No time

Time is free but it’s priceless.
You can’t own it but you can use it.
You can’t keep it but you can spend it.
Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.

I’ve not had time to think about any content for the blog this month so I’ll resort to an audio repeat from four years ago I rediscovered (and enjoyed) recently. Perhaps you (whoever you may be) won’t have heard it. Adults only. Contractual obligation disclaimer below.

Why you shouldn’t collect comics

Read them, yes. Collect them as an investment, no. Short of an unexpected nuclear war that fries the western world I’m sure that 99% of them will never become rare and valuable and will most likely remain worth less than the cover price you paid for them. Anyone starting collecting now is 50 years too late. Although print runs are far smaller these days virtually every comic published is preserved, bagged, boarded and hoarded. All the valuable ones are rare because they are old and were produced in those days when comics WEREN’T carefully preserved despite being produced in the hundreds of thousands. Comics deteriorate unless stored in lead-lined vaults. Exposing them to heat/cold/light/damp is like exposing Superman to kryptonite. It’s too late for me. Take my advice and get out while you still can.∗

A couple of years ago I purchased some software called Collectorz.com Comic Collector 4.7 Pro. My new-years resolution is to begin using it. Eventually, somewhere down the line I’ll have a list/pretty pictures of covers that I or my next of kin will be able to use to aid the disposal of 100+ boxes of comics that despite having a total cover price well in excess of $50000 will no doubt end up being worth perhaps as little as a couple of grand.

The most interesting bit of this software to me is the statistics graphs. The one showing how many comics you bought in a particular year will ultimately prove fascinating/disconcerting. Having only logged down a fraction of the collection it’s early days yet, but interesting trends are already emerging. The plan is to use that dead, non-productive time of day when the dreadful soap “Emmerdale” is on TV to add batches of comics to the database.

∗This applies equally well to excessive coin, beer can, butterfly, barbed-wire or stamp collecting; having more than two cars or motorbikes; rooms full of antiques; fishing (especially night fishing); going to every single home and away match of your favourite hockey/tiddlywinks/football team etc etc infinitum…

30 below

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Mr Natural