Ask The Attic: What Are My Comic Books Worth?

Jan 30, 2023 by Christopher Lancette

Comic Books and Comic Book Collections Are Hot Again! Even Modern Ones.

It wasn’t that long ago when we would pass on buying large collections of modern comic books because it was too much work for not enough profit.

Collectibles, though, can sometimes heat up and cool down like any stock on the stock market. When it comes to assessing the question “What are my comic books worth?”, let’s break it down in a couple of ways.

Certain old books are still in great demand. Look around your dad’s or grandfather’s collection today and see if you can find the first appearance of Superman. He made his debut in issue No. 1 of Action Comics in June 1938. That incredibly rare comic featuring the first appearance of Superman sold for more than $3 million just a few years ago. That publication year places the comic book at the start of “the golden age” of comics — from 1938 to 1956.

In really general terms, the older the comic book, the lower the price listed on the cover will be. Original, non-reproduction comic books with face values of 10 to 20 cents can often make a comic books dealer like us start salivating — especially if they’re in excellent condition. Not all old comic books are valuable, but age is a good first step in assessing what comic books are worth and how much demand there may be for them.

What’s a bit surprising today is that modern comic books can be worth surprising amounts of money. Amazing Spider-Man #300, for example, published in May of 1988, can easily be worth several hundred dollars “as it sits.” Meaning that it’s in outstanding condition and well-preserved. We’ll sometimes pay the effort to pay the money and take the time to get comic books graded (often a bit of a financial risk), and when that issue comes back with a grade in the 9.6 range, we can often sell it for anywhere from $1,200 to $2,000.

Why is that comic book so special? Because it carries the first appearance of the Venom character. Collectors LOVE first appearances of characters.

There are countless other factors that go into determining the worth of comic books, and dealers like us buying in bulk have to buy at a price that makes taking all the others that aren’t going to sell for more than pennies worth all the time, but if you’ve got a great comic book collection, we want to hear from you!

If you happen to own or have inherited a collection of comic books that are already graded, even better. That makes them so much easier to sell, and generally means they sell for higher dollars than un-graded books.

Do you have questions about your antiques and collectibles? Got some great stuff including comic books that you would like to sell? Contact us today!

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