My Collection of Bubble Gum Comics

My Collection

I have been collecting off and on from 1983 to 1999; my main area of collecting is Bazooka Joe. Then in 1999 I got back into it and started collecting more. I have about 3500-4500 different comics in my collection, with about 9000 extras for trade or sale. I enjoy collecting, reading and researching them; I have cataloged over 120 different sets or variations. Topps put series numbers and comic numbers on almost every comic, making it somewhat of an easy thing to do. My collection also consists of wrappers, a few premiums, and a few shirts. I also collect other types of gum comics like Tommy Swell, Dubble Bubble, Archie, Henry, Marvel, Herman, and many others.

I ordered this from Bazooka in the mid 80s, and I had "Bazooka Joe" put on it instead of my name.

I will post pictures of my collection soon

Why I Collect

There are three reasons why I got into and stayed collecting gum comics. First they are small my entire collection of comics fits in a shoebox. You can have a huge collection and it takes up entirely no room at all, and weights pretty much nothing as well. Second is the fact that there are no books on the subject. All of the information I have or have written is all original. All the research I do or another collector helps me do is all new ground. I love to research things, problem solve, and stuff like that. So this makes gum comics a good hobby for me. The last part is the main reason I still collect today. The price of gum comics is really cheap. You can go to your local store and buy new ones for about 5 cents each. I have been buying gum comics from my local store since 1983 for 5 cents each. Although the price of the comics very by year and condition, they are still cheap because so many were made and so many kids kept them. Most of the childhood collections I buy range from 200 comics to 2000 comics. These collections usually contain about a 4-6 year period of comics and are somewhat in good condition.