![]() It’s now grown so big that shops around the country have turned to him for help. Ali Karaouni, the owner of on Instagram, started his comic book consignment shop based in Sacramento, California a few years ago as a part-time job. With very limited options to buy comics in the Philippines, he turned online. Since then, he’s been snatching up issues of “Amazing Spider-Man” in hopes of cobbling a full run together. and I wanted him to grow up around these great stories and to have that experience of going to the local comic shop and hunting through dollar bins,” he said. “I had always wanted to name our son Parker (after Peter Parker). A year ago, when he and his wife found out they were expecting, he dug out an old pile of comics stashed at his parents’ house. After school, Cu moved back to the Philippines and forgot about comic books for a while. Visiting shops like New England Comics, The Million Year Picnic in Harvard Square and Comicopia, located just down the street from his dorm. A former student at Boston University, Cu said his time in Boston was his most memorable time in collecting books. Famous Funnies #209 featuring Buck Rogers. When it’s working well, the auctions feel like a small invite-only party where you’re free to nerd out. As the bids climb higher and higher on hard-to-find books, Marlin will throw in $10 to $20 “buy it now” books, cool variant covers or smaller keys for onlookers to snatch up. The seller, of course, gets a sale and a chance to build their audience of possible consignors and buyers. Hunters get a shot at something they’d either never see at their local shop or would have to overpay for on eBay. Hot books are important in a market that fluctuates week to week and featuring them is mutually beneficial for both sellers and buyers. In the wake of Sony's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' film, this issue has skyrocketed. Two weeks ago, during Marlin’s 27th consecutive weekly auction, he drew his biggest crowd yet, more than 90 livestreamers tuned in to see the first appearance of the Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales auctioned off. I'm just a small part of that ecosystem." Maybe it's partly the extra time or the anxiety. "If anything, I think in times of uncertainty, people tend to turn to their hobbies even more. "He said, 'even in a downturn, comics tend to be recession-proof," Marlin recalls. But, as he saw buyers flock to his auctions week to week, he remembered something his cousin, a seasoned collector, had told him. ![]() When he started, Marlin was unsure of how long his stint as an auctioneer might last and said he panicked when the quarantine began. “I thought we’d see a dip in volume but there’s been a lot of buying and selling,” he said. Many of his customers at Avery Comic Pressing “slab” (encasing them in hard plastic) their rare or high-grade comics to keep them preserved, in many cases for investment purposes. With people quarantined at home, buyers and sellers have flooded the online market.Īccording to Josh Avery, a comic book presser and cleaner in Harwich, Massachusetts, the market has never been busier. (Courtesy)Įven before the pandemic took hold in March, comic book sellers had been dipping their toes into social media sales. One of Josh Avery's prized comic books, a copy of Famous Funnies #211, with a cover by the great Frank Frazetta. These auctions and claim sales range from low-key, $1 book offerings to epic, mega-key “grail” sales, dishing out the likes of ultra-rare and valuable books like Avengers #1, Hulk #181 and X-Men #1. Tapping into local sources, buying online and digging into their own personal collections, this new generation of online sellers has been quick to meet the demand of picky collectors while pocketing some cash along the way. While it might seem likely that larger stores - with already established clientele and a larger web presence - would take the lead, for the most part, it’s been the smaller, more nimble sellers, like Marlin (aka on Instagram) who have been taking advantage of the burgeoning comic book market on Instagram and Facebook. But with stores closed due to the pandemic, sellers and buyers have been forced to move online. With the ascension of characters like Iron Man, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and Venom into the mainstream, there has come an insatiable demand for their first appearances, rare variants and key issues. While comic books have always been rife with opportunities for niche businesses, they've been experiencing a surge in popularity thanks to the pop culture boom of superhero movies and TV more recently. (Courtesy) This article is more than 2 years old.Īfter three hours of listing off issue numbers, condition and collectible significance of more than four dozen comic books, Brighton resident Matt Marlin is exhausted, but there's no rest (and seemingly no sleep) for the ravenous comic book community.
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