Comic Book Men s02e05 Episode Script

New Teen Titans #2.
- $15.
- Nope.
Sorry, son.
I've been less devastated Being one number off on the lottery.
[laughs.]
This is price guide bingo, bro.
Keeps us up to date on the current prices of comics.
Incredible Hulk #121.
- $29.
- I would say $65.
- $65.
- $65 for that? - $65.
First appearance of the Glob.
- I beat Walt Flanagan.
- Wow.
You don't understand.
I get one wrong.
That means seven hours in the guide.
- [laughs.]
- Oh, yeah? No breaks, no bathroom.
- Just a soda break.
- And a potty chair.
[laughter.]
[epic music.]
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Comic Book Men, The only show that's broadcast in color and gamma rays.
- I'm your host, Kevin Smith.
- Bryan Johnson.
- Walt Flanagan.
- Mike Zapcic.
Ming Chen.
Do you remember the customer I was telling you about That brought in the cigar-smelly books? The dude with literally stinky comics.
Oh, God! Unfortunately, most of your collection, - We can't use.
- He came back, And this time, he had something that didn't smell.
- Oh - Yo, what's up? I told I smelled cigars.
I told you I was coming back-- Smoke-free.
How yous guys doing? Hello.
- He brought in muscle? - Associates.
In a comic book store? [laughter.]
Like, who do these dudes think they're dealing with? They could have probably come in with their wives.
It'd be just as equally intimidating If they stood there quietly.
[laughter.]
All right, let's see what you got.
- You ready? - Wow! - Oh, my god.
- It's kryptonite rocks.
The whole display.
This is the real deal.
Where did you get the whole case? It's the real deal.
Believe it or not, I don't even know where I got 'em.
I hear ya.
You don't even know where you got 'em.
We know.
They fell off the back of a truck.
- [laughter.]
- Not this one.
This is pretty darn impressive.
I remember when they came out.
I wanted one of those so badly.
And my parents were just, like, "you have rocks at home.
" And they were literally talking About the rocks in the driveway.
I mean, don't you find it odd, though, That back in '77, they were, like, "let's market to kids the one item "that can kill Superman in a very excruciating, Painful, torturous way"? [laughter.]
So how much was it going for? Pop culturist expert Rob Bruce was brought in To give me a little bit of overview Of what these rocks might fetch.
Check this out.
- Interesting.
This was made by pro arts, '77.
There was a re-launch of Superman, And pet rocks were still popular.
So somebody came up with the idea Of doing a kryptonite rock.
There was a big warehouse find of these, But being that it was 20 years ago, They've sort of dissipated to the wind.
But they still turn up.
Now, an individual box you could probably sell For $20 to $30.
- You have 48 boxes.
- And that comes to what, then? - [muttering math.]
- $960.
But here's the kicker.
You put this In a nice big auction, Maybe you could get $400 for it complete.
Is that what you were thinking? - No way.
- No? What were you thinking? You got a beautiful poster.
You got the display.
It's gotta be different.
Valuable.
I was thinking $1,000.
You're thinking retail.
If we're gonna put these out, we have to make money.
I want it, though.
And he says $400 is fair.
But I'm willing to go above that.
Ed in it.
Would you take $500 for the case? Uh, nah.
- No? - You got a $200 poster.
This is not a $200 poster.
It's a $75 poster.
$550? See, what you guys aren't factoring in, though, Is that Jimmy the Nose lost his left hand Acquiring these.
[laughter.]
All right, listen, give me $7s yours.
I'll give you $575.
I've gotta make something on it.
Oh, no, I want you to make money.
$600.
[laughs.]
All right.
I'll do $600.
I guarantee, if you went anywhere else No one would ever pay you more Than this gentleman just offered to buy this.
Wait, wait, wait.
Maybe I don't want this then.
[laughs.]
Lou, this guy's annoying.
- Thank you, Anthony.
- My pleasure.
Thanks again.
- Get ready.
- Oh, my God! I haven't touched this since 1977, dude.
This is like some citizen kane, Rosebud kind of stuff, man, 'cause I remember this as a kid.
Well, man, it's literally just a rock With some green paint on it.
And it's meaningless.
[laughs.]
Hey.
You finished that entire inventory Down in the basement? It's a nightmare down there.
All we've got is boxes upon boxes of this.
How are you gonna get rid of all this? We'll get rid of it.
[laughs.]
Sidewalk sale's coming up.
The Red Bank sidewalk sale, man.
A Red Bank tradition for 50-plus years.
In the 15-year history of the Stash, We've participated in the sidewalk sale once.
To me, I don't find it worth it.
The returns don't justify someone sitting out there And baking, Trying to move some stuff that Nobody really cares about for peanuts.
Pfft! I'll take care of it.
You guys sit in here shy air conditioning.
I'm gonna sell everything down there.
- Everything? - Everything.
Go ahead, but you better make money off of it.
All right.
I'll take care of it.
We'll see.
We shall see.
Here she is, Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles #1.
Can I show you something else? I think it may be more appealing Than even number 1.
All right, man, have a great afternoon.
- Thank you.
- Enjoy.
If there are any superheros out there, They might be taking advantage? Like, Superman wants to see the Super Bowl As Clark Kent, but can't get a ticket, So he flies above the stadium, or, you know-- - Watches it above the stadium? - Watches it above.
They don't own the airspace above it, do they? No, but that's kind of taking advantage I thought you were gonna say he uses his powers To, let's say-- Mr.
Fantastic, The ability to stretch.
Ah, okay, okay.
All right, I get it, I get it.
That your mind would go.
Maybe a little bit.
- How you guys doing? - How you doing? - Good.
- What can we do for you today? I'm looking for TMNT #1.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1.
- Yes, yeah.
- We got that one, Ming.
Do me a favor, run up and grab those books for me.
Yeah, no problem.
Who doesn't know the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Everybody knows them, but they started As a black-and-white independent comic book By Eastman and Laird, a book that really was A commentary on Frank Miller's Daredevil, right? From a couple college kids Has gone on probably to gross billons.
T-u-r-t-l-e power! T-u-r-- [laughs.]
Here she is.
It's a third printing, though.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1.
The first printing of this book was so miniscule, And it exploded the comic world back in '84.
To grab this one? Did you own it before and you want it back? - Ninja Turtles has been part of my life my whole life.
They blew up, you know, when I was a kid.
So I really just wanted to get this To start a real collection.
- Awesome.
Can I show you something else? Than even number 1.
- Yeah.
I've got here Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2, A number 3, and a number 4.
- Ooh.
- And these are first prints, High grades.
I would think a better investment today Would be to put you in a number 2, Rise oposed to a third print number 1.
Yeah.
Uh-- Number 2, in this condition, at this price, Is a far superior value Than getting a third print today at $85.
But get more.
Oh, yeah.
Or buy all four, and you're really on your way To having everything.
I think--I think I'd-- I think I'd rather start at 2, You got any flexibility on price? I know you're a salesman first and foremost, But will you drop your salesman hat, And put on your humanitarian hat When you meet somebody who's, like, "I genuinely like this, I'm interested in this.
My grow My interest is growing.
" Um No.
[laughs.]
This is a good deal.
I could do $150 For all three of these, all first printings.
[sighs.]
$150.
That is as low as I'm gonna go - Because I know I can move these.
- Yeah.
Who's to say you'll find first prints In this condition again? No, you're right.
Um - Yeah, I can do that.
- Great, man.
Let's ring her up.
You gave that dude a hell of a deal.
It was still an up-sale, though--you're the king of that.
You took something that somebody wanted, Gave them something better, but at a higher price.
He's right.
That was a pretty big up-sale.
You were so masterful, I almost cried.
Hello, citizens of Red Bank.
Welcome to Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, Where all comics are $2.
99 a pound.
$2.
99 a pound, everybody.
- Superman vs.
Muhammad ali.
- Oh, yeah.
I frothed at the mouth waiting for this to come out.
The most money I ever paid out for one comic book Was giant-size X-Men Annual.
This is the book that reinvented the X-Men, And when I bought it in, like, say 1989-90, It was $200.
And that was, like, literally, two weeks of work, Where I was just like, "Here.
" [sighs.]
What about you, Walt? I think the most I ever spent personally on a book Was a book called Elseworlds 80-page Giant.
I remember this.
Yes, it was, uh Letitia Lerner, Superman's babysitter.
That's it.
Tory That caused a lot of consternation Because of what image? Superbaby crawled into a microwave.
- [laughter.]
- Yes.
D.
C.
Comics got cold feet.
They pulled the book.
It was never released in america, But copies got out to the U.
K.
So I went onto an online auction-- Didn't know anything about it-- And I won the book for, like, $300.
And my mom was, like, "you're not gonna just send-- "they're gonna send you the book Before you send the money, right?" And I'm, like, "I don't think they'll do that, ma.
" [laughter.]
She's, like, "Walt, stay away from this 'internet.
' It's dangerous.
" Thank you very much.
Have a wonderful afternoon.
- Thank you.
- All right.
- Hey, how's it going? - Hey, what's happening? Superman vs.
Muhammad Ali.
- Oh, yeah.
- Look at how cool that is.
You remember this, mike? Oh yeah.
I frothed the mouth Waiting for this to come out.
[laughter.]
Frothed.
Whoa, whoa.
Watch it, man.
We've got a Superman vs.
Muhammad Ali Treasury edition up here.
Put them on the floor.
Put them on the floor.
Don't slip on the froth, man.
[laughter.]
To be alive in the Muhammad Ali era, He was just insanely popular.
I don't think there's any current-day counterpart That would even be close to the magnitude Of Muhammad Ali.
Well, yeah, Michael Jordan, definitely, Because he was put into the Looney Tunes world.
When you become so good at your sport, Eventually, they let you play with cartoon characters.
[laughter.]
An alien invasion's coming to Earth, right? "Pick two champions To battle for earth's survival.
To make it fair, they fought under a red sun, Which, as you well know, Removes superman's powers.
Well, duh, yeah.
[laughter.]
And without Superman's powers, Ali destroyed Superman in this fight.
See that, what he did to him? [laughter.]
What's really cool about it is, like, Who's in the background, you know? It's a who's who of the celebrity "a" list Of 1978, probably.
- Sitting next to Batman? - And Sonny Bono.
- Cher? - Yeah.
Donny and Marie.
I'm frothing now.
[laughter.]
In mint condition, Mike, what does The Superman vs.
Muhammad Ali go for? What are you looking to get? I would be very happy with $120.
Prepare to be sad.
[laughter.]
In this condition, I couldn't do $120.
You think you can throw another number in here? Honestly, the lowest I would really like to go Is maybe, like, $80.
I could sell it in the store for $50.
So, I mean, I could give you $40.
How about $45? Come on, man.
$40.
All right, cool.
Let's do it.
- $40? - Yeah, man.
- All right.
Cool.
- Good deal, man.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Thank you.
- Have a great afternoon.
- You too.
Good negotiation.
- You held firm, man.
- Thank you.
You're a bad man.
Too strong, too tough, too pretty.
You can't be defeated.
[laughter.]
- You're champion of the world.
- You're right.
- I am.
I am a champ.
- You're a bad man.
Hey, how are you? Comic books? Comics? No? $2.
99-- no, $1.
99 a pound.
[sighs.]
It was going a little slower than I expected.
A little slower? [laughter.]
It was the beginning of the day.
You know, some people were passing by, So to attract some customers, I came up with an idea that I thought would save the day.
Hey, not much.
How are you? I'm doing good.
Check this out.
- The wheel of comics.
- Ooh.
Spin the wheel, win fabulous prizes.
- Take a spin.
Go for it.
- I'm gonna spin.
Here we go.
Ready Awesome.
10% off.
- Go to town.
- I think I will.
Pick out a pound.
Pick out two pounds.
What's this, buddy? It's the wheel of comics.
You want to spin it? - Yeah.
- Go for it.
$2.
99.
Let me get you a bag.
- Can I spin the wheel? - Yeah, spin the wheel.
The original Star Wars trilogy on laser disc.
Wow.
Two questions.
Get 'em wrong, my price.
Hi.
Hey.
What's going on? This is the original Star Wars trilogy, Unaltered, un-special edition, on laser disc.
Walt, ready to take a step into yesteryear? The Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi that you remember and love.
No Greedo shooting first.
But there's no way you can watch it, 'cause no one has the player to play it in, right? That's the trouble.
[laughter.]
One of the only places in the world To get the original cuts of Star Wars That we all saw in theaters And the old laser discs.
They've put out Star Wars on dvd and blue ray, But he's altered them each time he's done it.
Why do people have such a distaste for the new, Better Star Wars? Why do you think it's better? Oh, that's sacrilege! [laughter.]
Even he-- even he knows to punch.
It's not better.
And the bells and whistles they did add, Like more Stormtroopers on the Death Star, or - Dewbacks.
- A Dewback.
All right, Boba Fett.
Every movie could use more Boba Fett.
I don't care what it is.
Why are you trying to move 'em now? I have every version of the trilogy ever made.
This is the one that I can't play.
So you're into Star Wars, it sounds like.
I actually won the kids trivia contest At the first Star Wars celebration in Denver, Colorado, Back in '99.
I was prince of the nerds.
Ooh.
I gotta know before I even make an offer.
What you're looking for today for these cave paintings? Since it's something that's hard to find-- You can't get this version of the trilogy-- I'd like to get maybe $100 for the set.
If you're gonna say stuff like that, To catch him first.
You gotta be a little more realistic.
These are hard to find.
I'll tell you something that's even harder to find.
Somebody who wants it.
For $100.
[laughter.]
$75? How about I give you two questions.
Okay.
Get 'em right, $60.
Get 'em wrong, my price.
- Okay.
- Okay.
What's TIE Fighter stand for? Holy crap, I thought that-- I thought that was a gimme.
Um, it's something like tactical imperial escort.
[exhales.]
[laughter.]
Well, how about you won this one at your price, right? I won 'em all.
Well, give him a chance.
- With another question? - At least redeem myself.
Another question.
The only time Han Solo used a lightsaber was-- To cut open the Tauntaun on Hoth to save Luke.
Very good.
You get to keep those.
This one now becomes mine for the grand total price Of $5.
Okay.
Should have studied harder, young Jedi.
Have a good day.
- Whoa, oh! - Hi.
- Hey.
How'd you do? - Calling it a day.
Didn't sell it all, huh? Oh, I started out with a ton of longboxes.
I'm down to about, like, 1/8.
How much did we make? Here you go.
How many hours were you sitting out there? I don't know, like, four.
- Try seven.
- Okay, seven.
What was your bank? What'd you start out with To make change out of? - Uh, I think, like, $20.
Like, 20 singles.
- Okay, there's $90 here.
So you made $10 an hour out there.
- All right.
Yeah.
- By that-- Doesn't even cover your salary, right? [laughter.]
[sighs.]
I didn't break it down like that.
I didn't-- [laughter.]
"I didn't think about it in terms of logical sense, The time I wasted-- I mean lost.
" Moved a ton of longboxes, sold some action figures And more importantly, got the word out about the store.
And you didn't have to lift a finger.
You probably made the sidewalk sale memorable For some child, who's like, "Mommy, Look at how much effort this man's going through.
" [laughter.]
All kidding aside, you did sell a lot of stuff That we didn't need.
You got your arts and crafts bug, You put it to good use.
Good job, Ming.
- Thank you.
- All right.
- Have a good weekend.
- I will.
- You earned it.
- Thank you.
I had to take a shower.
Maybe this is our year.
And then, you know, maybe this starts a dynasty.
The Ming dynasty.
Yes, the Ming dynasty, exactly.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
Until next week, I'm your host, Kevin Smith.
- Bryan Johnson.
- Walt Flanagan.
- Mike Zapcic.
- Ming Chen.
In brightest day and blackest night, No evil can escape our sight, kids.
Good night.