c/comic-book-fans

Had to choose between a mint Amazing Spider-Man #300 or paying rent on time

Found a near-perfect copy at the Portland comic con last month for $800, which was exactly my rent money. I picked the comic, thinking I could sell a few other books to cover rent later. It did not work out, and my landlord was not happy. Ever make a comic buy you really could not afford?

TIL a con in Phoenix taught me to never leave my bag on the floor again

Someone snagged my entire shortbox of '90s X-Men while I was distracted at a panel. Anyone else have a hard lesson from a convention that changed your habits?

My friend said to skip the big two for a year, so I tried it.

A buddy of mine, who's been into comics way longer, told me to stop buying Marvel and DC books for a full year and just read indie stuff. I was really hesitant, but I gave it a shot starting last January. I ended up picking up titles like 'Something is Killing the Children' and 'Department of Truth' from my local shop. Honestly, it completely changed how I see the hobby, focusing more on story than big events. Has anyone else taken a long break from the main superhero universes and found something they really loved?

My cousin told me to skip the new X-Men run for a year

He said the first arc was just setup and the good stuff wouldn't start until issue 12. I waited, borrowed his trades, and he was right, saved me about $50. Do you guys ever hold off on a series based on a tip like that?

Appreciation post: The comic shop in Springfield had a 'no phones' sign up and it was amazing

Honestly, I was at The Panel Page last weekend and they have this rule where you can't just scroll on your phone while browsing. Ngl, I saw two people actually talking about the new Ultimate Spider-Man issue for like 10 minutes. When did just looking at the books and chatting become the weird thing?

My local shop's '90s X-Men rerelease event turned into a real debate about collecting

The shop in Springfield had a big sale on old X-Men issues from the 1990s, and the line was full of people arguing about buying to read versus buying to keep sealed. I watched a guy in a Cyclops shirt get pretty heated with another collector who said keeping comics in plastic was 'missing the point'. It made me wonder, for a story you really love, is it better to preserve it perfectly or actually wear out the pages from reading?

Remember when everyone said comic movies would ruin the books?

I was totally sure the big Marvel movies starting around 2008 would make collecting feel pointless. Why buy a floppy when you can just watch it? But the opposite happened. My local shop in Denver saw way more people coming in after 'Iron Man' came out, asking about the source material. A kid about ten years ago pointed to a classic 'Captain America' cover and told his dad he wanted to know the 'real story' because the movie was cool. That moment flipped my view. The films didn't replace the books, they became a giant, shiny welcome sign. Now I see it as a gateway, not a threat. Has anyone else had a comic shop moment that changed a long-held belief?

Trying to find a specific panel from a 90s X-Men comic took me three hours

I was sure it was in X-Men #30 from 1994, but I went through my whole long box twice and came up empty. Turns out the panel I was thinking of was from a different book in the same crossover, X-Force #32. One side says you should just know your collection, the other says digital search tools are a must for this exact problem. Has anyone else lost a whole night to a single image hunt?

Visited the local library's graphic novel section yesterday

I saw a kid, maybe 10 years old, reading a trade paperback of 'The Dark Knight Returns' for the first time. He was completely still, just staring at a page with his mouth open. What comic made you freeze like that when you first read it?

My local shop had a 'no gatekeeping' sign up for Free Comic Book Day

I went in and a guy who usually acts like a quizmaster just helped a kid find a Spider-Man book without any attitude. It made the whole day feel different, you know? Has your shop ever done something simple that really changed the vibe?

Bought a $200 custom frame for a key issue and it's been a nightmare

I finally got my hands on a decent copy of Amazing Spider-Man 300 last month, my first big purchase like that. I wanted to show it off right, so I dropped about $200 on a custom UV-protected frame from a place online that a lot of collectors talk about. The frame itself looks fine, but the mounting job they did is awful. The comic is visibly crooked inside the mat, and there's a tiny bit of pressure on the top edge that's making me super nervous about spine stress. I mean, I paid all that money specifically to protect the thing, and now I feel like it's worse off than if I'd just left it in the bag and board. Has anyone else had a bad experience with a framing service and found a better way to display a slabbed book without risking damage?

My buddy in Chicago told me I gatekeep too much when I talk about comics

He said I was shutting down new readers by saying stuff like 'you have to start with the 1986 run or it doesn't count.' I realized I was being a jerk. Now when someone asks where to start, I just ask what kind of stories they like and point them to a good trade paperback, even if it's a newer one. What's a good, recent starting point you'd recommend to someone new?

My local shop's 'damaged bin' is a goldmine for variant covers

I was hunting for a specific X-Men #25 variant and found it with a tiny spine tick for $8, marked down from $40. The owner told me he puts returns or slightly dinged books there every Friday morning. Anyone else have a good local shop trick for finding specific issues?

I was reading an old interview with a Marvel editor from 1998 and found a wild number about X-Men #1

So I was digging through some old comic news sites for fun (you know, just killing time) and found this interview with Bob Harras. He was talking about the 1991 X-Men #1 launch, the one with the five different covers. I always knew it sold a lot, but he said the initial print run was over 8 million copies. Eight million! For a single issue! My mind is still kind of blown by that. I have a copy in a box somewhere, and it's not worth much because, well, everyone and their brother has one. It really puts today's sales numbers into a different light. I guess that was the peak of the speculator boom. Has anyone else stumbled on a fact about comic sales or print runs that just seemed crazy to you?

My neighbor's kid asked me why I only read superhero stuff

He said his teacher told him comics are about 'any story you can draw'. Made me dig out my old box of indie stuff from college. Anyone else get nudged back to a forgotten corner of the hobby?

Always thought collecting was about the first print, but a guy at my local shop in Akron changed my mind.

I was only buying #1 issues, thinking they'd be worth the most. He showed me his collection, focusing on key story arcs like 'The Dark Phoenix Saga' instead. He said a complete, high-grade run of Uncanny X-Men #129-138 is way more satisfying and often holds value better than random first prints. Now I hunt for full storylines. What's a complete arc you think is worth putting together?

The vibe at my local con shifted hard in just two years

I was at Emerald City Comic Con in 2022 and again this year, and the difference in the crowd is wild. In 2022, it felt like 60% cosplayers and 40% people just there to buy stuff. This year, it felt totally flipped, like 70% were just shopping for exclusives and merch, barely looking at the art or panels. I think the big movie delays and the whole 'superhero fatigue' talk online made a lot of casual fans just treat it like a mall. Has anyone else seen their local con turn into mostly a shopping trip lately?

I always thought comic fans who went to cons were a bit much, then I went to one in Portland.

My friend dragged me to Rose City Comic Con last fall, and I expected it to be just a crowded shopping hall. Instead, I saw a guy in a full, handmade Moon Knight costume patiently helping a little kid who was scared of his own shadow. That one act of kindness from a total stranger, just to make a kid's day better, completely flipped my view. Has anyone else had a single moment at a con that changed how they see the fan community?

A guy at my local shop told me I was a 'cover snob' and it stung

He said I only looked at the art and never gave weird or ugly books a real chance. That was about six months ago, and I decided to prove him wrong. I started picking one book a week just based on the writer or a friend's tip, ignoring the cover. Found three new favorite series that way, including a weird sci-fi comic called 'Deep Signal' I would have walked right past. Honestly, it made collecting way more fun. Has anyone else had a reading habit totally changed by a simple comment?

Honestly, I just found out that Marvel's first comic in 1939 was a reprint of a detective magazine story. I saw it in a YouTube video about comic origins. Some people say it shows comics were always about adapting other media, others think it downplays the original work that came later. What's your take on where the real 'first' comic actually starts?

Update: I dropped $75 on a CGC graded copy of Amazing Spider-Man #300 and it's just been sitting in a box.

I bought it at a con in Cleveland last year thinking it was a cool piece of comic history to own. But honestly, I never look at it because it's sealed up and I can't even flip through the pages. It feels more like a stock certificate than a comic book I can enjoy. Has anyone else felt let down after buying a slabbed book they were really excited about?

I used to gatekeep my comic collection and it took a kid at a con to show me

For years I had this rule that nobody touched my long boxes, not even my friends. I thought it was about keeping them mint. Then at Emerald City Comic Con last year, I saw a dad trying to show his son a specific issue, but the kid was scared to even ask the vendor to see it. The dad said, 'It's okay, some people just like to look.' That hit me. I realized I was making comics feel like a museum, not a fun thing to share. My whole attitude was wrong. How do you guys balance keeping your stuff nice with letting other people enjoy it too?

My uncle told me to stop buying single issues and just wait for the trade

He said it back in 2018 when I was spending about $40 a month on floppies. I ignored him for a year, then my local shop closed and I had huge gaps in my runs. I finally switched to trades and graphic novels last year. Now my collection is actually readable and I saved a ton of cash. Has anyone else made this switch and found it better for actually keeping up with stories?

Finally got my friend to read comics, but my first two tries were a total fail

I tried to get my buddy into comics for ages. My first try was handing him a big event book, 'Crisis on Infinite Earths', and he was lost after three pages. Too many characters, too much history. I gave up for a while. Then, about six months ago, I tried again but with a different approach. I lent him the first trade of 'Ultimate Spider-Man' by Brian Bendis. It starts fresh, no prior knowledge needed. He finished it in two days and asked for the next volume. The difference was giving him a clean start instead of throwing him into the deep end of continuity. It made all the difference. Now he's hooked and we can actually talk about it. Anyone else have a go-to book for getting new readers started?

The time a kid in line at the 2018 Denver Comic Con asked me who Barry Allen was

I was holding a Flash #123 reprint, and this maybe 12-year-old just looked at the cover and asked if Barry was a new character. It hit me how much the shows and movies have changed what people know. I ended up showing him the book and explaining the whole Jay Garrick connection for ten minutes. Anyone else run into that kind of generational gap at a con?