Book Review: 2003 Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide
Every comic book collector needs one.
Good price guides are hard to get, and once you find one, stick with it.
The "2003 Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide" is a keeper. Now in its 9th edition, team Krause (Maggie Thompson, Brent Frankenhoff, Peter Brickford, and John Miller), have produced a great resource for the comic collector.
Including more than 100,000 comic book listings from 1961 to present, this edition actually lets you write in it! Each listing includes a box for you to check if you have that issue. Listings include three pricing levels of good, fine, and near mint. Each title is accompanied by publisher, and listing with cover date to help identify erroneous issues. An informative article by Maggie Thompson introduces the collector to comic grading, complete with photographs to clarify definitions and appearances. New to this volume is an overview of CGC prices realized at auction, and a discussion of the CGC grading system. Designed as a companion book to the "2003 Standard Catalog of Comics", both books used intelligently can aid even the most experienced collector.
As good as this presentation is, it has some limitations. Some titles are missing from the listings, but Maggie is clear to invite readers, dealers, and creators to correct and add to future volumes of this book. There is a distinct lack of color photographs, and the serious history of comic books.
But, after all, this is just a guide, and no one value is written in stone. This volume addresses the newer collector, who just doesn't have any issues pre-Marvel age. For this purpose it is awesome. Go to a garage sale, check out the stack of treasure, and walk away happy. If this book helps you achieve that, team Krause has achieved its goal, and one more collector has been created to preserve the art form known as the comic book.
The "2003 Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide: 1961 to Present" can be purchased from major bookstores (ISBN 0-87349-470-9) or directly from the publisher:
Krause Publications
Book Department PR03
PO Box 5009
Iola, WI 54945-5009
1-800-258-0929
www.krausebooks.com
Tim Lasiuta
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