What Might You Do To Get Comic Books For Your Collection? by Victor Epand
While comic book publishers have reissued many titles in book format, that is not nearly as cheap or convenient as the CD/DVD format you suggest. Why not on CDs? It may be because of concerns about putting things in digital format, where they can be more readily copied. Or it may be because it seems that most fans want to have an actual comic page in front of them rather than read it on a computer screen. There is one company that has released many older comics from the 40s on CDs: You can also get a CD with all issues of Mad Magazine: see the Totally Mad collection available on Amazon and elsewhere.
Otherwise, there are collectors that trade scans of comic issues or post them online for download but I have little knowledge of this. It probably goes without saying that this violates copyright laws. World's Finest 135 in used condition lists in the price guide for $8. #150 lists for $7. If in perfect "near mint" condition, they list for $80-100 each. Bob Hope 75 lists at $6-$60. However, this is not a very high demand title.
The other titles you list have little collectible value. I don't know if you're buying because you want to read these yourself or if you are hoping to resell. If the former, you would probably pay .50 to $2 each at a comic shop, assuming they are in nice shape, so paying .25 cents each might be a good deal, and maybe 20 or 30% of the TPB cover prices. If you are hoping to resell, I would be surprised if you were able to find a comic shop interested in this stuff, its just not that hard to find or highly sought after.
The first Star Wars comics were actually regular comic book size. You may be referring to Marvel Special Edition, which also came out in the 70s and was oversized. You can find the originals or the Marvel Special Edition at any of a number of comic shops I suspect. Online, you could try my comic shop or mile high comics. The Special Editions should go for no more than $20 each, less if in lesser condition. Star Wars the movie came out in the 1970s. Planet Comics, the first exclusively science-fiction comic, was first published in 1940.
In general, only the first few issues of the Marvel Star Wars comic in high grade have much collector's value or interest. If these are issue #1 and #2 of the 1977 Marvel comic Star Wars with a .30 cent cover price and are not reprints, the guide gives them the following prices: 1:from $6 to $75, depending on condition. 2:from $3 to $35. If they are .35 cent cover price issues with a UPC code in the bottom corner, they could be worth quite a bit more.
This comic was Star Spangled War Stories. These stories appeared starting in issue 90 in 1960 and continuing for about 40 issues, before being replaced by the character Enemy Ace. You can see covers for many of these comics on there website or you can go to a form chat and see what other people have to say about other comics.
I have a wonder woman #12 Spring 1945 in excellent, maybe mint, condition and a wonder woman 19 Sept Oct 1946. Also a Seven Sea Comic July 1946 Vol 1 and 2 also in mint condition. These comics are potentially worth several hundred each or maybe even $1,000+ each if in mint condition as you say. But Mint really means flawless and looking like they were just bought off the newsstand. Even one or two bends, creases, small tears, any discoloration, etc. could cause reduce their value by 50% or more.
I suspect you would have little trouble selling them, although getting the best price is a different matter. You could do pretty well on eBay, which would involve the most effort on your part. You could also use an auction house, the most prominent being Heritage Comics in Texas, where you might get a higher price, but they would also claim a higher percentage of the take. If these comics are indeed in mint or close to mint condition, you may want to have them professionally graded.
There are all kind of people out there that have no problem with breaking into someones house just to get their hands on something like that. Anyone that needs to make fast money might do it, and if their grandmothers like it, then nothing will happen to them. You should also think about getting a safe deposit box to put your comics in. At least that way you know that no one will be at your house to try and take it.
Welcome to issue #13 of my newsletter, "Comics Galore". Although, I have not pursued the genre of Japanese Anime, it sure appears to be a popular culture. So I decided to create a couple of pages on my site dedicated to anime. Seemed to be a good topic to write an article in my newsletter about. Now Dave, I don't know your particular interest in this art form, but it has been associated with comic book collectors as you and I so I hope you enjoy the article.
Article: Anime, the Japanese Comic Sub-Culture!
What is anime? For all intents and purposes, this is a style of cartoon animation that has its beginnings in Japan. This particular genre has a distinctive character and aesthetics background that visually sets itself apart from other forms of animation.
While some anime is entirely hand-drawn, computer assisted animation techniques appear to be quite common. Story lines are typically fictional. Examples can be found in most major genres of fiction. Story lines can be found on television, distributed on media such as DVDs, or included in console and computer games. Anime has been influenced by Japanese comics known as manga.
The English word "anime" is a transliteration of the abbreviated version of this Japanese term. It appears there are two accepted ways of pronouncing this word. It can be pronounced as "ANN ih may" or many may also verbalize it as "AH nee may".
The history of anime got its start at the beginning of the 20th century. Japanese filmmakers started experimenting with the animation techniques that were being explored in the West.
During the 1970s, further development was seen as the genre was separating itself from its Western roots. Unique genres such as mecha were coming into being. In the 1980s, anime became widely accepted in the mainstream in Japan and therefore, experienced a boom in production. The 1990s and 2000s saw an increased acceptance of this form of expression in overseas markets.
At one time, the genre was also known as Japanimation, but this term has fallen into disuse. More usage of this term was seen during the 1970s and 1980s. This was the time period, which saw the first and second waves of anime fandom.
In more recent years, anime has been referred to in Europe as manga. This practice may have stemmed from the Japanese usage: In Japan, manga can refer to both animation and comics (although the use of manga to refer to animation is mostly restricted to non-fans). Among English speakers, manga usually has the stricter meaning of "Japanese comics".
Tip of the Month:
Well, Dave, if you are interested in anime and would like to see more on the subject then cruise on over to my comments page and leave me some of your thoughts. And if you have some good Internet resources you would like to see posted on my site, you are sure welcome to leave them as well:
Well, that's about it this month. Feel free to use my articles (when they are mine) on your website or whatever. Just put in a clickable link back to my comic book site. And remember if you have a personal story or article you would like me to use, I will do the same. Happy comic book collecting.
