What is your personal story about buying or selling comics that PROVES you're insane? 4 4

[fmaz]

My wife will make me tell this story to to people, especially when I try to claim that my love of all things comics is just a "hobby I've had for 40 or so years"... to prove that I'm certifiable.    A) she's right, and B) I kinda figure everyone has at least one story like this, so let's share them and make ourselves feel a bit better by at least laughing at each other for the stupid things we've done in the name of "funny books" (as my dad always called them).

Ok, my story.

I responded to an ad on Craigslist from a guy a few towns away from me who said he had a ton of comics he'd never gone through and he just wanted to ge rid of them.  He posted some photos and it looked like a lot of 90's drek, but there was some 80's stuff peaking in there, and a few 70's books too... so it was absolutely worth a look.  Plus, he seemed like a nice guy via email and it was only a 10 minute ride.

Anyway, I got to the town, and pulled down his street. It seemed like there was a gap between these two big beautiful houses and where his house, should be... but the only thing there was what looked like the abandoned version of the Addams' Family home.  NO WAY that was it...  But yeah, when I circled back, I saw the number on the mailbox and drove up the (unpaved) drive to the ONLY spooky house in the block.

When I got out, he emerged from behind the house to greet me.  I swear I don't remember what he looked like, because he vanished right away, all he did was beckon for me to follow him behind the house.  I immediately thought about leaving then... but I didn't.

So I walked behind the creepy house.

Then I met him and he seemed fine.  And he pointed to a pair of storm cellar doors.   Now anyone who isn't from New England might not be familar with storm cellar doors? They're the big metal doors that go into the ground, that lead to the underground storage of a house.   In pretty much every horror movie ever made, this is where 95% of the bodies are found, chopped up.  That place.

Anyway, he opened the storm celler doors, and disappeared down them and said "come on down, they're all down here."

And I swear to God, I remember everything that happened at that moment.

My exact thought that went through my mind was "Huh. So this is how I'm going to die?"   And I walked down into the storm celler.

Ended up buying like $25 worth of books... I think the best one was a decent copy of Amazing Spider-Man #238.  But with no tattooz. So... was it really worth risking my life?  I mean, if it HAD the tattooz, MAYBE.  But without it?  Very likely not.

And THAT'S the story my wife thinks confirms that I am bat-sh*t crazy about comic books.

Next?

 

Edited July 4, 2017 by fmaz

[shadroch]

Met a guy in a bar in Vegas back when I lived in NY. Maybe 2003/2004. He mentioned he'd grown up all over as his father was an Air force Officer.  We were both military brats so we had that in common. Then he tells me his Father was a big comic collector and had all the biggies. Amazing Fantasy 1, FF 1, FF48, Daredevil 1, tells me his favorite was the Daredevil where he fights Submariner.  He says his Dad died a few years ago and the books, as far as he knows, are in his Step Mothers house in Utah.  He tries to get in touch with her the next day, but cant for some reason. He has to go back to LA where he does something for something movie related.  We keep in touch, on my next trip to Vegas, he flies into Salt Lake and I drive there.  Only a few SA/BA books there, not enough to even cover my gas, let alone my time. His Step Mother thinks they might be in a storage unit about 200 miles away, but only this guys brother can access it.  We call him, but he is also in the movie business and is in Canada and will be there for a month. Doesn't know anything about the comics, hasn't seen them in years but there are lots  of boxes  of his fathers things there. He also says that we should check out the fathers cabin in Nowheresville Montana.  He seems to remember a couple on the wall there.

A few months go by and I have a week off I'm planning on spending in Vegas, but I fly into Salt Lake, meet up with the guy and his brother, rent a car and drive three hours to the storage facility to find the locker empty. 100% empty.  They offer to drive the eight hours or so to the cabin but I am pissed and contemplate leaving them there and driving on to Nevada by myself.  I don't and detour 200 miles to drop them off, wasting two days of my week long vacation.

Three days later I get a call from the brother and he tells me their sister has four long boxes of  comics, that they are all 12 cents to 20 cents and in rigid plastic holders.  He wants $500 for her phone number.  I refuse. A week or so later, the guy from LA calls me and says they are having a family reunion in a few months and the sister will bring the books with her. He promises that as soon as he has the books in hand he will call me. Reunion is supposed to be in August.  September comes and no word.  I reluctantly call him and he says the Sister did bring the books but the brother insisted that they split the books three ways, so he has one third. His brother supposedly sold his books to a ' big company from back east and got $15,000 for them, so he wants $15,000 for his part, as well.  Books are in LA and he wants me to come there, and bring cash.  I tell him I'm going to Vegas in a few weeks and we will talk.  I'm thinking I can fly to Vegas, enjoy my week, then drive to LA, pick up the books and fly home from there.  I ask him to send me some pictures of the books. He sends a photo of a nice FF in the teens.  I ask for more, he sends me a blurry shot of about 15 books, but I can't tell condition.  A couple days later, he calls needing cash. Says the NY dealer is offering him $17,000 and while he wants to sell to me, he needs the money today. Tells me I have 48 hours to wire him the money or pick the books up in person.

I passed. To this day, I don't know if the whole thing was a scam or not.

[shadroch]

Does staying friendly with a person I couldn't really stand just because he had an amazing collection and would be out on the street the day his elderly mother died count?

[aardvark88]

I bought an orange crate full of coverless mishmash parts from mix of publishers circa 1937 to 1940. Coverless, incomplete coverless, missing 1st or 2nd wraps, missing centerfold or wraps, rusty staple, front cvr only, back cvr only drek. My buddy who owned a comic shop told me I was Krazy to buy that coverless drek 8 years ago, as no one at that time wanted totally trashed , spine rolled, rat chewed parts. Way too low grade.  The comic parts were out of title sequence so would take me a lot of  time to try to match up the interiors with proper issue #s using Grand Comic book database.

I did the transaction as it was part trade for an Avengers #4 vg+ plus cash. Inside the box was Action #2 to 21, Detect #28 to 35, All-American #2 to 11, Movie Comics (DC) #1 to 5, Superman #2, 4, Centaurs, Fox, Fiction House, King Comics, loose incomplete Famous Funnies parts. Almost no Timely, some funny animal (WDCS).  

The vendor was not stupid, as the Batman #1 detached back cvr was priced higher by itself. Today on eBay or on the Forum, there is a fairly active market for loose vintage parts for marrying to a back issue, thus I did OK in the long run.

[fmaz]

45 minutes ago, shadroch said:

Does staying friendly with a person I couldn't really stand just because he had an amazing collection and would be out on the street the day his elderly mother died count?

No, but save that story for the post "List the story that confirms that you're a horrible, horrible person".  That'll work great for that one.  Especially if you were rooting for the demise of the mother.  

[shadroch]

Just now, fmaz said:

No, but save that story for the post "List the story that confirms that you're a horrible, horrible person".  That'll work great for that one.  Especially if you were rooting for the demise of the mother.  

It wasn't like that. Walter was a normal guy, even played in a Black Sabbath cover band, but about 28 he got jilted and his whole personality changed.  He was a very troubled guy who lost his license for drinking, took up biking and used to ride around the neighborhood seemingly all day and night. A lot of people thought he was creepy. I wouldn't go that far, but I wouldn't trust him around small animals either.

[1950's war comics]

I look for "Leave it to Binky" comics so that PROVES i am insane

[tv horror]

It was the early eighties and I was having a bit of a hard time money wise so I brought two boxes full of comics to my local comic store to sell. Some of the titles were Hulk 181 Dr Strange 169 Spider-man 129 things like that that have gone up in price since, what did he tell me "These are rubbish!" and he then walked away laughing, I've never bought another book or anything from his rubbish shop again. The sad fact was I was buying hundreds of dollars from his store each year.  

[kav]

47 minutes ago, tv horror said:

It was the early eighties and I was having a bit of a hard time money wise so I brought two boxes full of comics to my local comic store to sell. Some of the titles were Hulk 181 Dr Strange 169 Spider-man 129 things like that that have gone up in price since, what did he tell me "These are rubbish!" and he then walked away laughing, I've never bought another book or anything from his rubbish shop again. The sad fact was I was buying hundreds of dollars from his store each year.  

Had similar experience early nineties LCS offered me $3 each for ASM 17, 19, 22, 24 etc.  I kept em.

[1950's war comics]

1 minute ago, kav said:

Had similar experience early nineties LCS offered me $3 each for ASM 17, 19, 22, 24 etc.  I kept em.

Thats why i mostly collected coins until i started comics up again a few years ago after a 30 yr absence...

Every single coin i ever bought i was able to sell back to the coin stores , some for more then i paid some for less but they made respectable percentage offers for each and every coin

With comics even today you can easily have just made a $25.00 individual comic purchase and if you tried to sell it back to them a few years later they offer you four bucks

i think that is why so many are just buying comic keys only,..as they can be sold for a decent percent of what you bought it for while others get pennies on the dollar

[tv horror]

The coins is a good point however the comics especially the keys you mentioned who knows what the next big issue is or at least hot movie wise. I've seen some marvellous  collections on here in the hundreds but other than silver age or golden age most of it is worthless which is a pity.  

[Moondog]

In the early 90s I got a call from a guy near Indianapolis.  He said his father-in-law left his wife some GA comics and asked me if I was interested.  He wasn't sure what he had.  I had an old friend in the area so I thought I'd drive down, take a look at the comics, and if they were trash at least I'd have a nice meal with an old buddy. 

When I pull into the "compound" (about a two miles off the main road) where the house was located, I noticed large cages placed throughout the property.  These were similar to cages you'd see at the circus for lion and tiger tamers.  I was instructed not to leave my car when I pulled up to the house - that the seller would come out to get me.  So I pulled up and waited.  After 5 minutes I honked once.  The door opened and the seller stepped out and made a loud call - suddenly 2 of the largest, meanest Doberman's charged my car and were jumping and growling and slobbering over my windows - think Cujo.  After 10 or 15 seconds he calls them off and they crouch down next to him on the porch.  He beckons me to come out of the car.  I roll down the window and ask if he sure it's okay with the dogs.  He assures me they will do nothing to me as long as I don't attack him or approach him in any menacing way.  The lure of GA books is intoxicating so I open the door and step out and walk up the steps.  The dogs are eyeing me like I'm a ham bone or piece of juicy steak.  The seller offers me his hand and my first thought is that the dogs will think I'm attacking him.  He assures me again I have nothing to fear.  So we shake hands and walk inside. 

The house is full of mounted and stuffed animals.  He explains that the cages are pens for exotic animals that he raises and sells to wealthy people who want "pets" they can't find at a pet store.  Lions, tigers, and panthers.  Cheetahs and ocelots.  Even then I knew this was illegal, but of course I said nothing.  He had the largest knife on his belt I ever saw since Crocodile Dundee. It was more a machete than a knife. There were guns and rifles mounted on racks and in cases.  It was a crazy deadly place.

Yet the lure of GA comics confounded my good sense...

He then brought me to a room where there were stacks of GA DCs!  Star Spangled 1 was on the top of the stack.  All Star 3, 4, 5.  WW 1, 2 and hundreds of others.  I told him I was interested in buying them all.  After an hour of negotiating we hammer out a deal for $44,000.  Then he says he wants cash.  I explain that I don't have any cash on me, but if we go to his bank I can wire funds directly into his account.

He then looks at me with his deep dark eyes (kinda like Sam Elliot) and says matter-of-factly, "If you F**K me I will kill you."

I assure him that all will be to his liking and that wiring money is a common occurrence.  We go to his bank and walk in and we go to a teller.  I explain the situation and within 30 minutes the money is in his account.  He asks the teller, "Are you absolutely sure the money is in my account?"  She replies yes, and he slaps me on the back and says, "I like you!  You're an honest man!"

He drove me back to my car, loaded up the comics and I drove off.  Until last month this was the strangest buy I ever made...
 

 

Edited July 5, 2017 by Moondog

[AJD]

11 minutes ago, Moondog said:

In the early 90s I got a call from a guy near Indianapolis.  He said his father-in-law left his wife some GA comics and asked me if I was interested.  He wasn't sure what he had.  I had an old friend in the area so I thought I'd drive down, take a look at the comics, and if they were trash at least I'd have a nice meal with an old buddy. 

When I pull into the "compound" (about a two miles off the main road) where the house was located, I noticed large cages placed throughout the property.  These were similar to cages you'd see at the circus for lion and tiger tamers.  I was instructed not to leave my car when I pulled up to the house - that the seller would come out to get me.  So I pulled up and waited.  After 5 minutes I honked once.  The door opened and the seller stepped out and made a loud call - suddenly 2 of the largest, meanest Doberman's charged my car and were jumping and growling and slobbering over my windows - think Cujo.  After 10 or 15 seconds he calls them off and they crouch down next to him on the porch.  He beckons me to come out of the car.  I roll down the window and ask if he sure it's okay with the dogs.  He assures me they will do nothing to me as long as I don't attack him or approach him in any menacing way.  The lure of GA books is intoxicating so I open the door and step out and walk up the steps.  The dogs are eyeing me like I'm a ham bone or piece of juicy steak.  The seller offers me his hand and my first thought is that the dogs will think I'm attacking him.  He assures me again I have nothing to fear.  So we shake hands and walk inside. 

The house is full of mounted and stuffed animals.  He explains that the cages are pens for exotic animals that he raises and sells to wealthy people who want "pets" they can't find at a pet store.  Lions, tigers, and panthers.  Cheetahs and ocelots.  Even then I knew this was illegal, but of course I said nothing.  He had the largest knife on his belt I ever saw since Crocodile Dundee. It was more a machete than a knife. There were guns and rifles mounted on racks and in cases.  It was a crazy deadly place.

Yet the lure of GA comics confounded my good sense...

He then brought me to a room where there were stacks of GA DCs!  Star Spangled 1 was on the top of the stack.  All Star 3, 4, 5.  WW 1, 2 and hundreds of others.  I told him I was interested in buying them all.  After an hour of negotiating we hammer out a deal for $44,000.  Then he says he wants cash.  I explain that I don't have any cash on me, but if we go to his bank I can wire funds directly into his account.

He then looks at me with his deep dark eyes (kinda like Sam Elliot) and says matter-of-factly, "If you F**K me I will kill you."

I assure him that all will be to his liking and that wiring money is a common occurrence.  We go to his bank and walk in and we go to a teller.  I explain the situation and within 30 minutes the money is in his account.  He asks the teller, "Are you absolutely sure the money is in my account?"  She replies yes, and he slaps me on the back and says, "I like you!  You're an honest man!"

He drove me back to my car, loaded up the comics and I drove off.  Until last month this was the strangest buy I ever made...
 

 

Great story - but I'm looking forward to Part 2 after that cliff hanger!

Edited July 5, 2017 by AJD

[shadroch]

8 hours ago, tv horror said:

It was the early eighties and I was having a bit of a hard time money wise so I brought two boxes full of comics to my local comic store to sell. Some of the titles were Hulk 181 Dr Strange 169 Spider-man 129 things like that that have gone up in price since, what did he tell me "These are rubbish!" and he then walked away laughing, I've never bought another book or anything from his rubbish shop again. The sad fact was I was buying hundreds of dollars from his store each year.  

In the early 80s, they were.  Dr Strange 169 was a $2 book in average shape, Spidey 129 hadn't taken off yet and Hulk 181 was a $5-10 book.  First Issues were all the rage, not first appearances.  The Exception being the " trilogy" of FF 48-50.

[1950's war comics]

No kidding ! great story ! sound like an EC Horror comic ! i am also waiting for part two............

[tomo]

About two months ago, I decided a needed to seriously address a couple of holes in my Superman collection that had been bothering me for a couple of years.  I heard through the grapevine that this one guy had a massive collection of books, and just might have the couple I was looking for.  Turns out he has a website.

I barely made it out of there with my retinas and wallet intact!

[MustEatBrains]

I drove 4.5 hours in a blizzard one way (a ride that would normally take 35 minutes) responding to a craigslist ad for 2 boxes of SA books that was being sold for $80.  There were about 150 books total, the seller would not let me go through the boxes so I only saw the top 4 books as the were stacked on their backs 2 columns in each box.   I recall seeing the covers of a flash 139 and a Tec 360. Once I got home 3 hours later with the boxes found nice copies of Tec 359 and Bats 181 among others, first SA two face and scarecrow.  Probably the best score in the wild I ever had.  7.5 hours total drive time and when I got home my wife said I was completely certifiable.  Till this day I don't regret that white knuckled drive.

[tv horror]

 "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" We comic collectors so swear!

[fmaz]

These stories are great! Keep 'em coming.  I'm sort of starting to sense, as I'd hoped, that they are as much a badge of honor as they are complete confirmation of our lack of any common sense or good judgement regarding our own personal safety or well-being. 

Hmmm. Yeah, I know that doesn't sound any better when I type it than it does when I try to say it with conviction to my wife.

 

[lizards2]

15 hours ago, 1950's war comics said:

I look for "Leave it to Binky" comics so that PROVES i am insane

And I am an avid Baby Huey collector.