An email came in from a local Calgary lady, asking if The Collector Guy could take a look at a collection she had from her father, which was split over 2 suitcases and included a mix of some comics, video games and sports cards. As soon as I read 'suitcases', I figured the comics were probably not in the best shape, given that they weren't properly stored in a comic box. Regardless, it caught my interest and since they haven't been a ton of inquiries for collections flowing in, it was worth a look.
A night later, we arranged to meet at her location where she mentioned she would have the items laid out for a look, but that only 1 suitcase was currently with her and the other was coming shortly. Upon arriving and seeing all the comics spread out, the first thing I noticed was a general lack of bags and boards, and everything was a little beat up from the lack of protection and just general wear and tear over the decades. Torn covers, spine ticks galore and even some missing back pages.
All the comics were stacked in groups by general title at least, so it was easy to start flipping through each pile, seeing if there was anything that jumped out right away, and getting a sense of what we were dealing with in general. Sadly there were no UF4 or JIM or ASM mega keys hiding in there, although she was really hoping I'd spot something that would make us both super happy.
After a full review which took 30-40 minutes, and even looking up some books with them (since her boyfriend had joined us and mentioned he had looked some books up online) on the Key Collector App, there were only a few stand-out books, including:
- X-Men Adventures 1 in a mid-grade condition. The TV show reboot is coming!
- ASM Annual 22 in a mid-to-high grade and the 1st app. of Speedball.
- Marvel Comics Presents Weapon X, Issue 79 in a 8.0 condition. 1st Weapon X appearance.
- Wolverine Issue 57 in a mid to high-grade condition. Death or Mariko.
- Uncanny X-Men 314 in high grade with the 2nd app. of Shard.
- Some other misc. Uncanny minor keys in the 200-300's
- Polybagged Marvel Action Hour Fantastic Four 1
- The Darkness issue 1/2 from TopCow with a certificate of authenticity.
Other then that, there were around 160 comics and around 20 Wizard Magazines and Hero Illustrated magazine issues. The comics were a mix of Superman, some Harley & Suicide Squad, and then a load of Wolverine, Spider-Man (mixed titles) and X-Men. A few Image and indie titles mixed in as well.
We settled on a fair price for the full collection, and although they were bummed out that there weren't any high value items, were still happy to get something from them in a lump sum. They even threw in the suitcase so I could take them all home!
The customer appreciated our efforts and noted that once the 2nd suitcase is available they'll reach out again. Maybe there's a good one hiding in that mix?! And there was also mention of 2 Nintendo systems with games, and some sports cards.
All the books have been processed, sorted, priced and are currently for sale in a few locations, including Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, some private IG groups and, shortly, will be listed on this website in our Shop section. The first book that sold was The Darkness, which went for $15 and the same buyer then saw the other ads I had for some Wolverine and 19 issues of Witchblade and ended up taking those as well.
Until next time, happy hunting!
Have a collection you'd like us to take a look at for you? Feel free to drop us a note.