The stores which were open until late I might add, where a source of getting rid of my boredom and I would spend ours there flipping through various comic books make sure I had filled my head with great dreams before I would go home. Comic stores have provided me with a sanctuary where I could hide and set my worries away. I dont do much reading of comics nowadays since I actually moved on to novels and real life stuff, but I still pick up a comic from time to time never forgetting my superhero friends that helped me out during my childhood. In fact I can truly say that they saved me which means they actually where heroes in my book.

Comic stores are a dime a dozen nowadays but there are a few in every neighborhood and they are the best place to go look for your favorite comic book, whether its DC Comics own Batman, Robin and off course Superman or it is Marvel comic the Avengers, Spiderman, X-Men and many more. No matter what superhero my comic store was where I would find them.

Of course, that’s not something that can be easily discerned, if it even can at all. Things like this are largely subjective, and no study in the world could possibly gauge the reasons behind all the buyers of Marvel comic books purchasing the books. But one can look at the market, and look at the books being produced by Marvel and by other companies and develop their own opinion.

Naturally, though, opinions are completely polarized between fans of Marvel comic books and fans of DC comic books, each despising the other. There are plenty of fans that enjoy books from both companies, mind you, but generally even these fans have their loyalty to one company or the other. Then there are those fans who hate superhero comics altogether and choose to make all their purchases in the indy market. But marginally, this is a small group compared to those who are fans of the Big Two. Even the market shares of the two largest indy companies, Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics, while competitive, are still far below the massive shares Marvel and DC claim.

But listening to the complaints of fans, at least on the internet, and sometimes in the local comic shops, there are many dissatisfied customers with many of the books from both companies. But since the topic is Marvel comic books, the major crossover events of the past few years bare mentioning, as they have gained equal amounts of acclaim and disdain by Marvel fans and non-fans alike.

Many are sick and tired of the massive crossover storylines that, because of the problems of the 90s, feel like they are merely thinly veiled marketing ploys to force readers into buying more books than they normally would to get the full story. Others enjoy their superhero comic universe being united and the effects of world events materializing throughout all the Marvel comic books. But most agree, outside of these crossovers, and of course the main books (the Spider-Man books, X-Men books and Avengers books) not much else is that great right now, nor has it been for sometime. There are exceptions, like Runaways and Thunderbolts, but by and large its substandard fare. Even the major books, like Uncanny X-Men and Amazing Spider-Man, weren’t that great a couple of years ago by the standards and opinions of many.

So why do Marvel comic books outsell all others and remain the dominant brand in American comics? We may never know for sure, but one can guess that it’s a combination of all the reasons mentioned above.

Not much different than African Americans felt not too long ago, or even how Native Americans felt when their land was stolen from them. Wolverine and The X-Men suffered the same type of bigotry, abuse and segregation from the get go. But despite their tribulation, they still helped anyone they could. Some, like Wolverine, became bitter for a time. But by and large, they lived their lives the best way they could, proving humans wrong in the process.

Over the years, the X-Men became more accepted by society for a time, but eventually it would all come crumbling down. A radical church group would crucify some of their ranks, then the majority of the mutant population suddenly became powerless and normal. This reignited the hatred for mutants, because most had just come to accept their existence, not like it. With the possibility of “no more mutants” a reality, closet hatred came to the forefront again.

Still, the X-Men maintained their cool, for the most part, and proved to be better people than those spreading their messages of hate with words and weapons.

The X-Men are a symbol in comics, and in society as a whole. They show how hatred and ignorance can be overcome, and how being different can be a great attribute and not a flaw that we need to expel or feel sorry about. There is strength and power in being unique that those who allow fear and hate to run their lives will never understand. Maybe they should crack open an issue of X-Men from time to time. Maybe seeing their ignorance and stupidity displayed in full color will somehow enlighten them. Maybe, just maybe, by reading the stories of how these unique and wonderful beings are harassed and persecuted on a nearly daily basis will make them think twice about their own actions. One could only dream.

Collectors both love and hate slabbing–there is no middle ground. First, here’s why they love it. Slabbing protects a comic indefinitely (no one knows for how long exactly, as the process is so new). Once slabbled you don’t have to worry that your prized Superman, Batman, X-Men, Spiderman, or Archie comic will lose its value, or any of its “eye appeal.” That’s a big plus! Also the slabbing company (Comics Guaranty, LTD or CGC is the major one, although there are others) will grade your comic as part of the process. Grades are on a .5 to 10-point scale with .5 being poor and 10 being Mint. When you’re looking to value and/or sell your comics it’s a great advantage to have it graded. It’s much easier to sell a comic if you can say it’s a CGC 6.0, instead of “in my opinion it’s in Fine condition.” I know this from personal experience and from talking to other sellers, including those selling comics, for my book eBay PowerSeller Secrets.

Now, here’s why some collectors hate slabbing. Once a comic is slabbed you can’t read it! You can’t take it out from between the plastic that encases it without destroying the seal that the grading company puts along the top of the case. Once that seal is broken the grade is no longer guaranteed. That makes sense because if you take it out you may change its condition somehow, thus reducing its grade. (Although I think most collectors would be careful enough not to harm their comics.) So if you are going to slab a comic you have to get used to the idea that forever it will be encased between plastic sheets. You’ll still be able to see its front and back covers but you won’t be able to page through it. That’s a tough thing to get used to. Also, slabbing ain’t cheap. Depending primarily on the comic’s age it can easily set you back $50 once you figure in shipping and insurance. And here’s something that’s not discussed all that much: the cases get scratched easily, and when light hits those scratches your beautifully encased comic doesn’t look so hot. New cases aren’t as expensive as the original ones if the comics don’t have to be regraded, but you still have to pay for shipping and insurance to CGC and back.

There are more pros and cons to this slabbing business but those are the main ones.

My advice? Slab Golden Age comics that are worth at least $150. (Because more modern comics are cheaper to slab, you may consider slabbing one of those if its current value is $100 or so.) It’s worth the cost in the long run and at $150, a comic is a pretty valuable investment, which will likely appreciate over time. There’s great peace of mind that comes from knowing your comic will not lose any value after you slab it (barring a change in market conditions, of course). If you want to be able to read your comic, you can also search the web for a PDF version of it. These are available from newsgroups devoted to the hobby. Or you can buy one of those printed compilations of old comics.

Enjoy your hobby! Comics are a snapshot of American pop culture, just like magazines or fashions. Besides they can bring back some great memories.

Most of the time you will find that the one for reading is different from the one that is all wrapped up in a clean sealed environment and kept in mint condition. This kind of time and conditioning that is given to the comic books can only be done by someone who loves comics and has the dedication to keep his or her comic book in the right conditions, atmosphere and surely knows the comic value. Such people get the comic book appraised and then put in time and money to make sure that the comic is in mint condition. Some of them even showcase their comic in conventions on comic books and superheroes. The comic value goes even higher when more people get to view it and cannot get a hold of another copy anywhere.

It is important to make sure that you keep your comic away from any wet atmosphere or to keep it sealed tight in its case or plastic sleeve if you intend to keep it for a while. Also note that you must keep checking online for more news on how much your comic book is valued.

Im of course referring to the 1990s when all was right within the comic book world. This is the time I was really into comics and got to see firsthand the rise and the fall of the comic book industry as it was.

In the 90s, comics took a turn for the better, or so we thought. Books were beginning to get wide recognition thanks in no small part to comic book artists like Image Comics founders Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld and others. Comic properties were beginning to pop up in cartoons and movies like hadn’t been seen before, and the collectible value of comics became a widely known phenomenon. The aforementioned comic book artists were working for Marvel Comics at the time, and were launching new or revitalized properties that were getting fans newly excited about comics again. X-Men relaunched and X-Force was born. Spider-Man exploded with a new title, and fans were eating it all up.

Also, thanks to the dynamic styles of these comic book artists, prints and exclusive covers and the like seemed like the perfect advertising and money-making ploy to comic publishing companies at the time, and the general public somehow got wind of this. So the average person on the street was buying up all the copies of all these special covers and special stories (Death of Superman, anyone?) that caused the publishers to keep printing. Before you knew it, everyone had multiple copies of everything, and nothing was worth anything. Sales went down, creators left the big two, and the speculator market nearly broke the comic industry.

Marvel Comics went into bankruptcy, many fans (such as myself) left comics behind for years, and the movies and cartoons all but disappeared.

A few years later, Marvel restructured, climbed out of bankruptcy, and began making waves again. Spider-Man and the X-Men hit the big screen, and all of a sudden comics were on the map again. Not to mention the efforts of the short-lived Crossgen Comics, which brought a lot of people (again, myself included) back into comics. And with the success of these new ventures, comics began a steady climb back up to a place of mediocrity.

Now, comics are still struggling, but with the success of films and current big storylines its possible a rise could occur again. Providing publishers and speculators don’t make the same mistakes twice, comics could be alright for sometime to come.

The way to find good quality collectible comics is to take your time finding the various facts about comic books. These facts include which types of comic books are considered as being collectible comics. The collectible comics are not necessarily the current most popular comics.

These current comics may be very popular today but there is always the chance that interest in these comic books will die away quickly. The type of comics that you can consider as being collectible comics are ones that have been around for some time. In these collectible comics the interest in earlier issues is still very strong.

While the publishing division of comic book companies may come out with new editions and artwork of the original comic book, it is always possible to find unaltered comic books that are still in the original artwork. When you find these types of comic books you should see if you can look at the condition of the comic book.

Since comic books are declared as being collectibles only once their physical condition has been examined you should see if you can find a comic book price guide that will inform you of what these comic books can be bought and sold at when they are in great or good conditions.

The type of collectible comics that people look for include comics like the original Archie comics, Wonder Woman, Little Lulu, Superman number 1 and the few early editions, Silver Surfer, Richie Rich, Spawn, Vampirella, Transformers and many others. The best types of collectibles are the ones from the very early days of the comics history.

When you come across collectible comics like these you should make sure that they are in good condition. Once you have see how the quality of the comic book is both on the inside and the outside you will need to have the comic book appraised. This should be done if it is possible before you buy it for collection purposes.

Once the appraisal has informed you about the status of the comics that you have selected and you are satisfied with your purchase your next step is to provide protection for these collectible comics. The best way to store these collectible comics is by inserting them into clear plastic sleeve pockets and keep them stored upright.

At present there are some very well known comic book price guides. These guides are Wizard Magazine, Standard Catalog of Comic Books and Overstreet to name but a few. You can find these comic book price guides in the standard book format and there is also an electronic format of these price guides.

The comic book price guide plays an important role for comic book collectors and comic book lovers. The various comic book guides will have information about the known resale value that you can expect from your comic book or comic book collection when you decide to sell those comic books.

You can also use these comic book price guides when you are deciding to add some vintage or hard to find comics to your ever growing collection of comics. From the comic book price guide you will be able to gain an idea of what these comics cost.

Since the vintage comics are ones that are from the early period of the various comic series you will be able to understand why these types of comics are given higher prices as compared to your current favorites.

A comic book price guide will also have details about some of the comics that are loved by many individuals. When you use a comic book price guide you will need to read the guide carefully to gain an idea of the many types of items that are found in these guides.

Once you understand this information you will be able to use the guide to find what sort of price you can expect to get from your comic book collection based on the condition of each of the books in the collection.

From a comic book price guide you will be able to find the standards that are used to grade your comic books. These standards are known as Mint, Near Mint, Very Fine, Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor.

While these are the accepted norms for comic book conditions there are some occasions when the comic book will fall between these standards. At this point the grading will be with a plus or minus sign to indicate where the comic book standard is.

These and other types of information can be found in a comic book price guide. The next time you visit your local comic book shop you may want to see if you can buy a comic book price guide. With this guide you will be able to judge for yourself if your collection is worth the money that you paid for it.

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