Black Friday! - Friday, November 23rd

You all ask about it each and every year. Will you be doing it again? What day is it? HOW MUCH OF A DISCOUNT!? Well, your prayers have been answered. BLACK FRIDAY IS NEXT WEEK! On Friday, November 23rd starting at 7AM it all goes down! Here is the discount breakdown so there is absolutely no confusion:

7AM - 9AM = 40% OFF EVERYTHING!
9AM - 11AM = 30% OFF EVERYTHING!
11AM - 12PM = 25% OFF EVERYTHING!
12PM - 9PM = 20% OFF EVERYTHING!

It's an all day event but the earlier the better! And don't forget, if you physically enter the store during the times mentioned above, you will get a ticket that will give you that percentage off until you're ready to check out. We hope to see you then!

Universal Horror

Every year as Halloween approaches I dig out my copies of the classic Universal Horror films and toss them in the DVD player. Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Mummy, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein and, of course, Dracula. It is sort of like visiting with old friends. In fact I have seen those films so many times and know them SO well that, over the last decade or so I have barely paid attention to them when making my annual visit. They were more like background noise than films I was actually invested in watching.

That is until THIS year! Universal has invested in a massive restoration project in celebration of their 100th anniversary and the Universal Horror Films have gotten a complete work over and a release in an eight disk BluRay package.



Naturally, being the model of fiscal restraint that I am, I bought it immediately despite the fact that I already own every release of these films since VHS! This package is not just a reissue of the recent DVD collections scanned for High Def. Each film was given a complete restoration beginning with an emulsion bath that repaired scratches and other visual artifacts. The films were scanned a frame at a time and corrected for contrast, film grain properly adjusted, sound cleaned up and editing restored to as close to original as possible. The result are films that are in fact better looking than when first released. Universal took great pains to preserve the creative intent of the directors and have succeeded admirably. In addition to the eight iconic films there are over twelve hours of extras, including several previously unreleased documentaries. Add in a very slick booklet that is a rather long essay on the Universal Horror years and we get a must own package for any serious film buff.
The collection kicks off with the 1931 version of Tod Browning’s Dracula, starring (of course) Bela Lugosi. The restoration process has removed all of the distractions, such as sound hiss, choppy camera cuts and muddy frames and allows the viewer to actually WATCH the movie. And what a wonderful movie it is. Actually what a wonderful PERFORMANCE it is. Dracula as a film is a pretty static restaging of the Broadway play, and as such is not nearly as much of a visual treat as the subsequent Universal hit, “Frankenstein”.
But you can’t take your eyes off of Lugosi. The legendary Hungarian actor established every important trope of the film vampire in that one 85 minute film. It was Lugosi, who made the Vampire a seductive, sexual figure.
Stoker wrote him as a soldier in the novel. Morneau presented the Vampire as a rat like parasite in Nosferatu. Chaney played a faux vampire with a row of shark like teeth in the lost “London After Midnight”.
In fact Vampires were anything BUT romantic. Lugosi changed that for all time with his portrayal of an urbane, well dressed and sexually charged predator. Look at the women he seduces. After he bites them, they look awfully happy about it! This portrayal of the Vampire as seducer persists to this day in shows like Angel, Buffy, and True Blood.

Decades of familiarity and satire have rendered Lugosi’s performance revered and at the same time over looked. He is STILL the image most people see when they hear the word Dracula. Ask anyone to talk like Dracula and they invariably imitate Bela , even if they have never seen the movie. This was a mixed blessing for the wonderful character actor as it closed far more doors than it opened. Unlike Karloff who enjoyed a long career filled with starring roles, Lugosi’s star began to wane at the very moment of his greatest triumph. That is because he was SO recognizable as the Count that studios did not believe audiences would accept him in any other role BUT Dracula. Karloff had the makeup of the monster to save him from that fate. Lugosi was completely recognizable as Dracula.
The sad thing was that audiences were perfectly willing to accept Lugosi in other roles. It was Universal and other studios that were short sighted. Critics lauded his turns in Black Cat, as Igor in Son Of Frankenstein, the lawgiver in island of Lost Souls and even the smallish role of Bela the Fortuneteller in The Wolfman. And anyone who has ever seen White Zombie has the image of Lugosi as “Murder” Legrande forever burned into their memory. Lugosi was a wonderful actor who always gave his all to any role, no matter how demeaning to him as an actor, because he felt that he owed that to his audience.

And he DID give us many wonderful performances. But even if all he gave us was his performance as Dracula, it would have been more than enough.
Check out Universal Classic Monsters the Essential Collection on BluRay if you get a chance. It’s well worth your time. I for one am looking forward to reacquainting myself with Karloff’s Monster tonight!

That’s 30!

Mitch

The First Comic

Ask most comic collectors about the “birth” of the medium and they will probably tell you it all started with the first issue of Action Comics with the cover date June 1938. This is about as true as the story that Abner Doubleday invented Baseball while on a trip to Cooperstown New York in 1839. In fact Doubleday was nowhere near Cooperstown that summer, he was at West Point and there is no evidence that e ever even SAW a baseball game, much less invented it. But myth often has longer legs than reality. So it is with Comics.

Action #1 was the first comic book to feature a “modern” superhero, but it missed being the first comic book by several decades. The credit for being the first publication that would be recognized as a “comic book” generally goes to Richard Outcault’s “Yellow Kid”, a series of comics published in Hearst’s New York World. These strips were published in a collected edition called “The Yellow Kid In McFadden’s Flats” in 1897. (Although Roudolphe Topffer’s “The Adventures of Obadiah Duck” was actually published in 1827, it was more an illustrated story or graphic novel than a comic book).

By 1905 Windsor McCay was creating “Little Nemo In Slumberland” for the New York Herald, another strip (lavishly illustrated) that would later be published in several collected editions. McCay was noted for his expressive drawing style and set Nemo’s world in a dreamscape. He is also noted for creating the very first animated cartoon featuring a character with a distinct personality, “Gertie The Dinasour” (1915).
In 1933 “Funnies On Parade”, another reprint collection made it’s debut as a giveaway promotional item and is later followed by the long running “Famous Funnies” which typically sold for a dime. This ten cent price, it’s size (5.5X8”) made “Funnies On Parade” the first “true” comic book.

In fact Action #1 was not even the first DC comic book! In 1934, National Allied Publications, under the ownership of the colorful Major Maclom Wheeler –Nicholson published “New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine” #1 and would follow up with “New Comics” #1 (also cover dated 1934) before launching Detective Comics planned for 1936 (cover dated March 1937). “New Comics” would later evolve into “Adventure Comics” which ran through issue #503 (1983).

Dc was well underway before it Harry Donnenfeld took over the company and launched a series of new titles featuring new content. Action #1 would make it’s debut with an untried concept created by two young men from Cleveland named Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster…Superman.

There you have it…myth or fact…nothing is ever as simple as it seems!

That’s 30!

Mitch

The “Keys” to collecting

With NYCC just around the corner it is possible that some of you will be making their first foray into the murky waters known as BACK ISSUE COLLECTING. With that in mind here are a few random thoughts.

• Before wandering onto a convention floor filled with dozens of dealers and thousands of books, none of which you are familiar with, check out your local comic shop! Chances are they already have some of the books you are looking for and will give you a great break. Even if they don’t, you can get some great tips AND a comic book price guide from your regular comic shop (which for the discerning comics connoisseur is of course COMICBOOK JONES!)

• Speaking of price guides, DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT ONE! While price guides are just that, GUIDES, the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is the standard for most of the dealers you will meet at any show.

• Prepare a want list and a budget. Going in prepared will not only make your shopping more efficient, it will almost certainly save you money.

• If you see that book you MUST have but is outside your budget, my advice is to pass it up. Comics have a way of coming back around at your price sooner or later.

• Don’t be afraid to haggle. If you are polite and reasonable any good dealer will cut you a deal. Just don’t waste his time (and yours by offering $100 for a book worth $5,000).

• On any significant purchase it is perfectly acceptable to ask the dealer to remove the book from it’s bag so you can confirm to your satisfaction that the book meets the grade you are paying. Mylar bags can often make a book appear to be in a higher grade than it really is. And don’t forget, comics have BACK covers too!

• Bring along a box to protect those purchases. It can be a mailing box or anything comic book sized that you can then carry in your bag. A lot of books get damaged AFTER collectors buy them. IF you just slip the book, even a bagged and boarded book, into your bag it WILL get bent!
• If you are planning to buy CGC or “slabbed” books it pays to check out http://comics.gpanalysis.com/gpaforcomics_features.asp and www.cgc.com . Slabbed books often go for well over the prices in your comic book price guide. It pays to do some research before you overpay! Check out Ebay and search on closed auctions for that book you are looking for to see what the current market will bear.
And now a word about KEY issues

The “Keys” to collecting.

If you have been collecting for more than about 20 minutes some other collector, dealer or publication will refer to a certain issue of a certain comic as a “key” issue. A key issue can be:
1) A first appearance of a character (Superman, Spiderman etc.)

2) The first issue of a new book (Avengers #1, FF #1 etc.)

3) The death of a significant character (Gwen Stacy, Johnny storm etc.)

4) A significant change in the direction of a book, character or universe. (Crisis On Infinite Earths, Civil War etc.)

5) The beginning of a run for a creator or creators who make a big impact. (Neal Adams on Green Lantern or Frank Miller on Daredevil etc.)

Not all books that meet this criteria can be considered keys of course. While Daredevil #1 certainly IS a big time Marvel key, one could hardly say that about The Human Fly #1 . The “key’ word to keep in mind is SIGNIFICANT. If the event does not make a big change, it can’t be considered a key.

There are two compelling reasons to keep track of key issues. First, these are landmarks in the evolution of your favorite book/characters and generally have long term impact on the universe they “live” in. Second, keys tend to increase more in value as collectibles than non-keys.

To the second point, there has been a tendency over the last couple of decades to label marginal or obviously insignificant events “keys”. Why? Because it generates a short term spike in the “value” of that book on the back issue market.

My personal favorite of the non-key, keys is the numbering snafu. Every now and then a company will put a book on hiatus and then restart at #1. This is done to reignite interest in a given book or character and to bring new readers into the fold. Sound marketing strategy to be sure. But that does not make the new Iron Man #1 the actual Iron Man #1, especially when the company will, sooner or later revert to the original numbering. You will see dealers at shows bump those books up a few bucks. Beware. They almost always come back down in value. Renumbering does not generate keys.

Variants are not keys. While they are very nice and I collect a lot of them myself, variants are just a different cover. Even variants that are short printed only rarely hold elevated value, and in any event are more in demand because of low print runs. Not because they are keys.

So there you have it. Key issues are fun to collect and will broaden your appreciation of your comics and it’s history, but they are not nearly as plentiful as we have been lead to believe.

Now for something truly mind numbing!

Have you ever gone online to buy a back issue and seen the following…

“Action #242 – VG Solid Grade (CFO,CVR CRS, AD)” and said to yourself…HUH?

Well then you have been exposed to Comic Collector Abbreviation Hell! Few who enter can ever expect to come back alive…unless they have my handy dandy cheat sheet.

Now if that Action #242 ad had actually been written in English it would have said:

“Action #242, Very Good Solid Grade (Center Fold Out, Cover Crease, Arrival Date on Cover)”

That’s a lot clearer BUT also a lot more typing. However those facts might directly effect your decision to buy so you really need to know those abbreviations or it could cost you MONEY!!! With that in mind here are all the abbreviations you will ever need!

ad = Arrival date
bc = back cover
bndry = bindery
brc = bottom right corner
brttl = brittle
bttm = bottom
chew = chewed
chp = chip
cfo = center fold out
cl = cover loose
clr chp = color chip
coa = certificate of authenticity
ct or clr tch = color touch
cnr = corner
crs = crease
cvr = cover
cvrlss = coverless
dst shad = dust shadow
dtch = detached
ext = extra
fc = front cover
fd = faded
fxng = foxing
gl = glossy
grs pncl = grease pencil
int = interior
lft = left
lt = light
lt sub crs = light subs. crease
mnr = minor
mrvl chp = marvel chip
mssng = missing
owp = off white pages
pc = piece
pg = page
pll = pull
r = restored
reinf = reinforced
restpld = restapled
rll = roll
rstd = rusted
slvrfsh = silverfish damage
smll = small
splt = split
spn = spine
stckr = sticker
stmp = stamp
stn = stain
stpl = staple
sub crs = subscription crease
tn = tan
tny = tinny
tp = tape
tr = tear
wp = white paper
ws = water stain
wtr dmg = water damage

YIKES!

By the way – P=Poor, G=Good, VG=Very Good, F=Fine, VF=Fine, VF/NM=Very Fine/Near Mint, NM=Near Mint and M=Mint (good luck with that last one!)

That’s 30!

Mitch

Superman's Godfather

Whether you realize it or not every single artist who draws Superman today is influenced by the late great Curt Swan, who was the lead artist on the character for nearly thirty years. But it was Wayne Boring who would define the look of Superman from the late 40’s and through the 1950s’ In fact it was Boring who created the look of the entire Superman galaxy, including Metropolis and Krypton as envisioned by Mort Weisenger (Editor and DC’s Keeper of The Superman Mythos). Boring’s work still influences artists today. Together Boring and Weisinger defined the Man of Steel through a renaissance that lasted for over a decade.

In 1937, he began "ghosting" (drawing for hire without credit) on such comic-book features as Slam Bradley for the Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster . In 1938, Siegel and Shuster's character Superman was published in Action #1 and Boring became a ghost on the soon spun off Superman newspaper strip eventually becoming the credited artist.
Boring became the primary Superman artist through the 1950s. Swan succeeded him the following decade, though Boring returned for sporadic guest appearances in the early 1960s and then again in late 1966 and early 1967.

Where Swan created a sleeker, more athletic, more realistic looking Superman, Boring’s man Of Steel was barrel chested, chiseled of jaw and bursting with power. During the Boring years Superman would regularly be seen knocking whole planets around like so many billiard balls. Superman was never more powerful than when drawn by Boring.
By the mid 60’s Wayne’s role with Superman was diminished and he was let go from DC in 1967. Though he did make the occasional guest appearances in the mid 1980’s .
Boring died of a heart attack in 1987 at age 81.

That’s 30!

Mitch

NYCC 2012 Is Just Around The Corner!

Well it is just about that time! The 2012 New York Comic Con is upon us. Just a little bit over a month away and BOY am I excited!! Aside from the legendary San Diego affair, NYCC is the largest gathering of comic book collectors ( as well as sci-fi, movie, TV, game and Anime fans!) in the world. This year well over 100,000 fans will be attending the show which runs at the Javits Center from October 11th through the 14th. So here is my yearly guide for first timers and veterans alike!
Now you can go to the NYCC or you can go with a plan. Either way you will have a great time. But if you take a little bit of time to plan your days you will get the most out of the convention experience. With that in mind here are some tips and tools you may want to add to your NYCC Survival Kit:

1) Make use of the tools and schedule posted on the New York Comic Con Official Website. (www.newyorkcomiccon.com ). They have everything from floor maps to panel and show schedules, a list do’s and don’ts, booth locations for every dealer and show exclusives. This is all tied into an online show planner tool so you can print out your master plan! Trust me, you will NOT be able to attend every event at the Con. If you go in blind you will likely miss that ONE event you want to see most. So spending a few hours with the Show Planner is time well spent.

2) Arrive EARLY on the day of the Con. It is an absolute madhouse and it is very easy to find yourself still waiting to get in a good hour after the convention starts. Get into Manhattan early, have a BIG breakfast (you are going to need it! But more on food in a bit), and be among the first on line. One of the best times at the Con, for me, is chatting to people who are waiting to get into the show. It is a great opportunity to make new friends who share your passion for comics.

3) Bring a shopping “kit”. Believe me you don’t want to be walking around the floor with your swag dropping behind you. My kit consists of a good sized back pack with the following: two or three very sturdy shopping bags, a poster tube, bags and boards for any loose comics, Comic Book Price Guide, Folder with my show plan print outs, camera and extra batteries, and some snacks.

4) Ok, let’s talk food. You do NOT want to buy food inside the Javits Center. It is not bad by any means but it IS expensive and if you are like me, you have a limited budget. I for one would rather spend my dough on collectibles and not a $6 hot dog. Eat before you come in, slide a bag lunch or snack into your kit, and go OUT for dinner. There are several reasonably priced eating options outside the Javits Center. Believe me you ARE going to need to eat and refuel as NYCC will severely test your endurance!

5) We all know that one of the main reasons we attend the Con in the first place is to satisfy our UNBRIDLED AVARICE! When I look around at all that swag and all those dealers I feel like an Orange Lantern! Larfleeze Lives! MINEMINEMINE!!! BUT you can’t have everything so you need to maximize your bucks. Take the time to make a shopping list. What items are you aggressively hunting? Which are “nice to have” and which are low priority? Set a drop dead price for your items. Don’t over spend on a collectible. You may not get it at the Con but it WILL come your way down the road at your price if you are realistic in your expectations. Don’t go ANYWHERE without your trusty price guide. A CBG or Overstreet guide is a must in your kit. Second, shop around! Chances are that several dealers have the items you want. Don’t be afraid to bargain (just be polite and reasonable) and do your buying at the END of the day, preferably the end of the day on Sunday. Why? Dealers always give their best prices at the end of a show. Also anything you buy early, you are going to have to carry around for the rest of the day (unless you have a VIP pass and access to the VIP lounge).

6) FREE STUFF! Even if you don’t spend a DIME on a single comic or collectible you can go home with BAGS of free swag, from comics, to tee shirts, toys, posters…you name it. This should be your first hunter/gatherer activity because the best swag always goes FIRST. Hit the smaller companies first because they generally run out of give a ways before the big guys like Marvel and DC.

7) PACE YOURSELF. Especially if you are attending all three days you are going to need to take some breaks just to get away from the crowds. Breaks are the best time to find a quiet place and organize your swag/purchases to make sure they are not being damaged or lost. It is also a good idea to use breaks as a way to hook up with people you are attending the show with. Over the course of the day you WILL get separated so having a set time and place for a break will cut down on the “OMG!! I lost my little brother” syndrome.

8) Secure your personal electronics and your money. You are going to be sharing space with 100,000 people and on Saturday in particular you won’t be able to MOVE on the main floor. It is easy to lose your I-Pod, Cell phone or money if you don’t keep them secured properly. Plus, as much as we don’t like to think so, not everyone is honest. People WILL try to take your stuff if you tempt them by leaving it within easy reach. Keep your money in a front pocket and not in a wallet or purse. Think about living without your I-Pod (LEAVE IT HOME!)for the day and make sure your cell phone is secure on your person. Also, most of the transactions you will make will be in cash. While it is rare to find a dealer who will try to cheat you with change and such, they ARE handling so much money at the same time that it is EASY to make a mistake. It is ultimately YOUR responsibility to make sure you account for all of your change on purchases. COUNT it right there in front of the dealer before you leave the booth. A little vigilance will keep your weekend from being ruined by loss or theft.

9) One of my personal pet peeves is people dominating an autograph line. Nothing is more inconsiderate than bringing a BOX of items for a creator to sign. They have a limited amount of time to sign and if they burn up ten minutes of the hour on one person then other fellow collectors are going to go away disappointed. Don’t be a part of that problem. Three items or less is plenty and will help the line move along!

10) FINALLY make sure to tell everyone you meet that YOU shop at the very best comic shop in the world. Comic Book Jones! (Ok it’s a shameless plug but then I am a shameless guy !)

Have a great time at the con. See you there!

That’s 30!

Mitch

This N That Reborn!

Ok…it’s official! Collecting comics has officially hit the 21st century! Last night I received a call from a comic auction house (that I will leave nameless) to tell me that a book I had inquired about TWO years ago was up for auction. It was an Archie #50 (CGC 5.0)

Clearly they had a record of that inquiry and when they posted this book (which I actually purchased some time ago from another seller) came up they generated a call list from their database and began making calls to get the bidding going! I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing but I WISH they had called me sooner because I might have actually bid on a second copy! Well, they are still working out the bugs. Comic telemarketing. Whoda thunk it?!


They released a great teaser trailer for next summer’s Superman flick “Man of Steel.” Let’s just say that it really pulled me in! Finally a Superman who doesn’t float! He FLIES, and powerfully! Check it out on You Tube!



DC Universe Online is set to release it’s next update pack (DLC5) in September. It’s big, its bad and it’s got Dr. Fate! I’ve been hooked since launch. DCUO is a great game. ALSO it’s free to play, so give it t try you gold brickin’ yahoos! www.dcuniverseonline.com

Let’s do a little math. Suppose you purchase ten comics a week at an average price of slightly over $2.99 each. Add your local discount (which is a nice fat 10% at CBJ each and every Wednesday…yet another unabashed plug!!!), allow for the occasional trade paperback or special issue and you can easily invest over $200 per year on your comic fix. And that is IF you only average TEN books a week. I average close to twenty and I know a lot of collectors who buy far more than that!

Obviously we make a pretty hefty investment, on an annual basis, in our hobby! So why would ANYONE not want to take proper care of their collection when it costs you LESS than 10% to properly care for your precious books???

Believe it or not, many if not MOST, collectors fail to do at least one of the big three.

The BIG THREE are
1) Bag and Board
2) Box
3) Inventory

Bagging and boarding your books is the single most basic and important step in maintaining your collection in top condition. Over time even modern books on high grade paper will degrade for any number of reasons. They become creased, water damage, tears, color fade etc. By putting your books in bags with acid free backing boards you can protect your comics from most, though not all, forms of degradation. There are many options for bagging and boarding your comics that can run you between 10 and 25 cents a comic. LESS than 10%! I prefer to put all of my books from Silver Age through Modern Age into SILVER AGE resealable bags with Silver Age Acid Free boards.

Why use the larger Silver Age Bag for smaller modern comics? Well, it is an individual choice but I find that Modern Age bags are a bit tight and with my fumble thumbs I am more likely to damage the book during the process of bagging and boarding. Using a Silver Age bag in conjunction with Silver Age boards gives me a nice tight fit BUT allows some wiggle room in bagging and then removing the comic for reading. I use resealable bags because I don’t like to fuss with the scotch tape but resealable are not better or worse than normal bags. I also tend to use the lighter gauge bags because I think the books LOOK better in them but again that is a personal choice and many collectors favor the heavier bag.

Of course I am describing bagging and boarding with standard bags and acid free boards. You can also opt to use Mylar or Mylite bags but they are more expensive and typically will push your cost to 25 cents a book, still a great deal. Mylar/Mylites have several advantages. Mylar is the heavier, less flexible of the two choices for archival storage.

Mylites 2 are made from 2-mil thick Mylar. The 2 mil sleeves are twice the thickness and 4 times the protection of 1 mil thick bags, and offer hundreds of times the archival storage protection of non-archival polypropylene and polyethylene bags. This means that you won’t have to rebag your comics every five years or so. I use this option for my more valuable and older books. Both Mylite and Mylar make your books look fantastic!

BIG NOTE HERE ON MYLAR AND MYLITE! When you go to shows bear in mind that the books you are looking at up on the wall all benefit in appearance from Mylar storage. They tend to look HIGHER in grade than they really are. Any reputable dealer will let you see the book OUTSIDE the bag if you are considering a purchase. If the dealer refuses to do so I always wonder what he/she is hiding and move on to the next table. Of course the etiquette goes both ways, never ask a dealer to remove a book from the Mylar unless you ARE seriously considering making a purchase.

The bottom line is that bagging and boarding your comics is a must for any serious collector. You never know, you MAY want to sell your books one day and they will always fetch a better price if they are in high grade.

Now let’s talk about boxes.

You COULD use any old box for your comics. Anything made of sturdy cardboard will do. However I use standard long and short comic boxes, specifically designed for my books.
The Comic Long Box is the highest quality, most competitively priced cardboard storage box on the market today. They are constructed of white corrugated paper and have a 200 lb. test strength. Use this box to store and protect all your valuable collectible comics.

The major advantage to using comic boxes designed to HOLD comics is that you can store your books standing up which makes them much easier to arrange and organize. In addition the heavy gauge boxes are somewhat stackable. I typically have no problem going three high myself. Another advantage is that you can get about 250 bagged and boarded comics into a single long box. As your collection grows storage DOES become a very real issue. I currently have over 30 long boxes filled with my “active” collection and at least that many more that I have archived away. If I tried to do that with non standard boxes, it would be a complete mess!

A note on boxing. If you box your comics UNBAGGED and UNBOARDED they tend to bend and suffer damage over time. Boxing your books in that state IS better than not boxing them at all but I highly recommend doing the two in conjunction.

ANOTHER NOTE ON BOXING. I keep different “flavors” of box.

1) First are my “Active boxes” these seven or eight boxes are for my current ongoing purchases of ongoing titles. (Superman, FF, Iron Man, current mini series etc)

2) Completed runs. In these boxes I store recent completed mini-series and canceled books. I can get at them easily but it leaves my Active Boxes free for filing new books.

3) Archive boxes – These are boxes that I use for multiples, books I want to sell, older books I am not going to read any time soon etc.

4) Current “Read me” box. This is a short box that I keep for my brand new, unread books. When I fill it after reading them, those books move down to my Active Boxes for filing.

Now to, what I consider the most overlooked aspect of maintaining a comic collection. INVENTORY.

“Why should I inventory my comics? I know what I have.” Tell me that when you own 1,000 comics, or 5,000 comics. They add up SO fast. Just go back to our original premise of 10 books a week and you add 520 comics to your collection EVERY year! There is no way anyone can know every single book they own unless they record them in an inventory. There are MANY advantages to maintaining an up to date and accurate inventory of your books.

1) On that day you consider selling your comics it will help to know what you own!

2) A good inventory also tells you what you NEED. Want to fill in that run of Amazing Spiderman? Keep an inventory and you can create a “want list” anytime.

3) I ALREADY buy doubles accidentally because I am chronically absent minded. If I did not keep an inventory I would probably buy two of everything!!

4) A good inventory allows you to properly organize your books so you can actually FIND a title when you want it. All you need to do is NUMBER your boxes and make a note of which box your inventoried book is in. You are not compelled to keep them in alphabetical order which is a pain to maintain.

5) A good inventory helps you in knowing when to archive a title or put it into a “non-active” box. For instance I have all of my Secret Invasion and Final Crisis runs in a single box. As they are completed runs I don’t need to keep them in my active boxes.

“OK, so HOW do I inventory my books?” you ask. Good question grasshopper! There are several ways depending on the size of your collection and how much detail you want to go in to. At one time or another I have used all of the following methods.

1) Writing the titles on the outside of the box. This is the MOST basic way to inventory your books. However the minute you consolidate your books the information is no longer correct. I gave this up almost as soon as I started the practice. NOT a good method at all.

2) The next method I used was to record my books into a notebook. I established 10-20 pages per title and entered the issue #, qty, condition, value and which box they were in. This IS a very accurate way to keep an inventory but it also has some drawbacks. Not the least of which is that you have to WRITE an awful lot and that you have to RE-write when you change the storage box, or the value changes. It is a nice ANALOG method though if you are computer phobic!

3) Computer Spreadsheet – Excel, Lotus, it makes no difference. Any spreadsheet program will work. You can easily update and edit your inventory and create reports and charts. I used this method for several years until I migrated to an Access database.

4) If you are a computer geek like me and know how to use Access, you can build a custom inventory program. This is the method I use today. This has advantages over a spreadsheet because data entry is easier, you have many more reporting options and your data can be imported/exported to a number of different formats. The disadvantage to this method is that, like the other methods, updates happen manually across the board and you must create a new record for every entry. There are a lot of keystrokes involved!

5) Third Party database – There are many over the counter programs designed for maintaining your inventory. I currently use ComicBase. (www.comicbase.com) This program automatically updates current values, adds new issues through weekly updates, and gives you an option to post books for sale at NO COST. The program has a robust reporting function and entry only requires me to enter the quantity and location. You no longer have to waste time entering title or story line information. AND ComicBase actually supports bar code scanning so all you have to do is scan the barcode on the cover! There are several good programs out there and most of them have a stripped down FREE version for you to try out to see what works best for you.

A note on inventorying your books. While it is a ton of work at the beginning, once you have caught up with your back stock, keeping your inventory up to date is just a matter of entering your new purchases so don’t be discouraged by the size of the task facing you. It really does pay off in the end!

So there you have it. Using these three steps, I have been able to keep my books in good shape, organized and accessible. I know what I have, what condition it is in, the current value and where all of my books are.
Make sure to ask the team at CBJ about the wide variety of comic book supplies that they carry!!

Is this for you? Well only YOU can answer that. Regardless of the methods you use to maintain your collection, the MOST important thing is to read and enjoy your comics!

That’s 30!
Mitch