Category Archives: FAQ

28Jun/22

What Is The Cost of Collecting Comics?

How Much Does Collecting Comics Cost?

Hey there, Silverline family. Today’s an interesting topic that doesn’t get brought up too often despite it running almost every aspect of our lives. Money. How much does it cost to collect comics?

This is one of those questions where there is no real answer. As unsatisfying as that is, it’s for a reason. Not everyone collects comics the same way. I’d wager that no two comic collections are alike. Comics are considered to be one of the more expensive hobbies for us nerds, but I know of some collections that were purchased so frugally that it’d make an extreme couponer blush.

To make matters even more convoluted, there is a multitude of different product types that are all still considered comics. Taking that into consideration and you start to see why there’s no definitive answer as to how much money you can expect to spend if you want to start collecting comics.

To start let’s learn what types of comics are out there are what they cost.

Cost of Single Comic Issues

Your classic comic is the single issue, sometimes called a floppy. This is equivalent to one chapter of a story and ranges between 18 and 32 pages depending on the publisher and how much goodwill they have with their printer. This costs anywhere between $3 to $6 for a new issue currently. You can also find old, not valuable issues in bargain bins for 99 cents around the world.

The next level up from that is a trade paperback or trade. A trade will usually collect 5 or 6 issues of a series. The average price for a trade is between $13.95 to $17.95. Of course, depending on publisher and brand value, that price could go up or down by several dollars. This serves as our smallest and most effective form of a collected book.

Cost of Collected Comic Issues

The next level from that is going to get split into two different categories. It also has the broadest range of content so getting an average is tricky. This will be our Collected Editions sometimes called Complete Series or just big books because we’re lazy. They come both in paperback and hardcover and combine entire story arcs or entire runs of a comic into one publication. This can be anywhere from 12 to 36 issues or more.

For a paperback, you should expect to spend anywhere between $20 and $40. This number can vary greatly because the amount of content inside the cover can vary greatly. A hardcover will usually run between $35 and $65. Again this number can vary greatly.

The total cost of your collection can change drastically based on what comic products you choose to pick up. If you are okay with not following a new series month to month, you could save yourself a chunk of change by waiting for it to get collected into a trade or a collected edition.

Buying Comics To Read

The next big determiner of how much money you’ll be spending is whether or not you are buying to collect or buying to read. If you are buying comics purely to read and engage with the storylines, you’re probably buying just what interests you and are not hunting down super rare back issues. This means that your cost for entry is at most going to be the market averages we discussed above.

Depending on if you prefer digital or physical comics you could get all your reading down through a subscription to an online service. Making your total cost for the hobby a monthly flat rate of $9.99 to $15. If you prefer to have paper in hand, your friendly local comic store might have sales or a loyalty/rewards program. Either way, you can greatly reduce the amount of cash you’ll be investing in the hobby while still supporting the creators and their sales/online reading metrics.

Buying Comics To Collect

If your goal is to have the biggest or most impressive collection, you’ll find that you’ll be spending a pretty penny on the hobby. Even if you are only hunting down a specific publisher or superhero, the hunt can be costly. Many comics and their creators have long and storied histories. That means a long history of books to collect. Many of these issues are no longer going to be in print, so that means you have to get into trading circles and find the collectors auctions.

Rare issues that are out of print can range anywhere from $25 to several thousand dollars. The further back you go, the more it’s going to cost.

You can also get your issues graded or slabbed. This is another investment that you will have to pay for but if you want to know that you have the best quality comics in your collections, the value could be there for you. The standard cost to grade a single comic issue is going to be around $75. To have a comic slabbed you can expect to pay anywhere between $22 to $120 depending on the value of the comic. Once you get into an issue with a value in the thousands though, the price can go up from there.

Bottom Line: How Much You Can Expect To Spend on Comics

Hopefully, now you see just how much the cost of collecting comics can vary. If you’re just a fan of the medium and want to read a storyline or two here and there. You might spend $9.99 a month, or $60 to get the entertainment you want. If you want to have the biggest collection of your favorite superhero you can be looking at $3000 plus the cost of grading/slabbing.

The cost can vary even more when you take into account Kickstarter tiers but those usually include additional rewards, so you’re getting more bang for your back in terms of total content and SWAG.

There’s no wrong way to enjoy comics. Whether you’re a trade reader or a floppy collector, you’re both engaging with this phenomenal medium. The only advice I can give is to buy what you like and buy within your means.

Until next time,

Make Mine Silverline!

21Jun/22

Can I Read Comics Online?

Can I Read Comics Online?

Hey there silver Fam! This week I wanted to answer a question that pops up now and then. If you’re asking this question, you might be new to the comics hobby or maybe you have a kid or family member who likes comics and are trying to get them a way to read. Online comics are also a great solution if you live in an area without a local comic shop and have a hard time having books shipped to your address. For some of us with a lot of time spent in the comics sphere, this might seem obvious, but this is a question that gets asked. Not everyone knows where to look or where to start. 

So to answer the question – yes, with some exceptions. We’ll get into that as well as some additional context on platforms and why online comics could be a good fit for you. 

 

Are Comics Available Online?

Yes! There are a ton of comics you can read online! Some are free, some with a subscription, and some you need to buy individually. This includes comics from the major publishers, books from a lot of independent publishers, as well as books from individual creators. Comics online, let’s list out a few of our favorite sites to read comics on. 

This is the site for your indie darlings. A lot of the comics on this site are made by one or two individual creators. These books are free to read and are usually updated weekly. The quality can be hit or miss depending on the title but the same can be said for comics platforms. The lack of project editors just means that the lack of polish can be more apparent at times. If you’re looking for something unique and never done before, this is a great place to look.

Comixology is a digital comics shop that sells books from all the major publishers as well as a lot of independent publishers. It also has a line of independent creator-owned projects published as Comixology Originals. Many of these books can all be read with a Comixology Unlimited subscription, while the rest of the shop catalog requires the digital copies to be purchased individually. That being said, they regularly run sales or even offer comics for free. Offerings include floppies, trades, and collected editions, as well as curated bundles. 

  • DC & Marvel

If you or the person you’re shopping for are diehard fans of DC or Marvel, and that’s all you’re looking for, both publishers have their own online comic services: DC Universe Infinite, and Marvel Unlimited. Both sites offer a large collection of comics from their respective publishers as part of a monthly subscription.  If all you need is The Bat or Cap, these sites could be your solution. 

 

Why Would I Need Digital Comics?

Well, we all need comics, that’s a universal truth. Some of us are lucky enough to live close to an FLCS (Friendly Local Comic Shop), are in good enough health to get there, and are lucky enough to find what we want in stock. If any one of those criteria is not met, online comics try to remedy that. While you can order some trades or collections online and have them delivered, that’s still reliant on that book being in print and carried by a store that can afford the overhead of shipping. If you recently moved to a rural area, had an accident, or are into something niche, you may be able to scratch that same itch by collecting digital comics

Another fact of the matter is that anyone can make a digital comic and post it online. As mentioned earlier in the segment on Webtoons. There are some unique stories that you will not find anywhere else. The digitization of comics has democratized publication as it has with so many other forms of media. 

 

Why Aren’t All Comics Available Online?

If it does so much to meet the reader where they are, it would make sense for all comics to be published online, right? Unfortunately, it doesn’t make the most business sense in every situation. As with anything, there is a cost involved. It could be the monetary cost for scanning and formatting, server upkeep, publishing dues, or even just time invested. To get that cost back, the comic needs to sell enough to cover that cost on top of the costs that are already incurred in making a book. 

With how many books are available online, that is sometimes not the case, especially for small independent publishers. There are so many options presented to readers, that they can’t possibly look at or purchase every book. Small publishers also do not receive the same priority for marketing or placement, so they are effectively hidden from the reader. If a book can’t be seen by the reader, it can’t be purchased, and therefore can’t cover the cost of making the digital copy.

 

Are Silverline Comics Online?

Unfortunately, we do not currently offer a catalog of comics for online reading. It is something that gets brought up with some frequency in our internal conversations. At the moment, we feel like we need more growth to justify that cost. In the meantime, our comics can be bought online and shipped to your address. Our Kickstarters do also offer PDF copies. If you are in a situation where you rely on digital comics for your reading pleasure, check out our next Kickstarter and select the PDF reward tier. You will receive a digital copy to download and read on any device. 

If you want more digital copies of our comics, let us know! Post in the comments or message us on social media and we’ll keep that in mind the next time it comes up. At current, you can still support us by backing or sharing Kickstarters to help us reach the growth we need to make it worthwhile!

 

Who Are Silverline Comics

A bunch of nerds trying to give you some dope reads and take you on fun adventures through comics. If you want to catch up on what we have going on, follow our socials. If you want to hang out with us, check out our live shows on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday. 

Make Mine Silverline!