I was chatting with a friend on Instagram when this question popped up. Have you reached your pinnacle? Take a second and think about that. For all of us, there are certain comics that we need to have. But what then? What happens once you have all those comics that you wanted? Well, I am here to try and help you with that question.

What do you do after you have your grail?

While chatting with Peter a.k.a. Uncanny266, he proposed a question that came up while speaking to another collector. That other collector is none other than our esteemed host RegieCollects. They spoke about how Peter felt that he has reached the apex of his collecting needs.  Peter used to collect high-end Hockey cards and then turned his attention to comics.

 

While speaking with Regie, Peter stated that he has already obtained his grail through the selling of some of his cards. Now that you have your grail, what else is there to do?

"He asked me if as a collector and investor, did I truly reach the top? Am I limiting myself in any way? After a couple of weeks of trying to understand the question, and then find an answer within myself, I decided to invest in the original cover art."

Now, this is one way of expanding your interests. Original Art is a niche market that focuses on your favorite artist. Personally, I love the artwork by Alex Ross, Mattina, and Artgerm to just name a few. But how about if you are not into Original Art?

Start by asking yourself those same questions above. Some of us stop because we feel like we can't afford any better keys, or because we limit ourselves. There are so many niches to jump into that you can always create a new goal.

Other Comic Niches

Some ideas to keep you interested in the hunt can be: searching for higher grades of your grails, looking for variants of them, collecting foreign editions (Check out my other post on this here) or try hitting up covers by your favorite artists.

When I first started collecting, I had a set of grails that I NEEDED to have. Those being the Red Hood keys, Giant-Size X-Men #1, and the almighty Incredible Hulk #181. Now I am expanding my goals to the first 100 books of the original X-Men run and keys pertaining to Ra's al Ghul. By the way, did you know that GoCollect has a section to search for key books? If you need some ideas on which keys you want try searching for them here: GoCollect Keys

What if I can't afford my grails?

Easy yet difficult question. Many stop themselves from reaching their pinnacle because they feel limited financially. Don't get me wrong, we are in one of the most expensive hobbies out there. However, there are always ways to make it fund itself. You can't tell me that EVERY book you have means something to you or needs to be a part of your collection. So sell them! I have sold off keys that have nothing to do with my interests but bought them at dirt cheap prices. Another idea is trading. Trade your books for the ones you need. Trading allows you to pretty much switch books that you do not need for the ones you truly want with no cash needed (well except for shipping).

I hope this article poses more questions than answers. The reason is to allow for all of you to search within yourselves and ask yourselves those same questions above. Have you reached your pinnacle? Are you limiting yourself? What else can you do to enhance your collection? With each answer, a new path will open up to you.

Hope you enjoyed this!

As Always, Till Next Time, Happy Hunting!