Death cleaning some old (well loved) underground comics.

May 24, 2024 5:54 AM

I'm looking for a low/zero effort way to get rid of a box of comics from the early 80s-90s (Weirdos, Raw, etc). If not for (typical UG comic) sexual content, I'd dump them in little libraries or give them to my nephews. They haven’t been preserved in a way that would make them valuable. I don’t want to itemize or field questions on a marketplace site but I still have too much affection for them to just bin them.
posted by brachiopod to Grab Bag (20 answers total)

Any cool indie bookstores in town? Record stores with a literature rack?
posted by hydrophonic at 5:57 AM on May 24 [2 favorites]

low/zero effort way to get rid of

Craigslist or Freecycle.
posted by amtho at 6:32 AM on May 24 [2 favorites]

Is it damaging sexual content, or healthy sexual content? If the latter, don't worry about it and give it to your nephews or libraries.
posted by Melismata at 6:34 AM on May 24

...um, they should still worry about it. We don't know nephews' ages, parents' attitudes, local laws and customs...
posted by amtho at 6:39 AM on May 24 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: The healthiness of the sexual content is very much open to interpretation (eg. - R. Crumb) but I'd personally feel weird getting it from a relative. Regarding Craigslist, etc.- I really want to avoid answering questions, arranging meetups, or otherwise interacting with the sorts of people who are scanning for free stuff they can hawk.
posted by brachiopod at 6:41 AM on May 24

If there's a Half Price Books near you, they'd probably give you some money for them. They resell pretty much any sort of media and it's not all in great condition.
posted by jabes at 6:58 AM on May 24

I have a strong hunch that The Beguiling will take them off your hands. Depending on the issue, a copy of Raw in bad condition will still fetch a decent price.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:10 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]

You could try posting this question in a Facebook group or subreddit for the nearest big city (make it clear you are looking for a suitable local business to donate/sell to and ignore the inevitable DMs from individuals who want to take/buy the comics).
posted by nanny's striped stocking at 8:06 AM on May 24

Probably the lowest effort way to get rid of them would be to put them out by the road with a "free" sign, if you live in a place where that's a reasonable thing to do. I guess you might have to worry that someone would pick them up for their kid without realizing there was sexual content, but maybe you could put a sexual content warning on the boxes.
posted by Redstart at 8:45 AM on May 24

This is a little more effort, but: you could find a Reddit group or other group of people who like/talk about this kind of comic, and offer them up there. If your taker is out of town, ask them to cover shipping.
posted by amtho at 8:54 AM on May 24

Response by poster: Thanks for the answers. It's not like these comics are all filthy but many have adult themes and I don't have the energy to check through them, so wouldn't consider just setting them outside for whomever to find. I like the idea of approaching one of the local hip record stores and see if they'll take them (or consider a trade for a few records).
posted by brachiopod at 9:02 AM on May 24

I lost all my comix (and everything else) in a house fire in 2017. I'd love to have Weirdos and Raws again, and would pay the media mail shipping for 'em. If that seems like something you'd like to do, please MeMail me.
posted by Dr. Wu at 9:03 AM on May 24 [12 favorites]

I'd check out reuse shops or shelters you can give it to for free.
posted by ljesse at 9:05 AM on May 24

If it were me I'd do a bit of a tour of your local adult stores or gay/queer stores or bars, if there are any in your area, and see if they're interested to take them as decorative material, or just to have around the place for patrons to read, if not to take for sale. I know one bar that used similar comics to cover some of their tables. If nothing else, they might be more willing to appreciate the vibes!

You might also try going to your local comic store. You'd be surprised what they're willing to take to have on hand as back issues. There might be a clientele they can sell them onto.
posted by fight or flight at 10:12 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]

Dr. Wu may have solved your problem, but I just realized the easiest thing might be "selling" them to a used bookstore (that would then perhaps post them to Ebay or Amazon or another web site). They will definitely guide them to an appreciative owner, and you'd be supporting a used bookstore.

https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/books/used-and-unusual-the-past-present-and-future-of-torontos-used-and-antiquarian-bookstores
posted by amtho at 11:25 AM on May 24

My town has a creative reuse center that you can donate things like this to. They sell things cheaply and it attracts a lot of the kinds of alt and creative people who might regard these as a real find. Maybe there’s something similar where you are?
posted by jeoc at 11:27 AM on May 24

I had a few comics (I was never a regular reader, but these were some I found interesting) that I needed to get rid of. I just took them to one of the older indie comic stores and gave them to them so they could sell them (again, as it turns out I had bought them there). So I didn't recycle them or throw the away, and I didn't worry about putting them on the curb where they could get ruined by weather or picked up by younger folk than should be reading them.
posted by TimHare at 1:38 PM on May 24

Which Raws do you have? Some of them can be pretty valuable.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:04 PM on May 25 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks but they're in “well read” condition, so not that attractive to collectors but the main problem is, I can’t bear the thought of listing/packing/shipping them.
posted by brachiopod at 4:21 PM on May 27

No, seriously, early issues of Raw are VERY rare and sought-after. A collector would be lucky to find some of them, in any condition, for less than $100. Issue #1 is listed for $750 on Ebay right now, with 12 watchers. If you have multiple early issues you could be sitting on a goldmine!

I'm chronically broke but if you're really looking to unload the things for a cheap price I honestly wouldn't give a poop about the condition. Same for the Weirdos. I'd just wanna read/have the things! If you memail me maybe we can work something out. I'd give 'em a loving home! (But that's just me being greedy, and my better self would tell you to get them evaluated by a pro.)
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:54 PM on May 27