Daily Comics Digression #13: Comic Books are Really Expensive

Daily Comics Digression #13: Comic Books are Really Expensive

One would not think that being a comic book enthusiast would be such an expensive hobby, but the truth is that following the adventures of your favorite superhero is one of the most costly things you can do. I brought this point up before when talking about how it felt to buy individual issues in a comic book store. Unfortunately, the same holds true for collected editions. I recently purchased nearly a thousand dollars worth of collected editions of comic book stories for about $200 (which is a steal). Despite all of that content, with diligent reading, I could probably go through it all in about a month.

Think about it this way. A $30 graphic novel might last you 2-3 hours. Or, you could spend that thirty dollars and buy an entire season of a popular TV series, which nets you at least 24 hours of entertainment.

Can I get a loan?

It only gets worse if you actually want to participate in the speculator/collector market. It's expensive enough to try and collect basic editions of comics. Trying to get a first printing of a particular issue, especially one that features the first appearance of a popular character, requires very deep pockets indeed. To give you a little context, an issue depicting the first appearance of Superman went for nearly a million dollars in 2016.

So the next time you're tempted to throw away a boxload of your Dad's old comics, take them to a shop first and see if you can't find your retirement fund in there.