I Am A Comic Book Guru. Ask Me Anything.

Here's a random question. Why are they called comics when they're not all funny? Isn't that what comic means?

What is an issue of Wolverine issue #50 with the die cut cover worth these days?

Ropin:

This is because the earliest "comic books" were actually an extension of comic strips from newspapers which were actually comedic or light hearted humor. Think Blondie as an example of this type of comic *****. Comic books have their foundations in the more humorous strips from newspapers. Archie is a great example of one that has lived in both mediums.

That said... the medium evolved as all things do and it was really the classic works of Superman and Batman that had the longest impact on evolving this medium from the comic ***** / comic book style to what we now think of as comic books, which are much more superhero based.

Originally, Action Comics (which is where Superman first appeared) was a low selling trial that DC comics (not DC at the time) initiated to try something new for young boys looking for something more adventure based. It included short stories on pirates amongst other things and was an otherwise forgettable series until Superman was introduced and slowly began to take off. To this day, Action Comics lives on, but it is now Superman (big letters / title) in Action Comics (small letters).

A similar story exists with Batman, DC Comics and the book title that started as Detective Comics.

What is the first batman comic worth now?

Comic prices are best covered by the Overstreet Price Guide.

That said, comic book prices are inflated at best. This is due to the 90s when there was increased interest in comic books due to the auction sales of a Spider-Man issue as well as the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics.

The bottom line is that a comic book is really worth what a buyer will pay for it.

In regards to Wolverine #50, there is limited value in this because Wolverine is only at issue 80 right now and so there are still a lot of #50s in circulation.

As far as vintage / first issues of Batman, Superman, Spider-Man... these all range from five figures to six figures depending upon the issue and what condition it is in.

Do you only collect action comics?
What underground stuff do you like?

What's the cover price for an issue these days?

Lilt:

I am not much of an "underground" guy as far as collection is concerned. The "independent" titles that I really enjoy, which are still published under divisions of the big guys, tend to be the works of Mark Millar and Alan Moore. I have been a big fan of "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (don't think of the movie here as it was nothing like the comic book novels) as well as "Kick-***" from Millar as examples.

For mainstream stuff, I am actually more of a Marvel kid and have been a long time reader of X-Men as I mentioned and those really are my go-to books of choice.

ShoreGuy:

Prices do vary based upon certain factors however the base these days is $2.99 per issue and then $3.99 on the high end for regular issues.

Special issues that are either one-shots (not part of a larger series) and usually a bit longer / bigger that your typical book will range in price from $3.99 (if the book is normally $2.99) up to $4.99 on average.

That's one of the reasons I stopped in the 90's. Plus the myriad of titles featuring one character. It got out of hand. The companies/speculators greed.