The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 16, 1980, Image 20

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    Superheroes boost
some bank balances
BEING PICKY
David Heiligman, a junior jour
nalism major and collector of
comic books, is pictured here
with a small portion of his collec
tion. Heiligman estimates he
could make a down payment on a
new car with the comic books he
has now.
By GLENN KRAMPOTA
Battalion Reporter
David Heiligmann, a junior jour
nalism major from San Antonio, re
trieved a discarded comic book ab
out a group of mutant teen-agers
from a file cabinet. Today the 94th
issue of The X-Men is worth $50,
Heiligmann says.
Not every issue of his 1,500 book
collection returns such profit, he
says, but the joys of comic book
collecting have kept him at it for nine
years.
“I got started on a trip to Colora
do,” he says. "I picked up a Justice
League No.101 and I decided I
wanted No. 100, too. These were
part of a trilogy so I needed No.102
to complete the story."
That is how he got started. By the
time the 150th issue of the Justice
League came out, he says, he had a
complete set, one through 150.
Heiligmann enjoys the artwork
and storylines, he says, but the real
lure is the fantasy air that surrounds
them.
“A lot of it’s the idea of having
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tone, touch, and
craftsmanship you
would expect in
a much more
expensive guitar.
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powers beyond the mortal ken,” he
says. “That appeals to me.”
And as Heiligmann’s experience
with an unwanted X-Men comic
illustrates, comic book collecting
can be a sound investment.
Ed Graham, a senior physics ma
jor from San Antonio, also collects
with an eye to the investment angle.
His interests and methods of col
lecting are a bit different though, he
says.
“I don’t overextend myself on
older ones,” Graham says. He goes
chiefly for current comic books,
buying 20 separate comics a
month.
“I’m more of a book reader,” he
says. “I O.D. on all these comics
once a month and then that’s it until
the next month."
Graham says he has been
buying comic books since before he
can remember, but actively collect
ing only for the last several years.
And what is odd, he says, is that he
can’t really remember how he be
gan collecting.
“I just started hanging on to a
couple, I guess,” he says. “A few
friends gave me some of theirs and
it just picked up.”
A third student collector has been
at it for only about a year and a half.
Doug Dodson of Alvin cannot now
recall what caused him to pick up
his first comic book.
“I had read a few of my uncles’
when I was real young, but for the
most part I thought comic books
were pretty dumb," he says.
“I bought a few once I got into
college that turned out to be really
good as far as the story went, so I
started buying more and more,”
Dodson says. “Some of them really
are stupid, but after you buy them a
while you get to where you know
what to expect quality-wise.”
Dodson said he is very interested
in collecting older issues, and plans
on doing so once he “gets his feet
wet.”
All three students engage in a