Original subtitles

[Darren] I must have been awake, I don't know, the other night,

and said, "What the heck were you thinking?"

Like, I-- 100,000 times to myself. I was just--

kept saying it, saying it, saying it, saying it, and saying it,

probably the most unhealthy thing you could ever do,

but, like, you know, just kept-- it, it was just j-- so--

just beating myself up about it,

just... [deeply inhales] so upset.

[echoing whooshing]

[clicking]

["Jam On It" by Newcleus]

[engines rumbling]

[echoing laughter]

♪ Yeah ♪

Woo-hoo!

♪ Superman ♪

[Darren] I have to tell you, man,

going to the Con

with our specific intention...

...would have to constitute the most opposite thing

that my father would've ever done.

Oh, he would be rolling over in his grave.

[Adam] So we're back in Michigan with Darren and Brian

now heading to Motor City Comic Con

in a search for comic book dealers

to help sell off what is the bulk of the comic book collection.

But can they trust a dealer enough

to reveal the contents and their secret location?

I'm concerned about when we have people

-coming into the collection, going through things. -[Brian] Yeah.

Well, what if we pick them up and blindfold them?

If I say something offensive, it will be cut out, right?

♪ Jam on it, jam on it jam on it, jam on it ♪

♪ Jam on it jam on it, jam on it ♪

♪ Yeah, that's how you do it, Cozmo ♪

-[Darren] We're no ones in th-- -[Brian] Yeah.

...in the industry. I mean,

no one knows us.

That can be beneficial...

-[Brian] Yeah. -...or it can mean

that we're not taken seriously.

♪ People, man ♪

-I am Princess Peach. -I'm a Spider-Man fan.

I'm Misa Amane from Death Note.

[Adam] Now, this means Darren will actually have

to reveal the family secret,

to tell people what they have,

and deal with the added attention of cameras and a film crew.

-♪ Jam on it ♪ -♪ Yeah, yeah we know, we know... ♪

[Darren] Where is my Avengers,uh, 57?

-[Brian] Let's look at some prices. -[Darren] I have

a ton of back issues,

and by back issues we mean,

you know, books from the '60s,

'50s, '40s, and I wanna get rid of them.

Okay, so we would have this book,

-all right, or whatever. And he's selling it for $5... -[Brian] Sure.

...which means he's buying it for 50 cents?

-Probably. -He's buying it for $1?

We know that we can sell

the high-grade anytime,

we have a relationship with Heritage.

What we're looking for is for someone

to handle the mid-grade stuff that is not graded.

[Brian] I think we need to find someone

who's looking for an opportunity,

who doesn't have the best sources

to get back issues.

For anything you could buy,

any genre, any age, any condition,

what would excite you the most in a collection to find?

-I would say mid-grade great books. -[Darren] Mid-grade what?

Yeah, mid-grade X-Men and Spider-Man.

-[Darren] Silver and Bronze. -Silver.

-Halloween. Friday the 13th. -[Darren] Okay.

-Nightmare on Elm Street. -Right.

-Okay. -Can't find them

to sell 'em anymore.

How about horror stuff

that was pre-comic, like--

I don't know, I haven't had any in so long.

[Darren] What if you could?

[indistinct chatter]

If you had any type of book, genre, series, grade,

that you would just be over the moon to find.

Well, Captain America from the '40s.

Spider-Manfrom the '60s. Those are the two big ones.

I mean, other than, of course, Supermanor Batman.

-Usually isn't an "or"-- -Which one do you like more?

-Supermanor Batman? -Yes! Yes! Yes, exactly!

[Darren] First step is finding someone that's actually capable

of doing the things that they would say that they could do.

I'm just dealing with a very interesting collection.

And, um, you know, we're,

we're documenting it, as you see, sort of...

-Yeah. -...uh, and interested in meeting people

that are willing to put in this kind of work and commitment.

This is an incredible amount of work. I mean, I know it is.

-Tell me! I'm a school teacher. [laughs] And I do this. -Wow. And that's-- Wow.

[Brian] Do you think if you approached the guy and be like,

"Listen, we have over 300,000 books.

We don't really know what they are. What would you do?"

So, the difference between me and a lot of guys is

I'm not gonna just pick out the keys and then leave you

-with everything else. I'm gonna buy... -That's the key.

...everything, altogether. So that's why I try

and treat people like, "Hey, obviously this is where the value is.

That being said, all that other stuff is where most of the work is."

-[Darren] Exactly. -So, if I'm taking it back and it's gonna take me

a year to process it, you know,

I need to have the room built in for my time.

-Thank you, sir. My name is Darren. -My name is Roger.

-Take care, sir. I don't have a card. -You want a card?

-I'm Austin. Nice to meet you. -Darren, nice to meet you.

-Thank you very much. -All right.

-Very good to meet you. -You as well.

Thank you, sir. Good luck.

-Thanks. -What's the 9.6, uh,

Tales--uh, Strange Talesat?

Uh, well, one on eBay sold for $10,500.

-I put $10,000 on it, which is crazy. -[mumbles]

I mean, I wouldn't pay that myself, but...

[laughs]

...but if somebody wants to pay that,

I'm more than happy to take it, so--

-Understandable. Thank you. -[laughs]

[indistinct chatter]

-[Adam] One of you guys give us-- -Well, no, it's important

y-- because we need to-- what we need to follow up on.

I've sold three 9.6s on Heritage to date.

All north of $10,000.

And a 9.8 for over $20,000.

So, just to hear his reaction on a book of that size.

I mean, again, and we have 100 more.

[upbeat music]

-[indistinct chatter] -[electronic beeping]

You see-- oh, we haven't seen-- oh, here we are, at Harley!

Oh, here we go! This is him.

[Darren] We wanna visit some of the bigger dealers, right?

Now, Harley Yee is someone that you spoke very highly of.

-[Adam] Yeah. -[Darren] I-- We don't know him personally at all.

-He's been a very respected dealer. -[Adam] Oh, yeah.

[Darren] I mean, from my understanding, he's been a dealer

all the way back from the '60s, right?

-[Brian] I want the Deadman up on top. -[Darren] Which one?

[Brian] This aisle. Strange-- uh, it's Strange Adventures.

First appearance of Deadman.

[Brian] I've heard other, like,

comic YouTubers talk about him.

So, I mean, he's-- he makes it to all the big shows.

[Darren] How can we approach him in a way

where we won't sound just like anyone else?

-Would you consider taking $800 on this? -H-- Yeah,

how solid are we here?

-[Harley speaking] -Cash, yes! Of course!

-All right. -Eight. Done.

-[Harley speaking] -Yeah. I wanna talk to you.

-You wouldn't talk to me! -[Harley speaking]

Well, you wouldn't talk to me, so I--

-[Harley speaking] -I, I didn't have--

Well, I can't have the cameras around you,

you said "No." So I still want-- we still want the book, though.

-[laughter] -[Harley speaking]

No, we're doing-- we are doing something. I do wanna talk to you

about a special collection. That's the reason we have the cameras.

-[Harley speaking] -So, you w-- would you have a few minutes?

All right, perfect. Yeah. All right.

So, yeah, let's talk a little bit.

I ain't-- d-- Hey, I wanna make sure.

My father built, um, an incredibly extensive collection.

And he passed two years ago.

But what we need is someone like yourself

that's an expert at moving the bulk, the mass.

And we'd be interested if you'd be willing to take a look.

-Um, we're local. -[Harley speaking]

I'd like to give you my information, maybe, you know--

-or you give me-- mine, or however you prefer. -[Harley speaking]

[inaudible]

-Nice to meet you. And we'll be in contact. -[Darren] Very good, sir.

This is a big moment, guys. Um, this is the first time

anyone outside of the circle

knows that we have Batmanin a 8.0

and Supermanin a 7.0. I have never told anyone

outside my immediate friend group or anything,

anyone here, any kind of dealer anywhere.

Um, he asked the direct question, and I said,

"You know what? Screw it. Why dodge it?"

And to be honest with you, I was wrong.

I thought he would have a much more standoffish, um,

reaction, and he was-- I thought he was quite warm.

So, um, that was very positive.

We'll see where it goes from there.

[light whimsical music]

It was towards the end of the Con,

and I, and I look around and this, uh, smaller guy

and, uh, you know, real exuberant, lots of energy.

And he goes, "Yeah, this is my stuff right here."

And it was this little table. And that was his whole setup.

You know, just didn't have a lot of stuff, but, you know,

an impressive little display.

I was just really impressed by the fact that he was

among these bigger dealers with his stuff.

Yeah, first impression, I-- uh-- you know, I was sitting there like...

[laughing] "Wow, you're tall."

Granted, everybody's taller than me,

but I try to take time with anybody

that comes to my table and talk to them,

just because it's, it's what I do.

[Darren] You know, he said he was from Ohio

and he came up for this thing,

and this is what he did full time.

And I just-- I really was taken by his energy

and his honesty, and the fact that he was the underdog, you know.

And I really liked that. I, I, I really identified with it.

[Josh] So I handed him my card

and y-- and, you know, I didn't think anything of it.

Normally, I hand out my card and no one calls me back.

I pull it out and it said, "Hatchback Comics."

Had a picture of the, you know, the car on it, real simple card.

It said "Josh and Dale."

And I went white. I mean, I literally froze.

I mean, I don't know another "Dale,"

besides my father, that I've ever met.

Yeah, I'm Dale Chrisman, I'm 51 years old,

um, and I'm also partial owner of Hatchback Comics.

The kid and the dad, I guess. Maybe that's how it works out.

-[indistinct chatter] -I'm the Hatchback Dad.

[light eerie music]

-[door opens] -[Darren] I'm not a highly, uh,

you know, spiritual person,

but I'm someone that believes in, uh,

things happening that you need to notice

and, um, follow up with.

And I can just tell you that... this has to be

one of the top moments for me in my life.

I mean, I-- I don't know this kid for more than,

like, ten minutes talking to him,

and he generated such an interest level with me

that I can't explain. And then, for the name to be Dale of his father...

[deeply inhales and sighs] that's just hard to ignore.

[door creaking]

[gasps]

Holy cow.

[whimsical music]

[Darren] I think someone that's-- you know, gonna ride with the wave

and enjoy it along the way and just relish in the opportunity

that they would never have had otherwise,

that's the kind of guy I'd wanna work with.

-Can I open up a box? -Sure.

[Josh] I thought I had a lot of comics. [chuckles]

-Yeah, this is-- -This is insane.

This is... mega insane.

-That's m-- that's my thought. This is insane. -This is huge!

[gasps] Werewolf by Night1!

-Oh! First appearance of Galactus. -[Dale Chrisman] Holy-- Wow.

[Josh] I think he got a couple copies of that.

-[Dale Chrisman] Yeah. Yeah, I would say. -[Josh] Hulk102.

-It's a nice shape. That's-- That's, that's a nice shape. -[Dale Chrisman] Wow. Yeah.

-Wow. Uh, those are cards-- -Stunned. [chuckles] Stunned.

I've been reading and collecting comics

off and on since I was, uh, probably five years old.

It started w-- with, uh, you know, grocery store trips

and get a three-pack of comics for 79 cents, 99 cents.

Ooh, The Power of Warlock.

I found out there were a couple of my neighbors

having a comic book garage sale.

They called it Comicpalooza.

I was like, "Well, why, why don't I go

and check it out?" And it just kind of spiraled from there.

And it was-- now, between the two of us,

-now we have 10,000 books. -Yeah, we're better.

And this is what I'm gonna need your creativity on.

-Okay. -[Darren] Is the titles that are of-- titles,

um, of issues, aren't maybe superhero--

how do you get rid of these without throwing them away?

[Dale Chrisman] Josh has-- he did an excellent job building the business out.

You know, he's got tons of connections out there

and he just started the Instagram page, I don't know,

-maybe six months ago. And he's... -Started-- December.

...he's up over a thousand followers on Instagram.

And, yeah, he's done a very good job of getting this all together.

And-- then, Mom's proud too.

[loud clanging]

-[Darren] All right. -[Josh] That is awesome!

Oh, Ghost Rider1 and 2. There's probably

at least 50 copies of Ghost Rider1 in here,

30 copies of th-- of Black Panther1.

-[Josh] Yeah. -[Dale Chrisman] Dr. Strange1. There's probably

-another 20 in there. 20-- -[mumbles] ...yeah, probably.

[Darren] Do you know many people-- know many people that collect it like that?

Have you ever come across--

-No. -That just bought bulks of stuff

-like that? No, I've never seen that... -No.

-...in my life. -No? Have you ever heard of it?

-No! No, I-- -No. No, I--

I just was wondering if it was more common

in the community than I realized.

[upbeat music]

So, you've seen the bins.

-Uh, you've seen the pressing. -Mm-hmm.

But the stuff in here

is worthy of being in a safe like this.

-[Josh] Oh, boy. -[Dale Chrisman] Oh!

-[Darren] But, uh-- -Can I touch it?

-[Josh] Four copies of Daredevil1. -[Dale Chrisman] How about

The Incredible Hulk1 in a 7.5, Josh?

[Josh] The Incredible Hulk1 is one of my personal grails.

-Hulk181. -[Dale Chrisman] There's your Showcase22.

-[Josh] Showcase34. -[Dale Chrisman] Four, uh,

four copies of Fantastic Four1 in there.

X-MenNo. 4. Is that the first appearance of Scarlet Witch?

[Dale Chrisman] X-Men3. Tales To Astonish49.

[Josh] Tomb of Dracula10. Showcase4. Amazing Fantasy15. 5.5.

-[Dale Chrisman] Fantastic Four48. -[Josh] Wonder Woman1.

Giant-Size X-Men198

Batman1.

-8.0. -[Dale Chrisman] What?

-Are you kidding me? -[Darren] There's a book right next to it.

-[Dale Chrisman] Oh, my... -[Josh] Yeah, it's that one, Dad.

-You said, "Book next to it" or underneath it? -...God!

[Darren] Underneath it.

-[Dale Chrisman] Oh-- -[Josh] Superman1, 7.0.

-Put it back. -[Dale Chrisman] Oh! Oh, my God!

-[chuckling] -[Josh] He said he might cry.

[Dale Chrisman] You talk about-- you talk about books like that,

-it's like, "Oh, my God." -[Josh] He said he might cry.

[chuckles]

-[Josh] Andrews57, 9.0. -[softly] Wow!

[clicks tongue] Wow. I mean, this is...

[exhales] this i-- uh, just-- this is unbelievable.

-[Darren] Special, isn't it? -[Dale Chrisman] Yeah. It's...

You know what the sad part is, is that I didn't...

...ever get to do what you guys just did.

You enjoyed it together, father and son.

I didn't get to do that, you know. I mean, I-- those were

in dark, cold, sterile boxes until he passed away.

-Hmm. -[Darren] I never got to look at one of those

while he was alive. So, um,

that was really a cool moment for me, to be honest with you,

just to, uh, experience that.

[gentle music]

[Adam speaking]

Wou-- would I sell a Superman7.0?

[deeply exhales]

Uh... [sighs] I, I don't know. I don't think I would.

Um, it's, it-- it's one of those--

again, it's one of those books that there's a handful of.

-Um, it's a family heirloom. -Yeah.

Heirlooms are, are priceless. You don't just--

Yo-- you can't just pass them off and sell them.

You know, you just can't.

So, yeah, I wouldn't. [chuckles]

Y-- you guys had asked me about books I wouldn't sell.

-Batman1. -[Darren] Yeah.

Detective Comics27.

You know, Action Comics1.

Superman1. I wouldn't sell those.

-[Dale Chrisman] No, just-- -That's--

[Dale Chrisman] It's the top of the mountain.

-Yeah. -I mean, it is, literally--

it is, it is the top of the mountain

when it comes to, to this hobby,

this colle-- th-- these kind of collectibles.

It's, it's the top of the mountain, and you--

once you get to the top, you know,

that's a whole different story. [laughing] I mean, it's, it's yours to, you know--

[sighs] I-- yeah, I couldn't see ever letting go

of something like that. I just, I just couldn't.

[Adam speaking]

[Dale Chrisman chuckles]

-I-- No. You know, I mean-- -[Josh] Not like that.

-Not like that. No, I-- -Not like that.

It's just one of those things where...

...yeah, I, I, I couldn't-- I couldn't turn it loose.

I just wouldn't be able to.

[horn tooting]

[dramatic music]

It wasn't until Richard Donner's Supermanin 1978

that I really was like, "Oh, my God!" I, I related.

It was so well done. And that, for me,

was the benchmark for all superhero movies.

I think the ideals of Superman came through in a way

that a lot of comic book movies don't capture.

You know, they can capture the effects and they can capture the--

even the story or the villains or whatever,

but they really passed on to, I think, my generation,

just this figure who,

you know, Lex Luthor calls him an overgrown Boy Scout.

And in a sense, he is. But what's wrong with that?

I think we all have to look at ourselves and say,

"What are we doing that are s-- that's, you know, helpful to humanity?"

And there's one thing I do know, son,

and that is you are here for a reason.

I don't know whose reason or whatever the reason is, you know.

[sighs] But I do know one thing.

It's not to score touchdowns.

-[chuckles] -Huh?

-Yeah. -Thanks, Dad.

[Kevin] Supermanrelies so heavily on the father-son relationship

in-- on so many levels, in levels that we probably aren't even aware of.

[somber music]

[Darren] I mean, I haven't made a decision one way or the other,

but it's not about th-- the actual book, right?

It's about what it means.

-It's interesting. It's interesting. -[Adam] Mm-hmm.

[sniffles] Sorry. [chuckles] I just--

It's, you know, there's a lot there, it's a lot.

It's a lot because you can't go back on it.

And I'm not gonna go re-buy that book one day. [laughs]

I mean, you know.

I'm not gonna say, "Hey, um..."

[Adam speaking]

-Right. That's exactly right. -[Adam speaking]

[sighs] He was such a difficult prick, man.

[laughs] But, I mean, I did love him,

and I had a lot of respect for him in a lot of ways, but...

[Brian] He was really well-versed, and, you know,

he's a really interesting, smart man to talk to.

He was, he was-- had no shortage of intelligence.

[Kelly] I mean, he graduated, you know,

top of his class at U of M, was very successful.

Uh, majored-- his thing was contract law.

I think in a lot of ways, Dale was, uh,

was obsessed with... overall success.

He wanted, he wanted Darren to be successful.

[Darren] But there was not a feeling of oozing love,

you know, especially from him, that was just like,

"Yeah, Dad, I just need to talk to you about something."

You know what I mean? That would be a very...

...business-oriented type of conversation.

And I learned a lot of my verbal skills from that.

I mean, he was so quick-thinking and he was so verbal

that you had to be there or you were left in the dust.

You know, I mean, it was a lot of arguing.

And neither of us wanted to back down.

[Jeremy] There's three sides to every story.

You know, Dale had-- his-- you know,

his belief was all three sides were his.

Darren tried to do the right thing,

but, you know, Dale was very tough on him.

[Darren] I always thought that it was me, yeah, me being talked down to.

-Could you listen for a second? -[Darren] Well, I--

[Darren] He'd basically throw it in m-- my face, that,

you know, "Well, you don't-- you know, you don't have a degree."

Why do you continue, if-- even into your seventies,

this superiority, like,

"I'm an elephant, you're an ant," you know, why?

You know, what do you need that for so much?

[Celeste] Nobody could win an argument against Dale.

He had no empathy. He could not read people.

He didn't understand that he was making somebody uncomfortable.

He would just continue talking,

making them more and more uncomfortable.

He would come in and we would start arguing,

the only way I could get away

would be to s-- to step outside

that back door, even in the wintertime.

And that was a safe haven

because Dale doesn't go outside. [laughs]

I would literally have to leave the house.

But I had to escape somehow, you know.

My mother went into the bank,

um, when she had to sign things over for the divorce,

and she went into the bank that he used and, um, she said,

"Hello, I'm, I'm Mrs. Watts."

And, uh, they interrupted her and said,

"We know exactly who you are and congratulations."

Imagine, bankers saying that about a divorce

to a woman that comes in

because they knew who he was-- who she was married to.

That is unbelievable!

[Tim] I mean, his mom was amazing.

His dad was, uh... very critical.

At the time, I thought he was critical

in an effort to make Darren a better guy.

-[Adam speaking] -I don't know. I think,

you know, hearing about it later in life,

his struggles with mental health,

like, I, I'm not sure anymore.

[somber music]

[Celeste] Once we were first married,

his idiosyncrasies started showing up.

And I later found out,

after Darren found out from a therapist himself,

that Dale had Asperger's.

And then, everything clicked, it just all made sense.

Every symptom that he had was so clear, you know, now.

[wind blowing]

[Monti] If the parent is unaware that they have Asperger's,

that impacts the child in the sense

that the parent doesn't know what's going on for them,

and they may be acting out on the child,

they may not make emotional--

they maybe show emotional neglect, not connect with the child.

They may have outbursts as parents.

And the child doesn't understand this.

They see it as, "They're rejecting me.

They don't like me. I'm not good enough, you're not showing me love."

Maybe not on a conscious level, but on an unconscious level.

And so, then, the child is most likely gonna blame themselves,

and start to internalize this idea that they are bad,

or, "Oh, my God, I've gotta be perfect.

I've gotta get everything right."

[Darren] You know, there's, there's so many voices that always are talking to me, like,

"You haven't earned enough. You haven't acquired enough.

You're not doing these comics right, you should be doing this

and this and this." You know, "Someone that was more organized,

or someone that would approach this differently

would do a better job and, and, and whatever."

So... [sighs]

...he's in there all the time.

You know, uh, a lot of times I look at it like,

if I'm prepared enough for any circumstance,

then that makes me impenetrable

because, even if it occurs, I'm ready.

And, uh-- intellectually, I know that's not correct,

um, but a lot of times that's effective.

And I can blame that, whether for better or for worse,

um, for a lot of the achievements,

um, in my life,

[light inspirational music]

You know, I'm a worrier. I'll give you that.

I mean, I, I worry on top of worry.

But, as my wife will constantly remind me,

"You know what? You're gonna do fine like you always do.

And, um, it's gonna be good enough,

no matter what it is." And, you know,

having that encouragement behind me is,

is really incredible.

"You are amazing." "Mindset is everything."

"You were born to be real, not perfect."

Um, "Live for each second without hesitation."

I think he does step up in ways that he misses

what his dad, he feels, should've been.

Come on, Dominic.

[Renee] Darren is the super stepdad in all ways.

He makes sure the kids have everything they need.

He is at every hockey, lacrosse, golf, basketball, football,

and was the dance dad for many years.

I see Dale in Darren

in just the way sometimes he fixates on things

'cause Dale used to fixate on one thing at a time,

and when that was done, he'd move on to the next thing.

[light melancholic music]

[Darren] One-- one of the things that I struggle with the most

is, um, being kind to myself.

When you're alone with your thoughts, it's always,

it's always the worst, so,

um, I attribute a lot of my trouble sleeping

to my own, um, my own thoughts.

You know, being my-- me being my demons.

And, um, I'm trying to hit the root of that, you know?

Where, where is, where is this, uh,

you know, maybe "self-hate" is a strong word,

but where is this self-criticism

and feeling of, uh, not being good enough

and/or, you know, not ac-- doing the right things enough, you know.

That can be the worst when I'm alone.

Collecting is a mental illness. There's no question about that.

Uh, but there are positive forms of, uh, paranoia and,

uh, you know, different kinds of mental illness.

And this is one that has, I think,

some healing, uh, possibilities in it.

That's one reason people get into it,

they're trying to fill some hole, uh,

from their childhood, or something was taken away.

For me, I found it-- it is healing for me.

It-- it also gives you power over something.

It's a universe you can control.

And I think that might be one reason collectors get into it.

[Harley] So, it's complete. 16 pages.

-It's taped. -Taped.

-[Darren] Yeah. -And...

...a little bit of glue.

[upbeat music]

[Adam] Darren has brought Harley into the fortress

to look through and pick out about five boxes worth of comics

that Harley can sell at the next big Comic Con,

starting with the Mecca of all Cons,

Comic-Con San Diego, which neither Darren or Brian

or myself have ever been to. So it's exciting to prep

-with a long-time comic veteran like Harley. -Oh!

-That looks nice. -Hmm. Yeah, that--

-It's a square mound too, eh. A little tape there. -[Brian] Wow.

[Darren] No, but, wow, look at that.

Is that a subs-- a subscription crease?

[Harley] No, no! What it is, is that after someone bought it,

they folded it and put it in their back pocket and rode their bike home.

-[laughter] -Well, as you can see,

there's so much involved in this, and that's why we're dealing with Harley.

I mean, you can't replace 40 years of experience.

And this one is a Matt Baker cover.

So, that's a real popular artist.

[Darren] Well, it's got the right three characters on the front too.

[Harley laughs]

[Adam] Josh, the Hatchback kid,

will do the local smaller Comic Cons,

and handle books from $5 all the way up to probably $300.

They took a lot of $20, $30 books,

because that's what people are coming to their booth to get,

and people coming to your booth, they may expect to see

some of the quality of some of the stuff here, right?

[Adam] They both work on consignment,

simply taking a percentage of sales.

Harley, he'll deal with the books

that are more from $100 to $5000.

He feels that he's taking about $250,000 worth of raw books.

And that means ungraded, right?

Do I think my dad would be happy if I was working with someone like Harley?

No. He'd find some reason why it wasn't good enough in some way.

But I can tell you what he wouldn't be fine with,

is just letting him walk out of here with six boxes

and loading them in the back of his car like that.

You know, we shook hands at the end of the deal, and...

...that was good enough for me.

-I look forward to it, sir. -Look forward to it.

All right. This is one of many.

["Superman" by Celi Bee & The Buzzy Bunch]

[wind whooshes]

[airplane rumbling]

♪ It's a bird? ♪

♪ No! ♪

♪ It's a plane? ♪

♪ No! ♪

♪ It's Superman ♪

♪ Superman ♪

Superhero movies, uh, they must have some value.

They, they must be doing something

because they are so dominant.

If you measure it simply by, uh, box office

or how much is spent on comics and games and all these other things,

it's a, a staggeringly large proportion of our attention.

And so, it must be serving some need.

I think it is. I think it's, it's a way,

just like the old Greeks and Romans did,

of, uh, processing your world

and, uh, figuring out, "Who am I in this?"

-It better not be pointed at me! -Arrest them!

This is the peacemaker, it is!

It, it's good for us that, uh, we don't make it religious.

That gives us a lot more flexibility about it

and, uh, avoids, uh, religious wars

between the followers of Batman and the followers of Superman,

you know. Uh, th-- there could be blood on the floor.

-[Adam speaking] -[laughing] I guess not!

-[shouting] -[cheering]

[upbeat music]

[indistinct chatter]

What, what are you seeing moving the most, just in general?

-I mean, I've sold an Archie, a couple of Archies. -Yeah!

-Yeah. All right. -I've sold some, uh, Scooby-Doos.

[Darren] Harley isn't taking these books for him,

he's taking them to get into the hands of the end collector.

So I'm not selling to a dealer.

I'm utilizing a dealer's skill set and reach

to get to more end collectors.

-Okay, so that certificate goes with this book. -[indistinct chatter]

And it makes me just feel amazing

because I would never have that reach on my own.

You got-- what'd you buy? Which one did you buy?

Um, I bought the, uh, FF1 Annual.

-Yep, yep. Awesome! -That-- you know, it's really nice.

-7-- 7.5, yeah! I got six of these guys. -[cross talk]

So, I'm trying to, uh, build them up a collection.

Well, every collector, nowadays,

because of the pricing, is an investor also.

Now almost every collector is a-- is a, is a dealer at some point,

to where they're trying to make some money

to afford to buy... [laughing] some of their, some of their own collection.

For some of them, it's almost like a drug habit.

-That probably is the best one. -Super-- Oh, it-- no, it is the best one.

-[cross talking] -Yeah, but I-- Yeah, but--

Now, some of these guys, you know, like Dale in his prime,

and my brother Brian, their,

their primary addiction is comic book collecting.

[indistinct chatter]

Yes. I'm Brian's older brother, and I,

I do like to call it an addiction

because it's something that you start

and you can never stop.

My thing was always toys and action figures.

That was my--

still is. I mean, people, people who know me now,

they have no idea that it's an addiction that cannot be cured.

I can never stop. And it's ju--

it's a compulsion, I must have them.

It's like how these comic book collectors are at this convention.

I-- it's-- so, I love that. And... [sighs]

...one of the ways that I coped, as a married man

who had to make sure his, his bills were paid

and his addictions weren't getting out of control,

is I bought and sold on eBay.

-[indistinct chatter] -Back at the table to discuss

the most trending comic books in the marketplace.

[man 1] We're seeing $100 raw sales on average.

[man 2] Hold on to that book, that book will always continue to climb.

This book is hitting 275 for a CGC 9.8.

[Brian] It's fun to have an addiction.

I mean, our vices define us, I guess,

as terrible as that sounds, and maybe that's my vice.

But do-- You know, what other vice do you have

that you can sell when you're done with it?

So, I mean, you can't, you can't, like,

trade your alcohol problem in for a, you know, a check,

and you can with your books! I mean, and it's-- it's a good way to justify it.

Now, granted, I don't sell books,

but if I really--

I-- I'm never gonna sell another comic book

as long as I live, to be honest.

[David] Be-- believe me, I, I'm, I'm keeping a handle on this

so it doesn't get out of control like it did in the past.

Because I know that I can never beat it.

You know, y-- you can walk away,

but it's like a recovering alcoholic.

A recovering alcoholic isn't suddenly not an alcoholic,

they're just not drinking right now. And I would just be

an action figure collector who's not collecting right now,

'cause it would always get me.

And so, just manage it.

Jus-- just, just love that it's a part of you,

and, and make sure your checkbook is balanced every month

and that you're still saving for retirement and you're okay. And if--

and, and for those of you who are married with kids,

I mean, y-- get your responsibilities straight.

I mean, you g-- you gotta keep it under control. [laughs]

-[indistinct chatter] -[Chris] I think we are,

uh, immersed in a culture that is constantly saying,

"Whatever you have is not enough."

So, you have a Batman1, you say, right now...

-It's 4.5. -...but it's just-- It's insane!

Yeah, but you have an 8.0.

-[inaudible] -And you have to improve,

you have to add, you have to feel better,

you, you have to, uh, acquire more.

[light melancholic music]

Uh, this is part of the, uh, collector mentality

or the collector disease.

No collector thinks he or she has enough.

That's one of the built-ins of our culture,

is this, uh, never-ending appetite

for more space, more control,

I mean, we're not happy with this planet,

so let's fill up Mars next.

You won't find many people who want to live less.

Uh, I, I, I need to start exploring that in terms of my collection.

So, how can I de-acquisition?

Uh, that's the, like a-- a whole new, uh, mask

I'll have to learn to wear.

[gentle music]

[Adam] So, look, it's really no secret that our society,

industry, media, the film world,

they're not encouraging us to want less...

...or to feel good enough already as we are.

And most superhero films, they play on that addiction.

Us wanting to be more powerful,

wanting to be around these fantastic characters.

I mean, these films and stories basically create value,

not just comic book monetary value,

but these stories create a deep emotional investment.

When Superman died, it was like when Princess Diana died.

It was, like, all over the news and people were like,

"Oh, my gosh! You're killing off Superman?"

And, and it sold, like, 30 million copies.

[Adam] It's kind of, like, they just make us love this archetype

by flooding the market with superhero films and series

over and over until that's what we want.

-[snap fingers] -And, yeah, I recognize this actual documentary

could actually do the same.

Already, the cameras draw attention

and create value for Darren's collection.

I mean, a spade is a spade.

A good story...

...will always help create value.

[Harley] If I had a Superman1, 7.0,

I would certainly put, uh, 4-million plus on it,

because people like to hear a story,

especially on this large of a collection.

[Adam] In the story of this collection,

Darren's dad seems to me like Gollum

fromThe Lord of the Rings.

[echoing] My precious...

-[echoing gasps] -[Adam] Think about it.

Gollum has a ring that makes him invisible,

and he takes it to a pitch black cave to hide.

It's kind of like hiding 300,000 comic books in boxes,

never to be read or shared.

So it makes me wonder if what Darren inherited is like the ring.

It's a similar deal where t-- it's potential, you know?

I, I think it-- it's a difficult choice for somebody

to liquidate that.

You could harness it to good.

You could let it corrupt your soul.

Y-- that part of the collector

that just wants to hoard it and have that pleasure.

In The Lord of the Rings, they actually disintegrated,

they destroy it so that it can't be used for good or evil.

So the power of this multi-million dollar

piece of, uh, cheap newsprint,

uh, there's great temptations there.

Peter, remember,

with great power comes great responsibility.

[Adam] And so, we often love

what these superhero films are saying.

"With great power comes great responsibility."

But it doesn't seem like Hollywood

is living the very message they profess.

I mean, they have great power through story,

through everyone's eyeballs and attention.

Yet, most of it is being used for senseless drama

and gratuitous violence.

Bruce, please. I was wrong. You have to listen to me.

[Adam] I mean, they had Superman fighting Batman.

That feels to me like the Roman gladiator days,

using the power of entertainment

to keep the people occupied, distracted, and dumbed down

by that reality TV-style drug.

-[man 1] The floor is lava! -Oh, no!

-[man 2] Is it cake? -[cheering]

-[man 3] It's cake! -What?

[bleep] You gotta [bleep]. Lick it up.

[Adam] It makes me wonder,

what would our documentary be like

if it was a overproduced,

salacious reality TV show?

[dramatic music]

Superman is just an underwear model with a cape.

-We gotta settle this argument once and for all. -Just get ready.

-It's gonna be crazy! -I'll fight it till the end.

I'm Darren Watts. I'm here to defend the truth.

-Superman versus Batman. -[Brian] That's not fair.

Of course Superman wins, but it's not about that,

it's about who's a better character.

What's the point of reading it? You know what happens? Boring. No, thanks.

-[Tim] A good character is flawed. Wait, wait. -Superman's boring.

-[Tim] Superman's boring, I-- -Oh, he makes no mistakes. He's nothing.

-He's like, "Oh, I'm here, I'm Superman." -[Kelly] He makes mistakes.

-What are you talking about? -[Brian] Oh, yeah. I know, he did. Oh, yeah, Lois Lane.

-That was a big ol' mistake in Supermantwo-- -[cross talk]

I wouldn't say he's an asshole, but he's just--

he's really passionate about what he believes.

He had parents! Bruce had a freaking butler!

To the point where it's almost a neurosis.

-[cross talk] -Batman is fighting his own evils,

his own demons. Whereas Superman sort of doesn't have them.

-Like, Batman is us. Like-- -I'm, I'm really confused.

Uh, Superman did have human emotions.

I mean, look at what he did. He gave up his power for love.

-He wanted to, you know, be normal. -[Kelly] Be one of us.

But at the same time, he has a great sense of responsibility.

He's conflicted! He's incredibly conflicted.

He's conflicted how to go too far.

He has to control his temper all the time.

Yeah, but what does he get mad about?

-What could you possibly get mad about? -[loudly sighs]

I love Darren, but he has to get over the idea

that he likes Superman just because he's really strong.

-Gu-- -This is a guy who was, like, "I need a disguise.

-I'm gonna put some glasses on." -[laughter]

-"I'm gonna put some glasses on." -But what's that got to do wi--

[Tim] "I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be a reporter."

But it works!

-[cross talk] -Never--

But, but, but don't you think it's interesting

that he chose a reporter? So he's in the know

of what's going on in the world to maybe make a difference?

Just so he could watch Lois.

-[Brian] Maybe. -He's a creeper. He's a creeper!

-That's what his weakness is. He's a creeper. -[cross talk]

-He's just a creeper. Superman's a creeper. -Wow. Look where it went.

Look how it fell apart.

Is there a way they could have a baby?

-[Adam speaking] -[laughs] Superman and Batman.

[Adam] While Darren was enjoying great progress

selling the collection with his partners, going to Comic Com,

and busy making a fake reality show so that I,

the director, can, you know, get on my soapbox about media

and reality TV's ultimate distraction from...

-[yelling] -...reality...

-[indistinct speaking] -...would it be a surprise

that when the entertainment's over,

our issues remain?

[clicking]

[light melancholic music]

[reading]

I mean, that's the first sentence...

[chuckles] and it goes from there.