Weirdest place you obtained a comic?

[MrBedrock]

Think about this... In thirty or forty years it is possible that someone will return from the San Diego Comic Con (renamed Pop Culture International San Diego) and post something to the effect, "It was the most amazing thing. I was cruising around the far back corner of the convention center and happened upon a wizened old dude in Florida Gator Rugby gear selling what appeared to be vintage old comic books. Whodathunk those had any value?"

[Filter81]

A few years ago I drove out to look at a small original owner GA collection that had been found on Craigslist. When I got there the owner was outside on the porch smoking a cigarette. Head shaved, tattoos from the neck down, and three guns ON him (shoulder, hip, and leg)

 

I couldn't stash my $$ in the glovebox of the car fast enough The collection turned out to have some great books including a few that ended up being highest CGC graded, and the owner turned out to be a very cool guy.

 

 

Not sure if this next one counts but someone I know found an original owner golden age collection in an abandoned house that had been condemned by the city. (No one had lived there in some time, and the roof had completely collapsed. Many of the books had been ruined by rain water / flooding, but some piles (under tables, boxes, furniture etc) survived in pristine condition. Pretty sure the house has since been bulldozed.

 

 

I also know someone who's grandfather supposedly bought an Action 1 off the newsstands. He grew up in a house with a lot of kids and was tired of his siblings always trying to read the book so one day he hid it under one of the floorboards in the attic. When they sold the house decades later everyone had forgotten about the book, and potentially its still there (Who knows if this last one is true or not as I'm sure there are many made-up/exaggerated stories like this out there, but the person who told me this one is not prone to making things up so who knows!)

 

I'm sure dealers who have been doing this for decades have tons of crazy stories to tell.

[Mutant Manatee]

My dad worked in the railroad depot pictured below from 1966-1990 in the town I grew up in. In the late 1980s the company that owned the railroad and the depot announced that they were going to be moving all of their operations out of town and that they would be closing the depot and possibly selling it. My dad inquired if he could have an antique walnut desk that was sitting in an office in the abandoned third floor of the depot, and was told that he could have the desk. So one Saturday dad recruited me to help him carry the extremely heavy desk down the back stairs of the depot and load it into his pickup truck. The abandoned office on the third floor had been sealed off for years and all of the windows were boarded up. There were papers stacked everywhere including on the desk. I also remember finding an old Pepsi can from the 1960s that looked like it was brand new.

 

 

As I removed the stacks of old papers from the desk I discovered this old giveaway comic at the bottom of a pile. It is dated 1958. Not a rare or valuable book by any means, but for me it was a cool find and has served as a great reminder of that day and the historic old depot where my dad used to work.

 

 

p.s. The depot was purchased by the city and was completely restored and now contains a museum, offices and banquet rooms. It was built in 1912 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. There is a bronze plaque on the wall that lists the names of all the railroaders who worked there, including my dad. Sometimes dad serves as an usher or tour guide when they have special events there.

[thehumantorch]

My dad worked in the railroad depot pictured below from 1966-1990 in the town I grew up in. In the late 1980s the company that owned the railroad and the depot announced that they were going to be moving all of their operations out of town and that they would be closing the depot and possibly selling it. My dad inquired if he could have an antique walnut desk that was sitting in an office in the abandoned third floor of the depot, and was told that he could have the desk. So one Saturday dad recruited me to help him carry the extremely heavy desk down the back stairs of the depot and load it into his pickup truck. The abandoned office on the third floor had been sealed off for years and all of the windows were boarded up. There were papers stacked everywhere including on the desk. I also remember finding an old Pepsi can from the 1960s that looked like it was brand new.

 

 

As I removed the stacks of old papers from the desk I discovered this old giveaway comic at the bottom of a pile. It is dated 1958. Not a rare or valuable book by any means, but for me it was a cool find and has remained a great reminder of that day and the historic old depot where my dad used to work.

 

 

p.s. The depot was purchased by the city and was completely restored and now contains a museum, offices and banquet rooms. It was built in 1912 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. There is a bronze plaque on the wall that lists the names of all the railroaders who worked there, including my dad. Sometimes dad serves as an usher or tour guide when they have special events there.

 

Neato story.

[Larryw7]

I purchased a Batman 39 from a guy selling the books in his car. Long story short: he walked into the LCS with a pile of GA Batman's. When I started drooling all over them(I was 12 years old), the store owners said it would be fine if I wanted to buy some books from the seller, but it would have to be done off the premises. So, we went into his parked car in front of the store and he showed me the books.

He had an incredible high grade collection-one book in particular that stood out was his Batman 5, which looked like it was printed that day. The only mark on the book was a check mark in pencil near the logo. I had 15 bucks to spend. I wanted his Batman 37, but it was too expensive. The guy wanted me to buy his Batman 67; it was high grade, and thought that would be a good deal for me. But I insisted on an earlier 1940's issue, and settled on a low grade Batman 39(it had a very fine outward appearance, but the pages were very brown, near brittle). I was pleased with my choice with its interior Bob Kane artwork(one of the issues he actually worked on) and a great Catwoman story.

 

I used to see the seller from time to time at comic cons and in the NE Philly area. His name was Joe, never did catch his last name. He later had all of the pre Robin 'Tecs in high grade. Haven't seen him in over 25 years.

[adamstrange]

I love the building architecture and the story!

 

[plady69]

Great stories all!!!

 

I used to run ads in the newspaper (remember those) in Western PA and ended up meeting a guy in the local McDonald's parking lot. He had an almost full run of X-Men #1-50. Offered $300. and lunch. Still have them..

[Ted Knight]

In the late 1970s, there was a store in Minneapolis on the corner of Hennepin and 7th Street called Shinder's. On the outside of the building was a sign that said "News, Books, Comics",It was like a giant news stand / adult bookstore. They had virtually every periodical printed at the time for sale so it was a large store. And, of course, the adult section was quite extensive, as well.

 

 

It was late, around 11:00 p.m., on a warm summer night and the lights from the various shops lit the downtown area into a wonderland for kids from a small town. I was 8 years old at the time and still very innocent and naive. After having dinner with my parents at a nice Chinese restaurant, my brother and I saw the sign outside the store from a couple of blocks away. We immediately started pleading with our parents. It was rare in those days to find a place that actually advertised that they sold comics, an actual "comic bookstore". "Just 5 minutes, just 5 minutes" we promised. But our parents were not having it. They didn't really like our comic collecting and Hennepin Avenue was an unsavory place for Minneapolis in those days. Prostitutes and drug dealers decorated the sidewalk.

 

Still, we were relentless, promising to never ask for another thing for the rest of our lives. If only we could go in for a just a little while... In the end, my parents agreed and walked down to the store with us. What waited inside was a sight to behold. There were walls and walls of magazines, newspapers, books, etc. inside and one 20 foot wall of just new comic books. They had not only the current comic books but also previous months on the stand for sale! Being used to only buying comics at drugstores and grocery stores, this was a real treat. But there was another half of the store that was raised up by one step with a pair of swinging doors and a sign that said "adults only".

 

I cannot begin to describe how seedy and dirty the place felt. The fluorescent lights gave everything an overly excited look. The characters that were coming in and out of the adult section were slightly odd and a little scary. Actually, for an 8-year old boy, they were very odd and very scary. It was not really a place for kids. The people inside looked like they hadn't bathed in weeks. Their clothes hung on them, stained with lord-only-knows-what. Many were definitely drug addicts and others were probably pedophiles.

 

There was a guy standing behind a glass walled enclosure (I think it was bullet-proof) where the register was. As I brought my stack of Fantastic Fours, Marvel Team-ups and my favorite at the time, Marvel Tales, I saw my first Golden Age comic. It was behind the glass with the cashier and I will never forget it- More Fun #52. It was an awesome Spectre cover and they had a price on it of $1000! My brother (who had picked out his own first GA comic, a Terry Toons that was really rough but complete) and I stood there with our jaws open. The cashier looked irritatedly at us and demanded our money. He didn't have time for little kids and seemed equally uncomfortable with having such young ones in his store. Our parents ushered us out of the store and we walked back to the car, through the gauntlet of rough characters, ecstatic with our post-comic bookstore bliss.

 

This photo is from about 10 years ago and is probably a publicity shot for the, now defunct, Shinders chain of stores. All I can say, is that it didn't look like this when I was a kid at 11:00 at night in the middle of the summer.

 

But you get the idea.

 

 

 

 

[Baz]

In the late 1970s, there was a store in Minneapolis on the corner of Hennepin and 7th Street called Shinder's. On the outside of the building was a sign that said "News, Books, Comics",It was like a giant news stand / adult bookstore. They had virtually every periodical printed at the time for sale so it was a large store. And, of course, the adult section was quite extensive, as well.

 

I've gone to Shinder's in the late 90's with a friend when I visited the twin cities. Mostly to go buy and play MTG (magic the gathering). Would never had pegged it as a spot to buy comics. thanks for sharing that story!

 

 

[Larryw7]

Shinder's used to advertise in the OSPG in the seventies. Pretty distinctive ads if I'm remembering correctly.

[adamstrange]

Pretty wild story, TK!

[Timely]

I responded to an ad for comics in California back in 1991. When I went there he had this:

 

Action Comics #24 & #26

Marvel Mystery Comics #74

Mary Marvel Comics #1

Superman #10

Whiz Comics #25

 

I bought them all except the Whiz #25 as I did not enough money for it. I sold them all right away but kept the Marvel Mystery Comics #74 because it was exceptionally nice. The book was later graded 9.0 by CGC.