Top Five Tips For Collecting Silver Age Comic Books (1955 - Early 1970s)

The Silver Age of Comic Books ran from 1955 to 1970. It was a time period when superhero books become popular. There are several tips and techniques to collecting this period. But to understand these tips, you first need to know about the history of this imaginative art form.

Comic books in the United States first started appearing in the early 1930s. These early comic books were just collection of newspaper strips. Then, in the late 1930s, comic books started creating their own characters - most notably Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. By World War 2 (1939-1945) there were hundreds and hundreds of superhero comics. (Most of them forgotten to today's audience ). This time period was considered the Golden Age.

Superhero comics disappeared after the war. The public was more interested in crime, romance, and horror. For a variety of reasons, however, Superhero comics came back in the late 1950s. In 1956, DC brought back an old character - the Flash - but reinvented him. He was no longer the same person (or the same looking character) as the Golden Age Flash.

Showcase #4 - the first appearance of the Silver Age Flash - spawned a new generation of superhero comics. DC reinvented most of their popular characters. Marvel followed suit. And other publishers did the same. The Silver Age of Comic Books had begun!

If you are interested in collecting comic books from the Silver Age, here are my top 5 tips.

Tip #1 - Make sure that you have the proper size bag and board to protect your investment. Not all bags and boards are created equal. Basically, comic books have been shrinking since the 1930s. Golden Age books are the widest; Modern books are the skinniest. And Silver Age Comic Books are right in between. So make sure you buy the right bags and boards or you'll ruin your comics. (They should be labeled "silver age" bags and boards).

Tip #2 - A quick way to determine whether a comic book is from the Silver Age is to look at the original cover price. If the price is 12 to 15 cents, it is probably from the silver age. Ten cent comic books were generally from the Golden Age (pre 1950s) and 25 cent comics were from the Bronze Age (1970s).

Tip #3 - Quality is extremely important! If you look at a price guide for a specific comic - you might see that the price ranges from $6.00 to $600.00. The spread is a result of condition. If the book looks pretty beat up - as if 10 or 20 people have already read it - then it is probably going to be worth the $6.00. (And you might be able to find it at a convention or store for $1.00 or $2.00). If instead, the book is mint - as if nobody has every touched it before or read it - then the comic might be worth the $600. Condition is one of the main drivers of value. (The other two drivers are scarcity and popularity).

Tip #4 - The best place to get silver age comic books is usually at a convention or through the internet. There are fewer and fewer stores that sell books from this time period. Most stores make their money on new stuff and don't want to take up floor space with older items. So if you want to find the best deals on the internet, use a search engine to search for "silver age comic books" and see what you can find. Or look for comic book conventions in your area to buy your comics.

Tip #5 - The most expensive Silver Age books are from DC and Marvel and tend to be superhero books. This is due to the fact that DC and Marvel have been publishing continually until the present day and have thus developed a large fan base for their characters (Batman, Superman, X-Men, Iron Man, Avengers, Hulk, Wonder Woman, etc). However, if you want to start your collection without paying an arm and a leg, you might try collecting other publishers besides Marvel and DC (Harvey, Dell, Gold Key, Charlton Comics) or try other genres besides superhero comics (Horror, Crime, Romance).

Mick Davin has been collecting comics since he was 10 years old. He used to own a comic book store but closed it recently. He now sells at conventions. Mick also runs a resource website devoted to Silver Age Comics.

 

The Silver Age of Comic Books

The Silver Age of comic books was a period that lasted roughly a decade and a half from 1956-1970. This period was notable for the drastic increase in popularity of comic books during that time. That increase in popularity came from several sources and the Silver Age of comics paved the way for comics for decades, still influencing comic books from today.

The Silver Age of comics stands out for its dramatically improved artwork. Finer detail was used and brighter colors were also used to make the characters and the action stand out better. The comics were action filled and the action jumped off the page. Even the format and story telling of the comics themselves were evolving to better portray emotion, story lines and action or dialogue scenes.

The biggest change from its preceding era, the Golden Age, was that in the Silver Age of comic books the focus was firmly on superheroes. Superheroes and the villains they battled were essentially the sole focus of comic books during this time period. Additionally, these superheroes were being made more human. The tales of how they became superheroes typically involved science fiction story lines, dramatic emotional and personal problems or both. This change in the plots, stories and characters of comics was spurred on by the Comics Code.

The Comics Code Authority was formed in 1954 in an effort to standardize and improve comic books for younger generations, after receiving national attention and criticism from politicians. The decree was to make comics less violent, less gory and less sexual. Therefore there had to be a change in the direction comics were moving, and that change focused all efforts onto the superhero genre.

By making the superheroes have dramatic events shaping their personalities or science fiction mishaps giving them extra abilities and powers, they made the characters more human. This gave the comic book characters more life, personality and background, and made it easier for people to become invested in them.

Some of the most popular comic book superheroes in the Silver Age were rehashed characters from decades past. They were revamped via the new Comics Code and the new artistic, creative and design capabilities of artists and writers. Characters such as Batman and Superman were remade in this method and would go on of course to extreme new heights of popularity and reach. Other superheroes and characters from the Silver Age are also still overwhelmingly popular. These include Spiderman, the Hulk, the Flash, Iron Man and the X-Men, among many other notables.

The exact time period engulfing the Silver Age is debated. It is largely conceded that the 1956 re-introduction of the Flash started the beginning of the period. The end of the period is demarked over several years, including the retirements and departures of several prominent producers and editors in 1970, the changing of rules by the Comics Code Authority in 1971 and the departure of Stan Lee from Marvel Comics in 1972.

As with all good things that must come to an end, the Silver Age of Comic Books did, but not until it reshaped how we view comics today. That time period alone is responsible for the superheroes young boys and girls look up to today.

Jay Villaverde is the owner of Comic Book Superheroes [http://www.comicbooksuperheroes.net] A site dedicated to kids of all ages, as well as collectors. Carrying everything from rare Marvel comic books [http://www.comicbooksuperheroes.net] to classic Superhero comics, you'll find something of interest at Comic Book Superheroes.