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How to Start Collecting Comics

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How do I start collecting comics?

This is a question we get asked frequently and often from listeners of Geek History Lesson. In the swirling and ever-evolving world of superhero media it’s easier than ever to have the gateway to comic books opened for you and feel bogged down when you make the decision to cross through to the other side. As with many universal truths if you are looking to start collecting comics this might not be super helpful to you. However, if you listen to enough episodes of Geek History Lesson you’ll notice a common refrain from Professors Jason and Ashley - if the characters being discussed are characters we’ve been reading and/or interested in for a long time there’s a good chance we starting picking up mix-and-match issues in our early childhood. 


For Ashley it’s always Batman family titles (Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing), and various X-Men titles. 

For Jason it’s always Superman family titles (Superman, Superboy, Steel), and Avengers titles.


We actually shot a video with some Tips on Collecting Comics:

We started with what we knew we liked and collected forward from there. With the power of the internet at your very fingers it is easier than ever to find catalogues of complete runs or new editions of storyline collections. If you are particularly lucky an employee of your Local Comic Book Shop will be able to make recommendations to you which could send you on a whole new reading journey.

Ashley at Earth 2 on Free Comic Books Day 2019

If you are planning to head to your LCS and ask for suggestions from the amazing person behind the counter Professor Ashley has some advice for things you should have in mind. She has worked at two different comic book shops and has years of experience helping patrons in just this way.

What you need to know:

  • Other titles you like: comics books, prose books, movies, or television shows

  • Any titles you may have already read (if you like Harley Quinn, but you’ve read Mad Love it’s easier to make recommendations based off this information)

  • If there’s a length of story you are looking for

  • If there is anything you absolutely do not want to read (horror and romance are most often the genres folx will mention not being interested in - despite incredible stories existing in both genres in the comic book medium)

signing at Strange Adventures in 2017

These are suggestions, they’re not set in stone, but going in with even the vaguest idea to answer all four of these question will make sure you walk out with the best comic books for you!

Some Local Comics Book Shops we have had outstanding experiences with over the years include:

  • Earth 2 Comics (Sherman Oaks & Northridge, CA)

  • Mammoth Comics (Tulsa, OK)

  • Strange Adventures Bookshop (Fredericton, NB, Canada)

**we actually wrote about Strange Adventures Bookshop in our first ever travel blog - Geeky Postcards from: Canada

  • Arsenal Comics & Games (Newbury Park, CA)

With all of this at your back you’ll be on your way to a respectable collection in no time.

Which formats should I be collecting?

Another possibly complicated question. For Professors Jason and Ashley, we have spent our entire lives living in Los Angeles, California. One of the most expensive cities in the world. This, of course, extends to things like housing. It’s difficult for a lot of people who live in major urban areas to have the space to house 100+ long boxes of single issue comic books. Larger collections (trade paperbacks, hardcovers, absolute editions, omnibi), are far better suited for our lifestyle.

We also have the secondary consideration of something like Geek History Lesson. We do a lot of collecting and reading for the podcast. Being able to get as many pages in a single volume as possible is super advantageous for us. 

If you have a spare room, temperature controlled attic/garage, or simply more extra space you may be able to vary your format buying. We tend to stick to collected editions. Make sure you consider how much storage you are willing to dedicate to your collection. Even if you answer is one shelf among other books you can make smart decisions armed with this knowledge.

How many comic books do you own?

If you would really like to see it, Ashley made a TikTok recently highlighting our main comic book shelf.

Many listeners tell us this is a smaller collection than they may have anticipated. It’s double-stacked which gives us twice as much space as we would have otherwise and this TikTok doesn’t show our additional shelf which features more absolute editions, nor the TBR piles we each have. Due to our space restrictions we try to keep our collections to this shelf only.

header image via Erik McLean on pexels

2017 ©Jawiin