Vintage Comic Books
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In a down economy, such as we are in right now, experienced investors often look for alternative avenues of financial growth. With the stock market fluctuating and the value of the dollar at an all time low, collectible items, such as stamps and rare coins, have greatly increased in popularity during the last several years. The same can be said for vintage comic books.

In fact the values of some well-maintained older comic books, also known as funny books, have reached the status of their more established artistic counterparts, namely paintings and sculptures. For an art form that is less than a century old this is a remarkable feat.

Initially comic books were the cheap cousin to newspapers -- meant to be read once and thrown away after consumption. The content of these comics ran the gamut of fiction -- from humor to romance, to horror, to westerns, to science fiction and adventure. But a strange thing happened in April 1938 that truly captured the imagination of many and led people to re-examine the worth of the so-called "funny books." That epic event was the debut of an iconic character called Superman.

The brainchild of creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman was originally modeled after the heroic actor of silent films, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. The man of steel's debut in Action Comics #1 was a certified smash, eventually catapulting that periodical's print run to over one million copies per month. It was the flagship title of National Allied Publications, a company that would eventually evolve into DC Comics.

To this day Action Comics #1 is considered the most valuable comic book in the world with less than 100 known copies still in existence today. In 2009, one was sold online at auction in Texas by Comic Connect. It brought over $317,000. (Click Comic Book Images to Enlarge)

The success of Action Comics #1 spawned other characters that appeared in their own titles. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Green Lantern, and The Flash were all part of that early group, along with another mega-popular character named Batman. These, too, all met with great success.

Debuting just a year after Superman in the anthology title, Detective Comics #27, Batman had tremendous appeal in that he actually had no real superpowers. He defeated criminals with his mind, his well conditioned fighting ability and a dogged determination.

National eventually changed their name to DC (Detective Comics) in homage to this particular title. In addition to Batman, all the early DC characters seemed to have a unique niche, appealing to teenage boys and young men in particular.

However in 1941 WWII took much of that demographic away from home and away from their subscriptions to these popular magazines. Some families sent the issues on to the soldiers wherever they were stationed. These copies would get passed around barracks and interest continued to increase in the exploits of the heroic characters. Writers at National capitalized on this interest by fictionally involving their characters in the war effort. (Click Comic Book Images to Enlarge)

Some of the wives, mothers and little brothers of soldiers would simply store the comic books away safely so they would be in good condition for the soldiers to read when they came home on leave, and thus the art of comic book collecting was born.

After the war, the industry continued to flourish as soldiers passed the art of comic book collecting on to their baby boomer offspring. National Allied Periodicals absorbed several smaller companies and became National Comics and, as previously mentioned, eventually DC Comics. Comic book publishers began popping up in great numbers, often featuring characters that were in essence thinly veiled copies of the DC heroes.

Other genres, especially western and horror, mirrored what consumers were choosing to watch on the silver screen at the time. These fell into the era that most collectors consider to be the Golden Age of Comics. The Golden Age lasted from 1938 until the late 1940's. During this time, comic books were a thriving industry with millions of readers. However, it would not last long. (Click Comic Book Images to Enlarge)

In 1954 Fredric Wertham, an American psychologist, painted comic books in a very bad light. In his book, "The Seduction of the Innocent," he theorized that the violence and sexual innuendo depicted in comic books were responsible for a variety of social ills that included juvenile delinquency and the spread of communism.

The publication of his book lead to congressional hearings where it was decided that the comic book industry would produce a code of acceptable content, and in effect, would censor itself. The result was the Comics Code Authority (CCA); a very strict set of rules regarding what could and could not be published in a comic book.

Some of the smaller companies, such as EC Comics, simply could not adapt their styles to the restrictions of the CCA and they fell by the wayside. DC Comics took some other companies like Fawcett Comics and Fox Comics to court charging plagiarism of their characters, most notably Superman. (Click Comic Book Images to Enlarge) While DC Comics did not go unscathed by the Comics Code Authority, the popularity of its "big three" flagship characters -- Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman continued to flourish. However it was decided that some of their lesser-known characters, such as the Flash and the Green Lantern, could use a modern restyling.

This change in look and attitude came with a different type of storytelling and is considered to be the beginning of The Silver Age of Comics, which lasted from 1956 to the early 1970's.

In-between the Golden and Silver Ages, during the period from the late 1940's to 1956, was the less successful Atomic Age of Comics. The effort to make comics more educational than entertaining during this timeframe did not catch on. Comics like Atomic Mouse, Atomic Rabbit and Atoman were an attempt to ease the fears many had over the real possibility of nuclear war. This was the dawn of the Cold War.

From the ashes of the turmoil caused by the Comics Code Authority one publisher emerged successful enough to challenge DC Comics as the top comic book company. In 1939 a businessman named Martin Goodman founded Timely Publications. Taking a cue from DC, Timely had several main characters -- Captain America, Namor The Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch. (Click Comic Book Images to Enlarge) During the 1950's Timely Publications changed its name to Atlas Comics and focused more on alternate genres with titles such as "Kid Colt" and "Millie The Model." The early 1960s brought another new name to the company -- Marvel Comics. This new name also brought a new direction -- superheroes with realistic problems. Goodman hired writer Stan Lee and veteran artist Jack Kirby, as well as others, to come up with a viable alternate fictional universe and the characters to populate it.

In contrast to the heroes in the DC's universe who typically only had to deal with the bad guy of the month, Marvel characters dealt with life issues as well as each other in a much more realistic fashion. The landmark issues that helped propel Marvel Comics to the heights of the industry were Fantastic Four #1 and Amazing Fantasy # 15. These contained the first appearances of the character that would eventually become the face of the company -- Spider-man.

Over the course of the next three decades the big two, Marvel and DC, would dominate the comic book market. However, during this time, smaller companies would meet with more and more success as the industry grew. Distribution of these periodicals was led almost exclusively by Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. During this extended timeframe, one can find the Bronze Age of Comics, which lasted from the early 1970's until the mid 1980's.
(Click Comic Book Images to Enlarge)

Circulation of the comics changed from newsstands and convenience stores to comic book specialty shops where coveted back issues could be purchased along with the current issues. Also available were assorted accessories that pertained to the care of these publications.

Annual books such as "The Comic Book Buyer's Guide" and "The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide" served to set the prices for back issues. "Wizard Magazine" emerged as a monthly trade periodical keeping casual readers and collectors alike abreast of the developing trends in the industry.

For networking purposes fans and collectors started to gather at yearly conventions where they could meet the creators of their favorite comics and get exclusive information on coming attractions.

The largest and most famous of these annual conventions is the San Diego Comic-Con International, a huge and elaborate affair typically held in late July where fans, creators, and vendors come together to do business, mingle, and celebrate the art form in its entirety. In 2009 it has been reported that nearly 140,000 people attended over the course of the four day extravaganza.

The aforementioned "Wizard Magazine" sponsors several smaller conventions in various cities around the United States. These Wizard World conventions attract tens of thousands of patrons each year. Also highly attended is the multitude of specialty conventions held around the country every year.

These "cons" focus exclusively on one sector or aspect of the comic book industry. Two of the best known of these are Alternative Press Expo (APE) which highlights smaller independent comic book publishers and East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC) which focuses primarily on characters and creators of color. The "Black Age" is also another name for the Modern Age of Comics, which began in the mid 1980's and still reigns today. (Click Comic Book Images to Enlarge)

There are, in fact, a plethora of options for the modern comic book collector. Both Marvel and DC are now components of large corporate entities, the Disney Corporation and Time Warner respectively. The motion picture industry has generated a tremendous amount of interest in what has become the source material for many of its most successful films.

The Internet has presented a variety of new options for commerce, marketing and the dissemination of original content. Those who invest in comic books for financial gain now have appraisal companies such as Comics Guaranty LLC (CGC) to value their specific issues on a grading system akin to that used by coin dealers.

During the past few years, some hard to find vintage comic books have sold at auction for what some would call a king's ransom. That would be an accurate description if you think about the fact that they only cost a few cents when originally purchased as new. We mentioned the selling price of Action Comics #1 earlier but here are a few other examples, all of which were sold by Heritage Auction Galleries:

Flash Comics #1 from 1940, Sold in 2006 for $273,125.
Marvel Comics #1 from 1939, Sold in 2005 for $172,500.
Action Comics #7 from 1938, Sold in 2008 for $143,400.
Hulk #1 from Silver Age Marvel Comics, Sold for $125,475.
Batman #1 from 1940, Sold in 2005 for $48,875.

Every year, hundreds and possibly thousands of comic books sell in excess of $1,000 each. The rarity and condition of a comic book is extremely important in determining value.

The comic book has truly come into its own as both an art form and an investment opportunity. Not too bad for a mere funny book. The term "funny book" is a more accurate description today than it ever was in the old days. If you have the right "funny book" you will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Written by Anne Benedetto, Auction House Talk
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