Bit Banter: Hidden Treasure Comics
Whether you’re an old hand at collecting, someone who just buys to read or you’re new to the medium after the boom in movies and TV adaptions, there has never been a better time to be a comic book fan. The only problem is that with so much going on all the time it can be hard knowing when to jump in to a new series, but don’t worry too much about that. Recently having relocated to the top floor of Stephen’s Green Shopping Center, Hidden Treasures Comics can cure what ails you and help to find that perfect entry point with one of the largest comic back catalogues around! The Arcade caught up with Joe Kerrigan, owner and proprietor, to find out just what it is that makes the comic book machine tick.
You opened back in September and it seems like every time I come in there are more comics stacked up and less room to walk around. What’s the total comic count at now?
At the moment we’re at about 32 thousand comics. I’m hoping to get things a bit more under control, but our final plan and display makes room for more that 50 thousand comics in total. It just takes a terribly long time to get them all sorted, alphabetized and priced.
That stock also includes the largest Silver Age collection in Ireland, right? Any particular reason you caught on to the Silver Age classics?
Although we have a constantly fluctuating stock, we do try to keep our silver and bronze age stock ‘new’ if you pardon the term. There’s always stock turnover here but, as retailers in Ireland, we definitely have the largest selection of Silver Age comics in Ireland. As for the largest collection, I don’t like making statements I can’t back up and there’s probably someone out there somewhere with a massive collection of Silver Age goodies that no one knows about, so I won’t say.
You recently became the only bricks and mortar comic dealer in Ireland to get CGC Certified. What does that mean exactly?
The CGC are an independent third-party service that grade comics and collectables. When selling a comic of high value, say over €100, it’s important that the condition of the book be determined accurately. Even the slightest flaw in a comic book can dramatically reduce its value in a collectors market. The CGC offer an industry standard in comic book and collectible grading and encase the item, once graded, in a protective lightweight non-resealable plastic case. This way, the condition and value of the item can be accurately determined at the time of a transaction. As CGC dealers at Hidden Treasure Comics, we offer this service to the customer. Customers have a choice of becoming members with the CGC at an annual subscription rate or they can have their comics processed by a licensed dealer. It is often the case that going through a licensed dealer is less costly than becoming a member and getting the comics processed yourself. Unless you are getting more than 300 comics processed per year it is less costly to go through a licensed dealer.
I know that before opening in Dublin you considered changing the name of the store, but in the end decided to stick with Hidden Treasures. Why were you attached to that name?
I have often been quoted in saying “I don’t sell comics, I sell nostalgia”. The name Hidden Treasure Comics compounds a number of the most enjoyable aspects of comic collecting. Searching through comic bins and finding that rare or obscure comic you’ve been looking for to complete a collection is definitely finding a hidden treasure. Picking up a comic that brings you right back to your childhood is not always what we expect, yet it’s definitely a treasure. For me, hunting down rare books and finding large collections to sell at great prices for both the consumer and me as a retailer. Watching kids discover comics for the first time is another treasure. I thought naming the shop after all of these sentiments was a nice idea so I kept the name with the new shop.
So what’s next for Hidden Treasures? Any plans for the near future that we should keep an eye out for?
We are constantly expanding our stock and selection in the shop. We’re just about to receive large deliveries of toys and T-shirts as well as a constant turnover of comics and graphic novels. We’ve just acquired a New Mutants #98 CGC 9.6 (The first appearance of Deadpool). We’re in the middle of getting prepared for comic-con season and we’re also trying to launch a production company designed to help produce and popularize independently owned material. So we’ve got a lot going on at the moment!
Do you have any comics that you’d especially like to add to the collection here? Let’s say the top 3 for you and excluding the Big 3: Action Comics #1 (first appearance of Superman), Detective Comics #27 (first appearance of Batman) and Amazing Fantasy #15 (First appearance of Spider-Man).
Oh, there are lots of things I’d love to get but I couldn’t list them all. It’s hard to make a Top 5 or 10 comic list that a comic shop should have, because there are so many awesome books out there and people come in and buy awesome books so quickly! I’ve turned over a Secret Wars #8 in less that 4 hours as it’s a popular book and I was able to price it well. It’s hard keeping these books in stock. By the time I’d get half way through collecting the books on the list, I’d have sold half of what I found! In all honesty though, books like Green Lantern #96, the classic Neal Adams book, Hulk #181 as people would come into the shop just to look at it, X-Men #94 or even just the Phoenix run, a high-grade Crisis On Infinite Earths wouldn’t go amiss either, although I’ve sold 3 or 4 of them at this stage! Anything with Thanos is popular so an Iron Man #55 and a high-grade Logan’s Run #6 (although I have a lower grade already). There’s just too many to count and I have limited funds, but I’ve always got my eye open!
If you’d like to get in touch with Hidden Treasures, you can do so via their Facebook page.
