How to build your own comic book collection

How to build a comic book collection from scratch:

I´ve searched youtube to find someone that could share a lil knowledge of how to build a comic book collection and found nothing. So i´ll try to explain how I did it and hope it works for you as it did for me.

It´s not super accurate but you can actually build a comic book collection from scratch if you´re willing to do it. You don´t need a lot of money but you will need a bit of patience and space.

First, find a community of comic book collectors.

Second, ask your parents, neighbours or uncles if they have and attic they want you to clean or check out for old things like magazines. Usually there´s a willing uncle or two that want all the old stuff to be gone so they can make space to store more crap. I found a battered Black cat Mystic issue from 1957 and got it for free so you never know…

As children grow up they find it hard to keep their own collection since they lose interest, or comic book collecting is laughed at or frowned upon due to social standards, so make a blog and ask for those magazines, ask your friends that you´re willing to go to their houses to pick up all that stuff…I assure there must be more than one that will love to make some space on their room for a girlfriend instead of a stash of comics if you know what I mean…Not everyone uses e-bay to sell things they don´t like anymore….

Whenever you have a lil bit of change go hit the 1 dollar bins on your local store. Just the one dollar bins, keep in mind what your friends are collecting so you can trade and what you´re collecting so you can begin to specialize your  comic book collection.

When you have 50 plus books google them to see what they´re worth. Or use a free program such as stashmycomics.com. If they are worth nothing look at your comic collection database and see what your friends are collecting (green lantern instead of batman, or spider-man instead of x-men) so you can trade those issues you have for something that really interests you.

Make a website with pictures, post a video of your collection or interests and send it to relatives or friends  – they probably know more people so you can contact those or , if they collect, be willing to sell cheap or give some issues away so you can clear their space. Birthdays are great since probably you get something you don´t like but someone else does…then trade or sell whatever it is you have so you can get a bit of money and continue your collecting quest. (Moms will hate me for saying that but it´s how I did it in the early days).



It took me 10 years, and I have spent less than 700 dollars in that time and a lot of patience and good spirits. This thanks to people who knew I was collecting comics and gave a lot of the stuff they were not collecting anymore or found books on their uncle´s attics etc. Sometimes I had to pay but really nothing compared to what they are worth. 

Mind you I don´t have key issues which are worth a lot of money but I got some good issues for free from friends (x-men #1 Jim Lee or Web of Spider-man #1) and whenever I had spare change I would go to those local stores to only check what was on the 1 dollar bin.

Trading, a bit of experience and a good attitude goes a long way.

Start building your own collection or e-mail me if you have any questions.

I´m not an expert mind you and I currently collect just basic characters like Batman, Superman and Spider-man. I do this because it´s fun, entertaining and I will probably end up in some years giving it away to a relative so he can continue the tradition.

Good luck and start soon! Let me know how it goes.