Where to Find Vintage Comic Books
If you’re a collector who loves comics, then there’s no bigger joy than finding a great vintage comic from the Bronze Age, Silver Age, or even the Golden Age. But where should you look for them?
Physical Stores
Storefront comic book shops have a long history of being the go-to source for comic books, and that still holds true today. When people in the community have comics to buy and sell, they’ll usually go through the shop. Shops gives you a central place to connect to other local collectors, and the staff can keep an eye out for books that might interest you.
Shops are also a good source when you’re traveling. If you’re spending a few days in a different city, find the best shop and peruse their collection. You might even make friends in different cities, and you can help each other fill in your collections.
Online Shops
These sites are often linked to a physical location, but there are more than a few online-only comic stores. They both allow you access to comics in other areas, and if you don’t plan on visiting the shop, it makes very little difference whether they have a physical location or not.
The big caution with buying vintage comic books online is making sure that the comic you get matches the grade of the comic you buy. Before you buy the book, make sure that you get a picture of the actual comic you’re going to buy. Only deal with reputable shops, and you shouldn’t have any trouble.
Flea Markets & Antique Stores
These can be incredibly hit or miss, and, sadly, are more often a miss. Most flea market and antique dealers deal in volume with the rare exceptional item, and that includes comic books. Even if they’re not comic experts, they probably know the most popular characters and know to keep an eye out for things like “#1” or “introducing.” Those will probably be put aside. For the rest, you can expect a search through boxes of comics, or even stacks of them (which is a poor way to store comics). That being said, the search can occasionally turn up incredible gems.
Dealers
Technically, a dealer is a comic book shop, but instead of selling new comics, they deal exclusively in back issues and vintage comics. No matter how much you know about vintage comics, odds are good that these dealers will know a lot more. Such specialty knowledge can be a great advantage in knowing how to fill in your collection. What’s more, they can locate the issues for you.
All that knowledge and resourcefulness does tend to come with a premium in addition to the price of the comic. That being said, it’s more than worth it to many collectors, especially if they have busy schedules or their time is worth a lot of money.