Comic Book Value

Question:
I'm writing an article for a school paper about collecting, and I need information about comic book collecting-- I need to find out which series are the most valuable and what makes certain comic books worth more than others... personal opinion, information or web sites are good responses.

Answer:
Here's the bit on comic book pricing from the RAC/RACM FAQ:
Price guide a good start, but they can be misleading. In today's current market, the vast majority of comic books from the mid-80s to the present are worth about a nickel each. Yes--five cents a comic. And many dealers will not even buy books they have in stock, at all. Of course there are some exceptions, but they are rare.
The only online comic book price guide I've been able to locate is ComicsPriceGuide.com. However, at present, it only seems to cover Marvel and DC books) http://www.comicspriceguide.com/
However, looking at what people are asking and getting for comics on rec.arts.comics.marketplace, ebay (or other internet auction services) can give you a good idea of the "street price" of your comics.
There are also a number of "dead-tree" price guides available:
The "Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide" is published annually (now in its 29th edition), and is most comprehensive comics price guide available. (The only significant lapse in its coverage is a lack of listings for underground comics.) Prices in the "Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide" tend to be closer to real world prices than those of most competing price guides.
WIZARD magazine includes a price guide section each month. WIZARD's price guide is far from complete; however, it tends to only cover the more recent and/or collectible comics. Prices listed in WIZARD also tend to be higher than in other price guides.
The people who produce the COMIC BUYERS GUIDE also produce a comic book price guide, the "Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide." Edited by CBG editor Maggie Thompson and Brent Frankenhoff, this price guide is written in a checklist format, allowing collectors to use it for inventorying their collections. Updates to this guide are published regularly in the COMIC BUYERS GUIDE. The editors of the COMICS BUYERS GUIDE also publish the STANDARD CATALOG OF COMIC BOOK, which includes price guide information, as well.
Finally, Antique Trader publishes Alex G. Malloy's "Comics Values Annual." Although a serviceable enough price guide, "Comics Values Annual" is rarely used to set prices by comic dealers.
Two things to keep in mind about price guides. First, prices listed vary by condition. Most price guides list prices based on "Very Fine" or "Near Mint" condition. Less well-preserved comics are worth less. Secondly, prices listed are what a comics dealer would be likely to SELL a comic book for. If you are selling a comic book to a dealer, you will get significantly less-rarely more than one-half guide value; usually much less.
Collecting comic books is a very poor way to make money. If you want an investment, try a mutual fund.

More questions: