Should I Invest in Comic Books?

Are comic books a smart investment choice? In general terms, the investment returns on collectibles is inferior to that of the stock market and real estate. Sure, they have grown in value over the years, but for your serious money, there are better places to put it.

My advice: fund your 401k and Roth IRA every year; buy mutual funds and real estate! Those ought to be the foundation. Don't think that comic book investing is going to make you rich. I wouldn't recommend that anyone have more than 10% of their net worth invested in collectibles. I personally have between 2 and 3% of my net worth in comic books and I consider that a large amount.

By way of clarification, what I am calling "investing" is the practice of buying something of value, holding it for a time, then selling it for a capital gain. The change in value as a function of time is the investment return. Other means of making money on comic books such as buying and then reselling (a.k.a. flipping) soon afterwards is not what I'm calling "investing" on this site. That is more of a dealing or trading activity rather than investing.

There is an excellent Investopedia Article on the pros and cons (mostly cons) of investing in collectibles.

For me, comic books ARE a kind of investment, but not a particularly serious one. I look on it as a "mad money" investment. I truly believe that by buying wisely and holding for a long time, that my books will grow in value. I’m even optimistic that they’ll do better than inflation. That being said, I am well aware that my books might not grow in value at all. I'm certainly not counting on their growth to fund my retirement or my kid's college educations. I have other investments for that. You should too.

I buy comic books because I've loved them for a long time and because they are valuable. And it's not just the art, the stories, and the lore of comic book history that fascinates me. It's also the way that they have increased in value over the years. It's fun to think about how you could have picked up an Amazing Fantasy #15 for a few bucks back in the 60s or 70s and now have something worth more than a house. That's cool. It's also cool to pick up a book and say "This is the 2nd highest graded of this book and it's worth over $500..." Do I hope that the same book will be worth $1000, ten years from now? You bet I do!

The fact that key and/or high-grade issues are recognized by the collecting world as having that kind of value adds to their mystique and prestige. The possibility that they may continue to grow in value adds to the excitement and fun of the hobby. I do look at my Silver-Age books and allow myself to hope that they will grow in value the same way that Golden-Age books grew in value between the 80s and now. However, if they don't, I haven't invested more than I can afford to lose. Besides, I'll continue to enjoy owning them. They will always have value to me.

Buying these rare, key books, is a way for me to celebrate the financial success that I've attained over the years. Back when I was a struggling college student, I was certainly aware that there were books worth thousands of dollars out there in the world. I knew that I couldn't afford them, but even at that time, I thought "how cool it would be to be able to own comic books like that!" Now that I can, I'm lovin' it!

While investing in comics may be worse than investing in stocks, mutual funds or real estate, it is arguably a better investment than gold, the lottery, day-trading, cars or any number of other places you could put your money. Just because it's not the best investment for your money, it is far from the worst. If you get personal satisfaction from owning the books, the investment returns are a bonus.

If this essay resonates with any of you, let me know.

Elements of this post originally appeared in a discussion on the CGC boards that you can read here

See also

About the Author (at the end I tell you where my money is)