing for you.....placing aside Centaurs, Think

 

Wow What A Magzaine

 

Very rare, early/earliest Eisner, Kane, Briefer etc.

 

jb

[*paull*]

Got just the thing for you.....placing aside Centaurs, Think

 

Wow What A Magzaine

 

Very rare, early/earliest Eisner, Kane, Briefer etc.

 

jb

 

If only I had stacks of Benjamins to buy the Lost Valley set

[Timely]

I say "Thank God for the internet!!" if not for the internet making books more available, I would still be scouring my LCS every week or so, wondering when he is ever going to get in any GA Action war covers, or early Tecs/Supes. or any decent early GA superhero books. Or looking at that coverless Supes #18 thinking... "man this is a good deal I'd better buy this cuz I won't ever see another copy ever, I'm so lucky to have found this one".

 

see, like some others have mentioned, I live in an area where there are no comic conventions to go to, so it's either mail order (good luck there as well with no scans) or your LCS. Growing up, I knew about the big conventions San Diego, Chicago, etc. but they weren't close enough regionally to attend. While you people in the big cities were livin' it up during the 80s/90s, I was getting excited about finding a FINE + copy of Superman #199 at my local shop.

 

It's only after joining these boards that I started going to conventions and enjoying the hobby MUCH more.

 

If not for the availability and selection of books that the internet has provided, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten serious about my collection and would just be doing something else right now besides typing on this board.

 

+ 1. Well said Alton.

 

I was facing my own bit of Comic "burnout" a few years ago...and then I gave up on collecting Silver and Bronze (for the most part) and started focusing on Golden Age. Instantly, you leave the realm of the common to the ridiculously obscure, and its great!

 

In fact, its in part due to the Internet, and the boards in particular, that I've been able to expand my knowledge of comic rarity and elusiveness tenfold. I used to look at the Overstreet guide as a sort of comic catalogue, now I realize that many of the books in there either aren't available in the grades I want, or never come up for sale.

 

Silver Age had become such a dead end for me...as much as I love SA Marvels, I pretty much learned all there was to learn about them in the 20 years that I was a fan and off-and-on collector.

 

But Golden Age as a whole? Man, I could spend the next 30 years learning, discovering, delving, and collecting the multitude of titles and runs I want (and even those I don't yet know I want), and I'd never get bored.

 

As for the financial factor, I finance my obsession by buying and selling SA and BA. I'm still applying my knowledge and experience in those two areas, and putting it to good use, even though I don't actively collect them. And even on those occasions where I book I want exceeds my financial ability to own it (and there are lots), I don't get discouraged because I always know that tomorrow will bring something else that's equally cool.

 

Heck, I even have taken to collecting catalogues and mailers from the 90s-current, just thumbing through them and seeing what books sold for 10-15 years ago, and finding one of them that you now own in a catalogue from that long ago can be a trip.

 

I don't know...I love this hobby, and am having more fun then ever.

 

 

Great post! (thumbs u

 

Even after 10 years of CGC being opened we still get in books none of us have ever seen!

 

West

[Doohickamabob]

I stopped buying them years ago even though I still like them, enjoy looking at the art, and talking about the artists. I just don't need to own them. ... I find myself slowing to a crawl in collecting this stuff because I'm finding that practically everything that I want to own is sitting on multiple websites waiting to be bought. ... I have a couple of runs I have a mild interest in finishing, but I'm resistant to spending the money on these comics and prefer to buy other stuff. ... What is really rare? Certainly no Silver or Bronze. I'm not talking about rare in high grade, just rare in general. By my definition, "rare" would mean having to wait years to turn up a copy in complete, unrestored condition. I like rarity in the things that I collect. The chase is a big part of the fun.

 

I am sorry to hear that you are growing into a mature adult. Very sad!

 

Seriously, though... If you have any appreciation for cover art, and you're tired of comics, I highly recommend you check out the realm of rare paperbacks. Get a book called "Dames, Dolls & Delinquents" for starters. Amazing art! Pulps also have some phenomenal artwork (and are quite rare), but paperbacks are smaller and more durable than pulps.

 

For comic-book rarity, late 1930s/early '40s stuff is obviously a good realm to focus on. I can't imagine anybody getting jaded because tracking down a complete set of L.B. Cole "Suspense Comics" issues is too easy.

[Doohickamabob]

Perhaps it is time to broaden your horizons. Are you up to it?

 

I have been broadening my horizons in comics, but I'm finding that other fields of collecting are winning the war for limited funds based on the fact that I may never come across those items for a long time.

 

Why don't you share some of those other fields with us... I love hearing about the OTHER stuff people collect.

[Doohickamabob]

Well if I ever decide to sell the collection, I definitely want to take some group pictures first to remember it.

 

You should do that NOW. Then you will have an insurance record in case of theft or fire. You'll also have an easy way to look at your collection instead of getting them out and handling them. But most importantly, you can post them here for people to drool over. Anybody who has Phantom Lady #23 and Seven Seas #4 along with 350 other GGA comics has a collection I want to see.