9/9/2009
By GARY DEMUTH Salina Journal
To Adam Northcutt, collecting comic books is not kid stuff.

The Salina resident boasts a collection of about 3,500 comic books and 185 graphic novels.

And he's read every single one of them -- some multiple times.

"To collect them without reading them would take the fun out of it," said Northcutt, 30.

That said, Northcutt is careful with his collection of comics. Each issue is carefully alphabetized and categorized by subject, put in plastic sleeves with cardboard backing and kept at room temperature in stacks of file boxes equipped to store 200 to 400 comics.

For Northcutt, taking a comic book out of its sleeve to read is akin to an archaeologist unwrapping an ancient scroll to peruse its wonders. In other words, neither is something you want to spill a cup of coffee on.

Northcutt will share his love of comic book collecting during a three-session class, "Collecting Comics in the 21st Century" beginning Tuesday and continuing Sept. 29 and Oct. 13 at the Salina Public Library Community Learning Center, 308 W. Elm.

The class is offered as part of the fall CLASS line-up sponsored by the Salina Public Library, 301 W. Elm.

During his class, Northcutt will share with both budding and veteran comic book collectors tips on storing comics, building a collection, using a preview catalog to place orders through the direct market (supplied during the class) and the future of comics, which includes digital downloads, Web comics and podcasting.

Northcutt hopes the class will help create a vibrant comics community in Salina.

"I want to meet others who are into this, make friends and build a fan base in town," he said. "I feel more people here would be into it if they knew how to do it."

Movies have helped

Although readership of comic books has dipped in the last 15 years, Northcutt said, it is showing a resurgence due to the popularity of movie adaptations of superhero comics featuring Spider Man, Batman and Iron Man.

"People will go in and watch an 'Iron Man' movie," Northcutt said. "Comics are just an ongoing movie."

A Salina native, Northcutt began collecting comics at age 10 when an uncle bought him an issue number 327 of The Fantastic Four, a comic he still owns.

"At that time, you could buy a comic from any grocery store," he said.

Today, most grocery stores don't carry comics. Nor do many other retail outlets. That's why most collectors now exclusively order new comic book issues by mail through a preview catalog, a monthly release that lists every comic on sale for the coming month.

While more convenient, Northcutt said, ordering from a catalog is not the same as hanging out at a comic book store talking to like-minded collectors.

Unfortunately, while comics still can be found at places like Waldenbooks at the Central Mall, there are no comic book stores in Salina anymore.

"The closest are in Wichita and Manhattan," he said. "That's a shame, because if there are other people with the same interests around, you can talk about it."

Spiderman a favorite

Northcutt's comics collection spans the superhero gamut and includes multiple issues of Marvel Comics titles such as The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, The Mighty Thor, Spider Man, plus more adult-oriented graphic novels like "Watchmen," which was released as a movie earlier this year.

Northcutt's said his favorite superhero probably is Spider Man. He has more than 400 Spider Man comics, beginning at issue 200 through 603.

"That's the one I have the most of," he said.

When Northcutt began collecting, he stored all his comics in a plastic Rubbermaid container.

"I did take care of them, but the sleeves came later," he said. "Once I started putting them into sleeves, it became a serious hobby instead of just a reading experience."

The value of a comic is determined by a grading scale, Northcutt said. The closer it is to mint condition (no obvious flaws), the more its value.

Northcutt stores his comic books in polypropylene or mylar bags with cardboard backings. The plastic keeps the comics from yellowing or discoloring, and the cardboard keeps them from bending.

Northcutt then puts his sleeved comics into cardboard boxes -- a short box fits 200 to 230 comics and a long box will hold about 400 -- and stacks the boxes in his basement "man" room, which also contains a computer, comic book wallpaper and a shrine to the Chicago Bears.

Next up, doing digital

The day is coming when comics will go digital and fans will download issues on a computer or I-Phone, Northcutt said.

Downloading is cheaper -- 99 cents as opposed to $3.99 a comic, he said.

"Carrying 50 comics on an I-Phone is easier than carrying 50 comics in a bag," he said.

But Northcutt has mixed feelings about the digitalization of comic books.

"Comics will get a lot more exposure by going digital, but the collecting factor will be hurt," he said. "I enjoy the physical aspect of collecting comics. I enjoy looking at a stack of comics, picking one out and reading it. You get lost in another world."

Despite being a comic book geek, in all other aspects of his life, Northcutt is an average guy. He's a service worker at Hospira in McPherson. He and his wife, Kristi, have a 7-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.

Northcutt said his family is supportive of his comics obsession.

"My wife knows it's my passion," he said. "It's something that takes me back to being a kid -- but in a good way."

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.

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