History of comics collection

Comic books with value haven't been around that long. The first comic magazines and newspaper strips only date from the 1920-1945 period. The earliest Dutch comics artists include Marten Toonder and Alfred Mazure. Dutch, Belgian and French comic books only really made a break-through during the Second World War. Before that, it was mainly Jewish-American cartoonists who set the tone with comics such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. The 1930s are also known as the Golden Age of Comic Books.

Immediately after the war, in 1946, the Belgian comic strip Lucky Luke saw the light of day. The Lucky Luke comic books are a collector's item in almost every edition. The most valuable ones are the booklets from the Dupuis series. Some copies of these can sell for several hundreds of euros at auctions. Tintin is another comic that popularized in the 1940s. Tintin originally started as a newspaper strip in 1929. A year later, however, the first comic album was published, and in 1946 the first Dutch translation came on the market. Not only the Tintin albums are popular items among collectors. Also working documents and original drawings regularly change hands at comic auctions for large sums of money.

In the fifties to seventies the phenomenon of comics took off enormously. Comic magazines such as Tarzan and 'De onbekende Stilte' (The Unknown Silence) appeared in the Netherlands, and other family comics such as 'Jan Jans en de kinderen' (Jan Jans and the children) were introduced. From America, one superhero comic after another came out, such as The Hulk, Spiderman and The Fantastic Four.

After the 1980s, comics became a widely accepted art form. Comic books are becoming collector's items and after the advent of the internet a lively trade arises, where both the novice comic artist and the serious collector of valuable comic books will find a rich choice.

Japanese comic books (Manga)

Although the phenomenon of Japanese comics goes back more than two centuries, it has only been popular in the Western world since the second half of the 20th century. Collecting Japanese comic books has really only been a hobby of the last 20 years. Many people currently have whole series of Sailor Moon, Dragonball and One Piece books in their attics that are slowly turning into collectibles. Because to grow from a €2 comic book into a valuable collector's item, all it really needs is time. Mainly editions of the first hour do well on the collector's market.

If, for whatever reason, you want to sell your Mangas, it is always advisable to check in advance what they are worthduring one of ourwalk-in days for free appraisals of your Manga at our office in IJsselstein.

What indicates that the comics you want to sell have value?

• The year. The older the book, the higher the value.
• The circulation. The fewer comic books there are, the better.
• The condition of the comic book is important.

Auctions of collectibles such as comics are regularly organized at Heritage Auctions. Do you have Mangas to sell or would you like a free valuation, take a day out and let our comic book appraiser tell you the value of your comics. 

American comics

The first comics publisher was Timely, later Marvel. Founded in 1939, Marvel spawned comic book heroes such as Spiderman, Human Torch, and Namor the Sub-Mariner. In the 1990s, Marvel expanded its publishing platform to film its comics under the name MCU.

DC Comics is the second largest publisher in the Americas when it comes to comic books of value. They put their name under comic book heroes, such as Superman, Batman The Flash and Aquaman. You may also have valuable and/or rare comics in your possession without you knowing it. If you are thinking of selling your comics, don't just put them on a second-hand sales site, but have them appraised by us first for free.

Slabbing and grading your comic books

Comics and mangas are often made of thin paper and have been passed on from hand to hand. As a result, comic books are easily damaged. And that's a shame, because that way they quickly lose their value. Do you have an old comic, valuable manga or an almost undamaged comic book, have it graded and slabbed. The strip is authenticated, scanned for damage and given a rating. These ratings are entered into a CGC system, after which your comic is assigned a registration number. To prevent further depreciation, the strip or drawing is sealed in a plastic transparent container. By having your valuable comics graded, you not only know for sure that nothing more can happen to them, you also have a better chance of a high price and a quick sale. We are happy to advise on the best way to grade or slab your comic book(s).