Art Cloos has been a passionate comic collector since the age of 10. He and his wife and partner in collecting, Alice, have spent many a day at shows across the US looking for that next big find for their collections. His first comic convention was a Phil Seuling con in 1974. His love of the hobby and his interest with both the history of comics and their creators and of comic fandom comes from his background as a history teacher.

This is the third in a series of articles by Cloos that looks at comic collecting from the point of view of the dealer. Whether they are part-time dealers at shows or the biggest of the top players in the world of back issues, comic book dealers have been an integral part of comic fandom and its history, and this is an area we believe is in need of further exploration.

What’s Your Best Price?: Ted VanLiew
Interviewed by Art Cloos

Ted VanLiew was born and raised in Worcester, MA, home of Robert Goddard, Bob Cousy, Esther Forbes and Abby Hoffman, among others. He began collecting comics in the late 1960s and was totally hooked from the start. He took a hiatus from comics at age 15 until 23, when he went back into collecting in the early '80s.

In 1987, he launched Superworld Comics, and he has seen his business grow steadily over the years. His e mail address is ted@superworldcomics.com and his mailing address is 456 Main Street, Suite F, Holden, MA 01520.

Art Cloos (AC): Well Ted, we finally managed to connect for this interview. So let’s start at the beginning, what got you interested in comics as a kid? What was your first comic love?
Ted VanLiew (TVL): Comics were always around to some extent. I had older brothers and cousins who would always have some.

AC: How old were you when you read your first comic and what was it?
TVL: The first comic I remember seeing is when I was about five years old (1963). It was a Superman or Action in which Superman was entrapped in a giant clam. I was with my mom at an appointment somewhere in an office with wall to wall carpet, and to keep me occupied, there were various kid things. The Superman comic apparently caught my eye.

AC: So how long did it take you to become a full fledged collector?
TVL: As a kid, it was penny candy, baseball cards, and comic books that were always around. There was a 5¢ and dime store around the corner from our school that was the favorite spot to get our fix on candy, cards, Crackerjacks, and whatever else our meager budgets could get us. We referred to it as Vic's because that was the name of the proprietor. To this day, I don't know the official name of it. My cousin, who is four years older than me, had the most supreme comic collection we younger ones had ever heard of or seen. He had 500 comics! We couldn't believe that anyone could have that many comics. We were so impressed.

AC: I had a similar situation as a kid. My grandmother’s neighbor had a son who was older than me. My grandmother was not good about letting neighborhood kids into her house but she let Chris in and his DC comic collection, especially his JLA run, made me go crazy when he brought it over for me to see.
TVL: My cousin, Paul, showed a couple of us younger kids his collection one day. This was probably in 1967. He had a steamer trunk filled with every Marvel superhero comic up to that time. As with most kids in the mid 60's, there were always Harvey funny comics, like Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, etc., and duck books floating around. I enjoyed those thoroughly. I had no idea that I was feasting on Carl Barks masterworks. Then, as I got to be eight or nine, I liked the adventures of Archie and the Riverdale High gang. Very colorful and funny. Next was Turok, Son of Stone. I was always fascinated with American Indians and their cultures, and of course, what kid doesn't love dinosaurs? So, the combo was magic for me. I still like to idly fantasize about living in that lost world with prehistoric flora and fauna and giant creatures. Then, I seem to remember discovering the Legion of Super-Heroes. It was unbelievably colorful and filled with far flung intergalactic adventures. Too much fun! But the Marvels were always lurking in the background. I can't remember what precipitated it, but I must have gotten a weekly allowance of a buck or so for the first time when I was 10, and I promptly ran down to Vic's and bought all the Marvel comics on the stand, cover dated May 1969

Yeah, a lot of guys were enamored of the DC's, but I didn't know any of 'em. All the collectors I came to know were strictly Marvelites. Stan Lee had captured us! More recently, I got reacquainted with an old friend who I never realized collected comics who was a DC guy.

AC: My local store was Gardner's, a candy store in the traditional sense and it was always DC first for me.
TVL: Yeah, probably very similar to Vic's. He had a soda bar, and a small sandwich making section. But what interested us was on the other side, the rows of various sweet treats and sports card packs. The comics and magazines were in a front corner of the store, and when I was younger, seemed out of reach, since I was virtually penniless. Heh, Heh, of course I was also interested in the jazzy Playboy covers as much as anything else that was not comic related but overall it was Marvel, all the way!

AC: You did not read any DC’s then?
TVL: Well, I discovered the greatness of some of the DC comics by chance. In 1972, when I was 13, I went to a garage sale where the guy had thousands of comics for 5¢ apiece. Turned out he had run one of those corner spas, and instead of remaindering unsold copies for credit; he kept all the unsold copies. So, he had an amazing array. I picked up some classic Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space, and loved 'em.

AC: Tell us about the early shows you went to. How different were they from the shows of today? Or are they the same?
TVL: The first shows I went to were a bit different from today's shows, but really the format was pretty similar. Starting in 1972, I'd go to one show a year in Boston. Never saw the New York scene with Seuling and all the history that was made there.

AC: What was the impact of those Boston shows on you?
TVL: It was so exciting, just seeing all that stuff, and discovering stuff I'd never seen before, and even seeing original art, which I had no interest in. But when I think back, you could get a Ditko Spidey page for $15. Ha!

AC: Wow, $15, unbelievable when you think what those pages would go for now! You missed some fun shows in NY, I was like a kid in a candy store at Phil's shows.
TVL: Oh, I've heard! The Boston shows were pretty darn good though. I remember one where I brought $6 with me that I had painstakingly scraped together. At the first booth I went to, the guy had an X-Men #1 for $8. I was inclined to put runs together, so would try to get 15 -20 books for my $6. I was overwhelmed with the opportunity though, and offered him $6 for the X-Men #1. He declined, and I ended up buying my 15 - 20 books during the show. I remember that Wrightson Swamp Thing and Smith Conan pages were the latest hottest news then. I don't know what they were going for, but you probably could have gotten a Buscema Avengers page for a couple bucks. The shows were where I first caught a glimpse of pre-hero Marvels. Dazzling to my 13-year-old eyes, but too expensive. I was focused on my regular superhero runs.

AC: When did you get to your first New York con?
TVL: Amazingly, I didn't get to my first NY Con till 1994 or 1995. I wasn't inclined to travel in those days. One of the truly great regrets of my life is never meeting the King, Jack Kirby. He was and still kind of is my idol. And I heard he was a super nice guy, and very encouraging to the younger guys.

AC: I met him and yes he was such a nice man. You even dabbled in comic creating I hear?
TVL: Yes, I did. Another friend who was a very talented artist and I created our own characters and made our own comics. We would produce one issue per nine or 10 months from scratch, meaning we would write, layout, pencil, ink, color, letter, etc.

AC: What made you move into comic dealing?
TVL: I got into comic dealing by accident. I had collected as a youngster from 1969 - 1974, but then put the books aside to chase girls and run track and hang out with my friends, etc. Ten years later, I started collecting a bit again, mostly newer stuff and reading, and picking up the occasional vintage book. In 1987, I was working at the Worcester Telegram, the local newspaper, in the production dept. My supervisor, Richard Mossow turned out to be a major collector, and as we became better pals, he started bringing in Golden Age comics to show me. I had never bothered with GA because I knew I couldn't afford 'em, so I never really looked at 'em. One day, he needed to raise money, and put a large varied lot of comics together and offered it to me at a price I couldn't refuse. So, I went to a credit union to get a loan since I had about $50 to my name. I thought they might laugh me out of  there for asking for a large loan to buy funnybooks, but to my surprise and delight, they said, “no problem.” So, I got this exciting lot of Golden and Silver Age comics, but then realized that I needed to pay back this loan. Boy, the devil's in the details! So, I set about trying to figure out ways to sell some of the books. Armed with about $100, some cool comics, lots of enthusiasm, and not a whit of business knowledge, I first set up at a Fred Greenberg Great Eastern Boston comic show. I was plunked in the far back, deepest, darkest corner, but still did very well selling.

AC: Now let’s move into the nuts and bolts of learning to sell comics. How big a learning curve was there for you?
TVL: What I hadn't realized at that first show was that all the most desirable books were going to go, and that I was going to need to figure out how to replenish good stuff. So, the actual running of the business came about just out of figuring things out from necessity, trial and error. There was never much money available, so I had to figure out ways to find great deals both locally and through CBG. I would kind of pick up the scraps left by the big boys. Sometimes also, I'd pinpoint books I thought were grossly undervalued or overlooked, and buy them and stick them away for a while so they could 'mature'. There were some unsavory characters that I had to deal with in the early days who would look to take advantage of the novice. Fortunately, I met lots of honest and nice folks, too!

As for the bookkeeping and other hard business aspects, I still knew very little about proper ways to do it. I filled notebooks with my scrawlings. Luckily for me, I always loved the statistical side of the hobby, and am good at adding tremendous columns of numbers. We had a small den room in our house that was the control center for the mighty Superworld empire. I'd be in there and sometimes Lisa couldn't find me, cause the piles would get so high. Packing and shipping was always a tough problem, because I had to do every single aspect of the biz; buying, dealing with the phone calls, advertising, and everything else. So sometimes the shipping would be a bit slow, y'know.

AC: Tell us about your wife, Lisa.
TVL: We met in 1987 (a big year for me), and that is also when I launched my freelance illustrating business, too. So, I was actually dividing my time between the two businesses. The comics were intended to be a sideline that would bring in some extra income.

Lisa and I dated for a couple of years, then lived in sin for a couple of years, then finally tied the knot in 1991. I worked part time in the evenings at the Worchester Telegram, which was handy, since it provided me with some steady income, and left the daytimes open for me to mess around with my two other businesses. Ironically, I got laid off in 1991 shortly before I was to be married. Talk about pressure. Of course, I wanted to get laid off, so I could collect unemployment insurance for a few months to help me not drown while I got on my feet.

AC: Scoop’s J.C. Vaughn really wants to know the story behind your world famous Superworld Christmas cards.
TVL: Lisa and I started creating the Christmas cards when Jacqui was born. Lisa had been a professional photographer, and with her skills, was able to take really great pics. So, we'd put our heads together and brainstorm ideas, and we could get pretty silly. It's really fun! It's all about coming up with something creative and amusing. Often we'd do two different sets of cards, one for the comic crowd, and one for family and friends locally. You can guess which the crazier one is.

AC: Do you get a lot of feedback on them from people?
TVL: We have gotten lots of feedback, as most everybody loves getting the cards. In fact, we've had guys ask why they didn't get one if I forgot 'em.

AC: Yeah, you missed sending mine out a couple of times I think. Any cards in particular that you are particularly fond of?
TVL: One that really stands out was the one with a Christmas stocking by the fireplace that had AF 15 and other key books rolled up in it. Some of the guys were freaked out that we'd roll up such important books! They must not have been familiar with the miracles of Photoshop. Ha Ha. A lot of people liked the one with the pic of Lisa, Me, and daughter Jacqui with the reindeer horns. That was Jacqui's idea. I think my number one favorite was a recent one with me as Santa looking through our books at the office

AC: Now let’s talk about your being an Overstreet Advisor.
TVL: Being an Overstreet Advisor has been an honor for me.

AC: How did this come about?
TVL: My friend Tom Gordon, who was working with Gemstone at the time, approached me some seven or eight years ago about becoming an advisor, and I was immediately excited about the idea! Speaking of Gemstone, I'm glad that Steve Geppi has kept the credibility of the Guide solid, and maintained the firm scientific analyses of sales and market reports and the like. That's what really separates The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide from the rest, the basis of actual sales and a fine antenna on the actual market rather than wishful thinking or just fabricating prices.

AC: What does an Overstreet Advisor do exactly?
TVL: Well, I haven't contributed as much directly as I'd like. At this point, there's so much detail in the Guide about individual comics that all that's needed are tweaks and the occasional extra piece of information. Every now and then, I try to add in notes about a popular artist whose art appears in a particular issue, or what I might see as a pricing discrepancy. Actually, a funny story is that a few years back, I had mentioned to some friends that Conan #8, page 14, has a hidden joke on it. I had just mentioned it in passing as an amusing aside. A year or two later, and to the present, this is now noted in the Guide! My little aside took on a life of its own and reached the ears of someone who produces the guide, and it got included. I hadda laugh! Anyways, I'm quite happy to be part of the “Rogues Gallery” in the back of the guide.

AC: How has the market place changed since you started?
TVL: Boy, it's gone through profound changes. Here are the basics. When I started in '87, comics were just starting to catch fire after a slack period. Most were still fairly cheap, but prices were rising fast. It was a great environment to speculate in, which is basically what I was doing. Trial and error figuring out what I could sell. When I started in '87, comics were just starting to catch fire after a slack period. Most were still fairly cheap, but prices were rising fast. It was a great environment to speculate in, which is basically what I was doing. It was all trial and error figuring out what I could sell. Then, the '90s for the most part were still sparking in general. Golden Age was very popular and there was explosive growth in Silver Age and original Art. Then, when Ernie Gerber's Photo Journal Guides to Comic Books came out, that created an entire sub genre of cover collectors based on the awesome covers they saw pictured in the Photo Journal. I know many others I've talked to have a more negative cast on things, but I've never sweated the ups and downs of the comic business climate. Then, sometime around the turn of the millennium, CGC came into the comics market. I didn't even have an inkling at the time just how they'd transform the hobby for better and worse.

AC: I have heard that from so many dealers and collectors.
TVL: They've created a lot of excitement, brought in people from outside the hobby, and allowed guys like me to make more on certain books, but on the other hand, have kind of seized control of the market and discouraged a lot of true collectors. One major problem now is that so many buyers are focused on like 10% of the books available now, while it used to be that I could sell just about everything. On the other hand, when I can find outstanding issues, it's like selling gold. Just very hard to consistently find good enough material.

AC: So you think that is because of CGC?
TVL: Partly. I think it's partly because so many collectors have been able to acquire most of the books they wanted, so they started looking to upgrade. CGC plays right into that on the extreme. With prices being at the level they are, a casual collector is not inclined to just jump in.

AC: Give us your assessment of the marketplace today.
TVL: Comics have been in the process of making the leap to elite collectible status. We've actually been lucky in that our hobby is so intrinsically cool that it's begun to capture the imagination and interest of the mainstream. Who'da thunk it? I do see concurrent markets at work. You've got the low end, where run of the mill books are sold cheaply at major discounts. Then, you have the market for nice material that is a good value or of exceptional quality. Then, you've got the high end market, big ticket items. Truly major or iconic types of pieces. I do wonder though what the future holds, since youngsters under the age of, say 25 or 30 are so video oriented, and haven't been immersed in the newsstand culture we grew up with. They don't read as much unfortunately. Some of my friends have speculated that the future of comics lies online, but to me, that's a different entity to some extent. I think guys in our age group will always want the paper and the sweet feel and smell of old pulp.

AC: Has the art of selling vintage comics changed at all since you started?
TVL: By art, I assume the methods of selling?

AC: Correct
TVL: It sure has. At least physically. In terms of how I interact with people and treat them, it's the same, but now we do almost everything online. Email has become primary, and the phone is secondary now. Comic shows are still major, but with the availability of the internet, it's not as imperative as it was for collectors to show up at the shows. A lot of guys still like to see things in person though, and like to take in the show experience, which is great. There are fewer exclusively comic shows now. Most of the bigger shows are “Pop Culture Extravaganzas,” which mix various popular forms of entertainment. So far, the comic crowd has been willing to accept this arrangement

AC: Where do you see the collector market 10 years from now?  You mentioned online reading. With DC going digital now along with print books will the back issue market and comic conventions in general still be viable in the future?
TVL: I think DC is trying to hedge their bets, and see if there's a viable way to maintain a readership online. The question is how do they create a delivery system where they can charge a certain amount to make it profitable? I think the back issue market does depend to some extent on interest generated by new releases. I think that the major publishers will continue to publish, and even online will be sufficient to maintain interest in the back issues. Also, there will be independent publishers cropping up in the new frontier. I'm guessing that some old comics may become part of sort of an antiques market, while the exceptional stuff is already being commoditized. Maybe that's a good thing to keep them marketable down the road.

AC: What advice would you give to someone starting in the business of selling today?
TVL: First I would say to do some observing of the actual marketplace and look at what some of the successful dealers are doing. A second thing is to try to come up with ways to put yourself on the map, to get buyers to notice you. Third is to have at least a basic business plan. Have a long term plan, so that momentary setbacks won't sink you.

AC: What do you think your contribution to the hobby in terms of the selling of vintage comics is?
TVL: Well, I've been able to drag down the level of interaction to my own level. Ha Ha. Seriously, I would say that I've been able to inject my love of the art form into my business and convey that to my friends and customers. I like to say to people that the day I am doing this just for money is the day I quit! I look at myself as just one of many who create this force field framework that collectors can rely on. I mean that I'm one of the many dealers and collectors who put our heart and soul into this hobby. I'm a true fan. I do love and miss the old form of amateur fandom.

AC: Ted, thanks lots for taking time out of your busy schedule and sitting for this interview.