The Silver Age of comics ran from 1955 to 1970. It was a period when superhero books became popular. There are various tips and techniques for collecting this period. But to understand these tips, you must first know the history of this imaginative art form.

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

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

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

If you’re interested in collecting Silver Age comics, here are my top 5 tips.

Tip No. # 1: Make sure you have the right size bag and board to protect your investment. Not all bags and boards are the same. Basically, comics have been shrinking since the 1930s. The Golden Age books are the most extensive; Modern books are the thinnest. And the Silver Age comics are in the middle. So make sure you buy the right bags and boards or you will ruin your comics. (They should be labeled “silver age” bags and boards).

Tip No. # 2: A quick way to determine if a comic 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 hundred comic books were generally from the Golden Age (before the 1950s) and the 25 cent comics were from the Bronze Age (1970).

Tip No. 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. Spread is the result of disease. If the book looks pretty rundown, like 10 or 20 people have already read it, then it will probably 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 perfect, as if no one has ever touched or read it before, then the comic could be worth $ 600. Condition is one of the main drivers of value. (The other two factors are scarcity and popularity.)

Tip No. # 4: The best place to get Silver Age comics is usually at a convention or online. There are fewer and fewer stores selling books from this time period. Most stores make money off new items 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 comics” and see what you can find. Or look for comic book conventions in your area to purchase your comics.

Tip No. 5 – The most expensive books from the Silver Age are from DC and Marvel and tend to be superhero books. This is due to the fact that DC and Marvel have been posting continuously to this day and thus have 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 can try collecting other publishers besides Marvel and DC (Harvey, Dell, Gold Key, Charlton Comics) or trying other genres besides superhero comics (Horror, Crime, Romance).