If you’re starting to amass a sizable comic collection, you’re probably not exactly sure which comic books you have. When you go to buy comics, it can become easy to purchase issues you already have. Or if someone is interested in buying some of your comics, you may not even know if you have the ones they are looking for.
The solution to this is organization and record-keeping. It may seem unnecessary to apply business practices to a hobby, but you’ll find it makes the collecting process less frustrating and more rewarding.
Step 1: Getting Organized
There’s no way to know what comics you own if they are scattered about your house in loose stacks or shoved into all the crevices in your bookcase. So first of all, you need to invest in some comic boxes (found at any comic shop) and put all your comics in them.
While it seems like a no-brainer, you also need to sort your comics according to series and in numerical order. In other words, all Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight go together, starting with the earliest issue you have and progressing numerically. These should be separate from Batman: Shadow of the Bat, since they are separate series.
If you’re not sure what series a comic belongs to or you can’t find its issue number, open the comic to the first page and check the fine print at the bottom. Both items will be listed there.
You may also want to arrange your comic book series in alphabetical order. That will make it far easier to find comics you’re looking for.
It also helps to label the outside of your comic boxes, writing what series are in the box. This way you don’t have to open the boxes and sort through them to see what is inside. I recommend using a sticky note or some other removable memo for this purpose as what is inside the box may change if you purchase more comics and need to make room for them.
Step 2: Keeping Records
Writing down what comics you own is an excellent way to quickly access your entire collection. It also serves as a way to carry your collection with you. If you have a portable record of what comics you own, you are far less likely to buy comics you already have.
The very best way to keep a record of your collection is digitally. I prefer a spreadsheet program like Excel. With a spreadsheet program you can arrange your collection into columns and tables. This allows you to quickly create a list of every issue in a large comic series without having to type each number individually.
This works much the same way as the comic retail site www.milehighcomics.com. They list every issue in a series on a table. The ones they have in stock are highlighted in some way. Your comic record can work the similarly. All you need to do is differentiate within the program between the comics you own and the comics left to purchase in the series. You can do this through a highlight color or a different colored text. Then, when you purchase a new comic in that series, you simply change that issue number’s color on the table to show that you own it.
Obviously, you don’t want to take a stack of printed Excel sheets with you whenever you shop for comics. And you don’t want to print out a new version every time you buy more comics. So if you have the option, you should download your program onto a portable device (a phone or Ipad).
If that is not an option, then I suggest taking a smaller, more condensed, handwritten version of your comic record with you. Use a pencil, so you can change things as necessary, and only write down series that you are currently interested in.
Step 3: Keep it Up
These guidelines will only work if you maintain them. Every time you purchase comics, you need to record what you bought and keep them organized.
Obviously, all of this is not necessary if you only have a few comics, and you don’t really plan on amassing a large collection. This guide is only necessary if you’re serious about comic collecting as a hobby, and you’ll find that it makes it far easier to enjoy that hobby.