Comic Book Values - How to Quickly Find the Value of Any Comic Book

Are you looking for a price guide to find the value of one or more comic books? There's so much information online you can be quickly overwhelmed. Don't be afraid! In this article we'll break the value process down to a few easy steps and you'll know if you have trash or treasure in no time at all.

The first key to finding the value of a comic book is organization. What this means is you must accurately describe your comic books in a way that collectors and dealers will be familiar with and will ease the process of looking up the value online or in a price guide. You can think of this as speaking the comic book collecting "lingo."

An accurate description of a comic book includes the title, volume number if applicable, the issue number and the grade or condition.

Comic Book Values - How to Quickly Find the Value of Any Comic Book

The title and issue number of a comic book is usually self explanatory. Some examples are Amazing Spider-man 134, Superman 300, or X-men 94. You can run into trouble if there are multiple volumes of a comic. For example, Punisher Volume 2 Number 1. Comic book publishers have "reintroduced" several titles in recent years and started back at issue number 1. A number 1 that is from the first volume can have a very different price than a number 1 from a later volume or year of publishing. Be careful you have the correct volume number. If there is only one volume number you don't need to include that fact in your description.

Once you have the title and issue number you're ready to move on to the condition or grade of the comic book.

Comic book grading is one of the most controversial areas for collectors because it is somewhat of a subjective process. If you have a large collection and are serious about becoming a comic book collector you should pick up a copy of the Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide. For our purposes we'll concentrate on the few main grades you should be familiar with.

The first grade you should know is Near Mint, abbreviated NM. This is the grade most people look at in the price guide because it's the big number! The only problem is most old comic books and many newer issues aren't in near mint condition. A near mint comic book is like new with almost no flaws. If there are flaws on the comic they are almost imperceptible to the naked, untrained eye. Just think of a comic book that is not only newsstand fresh, but one of the best examples you see on the shelves.

Next, you should know Very Fine, abbreviated VF. This condition also looks almost new, with very few flaws. You will probably be able to see one or more very small imperfections. Most novices call very fine comic books near mint. Be careful.

You should also be familiar with the most common grade comic book and that is Very Good (VG). If you go to an antique store or flea market, your average old comic book will typically be very good condition. The book is well-read with many flaws, but still complete.

Any book that has pieces missing or is incomplete will fall into the final category, Fair or Poor.

Once you have accurate description of your comics - title, issue number and grade - you are ready to find the value.

The first place to look is the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. This guide is used by most collectors and dealers in the industry and is a great starting point. There are some issues with the guide, but that is the subject of another article. With the "Overstreet" you will have a ball park idea if your comic books have any value or if they are destined for a 25 cent box.

You now have a great start to begin your comic book value quest. Good luck and maybe you have some treasure lurking in your collection!

Comic Book Values - How to Quickly Find the Value of Any Comic Book
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Sean R Jones has been a buyer, seller and collector of rare comic books for over 30 years. He is the author of several collecting books and active on E-bay and at major conventions. For a online copy of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide plus a free video course about how to find comic book values, visit http://www.comicbooksecrets.com

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Reverse Glass Painting - Centuries Old Art Form

Reverse glass painting is the art of painting an image on the reverse side of a piece of glass or glass object so that the image can be viewed from the unpainted side. It has been done since early in the sixteenth century in Europe, and was known in China during the early 18th century.

This style of painting has been used for religious art, abstract art, clock faces, realistic landscapes, and scenes with people and portraits. It is a very exacting art form, especially when done as a realistic painting. The image is actually painted in reverse order on the glass. The finishing details of the painting must be put on the glass first, and must be done accurately as this is immediately covered with the next phase of the painting. So for a portrait reverse glass painting, the pupil of the eye would be painted first, then the eye, and so on in reverse order, finishing with the background. When the glass is turned over, the actual intended image is viewed from the unpainted side. Unlike stained glass, these paintings are meant to be mounted on a wall with light shown on them, instead of light going through them.

As best as art historians can determine, reverse glass painting evolved in Austria, the Black Forest region, and Romania in central Europe. And northern Spain, central and southern Italy in southern Europe. These paintings were generally created in small village family workshops, with fewer paintings produced by larger shops in large cities. Many of the images painted were of religious subjects in the beginning of the art form.

Reverse Glass Painting - Centuries Old Art Form

In the early 19th century the art form spread to other areas and appeared in the Middle East and West Africa. Areas where Islam flourished produced many reverse glass paintings. These paintings depicted scenes from Old Testament stories, stories and quotations from the Qu'ran.

The first documentation of reverse glass painting in China is in the writings of some Jesuit missionaries stationed there in the middle of the 18th century. Some say that it was the missionaries themselves that introduced the art in China, but art historians doubt that. The missionaries wrote about various art forms known in China when they arrived, and reverse glass painting was already being done in China upon their arrival. The exact time when the art form reached China is not documented in any known Chinese art history literature. There is evidence that Chinese glass painting was never considered a serious form of art by the Chinese themselves. Glass paintings used in China were usually located in restaurants or other public places and seldom in homes of the Chinese themselves. Much of it was also done for sale to tourists and foreigners.

With the innovations of photography and forms of printing in the middle of the 19th century, glass painting began to decline. There has been a recent resurgence in the art form, and reverse glass paintings are now being done in China, India and the world over.

Reverse Glass Painting - Centuries Old Art Form
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Alan Beggerow is a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com

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Starting Out With Mixed Media Art - Creativity is at Everyone's Fingertips

Mixed Media Art is a creative outlet that is available to everyone, regardless of your artist skill level and what materials you have at hand. While there are many techniques and skills you will develop as you progress, all you need to begin is the desire to create something.

What is Mixed Media Art?

"Mixed media art" is a broad definition that covers many arts and crafts, including handmade cards, collage, altered objects (like books or boxes), book making and art journalling, to name a few. Even scrapbooking can fall under this category; you're using papers and photos and other bits and pieces - therefore you are using "mixed media".

Starting Out With Mixed Media Art - Creativity is at Everyone's Fingertips

What do I need to get started?

The great thing about creating a piece of mixed media art is the flexibility to start with things around you. To get started you need a substrate or base. This could be a nice sheet of paper or cardboard, a sketchbook, a cereal box or anything else that you have at hand. Then you'll need something to stick with - glue sticks are fine to begin with. Coloured papers, pictures and anything else that grabs your eye can then be stuck onto the base. This is the collage part of the mixed media art genre.

If you are more interested in drawing or painting, then when you have your base or substrate, you'll need something to make a mark, whether its pencils, paints, crayons, markers or pastels. All of these things can be used in different ways to achieve varied effects. And they can be used in combination or separately. Of course, as we are aiming for "mixed" media, then the more different tools you used the more mixed it will be.

Another attractive feature of Mixed Media Art is that you don't need fine art or drawing skills. That doesn't mean you are excluded from mixed media art if you do have these skills, but it opens up a world of creativity for the rest of us who like to make things but "Can't draw". To get started is as simple as being able to use a pencil, scissors and glue. These skills will expand and develop with practice. More complicated skills of mixing paints and developing your "artist eye" will happen as you expand your own creativity. Specific skills for particular media or art types will present themselves as you move into these areas. As with many things in life, the techniques and teachers will appear when you are ready.

Where do you suggest I start?

Let's begin with a simple project, using materials that aren't too expensive. For some people it's hard to start if we feel we are "wasting" our things while trying something new. With simple starting materials, those new to mixed media projects can jump in without worrying about this aspect.

Find an old cereal box, cut carefully along the folds and cut off the tab ends, so you are left with a good sized, flat piece of cardboard. Place it on a flat surface, with the inner, non-printed side facing you. Dig out your paints and paint brushes, and choose two or three colours that take your fancy. If you are not confident is combing colours, choose one colour with three different shades. Then get painting! You don't need a pallet; either squeeze a little paint out straight onto the surface or squeeze a little up that can be taken onto the brush. Don't feel shy - create swirls and lines and squiggles. Just get a good coverage of paint around the piece of card board. It doesn't have to be completely covered. Leave that to dry for a bit, then add the next colour. After drying, repeat with the third colour. Leave the piece to dry completely. If it buckles a little, sit it under a heavy book and it will flatten out again.

By waiting for each layer to dry, each colour will get it's own space and not blend with the other colours. I often work from lightest colour to darkest, using less paint on each layer. But there are no rights or wrongs with this process; just go with what feels good for you.

Now gather up your bits and pieces. Often a mixed media piece will contain an image, some words or text and a few pretty things or embellishments. Lay these out on your piece and get the feel for how your bits sit and mix with the other bits. Try moving some parts to overlap other items. When you are happy with the arrangement, start glueing layers down. Remember to start with the bottom most pieces first. Once all bits are glue down, leave to dry.

And now you have done it - you have created your first piece of mixed media art! Make it the first of many!

You will only get better with more practice. So, happy creating!

Starting Out With Mixed Media Art - Creativity is at Everyone's Fingertips
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Check For 100 New Release & BestSeller Books For Your Collection

Michelle Brown is a mother and an engineer, who is passionate about all aspects of mixed media art.

Mixed Media Art

What is Mixed Media Art?

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