Welcome to the inaugural Comic Shell blog post!
As collectors, we invest not only our passion but also our resources into acquiring these iconic pieces of pop culture history. Each comic book in our collection represents a chapter in the larger narrative of our lives, and it's our responsibility to ensure they remain protected for generations to come.
From the task of selecting the best storage solution to the nerve-wracking process of transporting our comics to conventions or across town, every step presents its own set of challenges. How do we strike the delicate balance between accessibility, protection, and value?
In future blog posts, we'll talk about not only the options for storing and preserving your comic books... but also about the great history and nuances of comic collecting. We’ll explore the impact of pop culture on collecting trends, from vintage classics to the latest titles that pop up on our radar.
📸 Alan Light / 1976 San Diego Comic-Con / Wikimedia Commons
From the early days on street corner newsstands to the 1990s boom of the speculator bubble - and subsequent crash - to the recent resurgence fueled by blockbuster movie adaptations, the comics market has seen plenty of ups and downs.
Preservation of collectibles has come a VERY long way since the Golden Age of comics. The invention of specialized boxes, bags, and boards, along with the creation of third-party grading and encapsulation services from companies like CGC and CBCS more recently, have been invaluable gifts to the comic collector looking to preserve their beloved books and magazines.
There are plenty of reasons Action Comics #1 from 1938 (the first appearance of Superman) has only been graded a total of 78 times by CGC as of today, even though 200,000 were originally printed! Similarly, the first appearance of Batman in Detective Comics #27 from 1939 has only 78 CGC graded copies, and the first Spider-man in Amazing Fantasy #15 from 1962 has just over 3,800 graded by CGC.
If we had long boxes, bags, and boards back then... what would the vintage market look like today? What other market and world events influenced comics through the ages?
Stay tuned for upcoming posts where we'll dive deeper into the essentials of building and maintaining a comic book collection that's as unique as every collector, along with a good helping of comics history and news. We'll also spotlight the great products, inventions, and methods we use today that help make our collecting lives easier.
Until then, happy collecting!
Comic Shell Blog compiles info from various sources and provides opinions for entertainment and informational purposes only, and is not financial advice. This article may be written in part with assistance from artificial intelligence. If you attend comic conventions or visit your local comic shop regularly, check out Comic Shell at comicshell.com