Standard Catalog of Comic Books (Paperback)

~ John Miller (Author), Maggie Thompson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

As the demand for new and vintage comic books soars, Standard Catalog of(r) Comic Books delivers an unparalleled volume of comic book history and up-to-date prices.

Now in its 4th edition, this reference features more than 5,000 new issues and over 50,000 new facts about comic books published in North America in the last 70 years. Each listing provides collectors and dealers with original price, cover date, creator names, story titles, character appearances, original print runs, sales figures, and more. This edition gives enthusiasts something they won't find in any other comic book guide - updated information from the monthly price guide magazine, Comics Buyer's Guide, the world's longest-running comics magazine.

-2,000 photos assist collectors with quick identification

-Prices based on online auctions and sales data

-5,000+ new issues are featured in this collectors' favorite

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1608 pages
• Publisher: Krause Publications; 4 edition (September 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087349993X
• ISBN-13: 978-0873499934
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 2.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #814,996 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great big reference book, July 11, 2002

By	Andrew Huey (Somerville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Standard Catalog of Comic Books (Paperback)

This thing is a monster. It has details on nearly every comic published, through to September 2001 or so. Besides the usual pricing information, if also includes circulation info (for some titles) and CGC info (how many copies have been CGC'd, and what the highest grade is). Many titles have a short series synopsis included, with information on storylines, creators, and anything else that might be interesting about a title.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BUILDING A BETTER COMIC GUIDE, December 12, 2005

By	Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The Overstreet Comic Price Guide has been around so long that it's become ubiquitous in the industry. It's the default standard of most collectors. Now while Krause Publications does out their own yearly price guide, the Standard Catalog of Comics is a whole other animal. This massive, 1600 plus page tome lists more comic titles than any other guide at over 165,000 comics, far more than any other guide going, and includes hundreds of variant issues. The Standard Catalog of Comics is the blue collar guide to comics. It isn't filled with fluff articles about Superman or Archie, this is a guide designed for and by comic book collectors and enthusiasts.

First, this book does a far better job of explaining comic grading and conditions than Overstreet, and features close-up photos of standard defects such as creasing, spine-roll, rusty staples, and stress creases. But what really sets The Standard Catalog apart from its competitor is it's pricing data. With Overstreet, we get dozens of pages of retailer reports offering their opinions and a handful of recorded sales that to me has always been fairly useless. Today, the internet, and particularly eBay has changed the way comics are bought and sold and pretty much replace retail shops and conventions as the preferred place to buy and sell back issues. What this book provides is real date culled from real sales, and a lot of it.

What the editors have done is to track up to 25 recent auction closings for various combinations of CGC graded comics. For example, Daredevil #1 had at 25 reported closings in a condition of CGC 6.0 over the evaluation period. These books closed with a low of $455, a high of $911, and an average of $640. In another example, Marvel Team-Up #24 had 4 closing (and three is the minimum used for reporting) in a grade of CGC 9.8. The high was $147. Now this book in standard NM condition is only valued at $8 so you can see the wide disparity in slabbed comic books. This is real world data that is invaluable to collectors like myself who have moved to eBay to buy and sell comics. Where there is no auction data each book is given only a NM grade and then there is a chart to calculate the value of a book in lower grade. This information comes from the Comic Base, as well as convention and mail order sales. Purists may be bothered by that but really, what more does one need? The CGC data is what is going to appeal to most collectors anyway.

Another thing setting the Standard Catalog apart is its circulation data. With records of capital City and Diamond orders along with the publisher's statement of ownership figures, circulation totals are provided for thousands of comics. Now you can know just how many copies of the supposed "rare" title were distributed. Again, this is invaluable information for collectors. Listed for issues are items such as notable character appearances, events, origins, first appearances, artist/writer credits, they even list the title of the story for hundreds of thousands of individual issues. In addition brief capsule essays are provided for nearly all mainstream comic titles.

The book is clearly and concisely written. The information is provided in a well laid out format and is easy to follow and locate. Is it perfect? Well not quite. While there are over 2,000 comic photos that only averages to just over one per page and more photos would have been welcome. Still the wealth of valuable information in the book makes it absolutely indispensable for any comic book collector and should be in the possession of anyone who is series about comics.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than prices, October 15, 2005

By	Madelyn Pryor "Goblyn Queen" (Mesa, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This book is so much more than a price guide. Don't get me wrong, as a comic book price guide it's a good one, not only giving you the average comic store retail value of books, but that the average online auction value is in several CGC grades. It's fair and accurate on most books, though it doesn't give insanely high values to some of the `hot new' books. Also, it has individual listings for each comic book with check boxes by every issue so you can keep track of what you have and what you need.

But this 5.5 pound monster isn't just about how much your comic is worth. For most series it gives a background and description of the series. It tells you who wrote and drew every single comic, and it even has how many issues were printed for most comics.

Newcomers to comic books can enjoy this rich wealth of comic book information but I believe the long time comic book fanatic will best enjoy it. For the long time fan this book will not only help you keep track of your vast collection, but it will allow you an opportunity to discover new comic series. It will reacquaint you with lost comic book loves, and it will provide you hours of reading.

This is a must have for every comic book fan new and seasoned, young and old. I can't recommend this enough!