On the Move: Are comics even worth keeping?

About one month from now, I’ll be moving to a new house. It’s across the county, but when you’re dealing with 20 or 30 comic book boxes, it might as well be across the country.

I can’t say that I’m looking forward to transporting them all out of my current basement, up a flight of stairs and into a van, only to take them from the van, up two flights of stairs and into my new attic.

That will make for some really sore shoulders on that day, I can tell you.

Once they’re all up there, I’ve then got a big project on my hands: I’ve got to insulate the attic and build shelves to support hold them. It’s not exactly the most important task in the world. Sure, I’ve got plenty of comics, but I don’t have too many worth more than $10 a piece. And I have a lot more that I could only sell for less than cover price than I do those that have appreciated even a small amount.

This thought might make some people ask: Why bother keeping them? They aren’t going to be worth anything. They’re just a waste of space.

Well they’re worth more to me than their cover prices. Over time, comic books have become a huge part of my life. I take them with me on vacations. I read them on my lunch break. I wonder if Captain America could beat Batman. I spend time drawing my favorite characters, just because I like them.

My hobby is comic books. Not just collecting comic books. Not just reading comic books. Not just drawing comic books.

No. My hobby is comic books. Everything about them — from the medium’s history to the stories of their creators to the intricate technobabble that explains how a man can fly — is special to me.

I keep them to look at them again and again. Others won’t ever be read again. Some of them I’ve read a dozen times. A few might be dug out and reread, just because something sparked my interest. 

Whenever I weed through my books to get more space, I agonize over each “cut.” What happens if this character suddenly becomes the next big thing?  What happens if this lame-ass story from 20 years ago suddenly turns out to be a pivotal moment in comics’ history?

Sure, they waste a lot of space.

Sure, a box of comics is really heavy. And 30 boxes of them are agonizing.

But they’re worth it. They’re my hobby, and like a lifelong best friend and I can’t abandon them just because I’m leaving town.