Part Four Of Barry Pearl's Tales Of The Marvel Age (Guest Post)...

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Investing in comics.

As we wind down my Tales Of The Marvel Age, this is my favourite because it is so silly and totally unbelievable.  But you have to believe me, this is true.  Really!  It happened around the year 2000.

Having newly boarded and bagged 5,000 copies and getting my first Overstreet guide, I was astonished at the potential value of my comics.  And with so many comic stores open it seemed that old comics were big business.  Unfortunately, I told that to my then current girlfriend (Betty) who had always thought comics were worthless.

We were going out for dinner with her friends, who I'll call "Lois and Clark".  We often had dinner with them, a nice couple.  We'd arranged for them to call at my place first, and when I opened the door, there they were with their 12-year son who was holding about five or six new comics.  They were all #1s.  They were titles I didn't know and by companies I hadn't heard of.

Lois and Clark said they'd stopped by the local comic book store and bought comics the dealer said would be worth a lot of money in the next few years.

Me:  Be careful.  Dealers just want you to buy comics, and very few that come out in the year 2000 will be worth anything in the future.  That's because no one throws out comics anymore!
Lois and Clark:  We know, that's why we brought our son with us.  We'll need college money in six years and we want to buy the right comics to pay his tuition.  Betty says you know which are the right ones to buy.
Me:  Actually, I don't.  I don't buy current comics and I doubt that anything bought today will be worth something in six years.
Lois and Clark:  Betty says you have valuable comics, and that you know which ones to buy.
Me:  Not really.  It was all luck.  When I bought comics they were disposable, people often threw them out after reading.  Had I known they were going to be worth money one day I would've kept my first Justice Leagues and Lois Lanes!  (At this point I thought the subject was over.  I was wrong)
Lois and Clark:   You have valuable comics.  Betty says they're worth a lot of money.  Which ones should we buy?  We need money for college.
Me:  I really can't help you other than to say you should save your money and invest it.  Do you want to buy old comics and see if their price goes up?
Lois and Clark:  We want to invest in new comics, ones we can get for just a few dollars.  Just tell us which ones.
Me:  I don't know.  I don't collect new comics and I certainly can't tell you if they'll ever be worth anything, but it's doubtful that prices will skyrocket in six years.
Lois and Clark:  Of course you know, you bought the right ones for yourself.  We'd then buy not just one but a few of them.  And Betty says that you said their prices really went up in the last few years.
Me:  That was an accident, I didn't know.  If I had, I'd have bought ten copies of each.  (Especially Amazing Fantasy #15!)
Lois and Clark:  So you won't tell us?
Me (turning to the kid):  The best thing you can do is buy the comics you like and put them in your closet for thirty years.
The Kid:  I don't like comics.
Me:  Then don't buy them.  Buy the things you like.  Why'd you buy the ones you have?
The Kid:  The dealer said they'd be worth a lot of money one day.
Me:  Will you read them?
The Kid:  No.
Lois and Clark:  So you won't help us?!  That's selfish to keep it all to yourself. 

Believe or not, this went on all night.  I was never to see Lois and Clark again, as they refused to come to my house or invite me to theirs.  They did stay friends with Betty, certainly longer than I did, and the three of them always thought I had a secret that I wouldn't share.  People, eh?

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