All language subtitles for Selling.Superman.E02.Can.He.Rewrite.This.Story.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-Mj_track3_[eng]

[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.