Although stories of the most recent price fetched at auction for Action Comics #1, the comic book in which Superman premiered, make the news periodically, not everyone collects comic books for their potential to appreciate in value over time. The reasons people collect comic books vary; a comic book collector may choose the comics he or she collects for one or more of these reasons:


Investment potential. Old and rare comics can appreciate considerably in value over the years, particularly if they feature well known characters such as Superman (Action Comics #1) or Batman (Detective Comics #27). The better condition an old comic book is kept in, the greater its value.
History and cultural significance. Someone who collects comic books for their cultural significance will likely be drawn to comics from particular eras, such as the Golden Age (1938 to 1955) or the Silver Age (1956 to 1970); to characters popular in the past, such as the Lone Ranger from the 1930s to the 1950s; or to characters that have stood the test of time, such as Superman or Archie.
Favorite publisher. Some collectors favor the comics of a certain publisher over another. The 2 largest comic book publishers, DC and Marvel, have their own legions of fans, while other comics collectors favor the works of smaller publishers such as Dark Horse, Boom Entertainment, and others.
Favorite genre. While many comic book collectors favor superhero comic books, other collectors favor science fiction comics such as "Mystery in Space" or "Magnus, Robot Fighter," while others favor horror comics such as "House of Secrets" or "House of Mystery," historical adventures such as "Tomahawk," or romance titles such as "Young Romance" and "Modern Romance."
Favorite characters. Many collectors collect comic books for characters they can relate to in some way, whether it's the range of powers and moral character of Superman, the "where there's a will, there's a way" message of Green Lantern, or the "outcasts of society" represented by the mutant heroes and villains in "X-Men." Other collectors develop a fondness for supporting characters, such as Superman's lady love, Lois Lane, or reporter pal Jimmy Olsen, each of whom had their own comic books for over 20 years. Collectors usually develop a fondness for a character by reading the several recent appearance of that character, then go back to collect previous appearances of that character to contrast the earlier presentation with the more recent one to see how the character has evolved over the years.
Favorite writers. Writers such as Mickey Spillane wrote the comic book adventures of characters such as Captain Marvel or the Sub-Mariner before turning to novels. Science fiction writers such as Alfred Bester and Gardner Fox wrote for "Strange Adventures" while also writing novels, and television writers such as J. Michael Straczynski and Joss Whedon are now taking turns writing comic book adventures for Spider-Man, the X-Men, and other comic book heroes.
Favorite artists. Comic books are a visual medium, and many readers and collectors are drawn to the various styles of rendering the characters within them. Some are drawn to the realism of Neal Adams and John Romita, others to the cartoon adaptations of Carl Barks, others to the surrealism of Steve Ditko, and still others to the square-jawed style of Jack Kirby, who brought life to many of the Marvel heroes created by Stan Lee.
Crossover with other interests. Fans of "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" may collect comic books featuring the characters of those universes along with books, action figures, and related paraphernalia, while fans of pulp heroes such as the Shadow and Doc Savage may collect comic book adaptations of those characters.;
, Someone who has collected comic books for a long time should have a large collection of issues, with titles going back a number of years, while someone who started his or her collection more recently may have a narrower range of titles and a smaller number of issues within each title. Larger collections are also more likely to include the first appearances of significant characters than are smaller collections.


One way to evaluate both the comic book collection and the collector is to see what kind of books about comics the collector owns and how many of them. A collector fond of Superman might have "The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told" or the Superman volume of "The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes." A collector who likes DC Comics in general might have several coffee table books about DC and its characters or back issues of the company's "The Amazing World of DC Comics."

, The fewer copies of a particular issue of a given comic book, the more valuable the comic is. Issues can be rare either because few issues from the original print run survive to the present day, as is the case with many older comics, or because few issues were produced to begin with, as is likely with comics from an independent publisher.
 The condition of the comics in the collection is another factor that determines their value. Stains, creases, fading, worn edges, missing pieces, or dog-eared or torn pages can seriously reduce the value of an individual issue or the overall collection.


Comic books are graded in 2 ways: with descriptive terms or with a numeric grading scale. Descriptive terms range from "Gemstone Mint" for the best quality comics to "Poor" for the worst quality comics that still retain their covers, which correspond to numeric grades of 10.0 to 0.5.
Some large collections of older comics in exceptional condition may merit pedigrees, particularly if the current owner is the person who originally purchased the comics.
It is possible to improve the appearance of older comics through 1 or more restoration techniques; however, not all collectors approve of using these techniques. Accordingly, many prospective purchasers employ the services of an authentication service such as CGC or PGX to validate the condition of a comic book and to identify any restoration techniques used on it.
 Serious comic book collectors are more likely to take measures to preserve their comics than casual collectors. Most collectors preserve their comics by placing them in archival plastic bags with a piece of white cardboard to keep the comic stiff. Comic book authentication services usually provide archival sealing and mounting as part of their services.


Because reading a comic book necessarily exposes it to wear and tear, some collectors own both mint-quality copies of their favorite issues and poorer-quality copies they read for pleasure. Other collectors scan their comics, creating digital images of each page that can be incorporated into PDFs or read with special comic reader programs such as CDisplay.
 Some collectors may choose to sell individual comics from their collection, either to pare titles they no longer have an interest in or to earn money quickly. Other collectors may choose to sell their entire collection at once, in either a single lot or multiple lots, feeling they can no longer take care of it properly.


Recent comics are more likely to be found at a yard or rummage sale than are older comics. Older and rarer comics are more likely to be sold through a broker or auction house, while comics of intermediate age can be found in the dealers' rooms of science fiction and comic book conventions.
If the owner is selling the comics online, look for detailed pictures of as many comics in the collection as possible, particularly for any flaws in the comics. Also, look for a detailed written description of the comics that addresses their rarity and condition. If the seller lives in the same city you do, arrange to meet with the seller to view the comics yourself.
 While the actual worth of a comic book collection is ultimately whatever the buyer and seller agree upon, there are published guides to the value of various comics. The industry bible is the Overstreet Price Guide, the print form of which is updated annually by its publisher, Gemstone Publishing. Online price guides are also available, such as ComicsPriceGuide.com, providing a convenient way to look up the list prices of comics in the collection to compare against the asking price.
Understand the reasons people collect comic books.
Evaluate the scope of the collection.
Look at how rare the comics in the collection are.
Examine the condition of the comics being sold.
Look at what measures the owner has taken to protect the comics.
Learn how the collector plans to sell the collection.
Evaluate the asking price.
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