Okay, so a little over two years ago, I came around here looking to bust my GA comic book cherry. I remember getting some good advice and being excited about the prospect of buying some books actually printed before I was born.
Everything was so new to me that I was gun shy about actually buying anything, worried about not getting the grade I wanted, or overpaying, or whatever. Time went on and I had a son, and while I still enjoy comics, I've had less time to try new things and have focused on what I'm comfortable with.
Anyway, on a whim, I recently picked up Jungle Comics 132 and 147, along with GI Joe 35, the oldest books I've ever purchased. I have no idea if I overpaid, but at this point, I sort of don't care. I needed to dive in and start collecting instead of beating around the bush so dang much.
Now I'm hooked. But I don't want to buy only those books that fit my collecting niche. I want to round out my collection with knowledge. I want to learn more about the companies, the artists, etc., and I want to get a better understanding on what to expect as far as conditions go with various series and values so I can find the right use of my money (fewer higher grade comics vs. more lower grades).
Which brings me to my question...I know this place is a wealth of information, but man oh man, there are tons of threads to wade through. It's overwhelming to see all of this knowledge. Are there any places online you'd recommend I start going to? Some place to familiarize myself with this era of comics? I just don't want to start new threads every time I have a new question or want to learn something, because I'd be starting a lot of threads, and the last thing I want to do is show my ignorance and wear out any welcome I might still get.
This might have taken me a lot longer than expected, but I'm excited to finally be here.
Which brings me to my question...I know this place is a wealth of information, but man oh man, there are tons of threads to wade through. It's overwhelming to see all of this knowledge. Are there any places online you'd recommend I start going to? Some place to familiarize myself with this era of comics? I just don't want to start new threads every time I have a new question or want to learn something, because I'd be starting a lot of threads, and the last thing I want to do is show my ignorance and wear out any welcome I might still get.
Just start reading. It's what I did and it worked pretty well. I think I absorbed about a decade worth of comic knowledge in less than a year when I first found this place. The posters in the gold forum are a lot less likely to jump on you when you ask a question that has already been discussed, so post away. Failing that, just send someone a PM. I think there is even a thread somewhere that details subject matter experts, but after just a few hours of reading it will be obvious who to ask anyway. I learned just as much through PM exchanges as I did through reading the board....maybe more.
Like anything worthwhile, there are no shortcuts. It takes months and months of pretty diligent reading to to get a decent foundation, even with the aid of this place. Don't expect instant gratification or expertise, cause it isn't going to happen.
Which brings me to my question...I know this place is a wealth of information, but man oh man, there are tons of threads to wade through. It's overwhelming to see all of this knowledge. Are there any places online you'd recommend I start going to? Some place to familiarize myself with this era of comics? I just don't want to start new threads every time I have a new question or want to learn something, because I'd be starting a lot of threads, and the last thing I want to do is show my ignorance and wear out any welcome I might still get.
Just start reading. It's what I did and it worked pretty well. I think I absorbed about a decade worth of comic knowledge in less than a year when I first found this place. The posters in the gold forum are a lot less likely to jump on you when you ask a question that has already been discussed, so post away. Failing that, just send someone a PM. I think there is even a thread somewhere that details subject matter experts, but after just a few hours of reading it will be obvious who to ask anyway. I learned just as much through PM exchanges as I did through reading the board....maybe more.
Like anything worthwhile, there are no shortcuts. It takes months and months of pretty diligent reading to to get a decent foundation, even with the aid of this place. Don't expect instant gratification or expertise, cause it isn't going to happen.
+1 cannot find another forum better than this. I have learned so much in a short time. My collection has grown leaps and bound since joining.
#5630862 - 04/26/1203:10 PMRe: Where to learn about GA?
[Re: october]
vaillantvaillant
I was posting here when you were in diapers.
Registered: 02/21/12
Posts: 3694
Loc: Italy
@Reno: I can share my experience as an italian reader, which never went seriously into the discovery of the golden age production until recently.
I started last november, and with the aid of forums, sites, eBay, and excellent sites which share public domain scans of GA books, I have been able to learn very quickly both about publishers, artists, conservation, and market prices. I think it helps a lot to focus on a line of interest, or an area of research which fascinates you, and then proceed from that, extending your search. I especially recommend the GCD database or the Mycomicshop site for researching, the latter offers powerful search engine abilities (and plunges into the GCD database anyway, for artists/publishers and content data).
My very little experience has brought me to decision to go either for low to mid-grade books (or better) or coverless ones, since PR or FR/G copies are too delicate to handle, but it all depends on the value of the books and what you have to do with them (I have to scan some stories out of them, so for me it’s often a difficult choice).
#5630871 - 04/26/1203:14 PMRe: Where to learn about GA?
[Re: Reno McCoy]
DoohickamabobDoohickamabob
FACT if I stop posting, trillions and trillions of transistors would be out of work.
Registered: 03/18/09
Posts: 4987
Originally Posted By: Reno McCoy
Which brings me to my question...I know this place is a wealth of information, but man oh man, there are tons of threads to wade through. It's overwhelming to see all of this knowledge. Are there any places online you'd recommend I start going to? Some place to familiarize myself with this era of comics?
(1) First thing you should do is familiarize yourself with the search function on the site. It takes some trial-and-error but it will help make some sense of the sea of text this site has accumulated.
I just used the search to find a past thread about good books that delve into the history of comics.
(2) Here are some books I recommended in the above thread:
-- "Comix: A History of Comic Books in America" by Les Daniels -- "A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics," edited by Michael Barrier and Martin Williams -- "Great American Comic Books" by Ron Goulart -- "Comics: Between the Panels" by Duin Richardson
Also, the Gerber Photo-Journals, and the Overstreet Price Guide, are very cool resources. The Photo-Journals are two big books with full-color glossy pictures of most of the great golden-age books (there are also similar journals focusing on silver-age stuff). They can often be found for about $30-$50 plus shipping.
The Overstreet Price Guide gives you a relative sense of the value of everything, as well as containing myriad notes and details about particular titles and issues. These days the book is not considered as essential as it used to be, thanks to numerous online resources. But I still find it pretty indispensable.
(3) Get to know the various online resources. There is a thread somewhere that lists a great many of them.... I will search for it....
Learn the various sites out there, and bookmark your favorites. New sites are cropping up all the time. Some of the older ones have died out (or should).
(4) Learn grading. Learn condition. Learn to spot restoration (glue, tape, tear seals, color touch, trimming, etc.). Many collectors, when first starting, will have to climb a steep curve on this stuff, and they'll probably pay a financial price for it. I can't tell you how many golden-age comics I bought and didn't know they were restored. Later on when I decided to sell them, I sold them as restored and often took a steep loss as a result, which I considered the payment for learning. There were also many comics I bought that had problems I didn't realize were problems, only to look over the comics years later and say, "Wait a minute....the center wrap page is missing! All this time I thought I had a complete copy! Augghh!"
(5) Resist the urge to make it about financial investment. Make sure the hobby is fun and the focus is mostly on the art and stories and history. Let the financial part be a happy by-product. It gets too cynical if people are just buying things to press and flip, or speculate.....I don't believe in treating comics like they're stock certificates, even though there are parallels.
(6) When collecting, take it slowly and try to figure out a collecting focus. It is more fun if you narrow down your goals to particular publishers, artists, themes, or whatever. If you don't, you might find you run out of buying resources too quickly and end up with a very random collection. Of course, sometimes you have to buy stuff just to figure out whether you like it, so feel free to make mistakes or shift gears along the way.
(7) Take pics, share stories, spread the joy of the hobby.
Oh hell, ask your questions already, we'll reply and I'll learn a few things or two at the same time. No kidding, I encourage anyone to post their questions in the GA forum in new or old threads since this is a continuing education exercise. I learn new stuff most every week on the boards.
