| Comics
collectors wait all year for the updated versions of the
most valuable industry tool - the Overstreet
Comic Book Price Guide.
 Comic
Collecting and Information Right At Your Fingertips,
2002
I have been an on again/off again/on again
type of collector. I started collecting back in the mid 70's when I
really didn't know what/how to collect (age 9). Sometime in the
early 80's, I found a book that had information within, that
explained some of the confusion about collecting. The book explained
what type of comics were worth collecting (aka pricing) and
explained (in the best terms of that time) how a collector should
properly care for the comics in their collection. It also explained
how a comics condition could be determined. There were also articles
relating to the authors/writers/inkers/publishers of the comics I
was collecting. The name of that book was the Overstreet Price
Guide. The # was 13. What caught my eye initially about the book was
that it had my favorite superhero on the cover (Superman) and there
were many pictures of some of the most expensive comic books.
Throughout the years, the Overstreet
price guide has reflected well upon the different aspects of comic
collecting. With issue #31, the Overstreet Price Guide reflected
upon the newer standard of grading. It mentioned a little about CGC
and predicted that CGC would not die out, but become a better
stronghold in the industry. With CGC, a person could command a
better price for their collected memory. With e-Bay starting to show
some of the sales in the market, CGC was a natural for online
reliablility.
There were other articles in the book
as well. Wonderwoman and the Fantastic Four had their history
explained. There were articles about Murphy Anderson, the story of
Palmer Cox, information about Bendis, information about 1st
appearances, crossovers, and so much more.
Yes, the Price Guide is about
pricing, but it covers many other areas of collecting. It has so
much information to the point that it is a collectible in and of
itself. A collector that doesn't consider investment potential, is a
foolish collector in my opinion. Yes, a person should purchase a
comic because it has some meaning to them. I buy for the
stories/art, or pivotal meaning, but in a day and age where layoffs
happen to someone you know everywhere in the country, or other
hardships occur that could be eased by the knowledge that this book
could provide (which issues might be profitable over the long run),
it makes sense to understand the importance of what you collect.
The price guide is but a tool. If all
you buy the book for is for the pricing, then I would suggest it
might not be the book for you. If you are a true collector though, a
great deal of information lies at your fingertips when you own this
book. One of the best features that I like about it, is that the
price guide lists dealers.
Without this book, I would have to go
to great efforts to find a store that I can buy rare comics from.
Just recently, I purchased Action Comics #17 from Metropolis Comics.
Would I have known where to find this without the price guide?
Possibly. But what effort would I have had to go through? Within a
week, I had located a copy. I tried looking everywhere in my own
hometown. NOBODY had one available within a 4 city radius.
I say that there is a reason many
people consider this book, "The BIBLE of the comic book
industry."
Reviewer: A reader from Holiday, FL
United States
|
Comics Values & Discount magazine
subscriptions
