| The Silver Age of Comic Books ran from 1955 to | | | | book is from the Silver Age is to look at the original |
| 1970. It was a time period when superhero books | | | | cover price. If the price is 12 to 15 cents, it is probably |
| become popular. There are several tips and | | | | from the silver age. Ten cent comic books were |
| techniques to collecting this period. But to understand | | | | generally from the Golden Age (pre 1950s) and 25 |
| these tips, you first need to know about the history of | | | | cent comics were from the Bronze Age (1970s). |
| this imaginative art form. | | | | Tip #3 - Quality is extremely important! If you look at a |
| Comic books in the United States first started | | | | price guide for a specific comic - you might see that |
| appearing in the early 1930s. These early comic books | | | | the price ranges from $6.00 to $600.00. The spread is |
| were just collection of newspaper strips. Then, in the | | | | a result of condition. If the book looks pretty beat up - |
| late 1930s, comic books started creating their own | | | | as if 10 or 20 people have already read it - then it is |
| characters - most notably Superman, Batman, and | | | | probably going to be worth the $6.00. (And you might |
| Wonder Woman. By World War 2 (1939-1945) there | | | | be able to find it at a convention or store for $1.00 or |
| were hundreds and hundreds of superhero comics. | | | | $2.00). If instead, the book is mint - as if nobody has |
| (Most of them forgotten to today's audience ). This | | | | every touched it before or read it - then the comic |
| time period was considered the Golden Age. | | | | might be worth the $600. Condition is one of the main |
| Superhero comics disappeared after the war. The | | | | drivers of value. (The other two drivers are scarcity |
| public was more interested in crime, romance, and | | | | and popularity). |
| horror. For a variety of reasons, however, Superhero | | | | Tip #4 - The best place to get silver age comic books |
| comics came back in the late 1950s. In 1956, DC | | | | is usually at a convention or through the internet. There |
| brought back an old character - the Flash - but | | | | are fewer and fewer stores that sell books from this |
| reinvented him. He was no longer the same person (or | | | | time period. Most stores make their money on new |
| the same looking character) as the Golden Age Flash. | | | | stuff and don't want to take up floor space with older |
| Showcase #4 - the first appearance of the Silver Age | | | | items. So if you want to find the best deals on the |
| Flash - spawned a new generation of superhero | | | | internet, use a search engine to search for "silver age |
| comics. DC reinvented most of their popular | | | | comic books" and see what you can find. Or look for |
| characters. Marvel followed suit. And other publishers | | | | comic book conventions in your area to buy your |
| did the same. The Silver Age of Comic Books had | | | | comics. |
| begun! | | | | Tip #5 - The most expensive Silver Age books are |
| If you are interested in collecting comic books from the | | | | from DC and Marvel and tend to be superhero books. |
| Silver Age, here are my top 5 tips. | | | | This is due to the fact that DC and Marvel have been |
| Tip #1 - Make sure that you have the proper size bag | | | | publishing continually until the present day and have |
| and board to protect your investment. Not all bags and | | | | thus developed a large fan base for their characters |
| boards are created equal. Basically, comic books have | | | | (Batman, Superman, X-Men, Iron Man, Avengers, Hulk, |
| been shrinking since the 1930s. Golden Age books are | | | | Wonder Woman, etc). However, if you want to start |
| the widest; Modern books are the skinniest. And Silver | | | | your collection without paying an arm and a leg, you |
| Age Comic Books are right in between. So make sure | | | | might try collecting other publishers besides Marvel and |
| you buy the right bags and boards or you'll ruin your | | | | DC (Harvey, Dell, Gold Key, Charlton Comics) or try |
| comics. (They should be labeled "silver age" bags and | | | | other genres besides superhero comics (Horror, Crime, |
| boards). | | | | Romance). |
| Tip #2 - A quick way to determine whether a comic | | | | |