PA RETAILER FINDS DETECTIVE COMICS #27

**MattBrady** · 10-09-2007, 12:27 PM

It’s the classic story that any comic book fan or shop owner wants to be a part of someday: A person, cleaning out some old stuff in a house finds a comic book. Well, not just any comic book, but a copy of one of the handful of the comic books.

In this case, it was 1939’s Detective Comics #27, featuring the first appearance of Batman. The copy is in good shape, with very minor edge wear, a light dust shadow, and a “Siamese centerfold” - meaning extra paper made it through the press during the printing process. The store/retailer whose hands it ended up in – Todd McDevitt of New Dimension Comics, a Western Pennsylvania chain with five locations around the Pittsburgh area.

“They found it and suspected it had some value, so they took it to another local comic shop where they felt like they were not being treated fairly,” McDevitt said. “Then they called me. They were skeptical at first, but once I spent some time with them and the book they agreed with my appraisal of the book and we made a deal for there.”

In appraising the book, McDevitt graded the issue at Fine to Very Fine. But even that slight distinction between grades has meaning – according to Overstreet Price Guide, there’s a $110,000 price difference between copies in those two conditions. “The real kicker is that it's nice copy, newly discovered and not obviously restored,” McDevitt said. “Most of the copies out there are worked on and many buyers shy away from that. The right guy who has been waiting for just this kind of copy will be thrilled.”

While most retailers would classify this as a “once in a lifetime” event, for McDevitt it’s actually his 3rd in a lifetime event. “Years ago, I made a sweet little old lady very happy when she flopped some old books on my counter and asked ‘are these worth anything to you?’ There was an ultra rare All-American Comics #16 in there and other great Golden Age books. She was shopping for a new car the next day.”

In this instance though, the seller was fairly savvy – as McDevitt said, they’d already tried another comic shop and knew what they were dealing with. There just aren't many "little old ladies" any more, apparently. “They came in armed with a price guide. Even with the little old lady story, I'll never try to steal a deal. My reputation is too important. In fact, they were so happy dealing with me that they are writing a letter to recommend me to another big collection in the wings where they are not sure who to trust.”

McDevitt declined to say how much he paid for the book (“slightly less than my soul”), but confessed that, after 21 years in business, he was ready and waiting for such an opportunity. “I made sure that if this situation ever came up that I would not let it get past me,” McDevitt said. “I paid what I would have paid for any other book like it. It's just that the decimal point moved over a bit…”

So – what about the other half of the “classic story?” What’s McDevitt going to do with the book now that he’s got it?

“I had a chance to sell it four days after I bought it, but I turned it down partially so I could savor it for a while,” the retailer said. “I'm a businessman, but a part of me wants to keep it. But it's for sale right now.”

McDevitt added that despite the possible increase in his selling price in which the process could result, he’s not going to have it graded and slabbed by CGC right away, due to a few concerns. “The extra paper will make that tricky in the case. I suspect they could put it in a magazine holder. I would hate to fold it back in, even though the paper quality would allow it without concern. Besides, I want to read it. I think this Batman guy might catch on!”

But, ultimately, McDevitt will sell it. How does a retailer find a buy for a book like this? As surprising as it may be to some, there are buyers looking for these types of book who literally have the money standing by – although there’s an element of matchmaking involved with the business transaction.

“Word about a find like this gets out very quickly,” McDevitt said. “As I mentioned, I made one phone call and had a buyer the next day, but decided to hold onto it for now. Every dealer has the ‘I know a guy who wants that book’ story. The early enthusiasm for it makes me more confident that I made the right decision, and I suspect after the word spreads that ‘right guy’ will surface. It took a while for me to sell the All-American #16, but once I found the customer who it made a fit with, it sold right away to him.”

And in the end, while the transaction will ultimately put some money into the business, the story of the find is also currency of a sort. “When I'm trading stories with other retailers at the bar at a convention, I don't hear too many like this,” McDevitt said. “Now I’ve got one. But all in all, to say how often a thing like this happens, it’s tough to gauge. Some say that Pennsylvania is a hot bed for these types of finds. I'm always asked what I picked up lately at shows, just because they expect it from here. So now, I guess that I’m looking for my 4th once-in-a-lifetime find.”

Supreme Convoy · 10-09-2007, 12:37 PM

Ah... I love stories like these!

rodolfo leon · 10-09-2007, 12:39 PM

even though i am not a fan of COLLECTING comic books... this is just SO ____ING COOL.

congrats on the find, enjoy it while you still hold on to it!

avengingtitan · 10-09-2007, 01:00 PM

I'd kill for that book.

render man · 10-09-2007, 01:01 PM

I'd like to hear the story of the comic store that tried to rip them off. How much were they offering? And then how much they actually sold it to at New Dimensions.

So how much is this issue worth in that condition anyway?

dpg · 10-09-2007, 01:06 PM

Todd makes it to Newsarama! How about that!

Todd is everywhere is PA. Next time I see him he's getting a hug. So, Todd, prepare for a hug from a perfect stranger.

And he's going to read the book. That is frickin' awesome.

bdk1975 · 10-09-2007, 01:15 PM

Todd --

Hopefully someone out there knows how to contact Todd -- the book is trimmed most likely. The other store involved did not low ball the seller. The seller is very savvy and has obviously told a story that is simply not true... if this is the same seller...

Very troubling.

Jason Green · 10-09-2007, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdk1975

Todd --

Hopefully someone out there knows how to contact Todd -- the book is trimmed most likely. The other store involved did not low ball the seller. The seller is very savvy and has obviously told a story that is simply not true... if this is the same seller...

Very troubling.

By "trimmed," do you mean the "light edge wear" described is because the seller chopped the sides off? That would be horribly devious if true. Still, I mean, it's a 'Tec #27. That's insane that there are unknown copies of that book out there still....

rdrsfn82 · 10-09-2007, 01:26 PM

I just looked up the prices in a price guide and it said that if it is "fine" condition than it's worth about 100,000 dollars. That's fairly insane and really awesome for the people that sold it.

grphxkindaguy · 10-09-2007, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supreme Convoy

Ah... I love stories like these!

I agree, they are few and far between!

I have two similar stories:

my LCS guy, Joe, had a similar experience a couple of months back. A guy walked into his store w/a pile of old comics he found in his garage/attic and wanted to see if he could sell them. There wasn't much in the pile Joe was interested in, EXCEPT for a VG/Fine copy of the DC Showcase issue w/the (Barry Allen) Flash's first appearance!!! Joe practically fainted, he's wanted this book since he was a kid (he's in his early 50's). He bought it on the spot and kept it for himself.

a couple of weeks ago I went into this same LCS to pick up my weekly books. Joe had several boxes worth of old comics on the back tables. He told me a guy who had collected comics as a kid (in the 70's) had dropped off the books to get them appraised and possibly sell them to Joe. Most of the stuff was in rough shape, average of VG condition, with mostly Marvel stuff represented. I did a quick browse through the stuff, nothing really interested me EXCEPT for the Treasury Sized Superman vs. Spiderman on the top of one box!!! We looked it up in the Overstreet Price Guide and I offered the owner of said books $10 for it. He happily took it. Awesome!!! I'm so happy...

OM · 10-09-2007, 01:36 PM

...Of course, there's the Morrisson Earth-2 version of this: the guy walks into a Half-Priced Books, and he gets 2.5 cents for it because of the cover price

bdk1975 · 10-09-2007, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Green

By "trimmed," do you mean the "light edge wear" described is because the seller chopped the sides off? That would be horribly devious if true. Still, I mean, it's a 'Tec #27. That's insane that there are unknown copies of that book out there still....

the book would still have significant value even if trimmed, but I'm concerned because I don't want Todd to have overpaid signficantly. Maybe he didn't.

This wouldn't be something Todd did, but the original seller... and my basis for believing tha the book was trimmed is that this book was shopped to another store who did not try to rip this seller off, just pointed that several of the other books in the group were trimmed. The problem is that it looks like the trim job was much more slight on the Tec 27 and that it wasn't shopped with the other books.

The bits and pieces of info I can gather sound like this is the same book as that which was shopped in the other group of books. I can't be 100% certain. Maybe this is a different copy -- I can only pray. Just strange that two Tec 27s would be in the same area of PA within weeks of each other with odd stories about "attic finds", but with a slight variance in each story.

Hypestyle · 10-09-2007, 01:43 PM

eh.. i guess that's fine and dandy for whoever's into finding older comix.. I can't count on finding stuff like that unless I stumble upon somebody (usually an older/senior) who has an oldschool stash they're just want to get rid of..

Skinshark · 10-09-2007, 01:44 PM

How do we contact him to buy it?

Links to his store would be nice...if he has a web presence.

=s=

Son of Satan · 10-09-2007, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skinshark

How do we contact him to buy it?

Links to his store would be nice...if he has a web presence.

=s=

http://www.ndcomics.com

I've known Todd for about 20 years and go to his stores whenever I need something I can't find elsewhere. One thing western PA excels in is comic shops per square mile!

~Gary M. Miller

ghostly1 · 10-09-2007, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdk1975

This wouldn't be something Todd did, but the original seller... and my basis for believing tha the book was trimmed is that this book was shopped to another store who did not try to rip this seller off, just pointed that several of the other books in the group were trimmed. The problem is that it looks like the trim job was much more slight on the Tec 27 and that it wasn't shopped with the other books.

I'm not really in the business at all, so forgive me if this is a dumb question but... what exactly is "trimming", and why would someone selling a book want to do it? Is it a case where the edge is more ratty but they cut off bits to make it look neat and well-kept for a better condition?

bdk1975 · 10-09-2007, 02:03 PM

Trimming is when you remove a small portion of the book, very slight, to improve the appearance of the book. Trimming was more wide spread and several ebay dealers have been caught in the past having done this to a book -- very frowned on by collectors if not disclosed because it really lowers the value of the book.

I would rather this be untrue and that the original seller is someone totally different or that it is certified by CGC as not trimmed... maybe this is the one book that wasn't trimmed... who knows... but there's something just off...

Just hoping for the best for Todd and that there wasn't a ton of money exchanged he can't get out of.

Son of Satan · 10-09-2007, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdk1975

Todd --

Hopefully someone out there knows how to contact Todd -- the book is trimmed most likely. The other store involved did not low ball the seller. The seller is very savvy and has obviously told a story that is simply not true... if this is the same seller...

Very troubling.

Every picture of the book on various websites indicates the same trimming of the book from the printer as is on this book. I can't tell you how many "siamese centerfolds" I've had on books over the years. T'would seem the real deal. Funny though how many retailers would THINK this indicates trimming by an amateur or professional, ex post facto.

Love to go to NDC right now and see the book.

~G.

chap22 · 10-09-2007, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdk1975

the book would still have significant value even if trimmed, but I'm concerned because I don't want Todd to have overpaid signficantly. Maybe he didn't.

This wouldn't be something Todd did, but the original seller... and my basis for believing tha the book was trimmed is that this book was shopped to another store who did not try to rip this seller off, just pointed that several of the other books in the group were trimmed. The problem is that it looks like the trim job was much more slight on the Tec 27 and that it wasn't shopped with the other books.

The bits and pieces of info I can gather sound like this is the same book as that which was shopped in the other group of books. I can't be 100% certain. Maybe this is a different copy -- I can only pray. Just strange that two Tec 27s would be in the same area of PA within weeks of each other with odd stories about "attic finds", but with a slight variance in each story.

here's my question:

why in the holy hell would somebody who is "savvy", and ergo would know how much a comic like Tec 27 is worth, trim the sides to make it look like it has "light edge wear"? wouldn't that be more damaging to the book than not trimming? as such, wouldn't that result in less money to the seller?

unless it's a fake copy and they're "trimming" to make it look more real (which i would have to assume the buyer is gonna check out in every way possible if THEY're at all savvy), this just makes no sense to me...

chap22 · 10-09-2007, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chap22

here's my question:

why in the holy hell would somebody who is "savvy", and ergo would know how much a comic like Tec 27 is worth, trim the sides to make it look like it has "light edge wear"? wouldn't that be more damaging to the book than not trimming? as such, wouldn't that result in less money to the seller?

unless it's a fake copy and they're "trimming" to make it look more real (which i would have to assume the buyer is gonna check out in every way possible if THEY're at all savvy), this just makes no sense to me...

and never mind. this got answered while i was typing...

Eschel · 10-09-2007, 02:08 PM

I appreciate the clarification, but do you know of some specific examples? I've never heard of this phenomenon before, and it's rather concerning.

If I'm ever in the market for highly collectible books (unlikely, but not impossible) I'd like to have some idea of what to look out for.

Thanks,

Eschel

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdk1975

Trimming is when you remove a small portion of the book, very slight, to improve the appearance of the book. Trimming was more wide spread and several ebay dealers have been caught in the past having done this to a book -- very frowned on by collectors if not disclosed because it really lowers the value of the book.

I would rather this be untrue and that the original seller is someone totally different or that it is certified by CGC as not trimmed... maybe this is the one book that wasn't trimmed... who knows... but there's something just off...

Just hoping for the best for Todd and that there wasn't a ton of money exchanged he can't get out of.

bdk1975 · 10-09-2007, 02:33 PM

The two most notable trimmers in recent past were Danny Dupcak (comickeys on ebay) who trimmed books for years and then later Jason Ewert. In Ewert's case the books were slid by CGC and then on their boards, the books were discovered to be trimmed. Micro trimmed... raising the grades to those elusive 9.6 and 9.8s.

Later CGC took back formerly blue label unrestored Ewert books and relooked and found a fairly large quantity of restored books.

This has been going on in the hobby for some time, and yet another reason why CGC exists. It isn't always perfect, but it is some protection. As I'm betting Matt Nelson and Susan Cicconi (two resto experts) will both tell you, trimming is one of the most difficult things to detect.

Colonsus · 10-09-2007, 02:35 PM

Just make sure to get it graded by CGC, NOT PGX. I've bought clearly-trimmed PGX books, which, when resubmitted to CGC were caught immediately. PGX doesn't pay any attention to restoration and is a total fraud. Half of their business is with big local dealers in Oregon who know they will let things slide for friends.

CitC · 10-09-2007, 02:56 PM

Quote:

trimming is one of the most difficult things to detect.

I worry that since your concerns were made public instead of privately to the buyer that the issue will become guilty until proven innocent of trimming making it harder to resell even if it is genuine. Is CGC better at detecting trimming now?

EDIT: on rereading that I realize that I sounded snotty to bdk1975. I would want to know before buying this - that is a lot of money, but I hope it is not harder to sell now. Perhaps going through CGC would be a good move (I have no experience woth this, so I have no idea).

bdk1975 · 10-09-2007, 03:08 PM

Since this is somewhat time sensitive, my first reaction was to try and get ahold of Todd through public message... have put out feelers through almost every channel I can.

As I said, I don't know whether this copy is the same one... but now that I've heard from another dealer who has seen the book as well as the original store it was shopped to... I am more confident it's the same book. It'd be good if Susan or Matt could look at the book as well...

The bottom line is that this is meant for Todd to be able to protect himself -- the person who sold to Todd will have to deal with Todd on the issue -- I don't think it's a guilty until proven innocent issue at all because if it is trimmed and the original honestly didn't know, all they have to do is reassess value -- it still has VERY high potential value, just not the same as a unrestored copy. No matter who sells the book or who buys the book, they're going to want to know if it's restored, and that information is what we should all be trying our best to determine.