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Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Volume 18
Book by Robert M. Overstreet
490 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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110 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 7, 2022
Always a yearly staple. I leave it on my reading list all year because I constantly refer to it. Obviously I don’t read every entry or all the ads but this book is routinely worth the money (and it’s weight) for all the market reports from across the country and around the world. Comics do indeed sell differently in different places as well as in person vs the internet.
Sadly this one was bogged down by so many “how I survived Covid” entries, but I expect the new book (which has been out for months but I always get for Christmas) to be overflowing with investing nuggets for the years ahead.
Sadly this one was bogged down by so many “how I survived Covid” entries, but I expect the new book (which has been out for months but I always get for Christmas) to be overflowing with investing nuggets for the years ahead.
January 19, 2011
I think the last one I purchased was from around 2004, but I didn't see that one listed so I'm going to give a quasi-review/quasi-Dear-John letter of this one in its place. I've had two of my own guides over the years, keeping each for about a decade. The 2004 one will probably be the last one I every buy.
There are inconsistencies and some simply crazy things in every one of these guides, but when it is all said and done it is still THE guide, the most informative information resource, and the undeniable wishlist helper.
I remember checking one of these out from the library when I was a lad in the first year of high school. Holy Cow, did I ever want to get my hands on all of thousands of old comic books Mr. Overstreet was showing me! No movie guide, coin guide, or toy guide was ever so complete about its subject matter back then. And those covers they showed you on every page...Buck Rogers by Frazetta, Batman by Neal Adams, Prince Namor by Everett, the X-Men by Byrne...it didn't get much better than those glimpses into my chosen hobby.
Sadly, the entire market has long since collapsed, never to return, with the majority of the pre-teens who could have been expected to read a comic every now and again now texting hundreds of messages a day or playing X-Box for hours on end. And with fewer readers come higher prices. Comics now range from $2.99 to $3.99 for a single 32-page issue. That's four bucks for a 15 minute read, folks. (Compare that to a perfectly good used paperback I can get for 50 cents at the flea market and enjoy for most of a week's worth of free time. I can also watch movies on youtube until my eyes bleed, for free with free wifi at the business across the street.) And now that Disney owns Marvel, sheesh...isn't Punisher Max inconsistent with the Magic Kingdom?...I feel like even the rare new titles I still like might have an expiration date on them.
When I started reading comics they were 35 cents new! While it is possible to still find recent comics for $1 at a convention, I have to say sorry Marvel, sorry DC, and sorry Mr. Overstreet, but I just can't afford this love affair any more.
There are inconsistencies and some simply crazy things in every one of these guides, but when it is all said and done it is still THE guide, the most informative information resource, and the undeniable wishlist helper.
I remember checking one of these out from the library when I was a lad in the first year of high school. Holy Cow, did I ever want to get my hands on all of thousands of old comic books Mr. Overstreet was showing me! No movie guide, coin guide, or toy guide was ever so complete about its subject matter back then. And those covers they showed you on every page...Buck Rogers by Frazetta, Batman by Neal Adams, Prince Namor by Everett, the X-Men by Byrne...it didn't get much better than those glimpses into my chosen hobby.
Sadly, the entire market has long since collapsed, never to return, with the majority of the pre-teens who could have been expected to read a comic every now and again now texting hundreds of messages a day or playing X-Box for hours on end. And with fewer readers come higher prices. Comics now range from $2.99 to $3.99 for a single 32-page issue. That's four bucks for a 15 minute read, folks. (Compare that to a perfectly good used paperback I can get for 50 cents at the flea market and enjoy for most of a week's worth of free time. I can also watch movies on youtube until my eyes bleed, for free with free wifi at the business across the street.) And now that Disney owns Marvel, sheesh...isn't Punisher Max inconsistent with the Magic Kingdom?...I feel like even the rare new titles I still like might have an expiration date on them.
When I started reading comics they were 35 cents new! While it is possible to still find recent comics for $1 at a convention, I have to say sorry Marvel, sorry DC, and sorry Mr. Overstreet, but I just can't afford this love affair any more.
October 15, 2018
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is legendary… and for good reason. Every year it comprehensively covers the world of comic books, especially from the perspective of what they are currently worth.
While for the most part I agree with most of the pricing, having owned two stores and been an active seller/collector for over 40 years, I tend to disagree with many of the prices listed for books that are not in demand. There are books listed for $4-5 that you couldn't sell for 50 cents and yet there they are… and they never seem to go down in value. Of course they seem to focus on key books of the Golden and Silver ages, which are much easier to track due to their continuous appreciation in value, but it always bothers me that the rest of the books aren't given the same level of seriousness. There are portions of the price guide that don't honestly address "Supply and Demand".
That said, this book is the "Bible" for the industry and does a great job by providing important information and trends, as well as providing a level of authority to the industry. While I know some of these people, I have to smile when I read their market reports, since I'm familiar with their zeal for the hobby and their business practices. But, for the most part there is a lot of enthusiastic summaries that provide the reader with a sense of what has happened in the past year of the hobby.
The only guide worth reading!
While for the most part I agree with most of the pricing, having owned two stores and been an active seller/collector for over 40 years, I tend to disagree with many of the prices listed for books that are not in demand. There are books listed for $4-5 that you couldn't sell for 50 cents and yet there they are… and they never seem to go down in value. Of course they seem to focus on key books of the Golden and Silver ages, which are much easier to track due to their continuous appreciation in value, but it always bothers me that the rest of the books aren't given the same level of seriousness. There are portions of the price guide that don't honestly address "Supply and Demand".
That said, this book is the "Bible" for the industry and does a great job by providing important information and trends, as well as providing a level of authority to the industry. While I know some of these people, I have to smile when I read their market reports, since I'm familiar with their zeal for the hobby and their business practices. But, for the most part there is a lot of enthusiastic summaries that provide the reader with a sense of what has happened in the past year of the hobby.
The only guide worth reading!
July 19, 2018
What can you say about this that is not already known? If you collect comics or are interested in their history, this is a yearly must-purchase. It covers market trends, comic book values, and the history of comic characters. This volume also features a short but very interesting interview with Jim Steranko.
February 5, 2015
Handy Guide to determine current comic book prices. (Especially) when dealing with online sellers attempting to overprice comics and gouge and take advantage of buyers who do not use a current CBPG. This book does not list CGC prices.
sold
February 23, 2012Given to Gene Demaitre in 2011.
March 14, 2016
The ultimate source book for comic prices and info. Excellent reference book
March 4, 2019
Awesome as always.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews