Comic book price guide
Encyclopedia
Comic book price guides are generally monthly, quarterly, or yearly publications which detail the changes in the resale value of a comic over a period of time. Price guides are also important tools for collectors looking to sell their collection or determine their collection’s worth for insurance purposes.
Each collector will have his or her own preference regarding which authority to follow, but popular and respected guides currently include The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
, Comics Buyer's Guide
magazine, Wizard Magazine, the Comics Buyer's Guide
Standard Catalog of Comic Books
, and Human Computing’s ComicBase
, an inventory/databasing software program. Popular online price guides include comicbookrealm.com (free), ComicsPriceGuide.com (free and paid services), nostomania.com (free), and GPAnalysis.com specifically for CGC (certified) Comics (paid). Online and print price guides will have their own discrepancies, so a combination of several sources is often used by collectors to arrive at an accurate estimated value.
Although many price guides come and go, long-standing publications such as Overstreet (which has been running for over 35 years) or the more recent Standard Catalog of Comic Books, have long since become inextricable elements of comic collection history. These guides are popular resources for collectors and enthusiasts seeking information on anything from storylines to writers and artists to the original cover price of a comic. Grand Comics Database and comicbookrealm.com, in particular, offer users the ability to quickly search for characters by appearances and deaths. The Big Comic Book DataBase
combines a searchable database of per issue character and creator information and a linked price guide.
The advent of certification enabled increased liquidity of comic books by removing disputes over grading and by disclosing restoration, and accelerated sales of comic books through online auction sites such as eBay or Heritage Auction Galleries
. Certification was also a boon to comic price guide providers, as certification removes the uncertainty about the actual grade of the comic book being sold. Individual and/or aggregated reports of certified comic book sales are available online.
The Argosy Price Guide (specifically for Hollywood, California's, Argosy Book Shop).
Comic back-issue prices had stabilized by the end of the 1960s. In 1970, Jerry Bails
, who had recently published the Collector’s Guide to the First Heroic Age, was considering creating a comic book price guide. He was contacted by Bob Overstreet, who was doing the same thing. Bails' extensive notes, supplemented by Overstreet's study of dealer listings, "became a backbone to the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
." Overstreet's guide instantly became an invaluable resource tool for comic book collectors.
The Overstreet guide excluded the entire category of underground comix
from its listings. This void was first addressed by Jay Kennedy
in 1982 with The Official Underground And Newave Comix Price Guide, and while out of print is a valuable resource for information about the artists and publishers. In 2006, Overstreet advisor and contributor Dan Fogel's Hippy Comix, Inc. published Fogel's Underground Comix Price Guide, with 2010 to see a supplement magazine adding minicomics and British undergrounds alongside the latest pricing data.
With the advent of online auctioning services like eBay
, price guides have seen dramatic declines in sales because their price listings were not reflective of the actual sale prices of comics. Shortly thereafter, Comics Buyer's Guide magazine and the CBG Standard Catalog of Comic Books started reporting actual completed auction results from eBay, covering periods longer than eBay's results are online. The 2005 edition of the Standard Catalog is 1,624 pages long and reports results back to 2002. The current online price guide for slabbed comics is GPAnalysis, which collects data of actual verified sales.
An established independent company, such as Comic Guaranty LLC
(CGC) provides third party grading services for comics. Comic books can be sent to this company for independent, impartial certification, including grading, restoration check and encapsulation within a tamper-evident protective holder.
Some grading companies have actually devised a numeric scale grading system that ranges from 0.5 (poor) to 10.0 (mint). However, most companies use a terminology based grading system that ranges from "Poor" to "Mint". The advantages of a terminology based system is it allows for variation in each grade and even grade overlaps. For example, you can now have a grade called VERY GOOD/FINE. Since grading is very subjective, a third party grading company should be used to authenticate valuable comics.
Each collector will have his or her own preference regarding which authority to follow, but popular and respected guides currently include The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is an annually published comic book price guide widely considered the primary authority on the subject of American comic book grading and pricing in the hobby/industry....
, Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
magazine, Wizard Magazine, the Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
Standard Catalog of Comic Books
Standard Catalog of Comic Books
The Standard Catalog of Comic Books is the world's largest book about comic books. A joint production of the team behind Comics Buyer's Guide magazine and the CD-ROM program ComicBase, the first edition was released in 2002 from Krause Publications, known today as F+W Publications...
, and Human Computing’s ComicBase
ComicBase
ComicBase is a popular computer program for tracking comic book collections, and is considered one of the most comprehensive databases of American comic books...
, an inventory/databasing software program. Popular online price guides include comicbookrealm.com (free), ComicsPriceGuide.com (free and paid services), nostomania.com (free), and GPAnalysis.com specifically for CGC (certified) Comics (paid). Online and print price guides will have their own discrepancies, so a combination of several sources is often used by collectors to arrive at an accurate estimated value.
Although many price guides come and go, long-standing publications such as Overstreet (which has been running for over 35 years) or the more recent Standard Catalog of Comic Books, have long since become inextricable elements of comic collection history. These guides are popular resources for collectors and enthusiasts seeking information on anything from storylines to writers and artists to the original cover price of a comic. Grand Comics Database and comicbookrealm.com, in particular, offer users the ability to quickly search for characters by appearances and deaths. The Big Comic Book DataBase
Big Comic Book DataBase
The Big Comic Book DataBase is a website containing information about comic books, and run by the maintainers of the Big Cartoon DataBase. , the database contains information on over 100,000 books in 5000+ series, including over 35,000 cover scans....
combines a searchable database of per issue character and creator information and a linked price guide.
The advent of certification enabled increased liquidity of comic books by removing disputes over grading and by disclosing restoration, and accelerated sales of comic books through online auction sites such as eBay or Heritage Auction Galleries
Heritage Auctions
Heritage Auction Galleries is the world's largest collectibles auctioneer and the third largest auction house, with over $700 million in annual sales and 600,000 online bidder-members...
. Certification was also a boon to comic price guide providers, as certification removes the uncertainty about the actual grade of the comic book being sold. Individual and/or aggregated reports of certified comic book sales are available online.
History
Beginning in the early 1960s comics collectors (who often traded and sold to each other) were on the rise, and the number of comics dealers began to increase as well. In 1965, Michael Cohen and Tom Horsky published what is considered the first comics price guide, the one-shot digestDigest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...
The Argosy Price Guide (specifically for Hollywood, California's, Argosy Book Shop).
Comic back-issue prices had stabilized by the end of the 1960s. In 1970, Jerry Bails
Jerry Bails
Jerry Gwin Bails was an American popular culturist. Known as the "Father of Comic Book Fandom", he was one of the first to approach the comic book field as a subject worthy of academic study, and was a primary force in establishing 1960s comics fandom.- Early life :Jerry G. Bails was born June...
, who had recently published the Collector’s Guide to the First Heroic Age, was considering creating a comic book price guide. He was contacted by Bob Overstreet, who was doing the same thing. Bails' extensive notes, supplemented by Overstreet's study of dealer listings, "became a backbone to the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is an annually published comic book price guide widely considered the primary authority on the subject of American comic book grading and pricing in the hobby/industry....
." Overstreet's guide instantly became an invaluable resource tool for comic book collectors.
The Overstreet guide excluded the entire category of underground comix
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
from its listings. This void was first addressed by Jay Kennedy
Jay Kennedy
Jay Malcolm Kennedy was an American editor and writer. He joined King Features Syndicate in 1988 as deputy comics editor and became comics editor one year later. He began as King Features' editor-in-chief in 1997....
in 1982 with The Official Underground And Newave Comix Price Guide, and while out of print is a valuable resource for information about the artists and publishers. In 2006, Overstreet advisor and contributor Dan Fogel's Hippy Comix, Inc. published Fogel's Underground Comix Price Guide, with 2010 to see a supplement magazine adding minicomics and British undergrounds alongside the latest pricing data.
With the advent of online auctioning services like eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, price guides have seen dramatic declines in sales because their price listings were not reflective of the actual sale prices of comics. Shortly thereafter, Comics Buyer's Guide magazine and the CBG Standard Catalog of Comic Books started reporting actual completed auction results from eBay, covering periods longer than eBay's results are online. The 2005 edition of the Standard Catalog is 1,624 pages long and reports results back to 2002. The current online price guide for slabbed comics is GPAnalysis, which collects data of actual verified sales.
An established independent company, such as Comic Guaranty LLC
Comic Guaranty LLC
Comics Guaranty LLC, also known as CGC, is a Sarasota, Florida comic book grading service. CGC is an independent member of the Certified Collectibles Group of companies. It is the first independent and impartial third party grading service for comic books...
(CGC) provides third party grading services for comics. Comic books can be sent to this company for independent, impartial certification, including grading, restoration check and encapsulation within a tamper-evident protective holder.
Comic book grading scale
Dealers and other graders may often disagree with some grading classifications. Grading of comics is very subjective.Some grading companies have actually devised a numeric scale grading system that ranges from 0.5 (poor) to 10.0 (mint). However, most companies use a terminology based grading system that ranges from "Poor" to "Mint". The advantages of a terminology based system is it allows for variation in each grade and even grade overlaps. For example, you can now have a grade called VERY GOOD/FINE. Since grading is very subjective, a third party grading company should be used to authenticate valuable comics.
Terminology
- Title is the name of a comic book series. For example, Action ComicsAction ComicsAction Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
is a title. Within this title, there have been over 800 issues. - Issue is a single installment of a title, usually with its own number. Examples are Action ComicsAction ComicsAction Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#23 or The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#42. A volume number may also be included, such as Punisher Vol. 1 #23. - Grading is the term used to indicate the process of evaluating the condition and consequent value of a comic book. A detailed explanation of how to determine a comic book’s condition based on the established grades is generally included in a comic book pricing guide. A copy that falls between grades may be noted with a
or a 
symbol. These terms are as follows:
| Grade | Abbreviation |
| Mint | MT or M |
| Near Mint | NM |
| Very Fine | VF |
| Fine | FN |
| Very Good | VG |
| Good | GD or G |
| Fair | FR |
| Poor | PR |
Printed guides
- The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price GuideOverstreet Comic Book Price GuideThe Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is an annually published comic book price guide widely considered the primary authority on the subject of American comic book grading and pricing in the hobby/industry....
- Comics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
- Standard Catalog of Comic BooksStandard Catalog of Comic BooksThe Standard Catalog of Comic Books is the world's largest book about comic books. A joint production of the team behind Comics Buyer's Guide magazine and the CD-ROM program ComicBase, the first edition was released in 2002 from Krause Publications, known today as F+W Publications...
- Wizard: The Guide to Comics (Defunct)Wizard (magazine)Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
Online guides
- ComicBaseComicBaseComicBase is a popular computer program for tracking comic book collections, and is considered one of the most comprehensive databases of American comic books...
- ComicBookRealm.com
- ComicsPriceGuide.com
- Nostomania
- GPAnalysis — specifically for CGC (certified) comics