For anyone who collects comics, action figures, ect...

[Thundercleese]

I really want to start collecting comics and action figures and stuff.
Any tips? In comics, you kind of have to read the recent issues to know what's happening. So waht do you do? Can you start collecting after a good 100 issues are released? I konw it sounds kind of stupid, but.......I'm stupid.

[Thundercleese]

On second thought, I probably should have put this in the Comics forum. Move it if you need to.

[JohnCrichton]

Best way to start collecting I found is to find something you like and recognize the artist and/or writer that made it enjoyable.

Once you get in to it, you'll no doubt "wanna catch 'em all" and thus your collection will begin.

Start with a comic that everybody likes, like X-Men that has a wealth of characters and events in it that connect to other comic books and you'll get to know even more comics to collect.

That's how my addiction started.

[Thundercleese]

But like I said, If I started collecting a comic after like 200 issues, I wont know what's going on.

[DisneyBoy]

Welcome!!!


Firstly, expect to spend money...lots of money :eek: The key to collecting is knowing how andwhen to spend it.

As John put it, find something you like. As a child, I always like Batman, but hated the violence in the mainstream comics. Then I found The Batman Adventures and was hooked. Don't just buy something because it's advertized as THE comic in the industry. Read what you like, and keep yourself to a monthly limit. I only get two comics a month, and still I find myself picking other stuff up from time to time.

It's also wise to notice which writers and pencillers are doing the comics you enjoy, because you may want to follow their work. The best way to start is to go and spend some time at a nearby comic shop. Once you'd decided which character or series interests you, the next place to head is a comic convention (doesn't have to be very big, and you may have to wait a few months). At conventions, you can pick up back-issues by the boxful and catch up on the history of your favorite character. For example, when DC reprinted Wonder Woman #1 back in the year 2000, I read it and fell in love with the story and art. So at my next convention, I went searching George Perez's run on the series, and picked up the next 20 issues for 2 dollars!!! TWO DOLLARS!!! Of course, it helped that the series was 20 years old, because the newer stuff is more expensive. Still, I think that was the best buy I'd ever made. The next time around I collected more and more, and now I have nearly all of Perez's 62 issue-run on Wonder Woman!

Toys and action figures are much more serious an investiment. If you want to collect so that you can sell them in a decade and make a fortune - DON'T! Toys were meant to be played with or displayed, not hogged by greedy adults in the hopes that they can make a buck. BE CHOOSEY, otherwise you'll lose your money and fast. I for example, love Disney stuff, but I'm very careful about what I buy. I go for the 4-6inch action-figure-style characters with material outfits, even if it means walking through the pink-colored sections of Toys"R"Us from time to time :rolleyes: I only buy what looks nice, and what will look good with the rest of my collection. Impulse buying is very dangerous. You need to remember that it's just a toy, and that once you have it, chances are, you won't care for it nearly as much. Spend accordingly.

Gotta go! Good luck!

[Cogliostro]

The Ultimate titles that Marvel has are really good IMO they would be good for you. They basically took original Spidey and X-men and slightly changed their looks and history (Such as villians, deaths and so on) to make it much more interesting and they are not to far in for you to be confused or lost so I recommend them. There are currently 3 monthly Ultimate titles: Ultimate X-men, Ultimate Spiderman and Ultimates. Agent X is a great nex title just going on #5 Wed. I recommend that as well. As for other books just pick up a title when it is starting a new story arc (Most arc's don't have much to do with all of the character/stories history). I recommend going over to the comic board for all your comic help. I hope you get back into comics, its a great hobbie I just wish I got into it sooner...

[Ruffian]

I'm a new collector, just started this past summer with a push from a friend. I jumped onto collecting Batman, and the decision to do that was just research and timing. It looked like a very good jumping on point, and in terms of knowing the background for Batman, I've been a fan of his animated form for a very long time, and if there are some comics history I'm not familiar with, I just do some research on the web or I ask someone who would know. :)

[Thundercleese]

When collecting action figures, should they all be from the same toy line? Like if you buy one from Mattel, should the rest be from Mattel?

[Thundercleese]

Does anyone know which Smallville figures are out?

[DisneyBoy]

Hey Thunder - there are no rules to collecting, man! Do like those Apple Jack's kids- eat what you like!

:o ...um, collect what you like, I mean :D

As I said, if you're going for long-term, "unopened, carded original figure" profit, pick a line of limited release, and save up. It could all be worthless in time, but hey, I'm not in favor of collecting to make a buck.

If you're doing this for fun, let it be fun! Don't plan it to death! Didn't you ever plead with your parents to buy you a toy because it looked cool, when you were younger? Do that again, with yourself, and use your more adult-judgement to determine which figures get priority.

Here: Make us a list of the type of cartoon shows, comic heroes, reading material, television characters and artists or writers you're interested in, today - before ever having become a "collector". Then, we could offer some suggestions as to which series you may enjoy. Otherwise, just dive right in!!!