I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite YouTubers, Mickey at Swagglehaus Comics & Games. Well-known among our community for his weekly "TRENDING COMICS" episodes, and his investing acumen, Mickey was kind enough to spend part of his Saturday morning chatting with me. We spoke about how he got into comic book collecting, what "Swagglehaus" means, and his reflections on being a Youtuber for the past few years.

Where does the name "Swagglehaus" come from?

I work in the film industry as a writer/director and some years back, I directed a music video called "Pretty Boy Swag" for an artist named Soulja Boy. He told me that I "have swag... but more of a nerd swag." Needing a handle for gaming, I ended up creating the name "Swagglehaus," Swaggle being "Nerd Swag" and haus being "House." So effectively my name means "House of Nerd Swag" - which I felt represented me in an accurate way.  Since I was already using the name for gaming, I decided to run with it for my new channel about comic book collecting.

When did you first get interested in comic book collecting? 

The first time I stepped into a comic book store was in 1989 with my Dad and my brother. After we had recently seen Tim Burton's Batman, my Dad said, "Let's check out some comic books." Shortly after that, I began reading Mark Bagley's run on the Amazing Spider-Man, Jim Starlin's Infinity Gauntlet, and Steve Englehart's work on Silver Surfer (vol. 3) in the early 1990s.

Like many collectors, I've had different points in my life where I was more/less into the hobby, In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I wasn't into comics at all, but got back into it for a brief period when Mark Millar's Civil War crossover storyline was making news.

But what got me back into collecting full-time was after seeing the trailer for Infinity War. As I mentioned, the Infinity Gauntlet has always been one of my favorite stories, and seeing that trailer got me excited about comics again. It was fun getting back into it this time around because I could finally purchase the comics that I couldn't afford as a kid. I distinctly remember when I was a child, seeing a copy of Silver Surfer #3, the first appearance of Mephisto, on the wall behind the desk at a comic book store. When I got back into comics again as an adult, I told myself "I'm going to get that book."

What motivated you to create your YouTube channel?

As I mentioned, I work in the film industry in LA but have always had an interest in Youtube as a medium. When the pandemic occurred and the film industry was on lockdown, I thought to myself, 'maybe this is the perfect time to try out a Youtube channel'. At first, I thought about doing a film one; but I wanted this channel to be just for fun, and doing a film one seemed like 'work'. So I decided to make a channel for my favorite hobby - comics.

The goal behind my channel is to make content that is accessible to the average comic book collector. There is such a huge barrier to entry into the hobby and I find it can be discouraging to newcomers. Additionally, comic books can be really expensive, so I'm always trying to help share my perspective on how to collect within your means.

Having the channel has been a big learning experience. After spending much of my professional career behind the camera, it's weird to now be in front of it. There are days when I don't feel like fixing my hair or ironing my shirt, but as the face of my channel, I realize that I still have to put forth my best effort and can't just coast. It's also helped me become more articulate and succinct.

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

It's hard to say. Stocks, crypto, everything has been hit and it doesn't seem like there's a safe place right now to put your money. Some collectors have said that "comic books are recession-proof," but I'm not sure I completely agree with that opinion. If the economy goes to zero then everything is going down in value, even comics. That said, what I have noticed is that blue chip comics have had a correction that is in line with other assets.

But even with that correction, I don't think anything has fundamentally changed about the desirability of comics. They are still very popular and so long as they have relevance to pop culture people will want to own them. I think some collectors are just waiting on the sidelines to see if this bear market continues, so there is currently less demand. This means there is a lot of opportunity for those taking advantage of these entry points. While I think it's possible that the comic book medium itself phases out in the future, collectors will always know that Spider-Man got his start in comic books, which makes Amazing Fantasy #15 historically significant, and likely, always valuable.

Do you have any final words of wisdom for GoCollect users?

Not so much 'words of wisdom', but I do want to say "thank you" to everyone who contributes to this online comic community - whether that's writing blogs, creating content on Youtube, or just the collectors who consume that content. Being on Youtube has introduced me to a much broader community of collectors and it has been a rewarding experience for me to meet a lot of different people. So I just wanted to end with that note of thanks.

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

Want more interviews?

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