How to Invest in Comic Books [2024]: Is it Right for You?

While investing is generally thought of as something that involves the stock market or real estate, it can also include adding pop culture collectibles, like comic books, to your portfolio. If you’re a comic book fan, it might sound very enticing to invest in Wolverine, Venom, or The Avengers.

However, when you invest in comic books, it’s important to understand the market and what to expect. Investing in comic books — or any collectible item — can be very subjective and potentially expensive.

Here’s what you need to know about how to invest in comic books.

How to get started investing in comic books

If you want to invest in comic books, it’s important to have a strategy and be realistic about the situation. Depending on your goals, comic books could be an intriguing option as you determine how to diversify your portfolio.

Learn the industry

Just like any investment, you should get to know the comic book industry before investing in it. Research the latest trends, popular characters and artists. Work with a professional to understand the comic book grading system, and where people buy and sell comic books to help you understand where and how to start.

Today, vintage comic books from the Golden Age in mint condition are highly prized by comic book collectors. However, comic books from the Silver Age, which historians generally place between 1956 and 1970, also have some pull in the comic book market. This is the era that saw team-up comics become popular and introduced us to Thor, Spider-Man, and the Hulk, as well as Iron Man and the X-Men.

Over time comic books have elevated to an art form. Even though they aren’t from the Golden or Silver Age, the somewhat darker aesthetic of Frank Miller’s work is highly sought after. His artwork from The Dark Knight Returns sold for $478,000 at auction in 2013.

Set your limits

Like any investment, it’s important to create a budget or set a limit on how much you’re willing to invest in comics. Consider diversifying your portfolio so you don’t put all your money into one asset. Comic book investments are an alternative investment that typically does not correlate with the stock market, so they can help diversify your investment efforts, but every investment opportunity requires a limit.

Evaluate your investment strategies

Investing in comic books requires an investment strategy. Unlike investing in stocks where you only get a piece of paper to show for your investment, when you invest in comic books, you have possession of the investment (the comic book) and if you keep it in mint condition, may be able to sell it for a profit in the future. While there are many factors to consider, here are the top considerations:

• Buy-and-hold: In this strategy, you buy comic books and hold onto them, keeping them in good condition, for the long-term. This allows you to take advantage of the comic book’s appreciation.
• Buy and resell: If you want a shorter-term strategy, you can buy comic books and turn around and sell them pretty quickly, for a profit. You must have extensive knowledge of the industry to make this work.

You can also focus on different genres, characters, limited editions, or only invest in signed editions of comic books.

Buy comic books

When looking for the best comic books for investing, it’s important to have an idea of what makes a comic book valuable. In general, your best bet is to pick up comics that were published before 1985, although looking for new comics could pay off down the road. It’s also worth noting that individual pages from comic books and artwork related to comic books could also provide you with a valuable return on your investment.

Some of the things to consider when evaluating comic books include:

• Issue significance: First issues are generally considered more desirable and may offer a return. However, issues that feature a turnover in writers or artists, or mark a significant story arc, could also become more valuable over time.
• Popularity of the artist or writer: If a writer or artist is well-known and popular, the comic books that contain their artistry can be valuable. Frank Miller is a good example of a popular artist. Similarly, the rising profile of Neil Gaiman has helped increase the value of the Sandman comic books, which he wrote.
• Rarity of the comic book: One of the reasons older comics are more valuable is due to their rarity. There are fewer of them around. More recent comic books, especially those from the modern era, are more likely to be saved, so they aren’t as rare and may not be as valuable.
• Comic book condition: The condition of the comic book matters. A comic book in good condition is more valuable than one in poor condition.

If you’re trying to get an idea of what the fair market value of a comic book might be, one resource is GoCollect. GoCollect is a comic book price guide that aggregates data on recent sales and comes up with a fair market value for comic books.

For example, I bought a copy of Sandman #1 several years ago for $50 and sold it for $625. It’s not as dramatic as selling for thousands of dollars, but that’s a pretty decent return. At the end of 2020, I bought a copy of Batman: Three Jokers #1 for $15. Even though it’s a new release, if you have the right cover variant, it could already be worth more.

Check grading and condition

One thing to keep in mind is comic book grading. Two comic book grading services are Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) and Comic Book Certification Service (CBCS). These services review comic books and generally grade them on a scale of 0.5 to 10.

When purchasing comic books for investment, your best bet is to look for purchases that are rated very fine, near mint, or mint. While you can sometimes see a good return for comic books that are fine or very good, they usually need to be rarer in order to make a good investment.

In the end, though, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Diversify your purchases

Just like when you invest in stocks, diversifying your investment is important. This means avoid buying comic books from one creator or from one series. Instead, vary your purchases to increase your chance of earning a profit and decrease the risk of loss.

Properly store your comics

If you’re keeping your comic books for a long-term investment, be sure to store them in acid-free bags to protect them from external factors, such as light or water. Consider keeping your comic books in a safe or other storage area where it can be away from any dangers as any destruction could lessen their value.

Know when to sell your comics

It’s important to follow industry news and trends so you can time the sale of your comic books. When the time is right, consider having your comics graded and certified. Do a cursory search at GoCollect to get a feel for the potential fair market value. Grading can cost up to $1,000, depending on the value of the item in question. However, if you can get an “official” grade, you might be able to sell your item for more.

How to resell your comics

When reselling your comics, you’ll need good pictures and descriptions. The pictures should show the condition of the comic book, and have an accurate description. When shipping the comic book, be sure to carefully package the book to avoid damage.

The value of comic books depend on:

• The book’s rarity
• Age of the book
• Condition of the book
• Popularity of the characters

Here are a few places to try selling your comics:

• eBay: If you have a large collection of comic books that aren’t particularly valuable, or if you have individual issues that aren’t in mint condition or very popular, eBay can be a good choice.
• Heritage Auctions: One of the go-to places to sell more valuable comic books. If you have Golden Age or Silver Age comics, this could be one of your best choices. Do note, you should have an idea of your actual grade and the value of the book before heading to a site like this.
• Local comic book store: Some comic book and game shops will buy used comic books. You might also be able to sell them at pawn shops and other places that resell collectibles.

Finally, it’s also possible to donate your comic books for a tax deduction. If you itemize your deductions, Comix Relief and Superheroes for Hospice will take your comic books and issue you a receipt with the value. You can then claim that value as a tax deduction.

Are comic books expected to continue rising in value?

Since 2001, more than 3 million comic books have been bought and sold with more than $1 billion trading hands, according to GP Analysis (Grade Price Analysis), a company that analyzes the collectibles market. As of this writing, GP Analysis reports that nearly 56,000 comic books have been traded in just the last 30 days, with a top price of $59,500.

When it comes to comic book investments, those likely to provide the best return are from the Golden Age and Silver Age of comics, plus the artwork of Frank Miller. Additionally, there are some issues of popular characters or artwork from different eras that also sell well.

Golden Age Action Comics are the most likely to be in high demand, with a pristine condition Action Comics #1 — featuring the first appearance of Superman — selling for $3.2 million on Ebay. On the other hand, in 2020 it was more common to see popular issues in good condition selling in the range of $55,000 to $83,000. There are also stories of comic book investors selling entire collections, with a mish-mash of issues across years, for as much as $3.5 million.

In general, comic books are likely to go up in value if the characters are popular and issues are scarce. As a result, the older comics, which are harder to find in good condition, are more likely to increase in value over time. Depending on the comic book involved, it could be possible for comic book speculators to beat the average market return by quite a lot. But, much like investing in artwork, comic books can be illiquid (hard to sell) and you often have to get lucky to see market-beating returns.

An easier way to invest in comic books

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of putting together a tangible comic book collection, you can actually buy shares in famous comic books through the Public¹ app.

You can read our Public review for all the details, but here's a concise explanation. Public allows you to buy an interest in culturally significant items, ranging from sneakers to comic books. Rather than having to buy an expensive item in its entirety, you can purchase a share of the item, similar to buying fractional shares of stock. Later, if you want to sell your interest, you can do so by accepting an offer from someone else.

For example, The Incredible Hulk #181 from Marvel is currently available for $79 a share (as of October 21, 2024). You buy shares now, and you could later sell them to other Public members.

You can get started with Public by downloading the app and connecting your Public account with your bank account. You can put money in your Public account to expedite share purchases or buy with the money in your linked bank account.

Public could be a smart option for those who like the idea of investing in comic books, but can’t afford thousands of dollars to purchase Golden or Silver Age editions.

FAQs

Bottom line

If you want to invest in comic books, it’s important to remember that the market for collectibles is highly volatile, and there’s a good chance you could lose your money, especially if the hype around a character decreases or if interest in comic books drops. Additionally, some comic books are already so highly-priced that it would be hard to make a return.

Personally, I like to collect comic books of interest to me (such as Batman and Sandman) that have some potential for future gains. Maybe you're more into Jack Kirby and the Fantastic Four. I don’t consider myself a comic book investor, though. When I’m thinking about how to invest money, I keep the bulk of my investments in more traditional stock and bond funds, then allocate about 5% to 8% of my portfolio to alternatives like collectibles and cryptocurrencies.