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captain_slinkyI sat there, trembling slightly, as I thumbed through the comic book. Should I tell him that he has an incredible comic book here? Should I just act non-chalant and offer hime like a buck for it, claiming I just want it for reading? Or should I go more... sinister?
Last week, he had brought me his comic books because I offered to look at them and tell him what they're worth. Maybe work out a trade of some kind? Everyone who bought comic books 10 to 15 years ago thinks that they must have a veritable FORTUNE in comics by now, because they were promised by the sellers at the time that each issue was a "Collector's Item". And so as I looked through the first beer-box full of comics (not even in a sturdy white Comic Book Box, even!) I took note of the different issues he had.
A nice, long run of American Robotech re-prints from the late 80's.
Some early issues of TMNT.
Some early issues of GI Joe.
Nothing spectacular, worth maybe $2 a pop to the right collector, but really just fodder for the $1 bins at the next convention. Maybe even quarter-bin, depending on the general mood of the show. Entire box might be worth up to $100 (if he's lucky), and I told him so. He had been hoping to get around a Grand for it all.
Tonight, he brought in a second box. This one was in even worse shape than the first one! Stuffed with T-Shirts to keep the comics from sliding all over the place, I promised to take a look and get back to him. Right away I was impressed with the *other stuff* in the box; a vintage (early 80's) Robotech T-Shirt featuring Rick Hunter, a vintage "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" promotional poster with an advertisement for "Mork & Mindy" n the back, and a "Proof Copy" of the 18th Robotech novel for Del Rey publishing. All very cool stuff that was just kinda used to prop stuff up and fill out the box!
Then I got in to the comics.
Some very rare "How To Draw Robotech" manuals from the early 80's, worth about $10-$20 each.
The *later* issues of GI Joe, frm after the cartoon was cancelled and the print-run was lowered, a string of about 40 issues, each one worth between $10-$30.
A few copies of the rare Spawn Movie Premiere Special each worth about $10.
And then it hit me. I sat there, trembling slightly, as I thumbed through the comic book. Uncanny X-Men #266, the very first appearance of Gambit. A "key" book to say the least, a very hot commodity these days. Should I tell him that he has an incredible comic book here, worth sticking in a safe-deposit box till the next X-Men movie comes out (which, if the rumors are to be believed, will feature the crafty Cajun)? Should I just act non-chalant and offer hime like a buck for it, claiming I just want it for reading? Or should I go more... sinister? How easy would it be to just slip this comic book in to my bag and claim I never sayw it? The guy said he had no idea what was in these boxes, so why should he care? So easy... so very, very easy. I mean, as a comic book guy, this is the moment you wait for all your life! That tim that you thumb through the tattered comics at a garage sale and find a mint-cndition Amazing Fantasy in the middle of it all priced at 25-cents! The entire comic book industry is based on people like me going out of our way to find people like him who don't know that they have stuff like that, then exploit it to our advantage!
But then it flashed in my mind... "WWSMD?" What Would Superman Do? If I'm gonna be ANY type of comic book geek, I'm gonna be the type who has learned valuable lessons from his heroes. And Superman would NOT steal from an unsuspecting citizen! No, I've got to be good about this! So I sent him an e-mail letting him know what I had found, and begging him to let me buy it from him for a very low price.
Now if Karma works the way it's *supposed* to work, this should all work out for the best. Right? Well even if it doesn't, at least I'll know that I've done the right thing.
Last week, he had brought me his comic books because I offered to look at them and tell him what they're worth. Maybe work out a trade of some kind? Everyone who bought comic books 10 to 15 years ago thinks that they must have a veritable FORTUNE in comics by now, because they were promised by the sellers at the time that each issue was a "Collector's Item". And so as I looked through the first beer-box full of comics (not even in a sturdy white Comic Book Box, even!) I took note of the different issues he had.
A nice, long run of American Robotech re-prints from the late 80's.
Some early issues of TMNT.
Some early issues of GI Joe.
Nothing spectacular, worth maybe $2 a pop to the right collector, but really just fodder for the $1 bins at the next convention. Maybe even quarter-bin, depending on the general mood of the show. Entire box might be worth up to $100 (if he's lucky), and I told him so. He had been hoping to get around a Grand for it all.
Tonight, he brought in a second box. This one was in even worse shape than the first one! Stuffed with T-Shirts to keep the comics from sliding all over the place, I promised to take a look and get back to him. Right away I was impressed with the *other stuff* in the box; a vintage (early 80's) Robotech T-Shirt featuring Rick Hunter, a vintage "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" promotional poster with an advertisement for "Mork & Mindy" n the back, and a "Proof Copy" of the 18th Robotech novel for Del Rey publishing. All very cool stuff that was just kinda used to prop stuff up and fill out the box!
Then I got in to the comics.
Some very rare "How To Draw Robotech" manuals from the early 80's, worth about $10-$20 each.
The *later* issues of GI Joe, frm after the cartoon was cancelled and the print-run was lowered, a string of about 40 issues, each one worth between $10-$30.
A few copies of the rare Spawn Movie Premiere Special each worth about $10.
And then it hit me. I sat there, trembling slightly, as I thumbed through the comic book. Uncanny X-Men #266, the very first appearance of Gambit. A "key" book to say the least, a very hot commodity these days. Should I tell him that he has an incredible comic book here, worth sticking in a safe-deposit box till the next X-Men movie comes out (which, if the rumors are to be believed, will feature the crafty Cajun)? Should I just act non-chalant and offer hime like a buck for it, claiming I just want it for reading? Or should I go more... sinister? How easy would it be to just slip this comic book in to my bag and claim I never sayw it? The guy said he had no idea what was in these boxes, so why should he care? So easy... so very, very easy. I mean, as a comic book guy, this is the moment you wait for all your life! That tim that you thumb through the tattered comics at a garage sale and find a mint-cndition Amazing Fantasy in the middle of it all priced at 25-cents! The entire comic book industry is based on people like me going out of our way to find people like him who don't know that they have stuff like that, then exploit it to our advantage!
But then it flashed in my mind... "WWSMD?" What Would Superman Do? If I'm gonna be ANY type of comic book geek, I'm gonna be the type who has learned valuable lessons from his heroes. And Superman would NOT steal from an unsuspecting citizen! No, I've got to be good about this! So I sent him an e-mail letting him know what I had found, and begging him to let me buy it from him for a very low price.
Now if Karma works the way it's *supposed* to work, this should all work out for the best. Right? Well even if it doesn't, at least I'll know that I've done the right thing.
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no subject
Date: 2004-08-27 06:30 am (UTC)Tough call hon, that had to have been hard!
no subject
Date: 2004-08-27 11:07 am (UTC)Dear lord, I'm considering having a comic slabbed. What has the world come to???
no subject
Date: 2004-08-27 08:15 am (UTC)I intended to add some more cards to your stack, and didn't get to it, yet didn't mail it either. It'll go out today, sorry for my delay. :(
no subject
Date: 2004-08-27 11:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-27 11:29 am (UTC)At least we slack together.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-27 10:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-27 11:15 am (UTC)I feel your pain :(
no subject
Date: 2004-08-27 11:36 am (UTC)Someday when I actually have money I think I'll get them in graphic novel form. Someday ;)
no subject
Date: 2004-08-29 05:16 pm (UTC)