Inside My Comic Book Basement… Why I Collect This Way

I’m taking you inside my comic book basement and explaining why I collect this way. This 2-hour Pop Comics video includes Dark Horse comics, Fantagraphics boxes, vintage Japanese manga, Tula Lotay comics, comic sorting, duplicates, basement plans, and a visit from Billy from Brooklyn Invasion and Queens Comic Party Instagram: queenscomicparty. Amazon Affiliate Link to the folding tables I bought to sort my comics https://amzn.to/3RoHnt6 I’m taking you back inside my comic book basement and talking about why I collect this way. In this video, I show the progress I’ve been making in the comic basement, including the sorted Dark Horse section of the collection, some vintage Japanese manga, my Fantagraphics boxes, and a timelapse of sorting through the collection and pulling duplicates. My friend Billy, who runs Brooklyn Invasion and Queens Comic Party, also stops by the comic basement to give me a cool comic and talk about the upcoming show. That comic connects perfectly with the end of the video, where I go back to my office and show a haul of comics from eBay, Whatnot, and MyComicShop.com with a heavy focus on Tula Lotay comics. I also spend time talking about how I collect, why I collect, what I look for, how I think about building a collection, and the future plans for the basement as I keep sorting, organizing, and figuring out what this massive comic book collection is becoming. This is part comic book basement tour, part collection philosophy, part comic sorting video, part indie comic deep dive, part manga discovery, and part comic haul. If you enjoy comic book collecting, comic collection tours, Fantagraphics, Dark Horse comics, vintage manga, Tula Lotay, indie comics, key issue hunting, comic sorting, and behind-the-scenes looks at a huge comic book collection, this is a long deep-dive video for you. Thanks for watching and hanging out in the comic basement. Video Chapters: 00:00 Basement Progress: Dark Horse Section Complete 00:52 Sorting Strategy: Organizing 20 Long Boxes Alphanumerically 01:50 Rare Aliens, Predator & Terminator Finds 03:39 The Search for Dark Horse Presents #10 & The Mask Keys 04:50 Collector Trades: Helping Others Fill Their Runs 06:50 Hunting for the Elusive First Hellboy Series 08:52 The "One Hour a Day" Rule for Finding Lost Items 10:00 Billy's Mystery Gift: Night Creatures & Signed Julie Grim #1 13:38 Upcoming Show Alert: Brooklyn Invasion on June 6th 14:40 Pop Comics Philosophy: Sustainable Collecting & Cash Flow 16:20 Money as a River vs. a Pond: The Reseller Mindset 17:30 Sorting for Joy vs. Gem Mint Grading 18:50 The Long Game: Breaking Even on Bulk Indie Lots 21:20 Investing in the Future: Building Complete Image & Dark Horse Sets 23:50 Predicting Future Grails: The Next Generation of Keys 25:50 Hidden Value: Finding $100 Books in $2 Stacks 27:43 Basement Jenga: Planning the Next Sorting Area 29:20 The DC Challenge: Clearing Space for a Massive Sort 30:30 Growing the "Japan Haul Time" Channel & Manga Wall Plans 34:00 New Tool Alert: The $70 Skinny Sorting Table Strategy 35:10 Deep Dive: Fist of the North Star & Retro Manga Value 38:30 Why 13 is the Perfect Number for Sorting 40:30 Phantagraphics Dig: Red Room, Eightball & Love and Rockets 44:40 Art Appreciation: Dave Cooper & Charles Burns Highlights 49:05 The Joy of Finding "Niche" Indis in Dollar Bins 54:15 Spotting Early Usagi Yojimbo Appearances 59:30 Johnny Ryan & Naughty Bits Run Breakdown 1:07:05 William Stout King Kong & Artistic Treasure Hunting 1:09:20 Final Sorting Tally: Pulling 500+ Duplicates 1:10:45 Haul Reveal: My Comic Shop, eBay & Thrift Store Finds 1:11:35 $2 Thrift Score: Winter Soldier #1 & First Appearance Keys 1:13:30 Madman Run Completion & David Bowie Cover Variant 1:17:15 Maria Hill & Sentry Speculation 1:19:05 Personal Grail Unboxing: The Rare Tula Lotay Ninjak Variant 1:21:00 Mad Cave Whatnot Haul: Limited Metal & Embossed Variants 1:23:10 Florida Hippopotamus Cocaine Massacre: Why I Love This Title 1:28:30 Tula Lotay Deep Dive: Simplicity vs. Artistic Detail 1:30:55 Individually Numbered "1 of 50" Foil Keys 1:33:55 Glow-in-the-Dark Comics & Collector Dreams 1:35:55 Golden Age Treasure: 1946 Jingle Jangle Christmas Issue 1:37:35 The Distillery & City Beneath Her Feet Wrap-Around Covers 1:42:05 Night Terrors & Catwoman: Masterclass in Modern Cover Art 1:46:55 Vault Comics & Free Comic Giveaway Day Loot 1:53:30 Dave Stevens vs. Tula Lotay: The Future of Pin-Up Collecting 2:10:10 Final Thoughts: The Thrill of the Continued Hunt