Comic Book Buying Guide

Comics have evolved and remained one of the greatest collectables of the 20th century. Today, comics are appreciated on many levels, both by kids and adults, and in many circles have reached the realm of fine art  (you will know the ones by the price tag). DC  and Marvel  are the two rival factions of the comic book industry, as you may tell by their heavyweight titles, though Image Comics,  founded in 1992 with an Indie approach to comic book publishing, have also become a major label in recent years. Here is a list of the biggest titles under each publisher. (For additional comic book lines, check out Disney,  The Beano,  Archie,  The Dandy,  Fantagraphics,  and Asterix )

Major Brands
DC   Adam Strange  Aquaman  Batman  Captain Marvel  Catwoman  The Flash Green Lantern The Joker  The Legion of Super Heroes  Lex Luthor  Nightwing  Oracle  The Outsiders  Plastic Man  Robin  Spectre  Starman  Superboy  Supergirl  Superman  Swamp Thing  Teen Titans  Wonder Woman	Marvel  Annihilation  Avengers  Black Panther  Blade  Captain America  Civil War  Dare Devil  Decimation  Doctor Strange  Eternals  Fantastic Four  Ghost Rider  House of M  Hulk  Marvel Adventures  Marvel Heroes  Marvel Knights  Silver Surfer  Spider-Man  Thor  Wolverine  X-Men	Image Comics  The Atheist  Battle of the Planets  Beyond Avalon  Blacklight  The Darkness  Deadworld  The Detonator  Freshmen  The Imaginaries  Invincible  Jack Staff  Liberty Meadows  Lions, Tigers, and Bears  Mora  The Night Blub  Rex Mundi  Shadow Hawk  Small Gods  Spawn  Strange Girl  Tomb Raider  The Walking Dead  V.I.C.E.

 Collecting Comics

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When starting a comic book collection, there are many places to start. You should let your collection build itself organically, so find a title that interests you or that has been recommended, and start reading. The more you immerse yourself in a title, the greater your collection becomes. The more great titles you read, the easier it will be to tell the difference between superior and inferior comics. There is no right way to begin a comic book collection, so just start reading.

Once you have a good base, and you are ready to start seeking out the rarer, unique comics, you'll want to become familiar with various pricing guides, such as Comic Buyer's Guide  Magazine, or other such guides  (for a downloadable guide (not free), check out Robert M. Overstreet's Comic Book Price Guide.  Using these tools, you'll begin to understand the value behind certain titles, the importance of condition, and many other details. 

Calvin and Hobbes	Pedro and Me	X-Men	Walt Disney	Garfield

Related Products

Manga  is the generic term for Japanese comics. Sailor Moon  and Dragonball Z  are two of the most popular lines, but many more exist.	Graphic Novels  are a subgenre of comics, which are usually longer stories of novel-length, sometimes with large portions of text alongside the normal comic format. Alan Moore's  graphic novels, Watchmen  and V for Vendetta  largely redefined the genre.	Comics are often compiled into Collections, which can be a quicker way to build your collection in terms of weight. They are usually comprised of comic strips, such as Calvin and Hobbes  and The Far Side,  as seen in newspapers.	Write and draw your own comics by buying a Comic Art  kit.