Collectors might choose to build their collections on characters from Batman, Superman, Spider Man, or even X-Men. Every collector of comic books at some point will remember purchasing their first comic book and discovering the simple pleasure of reading about a variety of super heroes as they go through a variety of twist and trials while battling the bad guy. There are several characters that stand out as being considered as must have comic books, such as Spider Man.

When Marvel Comics released the Amazing Spider Man No. 121 in June of 1973, readers where shocked at what they found and thought this might be an end to Spider Man. Gwen Stacy, who was the love of Spider Man, was killed by the Green Goblin and this became truly controversial. In fact, fans were convinced this was the end of what they once knew, but this story line actually crossed over two complete issues. Marvel comic books was changed with the death of major characters, but Spider Man was not the only comic book that killed off major characters. In the X-Men storyline that began in 1976, which was also known as the Dark Phoenix Saga, it ended with the death of Jean Grey, who was one of the most popular X-Men ever. This storyline turned out to be the most popular story lines ever produced in the history of Marvel comic books.

Different year of production of comic books are known as different periods, such as the late 1950s to the 1960s was known as the Silver Age, while the early 1970s to the early 1980s was known as the Bronze Age. The early 1980s to the early 1990s was known as the Cooper Age and the mid 1990s to comic books that are presently being produced are known are the Modern Age. The Golden Age of comic books was during the anything prior to the early 1950s,. If a collector attempted to collect every single issue of Superman from the Golden Age to the Modern Age there would be seventy years of comics to collect and way over a million dollars to invest.

The best way to build a collection of comic books is by taking your time, and like the old saying goes Rome was not built in a day. Start your collection by slowly purchasing back issues of your favorite titles one by one. Purchasing comic books for your collection this way will enable you to determine any changes within the storyline, because when a storyline begins and then one ends in a comic book it is known as a story arc. The new story arcs are simply the best places for new readers to start their collections due to these seem to be the issues that are more popular.

Of course, comic books that were the first issues in a series and star popular guest characters like Batman, Superman, Spider Man, or Wolverine are normally the one that will increase the most in value in the end, but are also the ones that investment collectors search for too. Like any collectible, the best way to ensure your collection will maintain its worth is to store them in their best possible condition, which should be mint condition.