The flea market has been literally packed with boxes of comic books lately. Sure there are some collectible books for sale, but there’s an overabundance of older comic books that aren’t worth a ton of money, and those are the ones I’m after. I had a bit of fun making these superhero inspired comic book magnets: Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Captain America, and yes, even Robin.
Comic Book Magnets
And who can resist those sound effect words: WHOMP – WHAM – WHACK! So after skimming through quite a few old comic books, I selected a handful of speech bubbles, sound effects and superhero faces to come up with these easy to make comic book magnets.
We used acrylic blanks that are no longer available, however these little Acrylic Blanks
are a good substitute. I’ve made several projects with them already. You can see links to those at the end of this post.
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For this project you will need the following supplies:
- Acrylic Blanks
- Old comic books
- 3/4-inch round magnets
- Tools: Scissors, Mod Podge, pen
, pen
Go through your comic books and look for superhero faces, speech bubbles that you like and of course, those ever famous sound effect words!
Place an acrylic shape over the part you want to use and trace around it.
Keep each one together so that you know which one goes with which!
When you cut out the pieces, cut inside the tracing lines a bit so that they fit neatly on the back of the acrylic shape.
Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the FRONT of the comic book cut-out. Press it to the BACK of the acrylic shape. If you need to reposition it, do it right away. it will start to dry pretty quickly. Be sure to press firmly to make sure there’s no air bubbles.
Add a little dollop of Mod Podge to a magnet and press it firmly to the back of the acrylic. Let them dry completely before using.
NOTE: I don’t add the magnets with hot glue because if the magnet gets knocked off the fridge, the likelihood of the magnet coming off with hot glue is very high. I speak from experience! The Mod Podge holds much better.
Hope you like them, I thought they came out really fun! Would be a great gift for a superhero or comic fan, or a unique Father’s Day gift.
More crafts with acrylic shapes
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My friend Amy, over at Mod Podge Rocks has this awesome tutorial for Comic Book Coasters too, so don’t miss it!
Superhero Comic Book Magnets
Supplies
- Acrylic Blanks
- Old comic books
- 3/4- inch round magnets
- Tools: Scissors Mod Podge, pen
Instructions
- Go through your comic books and look for superhero faces, speech bubbles that you like and of course, those ever famous sound effect words!
- Place an acrylic shape over the part you want to use and trace around it.
- Keep each one together so that you know which one goes with which!
- When you cut out the pieces, cut inside the tracing lines a bit so that they fit neatly on the back of the acrylic shape.
- Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the FRONT of the comic book cut-out. Press it to the BACK of the acrylic shape. If you need to reposition it, do it right away. it will start to dry pretty quickly. Be sure to press firmly to make sure there's no air bubbles.
- Add a little dollop of Mod Podge to a magnet and press it firmly to the back of the acrylic. Let them dry completely before using.
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Keri says
The mod podge acrylic shapes you recommend are no longer available. Do you have any other recommendations that would work well?
Amanda Formaro says
Darn – just found this out myself :/ Glass gems would work as well. Here’s a project using the same method and glass gems https://craftsbyamanda.com/dictionary-magnets-crafty-words/
Mike says
How much do you sell your magnets for?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Mike – I don’t sell my crafts.
Shay says
Awesome idea!! My sisters and I are all huge Star Wars fans, and I think these would make fantastic gifts for them this Christmas! I bet this would work with sections from some favorite books, too. :)
Amanda Formaro says
Great idea using Star Wars!
Tara says
Where do you get the ones without holes
Amanda Formaro says
The ones that I used came in a pack that had both types. I don’t know that they actually sell packs with just the regular ones by themselves. Ask at your local craft store, I’m sure they can probably help with that. Or you can call customer service at Plaid, the manufacturer – 1-800-842-4197 Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. EST
Jane says
Totally want to try this – Old Archie comics (which I have loads of) would be great for this craft too.
Amanda Formaro says
Ohhh yes they would!
Borei Design says
My son is a comic fanatic and he’s always drawing comic book characters which hang on my fridge. How perfect would these be to hang them up? I love it and so will he. Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
That would be awesome!
marla says
The magnet link is broken. What size magnets did you use with these acrylic shapes? Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
I’ve fixed it, thanks for pointing that out!
Pablo says
Hi, link for the magnets still doesn’t work. What size are them? Thanks
Amanda Formaro says
Hi, Pablo. Thanks for letting me know. I fixed it once again! the magnets are 3/4-inch round magnets.:)
Tina says
The rare molybdenum magnets are smaller and stronger than the ones from craft stores..they never fall off
Shae says
Thanks for the lovely idea! I made these for Christmas presents this year and they came out fabulous.
Amanda Formaro says
that’s awesome, thanks Shae!
Shae says
I’m definitely going to do these for Christmas this year! I was wondering if you could tell me the size of the largest shape, just so I can get an idea of what these look like finished. Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
I would say 2-inches tops? :)
amy says
Did you do anything with the ones with the holes in them or is there something you could suggest to do with those ones???
Amanda Formaro says
They are perfect for keychains and jewelry charms!
Marty says
Love this !!!!!
thank you, thank you, thank you
Maribel says
I am in a crunch for time. I will not be able to look through comic books. If I print images on cardstock do you think it would work also??
Amanda Formaro says
You could, but you will need to use a laser jet printer rather than an ink jet, and prep the printed images by spraying them with an acrylic sealer first. There are similar instructions here https://craftsbyamanda.com/family-photo-magnets/
Khushi says
These magnets look amazing!
Can you tell me specifically which Mod Podge product did you use to stick the comic book to the acrylic shape and which Mod Podge product you used to stick the comic book to the magnet?
This is the first time I’ll be using Mod Podge and it isn’t available where I live. I tried ordering it on Amazon, but there are like a million different Mod Podge products from Mod Podge Dimensional Magic to Mod Podge Gloss and what not.
As somebody who doesn’t know anything about Mod Podge I’m confused. Haha.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)
P.S. I love your blog!
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Khushi! When you are on this post https://craftsbyamanda.com/2014/07/superhero-comic-book-magnets.html click the link in the supply list toward the top of the page. That will take you to the exact Mod lodge that I used (matte finish). Have FUN!
Chris says
The Mod Podge Acrylic Shapes on Amazon look like they have holes in them for a key chain. Are these the ones you used or should there be another type without the holes?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Chris! The package actually contains both types. There are some with holes and some without. :)
Linda Beegle says
If I decided to sell these, would I have any copywrite problems?
Amanda Formaro says
Because of the comics you mean? I don’t believe so, but I’m not a lawyer! You may want to check with your attorney if that’s a concern you have.
Lee says
“Copyright guidelines”
Once someone has purchased a comic, it is your property to do whatever you want.
👍
Mfary says
Yes, you would unless the book is no longer in print.
Debi says
There would be trademark issues.
One can not sell new items that use trademarked characters, without permission.
DM Harmon says
That was my concern also. I’m not sure that using the comics and the characters is legal AT ALL. It seems like a straight up and down case of copyright infringement. I don’t think you would be able to sell these things on Etsy, Amazon, or eBay because of using these characters w/o express permission from the comic book company or the original artist.
Tseng says
I know this is an old comment but I wanted to post this for others in case they have the same questions.
Most companies while they have strict copyright laws tend to turn a very blind eye on things like this. For them it is free marketing and many allow these types of items to be sold IF they are not sold in mass bulk, not sold as official licensed and sold for the price it took to make the items (aka you can’t make a huge profit off them) also and this is kind of a DUH… don’t claim the work as your legal copyrighted work.
Some companies are far more strict, Disney being one of them. Marvel and DC though seem to have no issue as long the you follow what was stated above.
Lindsay says
These are so much fun! Thanks for the instructions!
Melissa says
Ok.. maybe I am slow lol, but you said glue the comic to the back and turn over to apply the magnet. Does the magnet then go on the.front?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Melissa. It does clearly state to attach the magnet to the back of the acrylic shape, but I can see the confusion as I stated to “turn the shapes over” at the beginning of that sentence. So I have edited the instructions to remove that. Thanks for pointing it out.