National Post - "Holy Investment Opportunity, Batman"
I was recently interviewed for a National Post article on investing in comic books, which saw print on Saturday in the National Post.
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1555628
Kevin Boyd, an advisor to the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, published by Gemstone Publishing of York, Pa., says along with rarity and condition, investors seeking to profit from comics should buy books with historical significance. Comic collectors prize the first issues of long-running, popular series or those that feature the first appearance of a popular character, a key story point such as the "death" of a character or the work of a popular comic book artist, Mr. Boyd says.
Comic book publishing is divided into the Golden Age (1939-56), the Silver Age (1956-1970) and the Bronze Age (1970-1984). Few comics published after 1984 have any real investment value, Mr. Boyd says.
Asked what he would do with $50,000 to invest in comics, Mr. Boyd says "I would probably concentrate on early appearances of the superheroes that are still important pop cultural icons such as Superman, Batman and Spider Man. Those three characters, in particular, still have broad appeal and instant recognizability and as such there will always be demand for their early published appearances.
"With that amount of money to spend I would probably buy something that was graded to ensure that the condition and price were commensurate, and that there was no restoration present."
Update: I see it was also picked up by the Vancouver Sun: www.vancouversun.com/business/fp/money/Holy+investment+opportunity+Batman/1554677/story.html
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1555628
Kevin Boyd, an advisor to the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, published by Gemstone Publishing of York, Pa., says along with rarity and condition, investors seeking to profit from comics should buy books with historical significance. Comic collectors prize the first issues of long-running, popular series or those that feature the first appearance of a popular character, a key story point such as the "death" of a character or the work of a popular comic book artist, Mr. Boyd says.
Comic book publishing is divided into the Golden Age (1939-56), the Silver Age (1956-1970) and the Bronze Age (1970-1984). Few comics published after 1984 have any real investment value, Mr. Boyd says.
Asked what he would do with $50,000 to invest in comics, Mr. Boyd says "I would probably concentrate on early appearances of the superheroes that are still important pop cultural icons such as Superman, Batman and Spider Man. Those three characters, in particular, still have broad appeal and instant recognizability and as such there will always be demand for their early published appearances.
"With that amount of money to spend I would probably buy something that was graded to ensure that the condition and price were commensurate, and that there was no restoration present."
Update: I see it was also picked up by the Vancouver Sun: www.vancouversun.com/business/fp/money/Holy+investment+opportunity+Batman/1554677/story.html