Thoughts on collecting comics

[starscape]

That's my memory of it too.

[big bad bri]

my brother has told me all my comics are going in a skip when i'm gone

[Phoenix]

As to the Gifford collection being sold off, I believe it was the wish of his ex-wife and his children that it was to be sold off as they were the beneficiaries of his will. The story I was told was that they were sick of the comics and that it had directly led to the breakup of his marriage. And they did not want to be reminded of that period in their life.

The word philistines comes to mind.

[comixminx]

my brother has told me all my comics are going in a skip when i'm gone

He's a fool and a daftie then. Even if he just told someone to come and pick it up as a job lot as Phoenix says above, it'd make him a bob or two.

[Phoenix]

my brother has told me all my comics are going in a skip when i'm gone

To avoid that catastrophe, Bri, you could will them to somebody who would show them greater respect, and choose a more reliable executor.

[big bad bri]

My brother hates comics as he thinks they are the reason i am in debt even though i have been collecting since about 7 or 8 yrs old and seriously since 11. I never bothered with a will as i don't own a property or have my own family i may well end up selling them to someone who appreciates em.

[koollectablz]

Its enough for me to have 'owned' a certain comic, then to read it and sell it on - hopefully for my money back or more to enable me to buy more. I wouldn't go into debt to buy comics though tbh.

Even when you miss out on an issue the pain only really hurts for a second and then its on to the next item!

I do think it was a shame that Gifford's comics got split up but then realistically it was a collection that had been built up over time mostly second hand (and a lot not particularly very good condition) and given the time and enough money anyone could acquire a comparable hoard.

I've heard it called the British 'Edgar Church' collection, but it wasn't even in the same ballpark in my opinion.

[Phoenix]

I've heard it called the British 'Edgar Church' collection, but it wasn't even in the same ballpark in my opinion.

Probably not, but I doubt whether Denis, unlike Church, would ever have spoiled any of his comics by cutting things out of them.

[suebutcher]

Aha. I've looked up Edgar Church and the "Mile High" collection, and he's a classic example of an artist who collected comics (and magazines) for reference. That's how I justify my collecting to myself when I think perhaps I've got too many books and papers taking up space in the house!

[koollectablz]

To be fair they also collected for completely different reasons.

Gifford had some very nice stuff, many one of a kind. But his collecting was very much scattergun aimed at collecting an example of everything rather than quality over quantity.

His books and catalogue are the benchmark for UK collectors, we have to thank him for that.

[comixminx]

My brother hates comics as he thinks they are the reason i am in debt even though i have been collecting since about 7 or 8 yrs old and seriously since 11. I never bothered with a will as i don't own a property or have my own family i may well end up selling them to someone who appreciates em.

Bri, you can get a will form from WHSmiths - if your affairs are pretty straightforward then it would be easy to do. Even if you don't have much to leave it's still worth thinking about because it means things are easier on the people you do leave behind - and of course if you do want to leave a bit to Battersea Dogs' Home (or the Cartoon Museum or whatever) then that's the way to do it.

I was involved in organizing the donation of my friend Andy Roberts' comics to the Victoria and Albert Museum, or rather the National Art Library. They own the Rakoff Collection and Eduardo Paolozzi's Krazy Kat archives. Unfortunately they don't have any money to spend on acquisitions, generally speaking, so they are not on the lookout to buy collections from the heirs of comics collectors!

[big bad bri]

if i did have money or whatever it would all go to cat and dog shelters anyway and rspca like simon cowell would have done before he had a child .

[Kashgar]

One question comes to mind though; have you read them all? (If so, that's even more impressive. )

Can't admit to being that impressive Lew. I've certainly read a lot of them but I gave up on the idea long ago that I would ever be able to read them all.

I don't mean to be rude but isn't that a little pointless then?

I know many will completely disagree with me but I just can't see why i'd want comics I wouldn't read.

No offence taken. When I said I hadn't read all of them this didn't mean that each one of them hadn't been perused for pleasure and/or research purposes. Nothing I have in my collection is neglected or, at the other extreme, 'preserved in aspic'. I consider it a living resource of information but whether I will ever access some parts of it for that reason will, of course, be open to circumstance.

[Phoenix]

That's how I justify my collecting to myself when I think perhaps I've got too many books and papers taking up space in the house!

Take it from me, Sue, you can have all but you can't have too many.

[colcool007]

That's how I justify my collecting to myself when I think perhaps I've got too many books and papers taking up space in the house!

Take it from me, Sue, you can have all but you can't have too many.

On this one, I have to agree with Phoenix. You can never have too many books or comics.