reading comics

[shadow2026]

Hello,

 

A VERY new collector here wondering how one would go about reading comic books. I'm planning on spending a fair bit of money on a spawn collection that is in NM condition. I've never read any of the spawn books, but that is one of my main reasons for wanting them. I am wondering what the best way to go about reading my books and keeping them in NM condition would be. Off the top of my head, using gloves wouldnt be a bad idea to prevent sweat or oils from degrading the pages (even tho these books are MA), but what kind of gloves? Would hospital type latex gloves work? Will powders from these gloves affect the pages?. Also carefully turning the pages and not bending them all the way back would no doubt protect the spine (and the pages themselves) from tears, bends, folds and cracks. Is there anything else I should do or any other precautions I should take when reading these and eventually other comics I want to read? Whenever possible I will be buying 2 copies of each, 1 to read and one to put away, but that won't be possible with the collection I'm going to be (hopefully) buying (#1 - 86). Any advice in this area qould be most helpful and appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

Vince

[blowout]

I hope you are not serious, but if you are, my advice would be...don't spend lots of money on a NM Spawn collection.

[ultimatevenom]

Let me first say welcome to the boards.

 

Secondly, i don't think you would need gloves to read spawn comics, even if you damage them they are common in high grade and really cheap.

[shadow2026]

I don't suppose it's alot, if I get it for the price I want to get it for, the first 86 issues will cost me around 120-130 bucks (I say a fair amount because to me, thats alot to spend on comic books), but that works out to about 1.50 an issue, which isn't bad, and I'd go up to 150 bucks max.

 

I'm collecting spawn not for the current value, but because I'm intrigued by the books and always wanted to read them. I want to preserve them because even though there's a high distribution of them now, who knows what'll happen in the future. In 40 or 50 years they could be worth alot more if kept pristine...

 

Ok so besides spawn comics, say I wanted to read an older book, say a SA book that I happened to aquire that was in VF-NM condition and wanted to read. How would I protect it from any further damage while reading it?

 

Thanks again

Vince

[ultimatevenom]

Well i don't know anyone who goes to the extreme of wearing gloves to read, i always wash my hands and dry them throughly before going near my books.

[Wally's Comics]

...thats alot to spend on comic books

 

 

Hah!, you might not know it but some guys here in

these threads spend way more that amount of money on a daily basis!

 

But hey first of all.... Welcome To The Boards!!!

 

To answer your question about collecting, you must first ask yourself why are you doing this?

Is it for an investment? Is it for reading? Do you like the art? etc. etc.

 

Then I would recommend on investigating this venue more clearly? Like if investments are your bag, then look at the hot selling back issues and findout why? Is it a key issue, is it a hot artist origin issue? etc. etc.

 

If what your are looking for is a great read and an investment at the same time first I would recommend reader comics to find out what your taste are. Spend about $100 bucks on about anything you have ever heard was a great comic arch or character but the book being in low grade so you can get it for cheap.

 

One of the things that I would love to know is where you conceived the notion that Spawn was a good investment? Don't get me wrong I own qute a few Spawn books, but I do because they're not too bad of reads, I just know that they are Moderns (being produced from the early 90's to present). And the one thing about moderns is that it is a gamble on whether or not these will be worth the paper they are printed on in the future - that is because there are so many people collecting these same issues in pristine condition.

 

Now if you are in to High Grade and into a great investment I would recommend looking into the Copper (80's) or the the Bronze (70's) era of comics. The older the comic, the more popular the series, the more likely that this book is a Key - The more you will pay because it is harder to get etc. etc.

 

I've always been a Silver (60's), Bronze, Copper kind of guy myself of main stream titles Spidey, X-men, Bat Man etc. etc.

 

All I can say is have fun! Enjoy the hobby for what it is...

 

Great Entertainment.

 

[Ze-man]

Hi, welcome!

 

Nothing wrong with wanting a High Grade run of Spawn.

You should be able to get one on the cheap if you look around.

 

And I would suggest buying the SpawnTrade Paperback collections, if you want to read the stories, and not mess up your comics.

 

Here is a recent thrread about comic storage, and handling you will find useful.

comic handling and storage

 

Z

[Stronguy]

I'm planning on spending a fair bit of money on a spawn collection that is in NM condition.

You're kidding, right?

[tilleycs]

First, like others have said...Welcome to the boards!

 

If I were you, I wouldn't spend $1.50 per issue on Spawn. I bought a "mixed lot" from someone here on the boards who was having a sale, and there were probably a dozen NM Spawn issues in there...and I got the lot for 25 cents an issue. Don't waste your money, especially if you're speculating/hoping that they "might" be worth something "someday" (which it sounds like you are). Your money would be better spent/invested on the older SA issues that you're asking about preserving.

[shadow2026]

Thank you all for the advice, and for God sakes YES IM SERIOUS!

 

I like spawn because of the art, the characters background story and the fact that I'm in to more horror/sci-fi type books than I would be into say Spiderman or X-men or Superman or what have you. Sure, eventually I may expand to collect those, but first and foremost I want to collect them to read. I'm thinking about also starting to collect titles like Witchblade or Vampirella or whatever else I can find along these lines that I may be interested in reading. I want to keep them in the best condition possible because you just never know! The price of spawn amongst collectors seems to be really low right now, lots of people selling, not alot buying, but who knows, through the years the numbers may dwindle, and my childrens children may some day find them to be of great value. If not, no big deal, I still find it neat to look at a comic from the 60's and 70's that may not be worth alot, but still gives me a peice of history, knowing that I'm holding something older than me.

 

Ok, enough ranting, heres what I found on cpg

http://www.comicspriceguide.com/p-issues.asp?t_ID=2234

 

According to that general price of the books are about 2.50 for just an average copy or whatever. more if they're graded. Now I know I may not get 2.50 if I tried to resell them, I may not even get .50 or .25, but I don't plan on reselling them, and to be that close to owning a complete run is something I can hardly pass up. Another quirk about collecting I have is the necessity to get all of something, pick a topic and go for it, then pick another and go for that. I couldnt see myself buying 30 different titles just to have a single collection of books that are worth money. I collect with a theme in mind, it makes it more interesting to me.

 

Anyhow, I'm going on again, sorry about that

Thank you all for the advice, especially that article on comic care,

 

Sincearly

Vince Valentin

[Foolkiller]

shadow:

 

please ignore those who disparage your want for Spawn and your desire to keep them in NM condition... spawn was a cool book, and one that I liked when I was younger -- it deteriorated in quality a little over time though.

 

To answer your question, washing and drying your hands carefully is always an important step. For most moderns, like Spawn, normal careful handling is fine. Lay the book on flat surface and turn the pages carefully. Keeping it in your hand to reduce stress will just cause oils in your hands to transfer to the book... but to be honest, for a modern, you can handle it fairly normally and keep it generally in NM condition.

 

As for the value or pricing of Spawns, I do have to echo what everyone else is saying. Spawns have huge print runs and will likely never increase in value significantly. The price guide is irrelevant on books like this. Most Spawns can be aquired for $1 a book... however, paying a little extra for the convenience of buying in a bulk lot might be worth paying for, rather than scouring dollar boxes.

Time is money.

 

You can, as someone else mentioned, buy the trades which is an excellent way just to read the books, instead of pulling out the originals.

 

Welcome to the Boards and good luck with your collecting goals.

[valiantman]

I agree with Foolkiller...

You can get most Spawn issues for $1 a book or less,

but if you're happy with the convenience of buying them all

at the same time around $1.50 each... that's great.

 

One quick note, though... price guides and websites

such as www.comicspriceguide.com don't always reflect reality,

especially for modern comic books. They tend price EVERYTHING at $2.50

because that was about the cover price when the book was new.

99% of modern back issues are NOT worth cover price, regardless of "guide".

 

I don't know who set the policy to list all comics for at least cover price,

but it's not true for the secondary market (Ebay, local comic shop bargain bins, etc.).

 

Quite a few of the Image books (since you mention Image titles) from the 1990s

are probably bought and sold by the pound, and aren't worth $0.10. (LITERALLY)

 

But you can buy what you like...

if you pay less than cover price, you're doing better

than a lot of people who bought them new...

but even $1.50 each might wind up being ten times too much for some books.

[FFB]

Hello,

 

A VERY new collector here wondering how one would go about reading comic books. I'm planning on spending a fair bit of money on a spawn collection that is in NM condition. I've never read any of the spawn books, but that is one of my main reasons for wanting them. I am wondering what the best way to go about reading my books and keeping them in NM condition would be. Off the top of my head, using gloves wouldnt be a bad idea to prevent sweat or oils from degrading the pages (even tho these books are MA), but what kind of gloves? Would hospital type latex gloves work? Will powders from these gloves affect the pages?. Also carefully turning the pages and not bending them all the way back would no doubt protect the spine (and the pages themselves) from tears, bends, folds and cracks. Is there anything else I should do or any other precautions I should take when reading these and eventually other comics I want to read? Whenever possible I will be buying 2 copies of each, 1 to read and one to put away, but that won't be possible with the collection I'm going to be (hopefully) buying (#1 - 86). Any advice in this area qould be most helpful and appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

Vince

 

It is good that you are concerned about keeping your highly collectable Spawns in NM condition.

 

When I read my NM Spawns, I am equally concerned about getting oils and other bodily fluids on these precious comics.

 

To prevent hand oils and other bodily fluids from getting on my NM Spawns, I like to use a thicker glove. Latex or cotton gloves are good for most comics, but when you're dealing with an excess amount of bodily fluids on your hands, it is best to use gloves made of a thicker, more absorbent material. So I use special mitts for this purpose, such as these:

I am also concerned about saliva and other fluids coming from my face (such as random sneezes or runny nose) and dripping onto my NM Spawns, so I wear a special helmet to prevent these things. It looks like this:

Finally, I have heard that direct or indirect sunlight or UV light can damage my NM Spawns by causing the colors to fade. So when I read my NM Spawns, I turn off all the lights in the house, draw all of the shades, sit on my NM Spawn reading chair in the hallway closet, close the door, and then turn on this special helmet lamp for illumination:

 

This is the best way to insure that your NM Spawns remain NM Spawns, rather than NM- Spawns or (God forbid) VF/NM Spawns. And don't get me started on VF+ Spawns! Oh the horror!

 

Good luck preserving your highly collectable NM Spawns.

[FFB]

I don't suppose it's alot, if I get it for the price I want to get it for, the first 86 issues will cost me around 120-130 bucks (I say a fair amount because to me, thats alot to spend on comic books), but that works out to about 1.50 an issue, which isn't bad, and I'd go up to 150 bucks max.

 

I'm collecting spawn not for the current value, but because I'm intrigued by the books and always wanted to read them. I want to preserve them because even though there's a high distribution of them now, who knows what'll happen in the future. In 40 or 50 years they could be worth alot more if kept pristine...

 

Ok so besides spawn comics, say I wanted to read an older book, say a SA book that I happened to aquire that was in VF-NM condition and wanted to read. How would I protect it from any further damage while reading it?

 

Thanks again

Vince

 

If we're not talking NM Spawns, then just take the book carefully out of the bag, lay it flat on a table while reading it (away from tape or any other sticky substances), and turn the pages carefully. When you are done, replace it carefully in the bag that you keep it in.

[tilleycs]

shadow:

 

please ignore those who disparage your want for Spawn and your desire to keep them in NM condition... spawn was a cool book, and one that I liked when I was younger -- it deteriorated in quality a little over time though.

 

Shadow,

 

I said nothing to disparage you from liking or collecting Spawn. My concern is purely financial - overpaying for something that isn't worth that asking price and isn't likely to increase in value over time the way you seem to think it will. Don't waste your money overpaying for something when you don't have to.

 

But, as always, it's your choice. You may want to get them all in one purchase, but there's also a lot to be said for "the thrill of the hunt". Have fun! Enjoy!

[Foolkiller]

It's the "other bodily fluids" part that has me worried...

[FFB]

It's the "other bodily fluids" part that has me worried...

 

Me too, hence the use of the mitts while reading my NM Spawns!!!!

 

While a full run of NM Spawns may be obtained fairly cheaply, one has to factor in the cost of the reading equipment necessary for full enjoyment of these highly collectable books. A full run of Spawns at $80 must also include the $400 that the reading equipment costs (not including the NM Spawn reading chair).

[Foolkiller]

[OldGuy]

It's the "other bodily fluids" part that has me worried...

 

Me too, hence the use of the mitts while reading my NM Spawns!!!!

 

While a full run of NM Spawns may be obtained fairly cheaply, one has to factor in the cost of the reading equipment necessary for full enjoyment of these highly collectible books. A full run of Spawns at $80 must also include the $400 that the reading equipment costs (not including the NM Spawn reading chair).

 

Come on guys, give him a break. You don't need to make fun of Spawn or the people that read it just because you don't like it. I don't like Spider-Man, but you don't hear me talking trash about the insipient, sniveling little mommas boys that relate to a pathetic looser who has an inferiority complex because his mother didn't breast feed him and he never knew his daddy.

[valiantman]

I don't like Spider-Man, but you don't hear me talking trash about the insipient, sniveling little mommas boys that relate to a pathetic looser who has an inferiority complex because his mother didn't breast feed him and he never knew his daddy.

That's true. I've never heard him say that.