Some interesting observations about collecting

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Stevendoig
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Joined: 18 Sep 2022, 15:59

Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by Stevendoig »

So I've been collecting comics and annuals seriously for a year and a half now.

I don't buy online (no fun there!) so my purchases are limited to car boots, charity shops, 'junk' shops and what people have brought to me (I have a shop as well)

I was just struck by how common some things are and how somethings are really rare, and I wanted to know if it's the same elsewhere or perhaps just a Scottish/Angus thing

Anyway - here's a wee list

Postively drowning in Oor Wullie and Broons books - I mean so, so many everywhere I go! Roughly 1976 onwards get rarer back to the late sixties

Beano comics from 1980 onwards, but strangely I have only found a single seventies issue! Annuals are very common from the mid seventies onwards.

Dandy comics are odd as I've found so many from 1980 to the mid nineties but only a handful after that. The annuals are very common though.

Topper and beezer comics are uncommon but annuals from the late sixties onwards are easy to find.

Commandos are everywhere!

Hotspur and Victor annuals and comics again are quite common (though people seem to want a lot of money for them, so I often pass!)

Plenty of Bunty, Judy etc annuals around from the seventies onwards, but comics are much harder to find.

Fleetway/ipc stuff is much scarcer overall. I've done well enough finding whoopee and whizzer and chips comics and annuals, but I've only found one Buster annual and 3 comics which is very odd. Knockout annuals are Strangely frequent but the rest of the shorter run stuff is very scarce on the whole.

From being unaware of Starblazer and Alan Class till I started doing this seriously, both now seem to turn up more and more often!

Anyway, just some thoughts and would like to here how others get on locally?

Thanks!

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Adam Eterno
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by Adam Eterno »

I think you’ve pretty much nailed it on the head! The one I’d add would be that 2000AD comics after the first 300 are on offer everywhere too.

Captain underpants
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by Captain underpants »

In my area of Essex in the last number of years it’s been 2000ad the odd commando or war comic, just started to see British edition marvel reprints, lots of modern beanos . You often see modern American comics, which I mostly walk past unless there are some silver or Bronze Age dc comics . At boot sales I often end up with at least one graphic novel and almost never pick up any good British comics. I remember once being offered at a booty a box full of 60s TV21 comics for £25 I was gutted I had spent almost most of my cash the bloke behind me got the lot grrrrrr

Stevendoig
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by Stevendoig »

I forgot about 2000ad! - yep they are crazy common!

Yep, iw would be gutted as well missing out on a box of Tv21!

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Tin Can Tommy
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by Tin Can Tommy »

I find early Beano and Dandy Comic Libraries from the 1980s very common but later issues and fun size Beanos and Dandys are pretty rare. I assume because of lower sales and lower print runs. Which is probably also why Dandy's from after the mid-90s aren't so common.

jim244
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by jim244 »

I genuinely hardly ever find anything of interest outside of Ebay,online comic shops and friends.
On occasion there has been great stuff in markets in coastal towns (Eagle annuals;70s Brit comics;original Leslie Charteris "Saint" books etc) but in general the good stuff is all online sales.At least in my experience.

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stevezodiac
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by stevezodiac »

Yes, a few years ago I got three black bin bags full of comics delivered by hand from an eBay seller. Must have been over 300 comics for about £100. 60s to 80s UK comics including Cor!! #1 which I had been after as my brother's mates took away some of my comics in the early 70s including Cor!! #1.

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Into The Abyss
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by Into The Abyss »

I am literally a magpie when it comes to collecting from comics to original comic art through to vintage film & posters including production-used scripts from shows such as Red Dwarf, On the Buses , Likely Lads, Liver birds, Allo Allo ect..

Recently started collecting American company Neca horror figures too. Got quite a few over the past year or so, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, John Carpenters Halloween, The Fog , Jaws, The Thing , American Werewolf in London, Alf the Alien, Creepshow, Goonies, the list is endless. They are so well sculpted. 😎
Well, hello there! :wave:

jim244
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by jim244 »

I find one of the biggest problems is storage.
I have so many plastic boxes everywhere !!!

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Chalky
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by Chalky »

Yes Jim244 storage is a big problem for me as well. I have the bottom have of a bookcase filled with hundreds of individually bagged comics and annuals and I can only fit maybe 50 more comics inside with no other storage space available! So in a year or so I will run out of space and will have to move things around to accommodate them.

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abacus
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by abacus »

Sometimes when i visit a charity shop and make some great comic or annual finds I expect to find more from the same shop in the weeks that follow only to be disappointed.
Usually when I least expect it I find comics I want to buy.
It's surprising with the hundreds of comics and annual titles produced they are so difficult to find in the charity shops.
The other day though I did see a 1955 Film fun annual for £4-50p and was going to buy it but hesitated and changed my mind only to find when I got home I already had it in my collection.

Stevendoig
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by Stevendoig »

I have discovered that a Lot of charity shops (at least around here) chuck out any donated annuals if they have the slightest spine defect and don't accept comics at all!

A couple of shops are now nice enough to let me know if they have that kind of thing!

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starscape
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by starscape »

I remember advising Colin Noble a charity shop in Dunfermline were selling Commando. He came back with many more, including non-Commando war libraries, Space Holiday Specials (which I was after) and the Red Alert wallet from 2000AD #3. All for a knock down price! D'oh!!
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Adam Eterno
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Re: Some interesting observations about collecting

Post by Adam Eterno »

starscape wrote:
26 Mar 2024, 20:39
I remember advising Colin Noble a charity shop in Dunfermline were selling Commando. He came back with many more, including non-Commando war libraries, Space Holiday Specials (which I was after) and the Red Alert wallet from 2000AD #3. All for a knock down price! D'oh!!
Colin was the master of finding comic bargains! :D

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