2009 closed out with the economy on the rebound and comic prices for Silver and Bronze at an all-time high. Historically, comics have been not only recession proof, but thrive on a down economy as people look for alternative investments. Collectors are on pins and needles after the boom of 2009, waiting to see if comics will perform again this year. Given the interest Hollywood keeps generating, plus endless TV shows, cartoons, merchandising, and the general consensus that being "geeky" is actually cool these days, you can bet comic books won't be slowing down anytime soon. The bottom line is whether you're collecting or investing (or both), enjoyment and relaxation is the name of the game, and people just can't get enough of that these days.

You can count on Worldwide to provide you some of that enjoyment in 2010! First off, we're expecting over 1,000 new comics from CGC this month, including a slew of high grade Silver and Bronze, and choice copies from the Golden Age. Also, over 3,000 new raw comics are going up, including many from the famed Mound City and David Toth collections. We're also entering phase two of the Golden State collection; so far over 3,300 copies have been listed for sale (most 9.8), with 2,000 more coming down the pike in February. And to stay on top of our game we're even checking much of our old inventory, updating prices according to new market trends, which means some books are being lowered in price. These will periodically appear in the "new arrivals" section of our site.

Stephen Ritter and Matt Nelson will be set up at several big shows in 2010, including San Diego, both Chicago shows, Toronto in March, and the New York show. As usual, we'll have our killer inventory on hand, so make sure to visit our booth if we're in your neck of the woods. We also have many new developments for the website, which will appear throughout the year, including a want list function and a bid function.

Presenting two exclusive collections!

We're proud to present two high quality collections to our customers, the Golden State collection and the Peter Kuper collection. The Golden States are actually a collection that originally came to market in the early '90s, but the owner held back a portion, which we now have for sale. Peter Kuper is a renown illustrator who has published work not only in comic books, but also Mad Magazine, Time and Newsweek. Peter's childhood collection of Silver and Bronze Age are being offered exclusively here at Worldwide throughout the summer.

The Golden State Collection
Click to view full list for sale
The Golden State collection was amassed by a meticulous collector residing in the San Francisco area who carefully filed away his newsstand copies each month. The core of the collection ranged from the early ‘60s to present, but also included a very impressive run of Golden Age as well.

The owner finally decided to part with the Golden and Silver Age portions of his collection in the early ‘90s, and much of it entered the market through a national dealer. Unfortunately much of the Silver Age was never documented as the Golden State collection, although one can still find random CGC graded issues floating about. The average grade of this period was 9.4 – 9.6, truly amazing books.

Fast forward to 2008…The original owner has finally decided to sell the remainder of his collection, which consists of late Bronze Age to present. WWC is proud to offer this last section of the Golden States to collectors starting this week. Just about every single title and issue from Marvel, DC and most ‘80s independents are there, with the vast majority grading CGC 9.8. WWC will be releasing over 5,000 CGC graded Golden States throughout the rest of 2009 and early 2010. Each book will display a Golden State sticker on the CGC case. Grab your want lists and hold on!

The Peter Kuper Collection
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Any fan of Mad Magazine knows the exploits of Spy vs. Spy, the wordless comic strip featuring two spies, one black and one white, constantly warring against each other. Peter Kuper, who has been drawing Spy vs. Spy for Mad during the past 12 years, began his prolific career in illustration with a love of comic books. This passion blossomed into comic book work alongside greats such as Howard Chaykin, Bernie Wrightson, Mike Kaluta and Jim Starlin, eventually leading Kuper to create a number of autobiographical comics and the renowned political comix magazine World War 3. Kuper also boasts a number of covers published for Time and Newsweek. He has taught courses in comics and illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and is also an art director of INK, a political illustration group.

During his comic collecting heyday, Kuper amassed a collection of about 2,300 comics from the ‘60s and ‘70s, which included near complete runs of Marvel and DC. The peak condition of the collection ranges from 1972 to early 1975, which have yielded a plethora of 9.4, 9.6 and 9.8 grades. Worldwide is proud to present the Peter Kuper collection for sale, of which 1,000 will be CGC graded. Look for their listings throughout the month of July and August.

Good luck this year, and happy hunting!

Stephen Ritter
Matt Nelson