I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite YouTubers, Ryan at Automatic Comics. Well-known among the comic book collecting community for his data-driven YouTube content, Ryan was kind enough to spend an hour chatting with me. We spoke about how he got into comic book collecting, why he created his YouTube channel, and the state of the comic market.

When did you first get interested in comic book collecting? 

"I first got into comics when I was in the fourth or fifth grade in the early 1990s. I was mostly copying my older brother who was into reading comics. We also watched a lot of cartoons, including Spider-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I also received comic books from my grandparents, who were antiquers. After they got back from a day of antiquing, they would give my brothers and me older comics that they found to split between us. That's how I first got exposed to older comics from the Golden Age.

Then, there was a long stretch of time when I wasn't reading or collecting comics. But about 10 years ago, I got back into comics as a reader when a friend of mine gave me a trade paperback of Invincible. I loved Invincible's adult themes and how the stories felt more real to me. In most comics, the good guys always win. Invincible does win, but usually at a cost. Horrific things happen to both him and the universe as a whole.

A little over three years ago, I transitioned into collecting comics again. I enjoyed being able to purchase some books that I couldn't afford as a kid. Two of the first books that I bought were Amazing Spider-Man #50 and Silver Surfer #4, since Spider-Man and Silver Surfer were two of my favorite characters. My brother helped me get into grading and the first book I ever graded was Werewolf By Night #32, a book I bought back in the 90s for around $20; it ended up coming back a 6.5.

Many of the books in your PC are Golden Age books. How do you decide what stays and what goes in your PC?

The most important factor that I consider is value. But it's more than that. I also consider how rare a book is. If I sell a Silver, Bronze, or Copper Age book, I know I can get any of those books at almost any time. Even if you want an Amazing Fantasy #15, if you have the money, you can buy it. That's not true for many Golden Age issues. They're rarely available on the market, and when they are for sale, you may not be able to afford the copy that comes up.

I also consider how "cool" or interesting I think a book is. Cover content is a big deal for the Golden Age. I didn't really get into Golden Age comics until about two and a half years ago, when getting on Instagram really exposed me to these books more. I started following c0micbooknerdgirl on Instagram and I started seeing some of these rare pre-Code horror and science-fiction comic books that caught my attention.

I'm not a horror fan, but I loved the cover of some of these Golden Age books, especially when you juxtapose them against many people's perceptions of the time period. These are some of the reasons why I have so many Golden Age books on my list of "keepers."

What motivated you to create your YouTube channel?

Most of the content I watch is on YouTube; I rarely watch "regular" TV anymore. One day, a seller on Instagram encouraged me to do an "unboxing" video on Instagram of the books I received from him. I made that first video and then I decided to transition to YouTube where all of my early videos were about unboxings.

As I began to make more content for YouTube, I thought more about what I could uniquely contribute to the YouTube comic community. Many YouTubers created content about Modern books; and so, I thought it made sense for me to focus on older books from the Golden and Silver Ages since that was sort of a gap I saw out there as well as the types of books I liked most.

Do you think the current comic book market is a reflection of a looming recession?

I don't think the data shows we're in a recession yet, but I can't predict the future. Corporate profits are sky-high and the unemployment rate is at historic lows. Sure, issues like inflation and gas prices are cutting into everyone's expendable income, but history also tells us these issues don't last forever.

The stock market may have entered a bear market during this calendar year, but the economy isn't just the stock market. And bear markets don't tend to last as long as you think they will. I've learned that when bear markets occur, you have to take advantage of them if you can. A year ago, people were complaining about how expensive comics were, but now many are too afraid to invest of them because they worry things will keep going down.

One reminder I like to give people is that only one person gets to buy the bottom. Historically, comics trend up or at least remain stable, so pick the price you're comfortable with and just go for it.

If you'd like to learn more about Ryan, check out his Youtube channel and make sure to follow him on Instagram at automatic_comics!

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*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.