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Comic books are rated in a variety of ways, but the truly rare ones have a hierarchy all of their own. With most comics it is all about condition. A fold or chip, or near microscopic tear will take a comic worth hundreds and make it worth ten bucks. However there are those comics that could arrive cover less, and with a muddy footprint on the cover and still be valuable, and even rare. Alot of it has to do with the number of copies released. For example. The Amazing Spiderman #1 is a nice valuable comic. It has high demand and high collectibility. It will often sell for good money in any condition. However it is not really a very rare comic in my opinion. I have been to shows where one booth alone was selling over 7 copies in varying conditions. Anyone that wants a copy can get a copy. That being said, a lot of people want copies, and thus it is still very expensive. X-men #1 is much the same way. Lots of options out there, but high demand and high collectibility.

I am a collector of an earlier sort of comic. I have a passion for the truly rare and often one of a kind. In these books often condition does not matter, and realistically its not expected to be in great shape. I love to collect what is termed as Platinum Age comics. These are the comics that were around before the generally accepted "comic book style" comic came into being. Many of these comics were compilations of newspaper strip comics. Most were humorous, or made reference to historical events. There was not alot of classic superhero comics at this time. As you creep into the Golden Age comic era you begin to see what most people consider the true "comic book" with your early superheros. These Golden Age books are also rare, not just of condition, but also because so few of them survived. They were like newspapers, created to be be read and thrown away. Many Golden Age books are truly rare, having only a hand full of copies that are known to exist. These books are highly collectible because there are just so very few of them. If you are among the few who can afford them, you are lucky. Later Golden Age books are still expensive, but not so notoriously rare as some of the earlier stuff. They are all nice collectible items that are often in high demand.
In short what makes a comic book truly rare is two specific things. The number of copies that have survived, and the market demand. With high demand, and a low number of existing books, condition (which usually is a key in comic values) is really no significant object. If you have any doubts at to the truth of this feel free to research the value of a cover less Action Comics #1, or even any of the early Superman or Batman series. Try buying a Timely comic in any condition. With these early books it is all about supply and demand.

Learn more about this author, Joel White.
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