Don’t Throw Out Those Old Comic Books

Sept. 18, 2013 - PRLog -- A safety deposit box that was supposed to contain only two comic books from the 1940s quickly turned into a Pandora’s Box of amazement for an Oregon comic book collector.

Royce Myers, who runs the online comic shop comicsafari.com, is one among many collectors who always hope the hunt to find that one rare book turns into a dream find.

“I’ve driven hundreds of miles and spent a lot of time looking at collections where people claim to have this rare book or that one, and they’ve mostly turned into a waste of time.  But this collection was simply stellar," Myers said.

Myers, who started reading and collecting comic books when he was nine years old, met a woman who said she had some old comic books.  The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared her books with Myers, who determined that they were valuable indeed.

“After examining the books I knew they were something special.  She’d already shown them to another dealer, but she had questioned his assessment of the value of the books.  I guess I was her second opinion, and I’m so pleased to be involved with selling such an astonishing collection of books, the likes of which I may never see again,” Myers said.

After Myers viewed the collection, the woman asked how much her comic books were worth.

“For a minute, I really thought she was going to pass out.  It quickly turned into a very emotional moment for the woman, because a relative who left the books to her had passed away.  The woman told me she just wished her relative was there to hear the good news, it meant the world to her,” Myers said.

The woman’s relative, who began buying the comic books off the newsstand in 1937 at the age of ten, told her to sell the comic books upon his passing.  Swearing she’d never sell the comics, the relative asked her, “What are you going to do, read them?”

“Honesty and integrity go a long way in the collectibles business.  I’m deeply honored to have earned the trust of my customer and being able to offer her my experience with buying and selling comic books, and that is what led to me acquiring the entire collection.  While it is very exciting as a collector making this find, it can also be a bit overwhelming.”

Once word got around about Myers finding and acquiring the collection, he began receiving e-mails and phone calls from people interested in buying the entire collection.  Myers says that while he’d love to keep some of the books, he’s instead going to offer them to collectors.

The collection contains original copies of Batman 1, Superman 1, and very scarce copies of early Detective Comics including the rare and much sought after issue number 33.

“I’d love to keep a couple of these books, just because they’re so amazing and speak volumes about the era they were created in, but my wife and I are in the process of adopting two wonderful children.  This collection is going to help us write a happy ending for our family.”

The collection, which was certified by the Comic Guaranty Company (CGC), will be available for viewing at the second annual Rose City Comic Con taking place September 21-22 in Portland, Oregon.

Comicsafari.com is an online comic book and pop culture memorabilia store serving collectors across the country.  In addition to selling comics, comicsafari.com also buys comic collections.

For more information, you can contact Comic Safari via e-mail: royce@comicsafari.com