Hello Scott and greetings,
If you are just getting started with postcards then I'd suggest focusing first on a small area in which to collect. You mention an interest in comic postcards so that seems a good place to start. Comic cards tend to be widely available at a reasonable cost, so any mistakes you make will be small ones and you will soon be able to put together a good collection. As you build that collection you will, as a by-product, also build a much wider knowlege of other postcard collecting themes and you will develop a better feel for prices and so on.
You might also find it worthwhile visiting a postcard collectors fair if any happen in your area or perhaps to see if there is a collectors club in your area.
Getting a price guide is sensible advice. Don't worry too much about it being a bit out of date, look upon it as a general guide as to what's sought after and what's everyday. Most printed guides ceased to be issued frequently as sales moved onto sites such as eBay and everything got more dynamic, the guides were always out of date. In general terms the cards that were priced low in an old guide will not have moved much since then, the higher priced topics will however have moved on.
There are some web sites that provide ebay price data for postcards, they tend to give details of the most watched, highest bids, and highest completed sales, the 'collectorsweekly' site is an example that has good postcard coverage including comic postcards though I'm sure there are others.
In short, my tips for anyone new to postcards are....... Learn by collecting and then by refining that collection. Buy what you like rather than what's 'valuable' while you find your way around. Research what you buy, the illustrator, publisher, subject, era, etc. Avoid damaged cards and protect cards from damage once you have them. Make contact with other collectors and share information.
Hope the above helps
Linda of About Postcards
