Answering Google- Answering Comic Book Questions Shouted Into the Aether

One of the interesting things about running a site is seeing the searches that people enter into Google in order to arrive at my door. Sometimes they're interesting. Other times they're goofy. Looking over the list this week, I thought it might be interesting to share some of those questions and actually answer them directly.

This ought to be fun.

What is the most valuable comic book?

This is an easy one, but it's also a very common query, so I figure I ought to give it an official answer.

In general terms , it's Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman. The Mile High/Edgar Church copy is the finest copy in existence and is the most valuable comic book in the world.

How do you know if a comic book is valuable?

Have you seen this man outside your house with a bag of money?

How about this man?

Yes? Then your book is worth big bucks

Failing that, most comics are actually worthless.

There are exceptions. If your comic book is from the 30s, 40s, 50s or 60s it's got a much better chance of being valuable- but even then you might be sitting on a worthless piece of crap.

If it's from one of those decades and features a character you've seen in a movie, you might be onto something. From there it's all about condition, the specific issue and overall demand for that character/title.

Are modern comic books good investments?

Compared to what? Bear Stearns?

Okay, okay… There are certainly some books that have increased in value rapidly over the past few years, but most comics are worth less than cover price. Will that change over the years? It's possible. Bulls say: The print runs now are smaller than they've been in a long time, so any key comics released now will be that much harder to find in 20 years. Bears say: Those lower print runs might just be the death knell of the monthly pamphlet. What would that do to the value of new comics over the next 10-15 years?

Best Amazing Fantasy 15 in existence?

The best we know of is the CGC 9.6 copy. I personally wouldn't be surprised if there's an even nicer copy than that out there somewhere.

Maybe I'll be the guy to uncover it.

I can dream can't I?

I know, it'll be one of these guys.

How much is an Alf comic book worth?

Nothing? Probably. Still, a CGC 9.8 copy did manage to sell for $29, so there's some hope.

How to sell high grade comics

Check with Bob first?

Seriously? If you've got a really nice collection you might want to contact one of the usual suspects, to ask about consignment opportunities:

• Heritage
• Comic Connect
• ComicLink

If you'd like to meet someone local to get a better sense of what you've got, you can actually send me an email and I'll see if I know someone local to you who knows what's what.

Most valuable non-superhero comics?

Tough question…

According to the Overstreet Guide the top book is Detective #1 with a VF value of $70,000. From what I can tell the Denver copy is the best, having sold for $90,000 a few years ago, so that might be the most valuable single issue.

The CGC 9.4 Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #1 sold for $116,512.50 at Heritage, so that's another option. As of right now it's the record holder for a non-hero book.

To my mind, another option is the Mile High/Edgar Church Pep 22. Although… is that a superhero book? I guess it is, technically, even though no one is buying it for The Shield (t's the first appearance of Archie Andrews, for those of you unfamiliar with the book)

The Mile High Archie #1, then? Maybe.

I told you this was a tough question.