Which's 'More Funner' for You? 1 1

[theCapraAegagrus]

I have a lot of collecting goals. I also have a lot of time to complete them. As we all know, though, time is the enemy!

Which pays off more to you?

Collecting keys of a certain Age, or collecting a run of a certain Age?

Debating with myself if I wanna go after more Marvel SA keys, or Iron Man SA run, or start Spawn, etc.

[Ken Aldred]

I have a very broad interest in comics from all eras, publishers and genres, so for me there's always been the difficulty of keeping focused on one particular objective.

I don't feel that I have enough time or financial resources to complete anything particularly ambitious now that I'm in my fifties, and I'd rather just be free to read anything I want digitally.  I obtained pretty much all of the mainstream keys I really want years ago, before the film speculation price rises.  Very different to how I started in the 70s, when I was more focused on runs, especially X-Men and Conan, rather than an unconnected range of specific issues that mean the most to me.  

In theory now, I'd do something a bit different, such as complete my 9.4 to 9.6 Richard Corben underground comic collection.  That would be an interesting project.

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by Ken Aldred

[marvelmaniac]

I am a run collector, my OCD would not allow me to just collect random books with no semblance of order/sequence or reasoning, thats just chaos.

CHAOS; disorder, disarray, disorganization, confusion, mayhem, bedlam, pandemonium, madness, havoc, turmoil, tumult, commotion, disruption, upheaval...

Just kidding...  , but seriously...

It all depends on your collecting goals, are you looking to be the first kid on the block with ALL of the Silver Age Keys, are these books being bought as an investment for you, your spouse or your children or do you want to read and enjoy a continuous storyline?

Me, I would want both, the continuous storyline and the keys that go with that run. however I know first hand how hard it is to choose, human nature says we want it all.

"Assuming" money is not an issue, which will make you the happiest?

[theCapraAegagrus]

1 minute ago, marvelmaniac said:

...It all depends on your collecting goals, are you looking to be the first kid on the block with ALL of the Silver Age Keys, are these books being bought as an investment for you, your spouse or your children or do you want to read and enjoy a continuous storyline?

Me, I would want both, the continuous storyline and the keys that go with that run. however I know first hand how hard it is to choose, human nature says we want it all.

"Assuming" money is not an issue, which will make you the happiest?

I don't want "all" of the SA keys. There are more than a couple I'd like to have, though. I don't "invest" in comics, so that isn't a factor.

I'm just looking for some sage advice. Were collectors happier when they got the 10 keys they'd been looking for, or were they happier putting together Captain America #100-200?

This is more of a graded quest. The expense of Cap #100 is about the same as Iron Man #2-5 or something like that. Money isn't a hurdle long-term. Just looking to see which direction to head first, in the short-term. Basically trying to prioritize goals.

[marvelmaniac]

I have always looked to complete runs and in the computer age that became much easier than before the internet when I had to buy what I could find/afford at the LCS or local show.

I do however remember the excitement and joy    I felt when I walked into an LCS and there was a new (old) book on display or in the bin that I needed/wanted that was not there the month before, the hunt and finally finding "that book" and the joy that it brought me was a big part of collecting for me, eBay and the internet kind of took that away.

Look deep down inside, what will bring you the most joy and excitement and make you feel like a kid again?

[theCapraAegagrus]

8 minutes ago, marvelmaniac said:

Look deep down inside, what will bring you the most joy and excitement and make you feel like a kid again?

Hitting my older brother in the head with a metal baseball bat. Beating up my younger brother for crying to Mom all the time.

[marvelmaniac]

11 minutes ago, TwoPiece said:

Hitting my older brother in the head with a metal baseball bat. Beating up my younger brother for crying to Mom all the time.

Just an FYI...

IMO "REAL" baseball bats are made of wood, there is nothing like the sound of the crack of the bat when it connects with the ball or your brothers head.  , again, just kidding.

[theCapraAegagrus]

2 minutes ago, marvelmaniac said:

Just an FYI...

IMO "REAL" baseball bats are made of wood, there is nothing like the sound of the crack of the bat when it connects with the ball or your brothers head.  , again, just kidding.

I did it when I was 6, I think. Not sure why we had a metal one... I had aluminum hockey sticks back then, though.

I'm leaning towards going for completing Iron Man Vol. 1 instead of other SA keys.

[Krismusic]

26 minutes ago, marvelmaniac said:

I have always looked to complete runs and in the computer age that became much easier than before the internet when I had to buy what I could find/afford at the LCS or local show.

I do however remember the excitement and joy    I felt when I walked into an LCS and there was a new (old) book on display or in the bin that I needed/wanted that was not there the month before, the hunt and finally finding "that book" and the joy that it brought me was a big part of collecting for me, eBay and the internet kind of took that away.

Look deep down inside, what will bring you the most joy and excitement and make you feel like a kid again?

I feel exactly the same way I would love to have Keys and the full runs but money will limit that and time but I might over come it with time and money . 

But I get excited when I am close to finishing a run and you find that one book or you hunt for a while to get that one book for a deal. For me its about completing the collection and the hunt for that missing book as I am not to hung up on high grades or PQ but more of the fun for me is getting that last book I need 3 more for my ASM 1-100 and as I kept ticking off those books it was more exciting than getting that huge key ASM 2 and ASM 3 separately. I had a more lasting fun time searching for the "filler" as the filler can vary in prices and in ways to hunt them bulk buy or individual buy etc.. 

[marvelmaniac]

Sounds like a good plan.

You can possibly do both since "most" of the Iron Man books are probably not pricey unless you are looking for all 9.4's and up. keep an eye out and if you spot a Silver Age Key you want at the right price, grab it.

[theCapraAegagrus]

2 minutes ago, marvelmaniac said:

Sounds like a good plan.

You can possibly do both since "most" of the Iron Man books are probably not pricey unless you are looking for all 9.4's and up. keep an eye out and if you spot a Silver Age Key you want at the right price, grab it.

Actually, yeah, I'll be looking specifically for 9.4s. I'd like the entire run to be in the same condition (as I also have OCD)...

[marvelmaniac]

As long as its only OCD, according to my Son's wife he has CDO because it has to be in alphabetical order.

Good Luck in your hunt and Enjoy!!!

[Mercury Man]

I like runs, even though it probably cuts into my ability to hoard cash for a key.   I like being a Marvel Historian so to speak, and being able to say...watch the movies and know the history of characters, or roughly when something happened in the comic history occurred, is fun for me.  Granted it nets me zero cool points with my wife, but she already married me, so joke is on her. 

[evilskip]

I'm not a completest. I just buy books that I either want to read(the cheap stuff) or silver age stories that bring back fond memories.

I would love to upgrade my Iron Man #1, but that ain't going to happen.

[HuddyBee]

I first start by collecting some keys. For example if I was collecting SA Marvel keys (which I never would) I would end up buying Iron Man #1, and possibly some other Iron Man keys as well and just some all-around filler books. From their I'd look at my collection and go, "Huh I could do an Iron man run," and then complete the run. One thing leads to another. That is how I completed my The Atom, Aquaman, and Hawkman runs.

While I haven't put a ton of runs together. Putting one together is very satisfying. And I would much rather have say my Hawkman run then most of my other random DC SA keys.

[piper]

I get more satisfaction out of collecting SA keys or classic GA covers.  There were three notable exceptions for nostalgia reasons (ASM 1-700, Phantom Stranger 1-6 & 1-42, What If V1).

[theCapraAegagrus]

Appreciate the input, friends.

I think going after the Iron Man keys first (like #55), rather than 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 etc, makes a lot of sense.

I'm actually more excited to start this journey than I would be going after multiple character keys. Especially since a lot of first appearances are out of reach for me like The Incredible Hulk.

Iron Man it is!