The Marvel Comics Guide To Collecting Comics was published in November 1982 as a 16-page bonus insert in Amazing Spider-Man #234.
It featured a lovely cover by Walt Simonson and was put together by Mark Burbey. It provided a basic introduction to comic book collecting, including a list of terms (Back Issue, Silver Age, Fanzine, etc...), comic book condition guidelines, an investment guide, a storage guide, and a variety of other great collecting tips.
Apparently, the number one rule is "sure, stack your comics and use them as armchairs!"
ReplyDeleteI bet the number two rule is "don't bother buying those icky comics from our Distinguished Competition. They'll never be worth anything."
:)
The ultimate irony, of course, is that I found a digital copy of this and downloaded it in order to read it.
ReplyDeleteFascinating historical document that explains a lot about comics at that time.
I can still remember moving in Sept 1986 to a larger town that had a direct comics shop. The owner put an ad the local Wednesday newspaper-ad-thing that was put in every mailbox (remember those?), in the summer of 1987, and I found back issues for the first time. (Probably the best ad anyone ever placed, since I was a loyal weekly customer thru probably 1994.)
True story: In 1979, I got my first (real, non-kiddie) comics - Star Wars. I got three bags of comics, which extended from #11 thru #18. I didn't find the conclusion until I went to the comics store in 1987! For a kid, that's a LONG time. I finally found out what happened after the cliffhanger ending of #18 when I bought #19 as a back issue.
Hey FanOfClaremontNM, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteDon't encourage me to tell stories about old comics.
ReplyDeleteThat's the fun of this blog!
ReplyDeleteThe first (non-kiddie) comics I ever got were the SW comics in bags. Readers probably wouldn't know where this is, but I lived in Kingsport TN in 1979 and there was Aunt Emma's restaurant (EXCELLENT food) beside Rose's, and you could go into Rose's from the restaurant. One day, when I went into Rose's after, there they were, on a big spinning rack. I didn't know anything about comics, of course, but I knew about SW.
ReplyDeleteA year or so later (so we're in the 80s now), I was at a place called Santa's Land, near Maggie Valley. (It's still there, if anyone wants a unique vacation trip. They have a large zoo. Not sure what that has to do with Santa, but that's what they have.) On the way back, there was a little Christmas ornament shop. I didn't get any ornaments, but they had some bagged comics. I got a bag of LSH issues (Superboy + LSH #255-257) and one of Brave and Bold issues (Batman/Red Tornado #153 and Batman/Metamorpho #154), plus Green Lantern #120 (this one was VERY hard for me to track down - GL and GA encounter Ponce De Leon during a Florida hurricane).
In the early 80s, I lived in Hendersonville. I bought comics initially at Sherman's Superette. I bought a lot of war comics because my grandfather told me about his experiences in WWII. (Many Fighting Army and Marines, because they were CHEAP.) Eventually a bookstore opened that carried comics, and finally a mall with Waldenbooks.
My favorite comic in the early 1980s was the Empire Strikes Back adaptation. I read it over and over. Some of the best art and storytelling I've ever seen in a comic book.
I didn't start getting back issues until 1987 when I had access to a comics store.
See, don't get me started.
Cover prices...what happened to you? I sometimes fantasize about going back in time to when I was 7 or 8 and retaining the sensibilities about comics that I have now. I'd have horded them with more vigilance.
ReplyDeleteCome by and visit my comics blog if you have a moment:
http://bagsnboards.blogspot.com
and if you're into art at all, I have some posted at my art blog:
http://paintchipsandpencilshavings.blogspot.com
I'd like to have more followers so I know I'm not just talking to myself.
That was a great little insert. Although I had been reading comics since the late 70s, that guide really got me SERIOUS about Collecting. And the Walt Simonson cover IS beautiful.
ReplyDeleteNot only was it an insert, I think the shops used to give it away on its own too. I think that's how I ended up with two copies, one to read and one to bag
ReplyDelete