trends
THE SUPERCOLLECTORS Baseball cards and comic books are not just for kids anymore. Adults are buying them as an investment.
By Ezra Wolfe
Kansan staff writer
B baseball cards and comic books There are usually some in every basement. Faded, waterstained and dusty. But for serious collectors of comics and cards, a safe holdall
be a better home for their precious printed paper.
They can be a serious investment of just a few dollars. They can be worth collecting as a bakeware. There is no way of making a sure bet.
Adults are being drawn in increasing numbers to what has been perceived as a children's hobby: comic book and sports card collecting.
The attraction to collecting is intensified by the idea that a cheap book or card can turn into a valuable commodity.
And comics do sometimes rocket in value, an exam
ple being the recent "Death of Superman" issue.
Stuart Shutts,
owner of Comic
Corner, 1000
Massachusetts
St., said that
issue originally
sold for $2.50
retail.
"A month and a half later it was selling for $40," he said. "That's a better increase than you'll find in investing in stocks and bonds."
But investing in comics can be daunting. The collector never knows which issues will
Young, co-owner of the shop,
"we'd be semi-bired by
value, and finding a buyer for the comics can be diff cult at times.
LeRoy Young, co-owner of Kwaiyat Comics, 1111 Massachusetts St., said a comic book worth $25 in New York City might be worthless in Lawrence. The price is largely dependent on the local demand, he says.
"People come in here all the time asking which books will go up in value," he said.
Photo Illustration by Paul Kotz/ KANSAN
Brenda Young said the people who made the most money were those who had collected comics since childhood.
But even if no one knows which comics will increase in value, some dealers tie based on past performance.
In addition to old favorites, such as "Superman," and new favorites, such as "The Punisher," many new comic books are being marketed. It is difficult to know how many comics are published because many are local or underground comics. LeRoy Young, comic dealer, estimated there were as many as 1,000 different titles.
of because "Almost everything Valiant puts out goes up in value," he said. "By the time the next issue comes out, the previous issue has doubled in value."
will go up in value, 'he said'.
"But if we knew what would go up," said Brenda
Shuts it a company called Valant was putting out books that would probably go up in value. Valant has good stories and art, he said, and the value is pumped up because Valant prints fewer issues.
will make tips based on past performance
LeRoy Young said the best way to collect comics is to collect a book that interests the collector. That way, if the comic doesn't increase in value, the collector still has the entertainment of reading the book.
lectors are very lucky, they may end up with a comic worth thousands. The first issue of Superman, a "golden age" comic, recently sold for about $80,000, LeRoy Young said.
Comic book collectors divide books by time periods. The golden age lasted from 1939 to the 1960s. The silver age was from the '60s to 1975. The modern age began in 1975.
agreed that comic books have become more popular recently. LeRoy Young suggested that the promotion for the death of Superman issue helped increase the popularity of all comic books by bringing in people who were only marginally interested in collecting. When interested people came in to pick up the Superman book, they not only saw books that they had collected as children, but also newer books with better art than has been seen in the past.
The comic book dealers all
By the way, LeRoy Young said, Superman is due to be resurrected in April. What happens to the value of the death of Superman issue is anyone's guess, he said.
The most popular comics? Anything by Image and Valiant. Both are publishing companies.
vel comic series and started their own company, Shutts said.
We sell about 150 copies of "Spawn a month," Shutts
vanant, both are publishing companies.
Image was formed by disgruntled artists who left Mar-
t
said.
"Spawn" is a lushly illustrated Image comic book overflowing with detail and color.
overwhelming. "Comics in the old days had mediocre art," Shutts said. "Now, the comics that sell have good art, but not necessarily good stories."
Paul Tobia, Wichita sophomore, said new comics that were different from the old superhero-type comics might account for the increasing popularity of comics.
might account for the high popularity of "I read Vertigo comics," he said. "They're more like fiction with pictures, not superheroes saving the world."
Like comic book companies, sports cards companies have come out with a better product, said Jeff Dolezal, owner of J.D.'s Baseball Card and Sports Nostalgia Shop. 711 W. 23rd St.
"Most companies now have a regular product and a high-end product." he said.
high school product.
Dolezal started collecting baseball cards when he was a kid. His parents ran a drugstore, and he said he had easy access to the cards.
Dolezal, whose shop has
open for 1911 year said the most popular sports cards were those with the most popular sports this year it is This year it is Shaquille O'Neal In previous years it has been Michael Jordan.
"In baseball, the most popular cards are hot rookies," he said.
The idea is to buy the rookie card, and if the player turns out to be a great player, the value of the card will increase.
"People collect because they hope someday their cards will be as valuable as a Mickey Mantle rookie card," Dolezal said.
A  Mickey
Mantle rookie
card is worth about
$32,000. he said.
But as with comic books, people should enjoy what they collect, rather than just looking at it as an investment, he said.
I try to get people to have fin with it," he said. "If you're doing it just for money, you'll be unhappy with it."
Paul Kotz / KANBAN
Jeff Dolezal, owner of J.D.'s Baseball Card and Sports Nostalgia Shop, helps Kevin Hay, Lawrence resident, at the store at 711 W. 23rd St.
Issues and trends at the University of Kansas.
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