The only thing I’d question is their decision not to pursue a civil case against the contractor. It would be worth it to break and bury him.
I read this headline and said to myself, “This is going to be somewhere in the vicinity of New York City.” And sure enough, it was. There are more pack rats per capita here than anywhere else in the country. In addition, during the 1930s and 40s especially, New York was both the nation’s number one consumer and producer of pop culture.
Anybody remembering the movie “Comic Book Villains”?
Aaaah! AAAAAAhh!! drops dead in fanboy swoon
I actually think there are more copies of Golden Age stuff out there, unfound, than the article seems to imply. Hell, I have some great late-Silver Age stuff that an aunt gave me back in the late-70s because my older cousins “outgrew those funny books.” Nothing worth a million bucks, but still it goes to show that there are collections in cardboard boxes in lots and and lots of attics and basements across the country that have been forgotten about and will be discovered upon someone’s death, etc.
Sir Rhosis
Better save those copies of G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3, kids!
Except for one thing
This guy bought almost every issue of every comic from 1938-1954 and kept them in almost pristine condition.
That’s what separates this from what else is out there. It’s unlikely this find will be even close to duplicated in the future.
And the missing(stolen) comics–worth another $1 million in today’s dollars.
From the article:
…[T]he Crippen family has decided it doesn’t want to spend its sudden windfall on lawyers’ fees to pursue a civil case.
[/quote]
Damn. Surely some fanboy lawyer out there will handle this recovery on a contingent fee basis, with his pay to be in the form of “funny books.”
(Fixed coding)
From the article:
Damn. Surely some fanboy lawyer out there will handle this recovery on a contingent fee basis, with his pay to be in the form of “funny books.”
New York law is not real clear on the statute of limitations in this case. Does it end after three years from the date of the crime, or does it not start until the crime is discovered?
I wonder if some otherwise “lost” issues are in the collection?
Some of the smaller companies had published comics for which certain issues are not known to exist today.
^^^Interesting. Anything a person even remotely interested in comics may have heard of, or are we talking truly unheard of stuff?
Sir Rhosis
Sorry for the run-on posts, but was wondering.
Is there a site (or book, whatever) that tells the history of certain comic issues (Detective #27, Action #1), i. e., how many copies of these issues went to press, how many are known to exist today, who has the best condition copies, etc., etc.?
Thanks in advance.
Sir Rhosis
Better call Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg, & Holliway.
There has to be a way to break the thief. At the very least, drive him out of business and blacken his name all over the world. Let him be cast out and declared outlaw, so that any may slay him.
Probably worth a lot more than She-Hulk vs. Leon Spinks. Worst cross-over ever!
Heh, good one.
There may be truly unheard-of stufff, but we haven’t heard of it yet. 
Seriously, I mean stuff for which no known issue survives.
Some of the smaller, early Charlton stuff, or certain EC Comics titles. Stuff like that.
What are the laws regarding possession of stolen property? Surely none of the buyers knew that the magazines were stolen. But aren’t they legally required to return them? Art stolen by the Germans in WWII is being returned, apparently without compensation. If a person innocently comes by counterfeit money, it is confiscated without compensation.