Comic Collector Live Review By Ben Sweetser

What this means is you need to know the beginning of the spelling of what you are looking for. Say, for example, that you remembered the writer’s first name was Reginald, but you couldn’t think of his last name, you would need to browse through the list rather than using the search capability. This was similar with characters. Because searching in the software relies entirely on what is in the Comic Collector Live database, if they have not added a credit or a character, then you will not find the comic and you will not be able to add this information to find it in the future without submitting a change request.

Browsing is a different story. It is easy to move between different views that show the entire catalog (all issues for the titles you have downloaded), just issues in stock, and just issues on the wish list, but you can only view one title at a time. When viewing the catalog view, it is a bit awkward to tell which items are in your collection because it just denotes the “in stock” items with a little green plus sign. Issues with multiple covers are even more confusing, as you need to drill down multiple levels to see the various covers and which ones are in your collection.

Wish list (2 stars)

Adding items to the wish list in Comic Collector Live is a little awkward. Only one item can be added to the wish list at a time, and this is done by selecting the issue to add to the wish list and either clicking a button on the tool bar or right-clicking the issue and moving through multiple menus. The included wish list report displays publisher, title, issue number with cover information (i.e. variant), printing number, cover date, and cover price. Noticeably missing from the report is the current value of the comic, which is very helpful when looking for something on a wish list.

Determine the value of your collection (0 stars)

Though it advertises this capability, Comic Collector Live does not yet appear to have this information, even when you enter the condition of the comic. Comic Collector Live is a promising beginning to collecting software, but it is still just a beginning. The database is a very nice feature to allow collectors to see complete information about a title, even for issues not in their collections, but right now it is a bit too restrictive. It includes a very nice little 12-step wizard for determining the condition of a comic, but the wizard can be tedious as it is the only way to add a non-CGC condition to a comic, and it needs to be done an issue at a time. z

The software is also promising in the sense that it promises a lot right now that it does not yet deliver. A lot seems to have been spent on marketing a free product that is not yet complete. I was unable to determine the current value of my comics and the “Live Market” for buying and selling comics is also not yet available. The reports do not currently show any total information (such as number of comics or even a total on the purchase price). The interface is still a little clumsy and requires a bit too much movement for performing some of the more basic tasks. It is, however, a good bargain for the price (free), and it will be interesting to see what the final product looks like. Look for an updated review when Comic Collector Live reaches version 1.0.

About the reviewer:
Ben Sweetser is a guest reviewer for About.com. By day he works for a software company teaching people how to use software and working with development to improve software usability. He doesn’t blog or have a website on the topic of comics. He is just your average, everyday avid comic reader and collector. Interested in seeing other software reviewed? Drop him a line at bsweetser@gmail.com.