The Standard Catalog of Comic Books

John Jackson Miller, Brent Frankenhoff, Maggie Thompson, Peter Bickford

ISBN 10: 0873419162 / ISBN 13: 9780873419161

Published by Krause Publications, 2002

Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. NOT AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. Seller Inventory # T08A-03825

Synopsis:

No publication in the history of collecting has included more information on more comic books than the Standard Catalog of® Comic Books. Years in the making, this is the “Manhattan Project” of comics collecting books, covering more than 165,000 comic books published in North America since 1900!

The catalog lists not just the issue and after-market price, but also lists the writers and artists who created them as well. Plus, it includes the original print runs for thousands of comics, as well as the number of comics graded by Comics Guaranty Corporation.

Every comic book has a checklist box for easy use as a handy collector’s utility—and this book is great reading, with page after page of reviews of some of the most famous (and infamous) comics in history.

• Includes facts about more than 165,000 comic books published since 1900

• Covers after-market prices, writers, artists, original print runs, character appearances, story titles, and number of comics graded by Comics Guaranty Corporation

• Handy collector’s utility, designed as a tool for storing a collection

Reviews: The publisher of the weekly Comics Buyers Guide, Krause releases an annual CBG Checklist and Price Guide as a competitor to the long-running standard, The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. Now, Krause has combined the annual guide with information in the CD-ROM "ComicBase" (from Human Computing) and much new research to compile this massive volume. With over 145,000 entries, it attempts to list all English-language comics sold in America, all English-language graphic novels and comic-book reprint collections published in North America, many giveaway comics, and magazines such as MAD and Heavy Metal that feature extensive comics content. For each listing, it gives the title, publisher, original cover price (in all but a few cases), and value in near-mint condition, with a multiplier given to determine prices in higher and lower grades. In most cases it also provides a cover date, and for some comics it gives story titles, writer and artist names, character appearances, and circulation information collected from publishers and distributors. There are also over 2200 short reviews of selected series, each illustrated with a sample picture. The catalog also supplies data on comics that have been graded by Comics Guaranty LLC, a third-party service that has been evaluating comics since 2000, and also gives a general multiplier showing how much this grading increases the average sale price. Spot-checking reveals some missing books (such as the "Elfquest Readers Collection" series) and some minor errors (the first Blackhawk series is attributed to DC when it was initially published by Quality), but some mistakes are inevitable in an undertaking of this scope. A comparison with the latest edition of The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (2002. 32d ed.) shows that both contain much exclusive information. Overstreet does not include reviews or circulation data, but it has an exclusive section on pre-1933 comics-related publications. Also, it generally provides better cross references from one series to another and contains much exclusive descriptive information, including notes on character appearances and the scarcity of certain comics. But the Standard CatalogR includes many black-and-white comics, including manga, that are not included in Overstreet. The prices listed in Overstreet are generally the higher of the two: as an extreme example, if anyone finds copies of Limited Collector's Edition #C-20 (the first Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer treasury edition) for sale at the $3 price quoted by Krause, this reviewer will take 30-Overstreet lists it at $310. Highly recommended for all libraries as a supplement to, but not a replacement for, the Overstreet guide.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Standard Catalog of Comic Books
Publisher: Krause Publications
Publication Date: 2002
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Very Good