Comic book price guides are typically published on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis and provide comprehensive information about the fluctuations in the resale value of comics over a specific duration. These guides play a crucial role for collectors who intend to sell their collection or require an estimate of their collection's value for insurance purposes.
Each collector will have his or her own preference regarding which authority to follow, but popular and respected guides have included The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, Comics Buyer's Guide magazine, Wizard Magazine, the Comics Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books, and Human Computing’s ComicBase, an inventory/databasing software program. Popular online price guides include comicbookrealm.com (free), ComicsPriceGuide.com (free and paid services), RarityGuide (free and paid), and GPAnalysis.com specifically for CGC (certified) Comics (paid). Both online and print price guides can exhibit variations, leading collectors to rely on a blend of multiple sources to derive a precise estimated value. A common practice involves cross-referencing information from different guides. Additionally, checking completed auctions on platforms like eBay and Heritage Auctions proves to be highly beneficial in gauging accurate values for comic books.
While numerous price guides may emerge and fade over time, enduring publications like Overstreet (with a history spanning over 35 years) or more recent ones like the Standard Catalog of Comic Books have become integral components of comic collection history. These guides hold a strong appeal for collectors and enthusiasts, serving as valuable resources for a wide range of information. They offer insights into storylines, writers, artists, and even the original cover price of a comic.
Online platforms like the Grand Comics Database and comicbookrealm.com provide users with rapid access to character appearances and deaths. Additionally, the Big Comic Book Database merges a searchable database featuring character and creator details per issue with a linked price guide, offering a comprehensive resource for enthusiasts.
The advent of certification enabled increased liquidity of comic books by removing disputes over grading and by disclosing restoration, and accelerated sales of comic books through online auction sites such as eBay or Heritage Auction Galleries. Certification holds significance for certain comic price guide providers as it imparts a sense of assurance regarding the precise grade of the comic book being offered for sale. Nonetheless, since certified books are graded by multiple individuals, the reliability of these services is not universally accepted. Online platforms offer individual as well as aggregated records of certified comic book sales, aiding collectors in accessing this information.
History
From the early 1960s onward, the community of comic collectors, who frequently engaged in trading and selling among themselves, experienced a notable growth. This expansion was accompanied by an increase in the number of comics dealers operating within the industry. In 1965, Michael Cohen and Tom Horsky published what is considered the first comics price guide, the one-shot digest The Argosy Price Guide (specifically for Hollywood, California's, Argosy Book Shop).
Comic back-issue prices had stabilized by the end of the 1960s. In 1970, Jerry Bails, who had recently published the Collector’s Guide to the First Heroic Age, was considering creating a comic book price guide. He was contacted by Bob Overstreet, who was doing the same thing. Bails' extensive notes, supplemented by Overstreet's study of dealer listings, "became a backbone to the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide." Overstreet's guide instantly became an invaluable resource tool for comic book collectors.
The initial editions of the Overstreet guide did not include the category of underground comix in its listings. This gap was addressed by Jay Kennedy in 1982 with the publication of The Official Underground And Newave Comix Price Guide. Though now out of print, this guide remains a valuable resource for information about artists and publishers within the underground comix genre. In 2006, Dan Fogel, who was an advisor and contributor to the Overstreet guide, published Fogel's Underground Comix Price Guide. In 2010, a supplementary magazine was introduced, encompassing minicomics and British undergrounds alongside the latest pricing data.