Somewhat OT; The Depressed Comic Book Collector

[Badlands]

So, I have been known to frequent craigslist from time to time, and have on occassion even ran across some great deals. A guy recently listed "thousands upon thousands of comic books for sale". Gotta check it out, right? I go to his home, we proceed to walk back to an old, dirty barn. The door is stuck shut , so he has to put some weight behind it just to open it.

 

I walk in to this barn to find not thousands of comics, but thousands of long-boxes of comics! Floor to roof, all walls, and the center of this rather large barn was packed also! I truly have never seen the like; hmmm....what could be in here?

 

The problem is, they are literally FLOOR TO CEILING, so you cannot even effectively search the boxes. Aaaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!

 

That's where the depression part comes in: one, I have no idea what he has (could be a gold mine), and two, the top layers were pretty filthy; they have been there awhile.

 

So I found a nice complete set of Marvel's Pizzazz magazine from the 70's, paid $15, off I went, with the promise to come back in the spring and go hunting!

 

Wanted to share!

[TheWatcher]

I believe that's how Chuck found the Church collection

[Badlands]

I believe that's how Chuck found the Church collection

 

Makes me wanna run back there and start tearing through his barn!

[Beau]

Probably shouldn't have mentioned it here...now every boardie in the Tri-State area is gonna be combing CL until they find that guy's ad. By the time spring rolls around that barn will probably be empty.

[DR.X]

I personally would have never walked out of there without knowing what was there. If they've been in a barn for any length of time, there could be water or rodent damage.

Everytime I said I would go back to look at something, it was gone upon my return. Go back on a Saturday and start digging, and keep digging. I'm getting nervous thinking about this.

 

DR.X

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

Probably shouldn't have mentioned it here...now every boardie in the Tri-State area is gonna be combing CL until they find that guy's ad. By the time spring rolls around that barn will probably be empty.

 

Probably not, they'll leave the 90s Image and Valiants behind.

[oakman29]

I would be there all day thumbing through every box,you never know?

Hello Action Comics #1 found in a basement and saved their home,just sayin'

[Badlands]

I personally would have never walked out of there without knowing what was there. If they've been in a barn for any length of time, there could be water or rodent damage.

Everytime I said I would go back to look at something, it was gone upon my return. Go back on a Saturday and start digging, and keep digging. I'm getting nervous thinking about this.

 

DR.X

 

I did go through the Pizzazz mags pretty thoroughly, seem pretty nice, F/VF range. In all fairness though, they were kinda "tucked away" in a corner.

[Badlands]

I would be there all day thumbing through every box,you never know?

Hello Action Comics #1 found in a basement and saved their home,just sayin'

 

Yeah, I hear you, but call me a wuss, the guy couldn't hang out all night. Bad back from military (I am prior service myself), he really didn't know I was coming, so I took pity and left. His son set up the meet, but then he didn't show.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

I would be there all day thumbing through every box,you never know?

Hello Action Comics #1 found in a basement and saved their home,just sayin'

 

Yeah, I hear you, but call me a wuss, the guy couldn't hang out all night. Bad back from military (I am prior service myself), he really didn't know I was coming, so I took pity and left. His son set up the meet, but then he didn't show.

 

I'd call him in a couple of days, ask him if he'd be willing to let you go through some more boxes on a Saturday, offer to bring a box of fresh donuts and hot coffee from Dunkin' for his troubles, tell him to grab a comfortable chair, and make it worth his while.

 

While I doubt there's an Action # 1 to be had, I've never come away from a hoard that big (assuming I was one of the first ones there), without a substantial find or two that makes the time and money invested worthwhile.

[Bosco685]

I believe that's how Chuck found the Church collection

 

Mile High II/Mafia Porn collection, where he had to walk across the tops of long boxes just to get to one side and dig through the other boxes.

 

Very interesting story he tells in the Tales of the Database section of his site.

 

Mile High II Collection Part I

[kdoginohio]

[Bosco685]

 

Go ahead - ask him.

 

"Any Stevens books?"

 

[Sal]

Weren't the Larson books stored in a barn?

 

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

Probably shouldn't have mentioned it here...now every boardie in the Tri-State area is gonna be combing CL until they find that guy's ad. By the time spring rolls around that barn will probably be empty.

 

Probably not, they'll leave the 90s Image and Valiants behind.

 

I'll take all the pre-Unity please...

[Subliminal]

Why on earth would you leave there without one picture?

 

Every cellphone has one nowadays.

[Doohickamabob]

Pizazz are fun magazines. Does their presence indicate most of his comics stuff is from the 1970s?

[Beau]

I can understand you taking pity on a fellow vet, but you should really set up another meet with his son ASAP. I was kidding earlier when I said boardies from the area would chickenhawk the find from this thread, but in all seriousness, some local dealer who also reads CL most likely will.

 

If you have the capital, I'd ask how much they want for all of it, and be sure to let them know that most of it will be worthless, especially the stuff in the outer boxes that has been exposed to vermin and the elements. Let them know you'll take care of the removal and transportation of the many tons of books, but that's got to be reflected in the price. You're going to probably have to rent a semi for the 'keepers', and god knows how many dumpsters for the garbage books.

 

Before you make a firm offer though, start digging through the layers of longboxes to see where the ruination ends, and the undamaged books begin. Termites, rats and silverfish can carve quite a path of destruction over four decades.

[bronze_rules]

Here's a little story. There's this old guy that is currently sitting upon untold boxes and boxes of comics, among thousands of other collectibles. I rummaged through a few and found multiples of kull 1 (like 30) through 20 something, Cat 1-10, etc... Plenty of bronze multiples. Even bought a few (I think the Kull 1s I got are UHG). They are so compressed and unorganized, that you can't even get through a fraction of them (literally). The kicker is that he said he gets very nervous with people looking through his comics and only wants to sell the 80s dollar fodder so he doesn't let me truly 'search'. Says he also has several marvel mysteries in a vault, but doesn't want to get taken. Bought his stuff in bulk way back in the seventies.

 

Now if anyone wants to pay a finders fee and can actually talk this guy into opening up a little.... Just kidding, but do notice I'm purposely being vague, to save the guy from the chickenhawks and vultures.

 

The stuff is out there, folks. I've seen glimpses and I've heard the stories (the kind that cause dealers to get into lifelong grudges/jealousy, etc..) firsthand.

 

 

[Subliminal]

I suggest we just nuke it from orbit and watch all our collections appreciate as a result.

 

Seriously, who stores books like this?

I 'm currently watching Storage wars and I'm thinking this collection is several generations beyond the original collector and knee deep in vultures drinking the klondike koolaid with no clue as to what is in the boxes.

 

They are selling mythology to the highest bidder IMO and they want the word out about this stash