All language subtitles for Selling.Superman.E03.The.Value.in.Question.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-Mj_track3_[eng]

[clicking]

[melancholic music]

[reading]

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

[chuckles]
and it goes from there.

And she references the comic
that she gave me

that's in my basement
that I've often referred to

as the most important comic
that I own.

Uh, it's depicting
an imaginary novel

where Superman
and his wife are watching
both their children.

Then, there's a disparity
in their abilities, clearly.

Just-- the comment is,
"I love them equally,

but I know that they'll
never be fully equal."

And, uh, she shows me
a picture of that comic.

She knows my kryptonite,
and she will hit that hard.

[Adam Watts speaking]

I didn't go to college.

So it's, like, if you could do
something like that,

the kind of money I'm making...

...with the benefits, with,
you know, you know, check--

you know, check, it's great.

[Darren]
As a child, we, we saw that Adam
struggled with certain things.

In--[stutters] in speaking,
in-- in learning,
a-- academically.

But what all of us
are just blown away proud is

is his common sense, his ethics,

his heart, his hard work.

He, he, he's the hardest
working person at his job.

[Adam Watts]
People don't come to work,
they just get me to do it.

I get overworked on stuff,
but it-- you know, that's--

I can-- once in a while,
I don't do that often.

So, it's not like I'm--
I, I sleep.

-[soft chuckles]
-Depend. You know,
sometimes I have slee--

you know, have trouble sleeping,
but it's not like him.

I don't-- I get sleep.

You know, so, it's not like
it's not keeping me up.

-[Adam speaking]
-Yep.

Now I am.

[Darren]
You know, I, I respect
my mother's concern,

and I, I admit that
I don't do the one-on-one time

maybe as much with Adam
as maybe she'd prefer.

And so, there's nothing
I could do to convince
my mother otherwise,

other than show her examples
and, and work through this.

-[airplane rumbling]
-♪ Here comes Superman ♪

♪ Superman ♪

[Darren]
We got a nice day today, Adam...

-[Adam Watts] Yep.
-...but tomorrow

we're gonna head to CGC,

-that's where they grade
the books, you know that, right?
-[Adam Watts] Yep.

[Darren]
So we're gonna bring those
two boxes we brought with us.

And they, you know,
they'll grade those
and then they ship them back.

-But that's tomorrow. So we use
a nice day today, right?
-[laughs] Yep.

[Darren]
So here we are.

-[Adam Watts] So now,
where do we go now?
-[Darren] We're on a beach.

We've arrived.

♪ He's watching day and night ♪

♪ And with the speed of light ♪

♪ He flies
like a shooting star ♪

♪ Here comes Superman ♪

Okay, I'll call you right back,
I promise, I'll do it right now.

Okay.

Josh has a lot of issues
getting around at times

because he can't drive,
so he relies on his,

um, you know, family,
which are incredible
at doing it.

But he has dialysis in Livonia.

-[birds squawking]
-And, um,

I have to see
if there's a possibility

that Brian could pick him up
from dialysis

and then take him to the shop

so that he could, um, you know,

go through and sort and price

and grade some of the books
for Motor City

'cause we're running
out of time.

And his dad, Dale,
is out of town in Maine,

uh, and literally
until next Wednesday,

and we set out for the show
next Thursday.

So it's like, "Whoa,
man, we've got to move!"

And here I am in Florida,
so I'm no good to anybody.

[laughter]

[light whimsical music]

[birds chirping]

[Linda]
If you have
the right attitude...

...if you have a spark
to live and to be young...

...Disney is
a perfect place to be.

I try to keep most
of my Disney stuff in one room,

so the whole house
isn't totally Disney.

And this is the window
that you can see

95% of Disney fireworks.

That's why
I bought the house, yes.

I bought the house
to be close to Disney.

I'm Dale Watts's sister.

I'm very proud of my brother.

And I have two nephews,

Darren Watts and Adam Watts.

Here's my father and my brother.

And that was taken in 1945.

-[Darren] Wow. Look at them.
-And this is Celeste
and my brother,

Darren's parents
and Adam's parents.

He was seven years older
than me, and I looked up to him,

and he was good to me
when I was real little.

And then, when I got older,
he didn't want anything
to do with me,

except he taught me
to be good in sports.

Because what he loved to do
is say to his friends,

"My little sister
can beat you." And I did.

So that's how I was able
to spend more time
with my brother,

as long as I got good at sports,
so he could show me off to his,

uh, friends
and make them look stupid.

It was more about making
his friends look stupid,

-you know, 'cause this
little girl could beat them.
-[laughter]

-Well, some things were
consistent with his whole life.
-But-- Yeah. Yeah! Yeah, always.

But I always loved my brother.
I always admired him,
always respected him.

My brother was trustworthy.
He was honest.

My brother was never into drugs.

He wasn't a smoker,
and he... wasn't a drinker.

I mean, he was a true-blue,

great guy.

There's just a lot of animals.

You know, one of the few homes
with lions, tigers, bears.

-Oh, my.
-I-- Oh, my.
I decorate for myself.

-Um...
-[Adam speaking]

Nobody influences me,
I do what I want.

-[laughter]
-I mean, that's why I have

an orangutan
with the tiara downstairs

and my bears and...

...things that mean
something to me. Just fun.

I just like to have fun.

Um... okay.

This is the,
the actual doll room.

[whimsical music]

Mom and Dad weren't
into any collections at all.

They just allowed us kids
to collect.

Each one has
a memory to it with me.

Um, a lot of them
I bought with my mother.

And those are
the only dolls I'd take
if there was a disaster.

They're worthless,
but they're mine.

Some of these dolls
were worth a lot of money

until Chucky made
his first movie.

-Hi, I'm Chucky, you wanna play?
-[screams]

[dramatic music playing]

[Linda]
And because of that,

the dolls went down in value.

Then you get Annabelle.

[woman whispering]
I like your doll.

And several of my best dolls
were given to me by teenagers

'cause they thought
they were gonna come alive
and eat them at night...

-[chuckles] Nice.
-...and they didn't want
to be anywhere near them.

So that's what horror movies do.

And it lost me my retirement.

I thought my dolls
would be my, my key.

You know, some
of the bisque dolls that I have,

back then,
I paid $700, $800 for.

And so, I figured, "Oh,
you know, as time went on,

years to come,
they become more and more rare."

But again,
pretty much worthless,
thanks to Chucky.

[light whimsical music]

I actually, believe it or not,
have four totes in the garage.

I did clean some of them out.

I left 90% in Michigan
and brought 10% here.

This is 10%?

Well, actually,
I had to get rid of some here.

-It didn't all fit.
-[laughter]

-So we're seeing--
-It's about 6% or 7%.

Oh, my gosh.

I like buying,
not getting rid of.

It's more fun getting treasures
than getting rid of stuff.

-I don't like it.
-The thrill of the hunt, right?

Exactly!
That's exactly what it is.

My brother kept
to himself a lot.

He read comics,
and he liked things like that.

And it was more
when he got into college

that I noticed
he really started collecting.

[gentle music]

At the very beginning,
when his kids were young

and my kids were young,
we spent a lot of time together.

And then, it kind of
weaned off a little bit.

And I think that's when Dale got

a little bit more protective
of his treasures.

So, that was a part of his life
that he kept secret from me
for a long time.

Despite everything, he was
very much in love with his wife.

Right to the end.
I mean, right when he died.

And maybe he didn't always
show it, but I know he was.

[Celeste]
You know, back then when,
uh, when I met Dale,

it wasn't, like,
falling in love.

It was like, um,

I came from
an unloving family, okay?

Uh... my mom was cold,

and my dad was
just never accepting
of any of us kids, really.

I mean, he was just, uh--

So-- but you marry your father,
that's what they say.

You know,
the devil that you know.

And, um,
and I was attracted to Dale

because he was, um,
strong like my dad.

My, my dad, you know--
so that's what I was used to.

He was just a strong character.

I was looking for somebody
that could buffer my father,

that could go head to head
with my father.

So-- but he was different
from my father

in the fact that he, um,

he appreciated me
and he thought I was special.

You know, and he kind of
put me on a pedestal.

So I liked that,
of course, you know.

So that's how, you know,

we got together.

And, uh--

And like I say, it was, it was,
it was fine at the beginning,

and then, when I was
raising my kids,

I was too busy to notice
the change in him.

You know, I mean, I just kind of
sloughed it off type of thing.

I always called it, "his style."

[Linda]
The only problem having
a conversation with him,

with me,
is he always cut me off.

[laughing] You know,
it was like, "Okay,
it's my turn to talk."

And maybe that's why
I talked too fast sometimes

'cause I had to compete
with my brother.

And then, when he got old,
he said, "I don't
wanna hear your feelings.

I just wanna hear the facts!"

And it's like,
"But my feelings are the facts.

You gotta listen to me!"

[light melancholic music]

But Dale and I kept in touch.

I mean, we talked
maybe once a week... and, uh,

you know, just kind of to see
where each other were,
but I wasn't getting...

[sighs] I wasn't getting
the actual story from him.

It wasn't until later that, um,

I really realized
what a major role

Adam was playing
in taking care of him.

Adam almost single-handedly
dealt with my brother

towards the end
on a daily basis and...

[sighs]

...helped him and had to deal

with some of my brother's
idiosyncrasies.

And he did it for years,
and I'm so proud of him
that he did that.

And these were things
that I didn't really realize
he was doing.

My dad's control--
controlled me 'cause he c--

oh, you know, I c--
couldn't do anything,

couldn't do anything,
couldn't leave,

got-- "I have to help him."

That's-- that was in my mind
the whole time now.

And it's kind of hard
to get out of there now.

-Kind of, i--,
I'm working on it.
-[Adam] Yeah,

-tell me about it.
-I'm, I'm giving him
a hard time because...

...I was by myself.
Darren kind of stayed away...

...'cause...

...Darren probably think,
"Oh, D--

Dad don't want me over there
to help out and stuff."

He wanted me to do it.

What I'm saying,
I didn't have a life.

Like, fun life.
I just jumped into...

...what we-- supposed to do,

taking care of our parents.
It was just me.

[melancholic music]

[Celeste]
I wish them both happiness.

A mother is only as happy
as her unhappiest child.

And I want them to be close.

I wanna have-- I wanna be
assured that when I'm gone,

that they'll be there
for each other

and enjoy each other's company
and, um...

...and, uh...

...right, and, and be happy.

Yeah. That's, that's,
that's what I wish for them.

I think it's so important
that they have to connect.

Yes, I was--
I was very angry with Darren...

...because it felt like Adam
was being just totally left out.

So, yeah, I got angry with him,
but he's, he's, uh...

...he's, he's, he's--
he's really trying hard now.

And Adam, he's a good kid...

...but he's still living
with anger, you know.

And I think part of the anger
was that he was stuck there
with Dale,

and Darren was doing
everything he could,

bringing food and stuff
like that through the pandemic
and everything,

uh, but Adam's gotta be helped

past the burden
of living with Dale.

He can't do it alone.

[Adam]
So while Adam was living
under Dale's thumb...

-[indistinct chatter]
-...it is important to note

Darren was helping out a lot
behind the scenes...

-[Darren] When did it start?
-...and was with his dad
in hospice

until the day he died.

And even though
a successful lawyer,
his dad didn't leave a will,

nor did he leave any wishes
for the comics.

So as Darren tries to do right
by the collection,

it rarely pleases everyone,

especially as the whole family
is dealing

with this ever-present
callus of the trauma.

A very, a very important impact
my father had
on the three of us,

and I mean my brother,
my mother, and me,

is that we were, um, always high
with our defense mechanisms.

You know, if you didn't wanna
feel bullied,

uh, you had to be
strong yourself.

Why that can be damaging in,
in the three of our relationship

is we will turn on ourselves
at times, you know,

and we need to remind ourselves
that we, we're not fighting Dad,

you know, we shouldn't be
fighting each other.

She's not talking to me.

She's talking to my father.

[deeply sighs]

[plane rumbling]

[upbeat hip-hop music]

♪ People out there
who's really struggling ♪

♪ Have some compassion
you don't know
what they're juggling ♪

♪ Like, what would you do
if no one came through ♪

♪ And everyone you knew
is dependent upon you? ♪

[Adam]
It's now been six months

after Darren first met Harley

and the Hatchback Kid.

The season's changing
and fall is upon the Motor City,

with Comic-Con back in effect.

Things are growing fast
as Harley is full on
selling comics from Darren.

It's a collection Darren's
calling the Fantast Collection,

named after a secret handle
his dad would go by
on the Internet.

Likewise, Josh,
the Hatchback Kid,

has returned to sell
at Motor City

and has stepped up
his booth and presence

with the help of Darren
and Brian and of course,
his dad, Dale.

I'm interested in that, 227.

I do 900 for both, cash.

-Meet in the middle at 950?
-[indistinct chatter]

-Right on, brother. Thank you.
-Thanks.

[Adam]
Some long-time veteran
comic collectors

have started to catch wind
about the collection
and the story behind it.

For these guys, it's a feeling
of being early to the game,

knowing about a character
before he pops in a movie,

and in this case,
the first to know about

an amazing story,
pristine books,

and a possible opportunity

to be in on a collection
before the mainstream.

I was talking to Harley
and he said, "Hey, I got
some of those books

and that-- I told you about,

and, uh, they're really nice."

And so, I drove to Michigan.

I live in Wisconsin, so I get
to Detroit in five hours.

When there's an opportunity
to see a collection like that

or buy books
from a collection like that,

uh, that's definitely worth a,
a six-hour drive

and a, and a night
in a hotel, for sure.

People are coming to Christ,
all around our country.

-In Jesus name I pray.
-[crowd] Amen.

Oh, I pastor a church
in Wisconsin.

It's a larger church,
we have 25 staff.

You know,
a couple thousand people.

At Motor City,
that's when I learned

Darren's story and his dad and--

and of course,
that just increases the a--

appeal of the books now
'cause now they h--

they have a story
attached to them,

there's an origin
that's compelling.

[heavenly music]

I think for me now--
as I'm-- I'm 62 years old.

You know, you think you'd
get over it, right? You think,

you know, by the time
you're a grown person,

you're not gonna be
interested in comic books.

But it's gotten worse.

[Adam speaking]

Probably not. [laughs]

'Cause my wife--
my wife might see it.

No cure, man.

Don't want one.

My wife wishes
there was one, though.

I try, but I was
really never able to,

to pass on
the addiction to my kids.

Normally, you don't wanna
pass on an addiction
to your kids,

but I've tried in this case,
and it, it, it just didn't take.

[upbeat music]

[Adam]
So, beyond the Comic Cons

and his relationship with Harley

and the Hatchback Kid,

Darren's also selling
some higher value books

through Heritage Auction House.

Heritage then got wind
that Darren's father

had way more
than just comic books.

In fact, he had
over one million collectibles.

This includes an extensive
baseball card collection

and toy figure collectibles.

We've really done well with
toys when we've had them

'cause I think there's
a big desire for them.

I have not, um, really given

a lot of thought
to the overall values
and things,

so it's gonna be
extremely interesting
what you have to say.

[Adam] What I'm starting
to realize that it's
a strange time in collectibles,

as so many things are starting
to be graded and valued,

like old iPods, video games,

and even unopened VHS tapes.

I started collecting VHS's
that were sealed in the box.

Like 3000 to 5000 tapes.

-[crowd laughs]
-You guys sound like my mom!

-[laughing] No, no--
-No one believes in me!

But hear me out, hear me out.
So, as of a, a month ago,

uh, sealed VHS's are now going
for, like, 20 to 30 grand a pop.

-[crowd] Oh! [laughter]
-Oh!

[Adam] So the auction houses
have been good places
for Darren to sell the books

in that $10,000
to $60,000 range.

A lot of this
has helped cover costs,

like the whole build out
of the fortress

and the surprising amount
of money that goes

into fees for grading books,

which can be 4%
of the value of a book.

So, $100,000 book,
you'll pay 4000,

$1 million book, $40,000.

So there's a lot of costs,
and there's need for selling
and making some revenue.

But the big books
in the collection
have not gone to auction.

He's being very careful
about what to do with them.

And rightfully so,

because as we were filming
these very sacred

holy grail-like books,
our biggest nightmare happened.

[echoing whooshing]

[Adam speaking]

[echoing whooshing]

I just had to tell Darren, so...

...uh, right when he walked up,
I said, "We dropped Superman."

He said, "That can't happen."
I said, "I know,

but it did. We dropped.

We were filming, the book fell.

It hit the shipping container,
the metal--

the case is cracked."
And he said,

"That cannot happen."

[somber music]

And I said, "I know,
Darren, but it did."

And, um,
then he just walked out.

He didn't even look at the book.

Uh, he didn't go in the office
and looked to the book.

He just walked out
of the warehouse.

And I've said to Darren
many times at his,
you know, journey,

him, him getting better
is the most important thing.

And... I don't know.

I think this could set him back

in many ways,
it could freak him out.

And it's not something
you re-- can replace.

Darren said that so many times,
"It's not a--

not a replaceable thing." So...

[deeply inhales and exhales]

...I don't know.
[deeply exhales]

[music continues]

[Chris]
The fragility of these things

is an important element of them.

This increases the rarity.

It actually gives it
a almost religious dimension

because it has to be,
uh, preserved

in, in-- under these
special conditions,

and we assign all this value.

And in our culture,
a dollar sign is a religious,
uh, symbol.

Especially when you add m--
millions to the dollar sign.

[man 1]
Truth, justice,
and the American way.

[whooshing]

[man 2]
The infant son
of Jor-El and Lara

hurtle through the infinite
reaches of space
toward distant Earth.

The creation of Superman
opened the, the door to
superheroes,

modern mythology. I mean,
uh, none of us would be here,

none of these characters would
be here if it weren't
for Superman.

[Jeffrey]
1938 was Superman's
first appearance,

June 1938, Action ComicsNo. 1.

That is the book
that launches comics.

-[clicking]
-1.2 million issues
are sold a month.

I mean, that is a lot

to show how embedded it was in,
in community and in culture.

Nowadays, if you sell 40,000
copies of a comic book,

you're in the top ten or 20.

[Matt]
When Siegel and Shuster created
it, they'd actually created it

years before as a comic strip,

but no one would touch it
because they just thought
it was ridiculous.

It was a superhero in a costume,
which now we're very used to,

and everybody's talking about
one superhero versus the other.

But before June of 1938,
there was no such thing
as a superhero.

So, they came out with something
that was kind of, like, new
and interesting at the time,

but it really paved the way.

♪ Superman! ♪

-[laughter]
-[indistinct chatter]

They did not even realize

Superman was the main draw
of the comic.

They did not know that because
they don't have analytics
like we have now, right?

So, they had to put a survey,

and I believe it was
Action ComicsNo. 4,

that was sent out in the comic
where you could fill it out

and tell them
why you were buying this comic.

And then people wrote back
and said it was Superman.

So, eventually,
Superman made his way back

onto the cover
in Action ComicsNo. 7

and eventually
got the title to himself.

[Mark]
He gets his own title,
Superman,in 1939,

and then never turned back.

Superman became the smash hit.

♪ You can be like Superman ♪

[Mark]
Shows up
at the New York World's Fair.

He becomes a film.

[dramatic music]

♪ You can be like Superman ♪

[Mark]
He becomes newspaper prints
for, you know,

every weekly story, daily story
for years and years and years.

You know, if we remember back
to the George Reeves Superman
television show in the '50s...

-[loud crashing]
-Superman!

...kids loved him.

You're gonna see
your favorite television star.

-Look. Superman.
-[cheering]

[Mark]
You know, faster than a train,
can leap in a single bound.

All these things.
He doesn't fly!

He doesn't fly for years.
He jumps.

♪ ...can be like Superman ♪

-♪ Superman... ♪
-[Mark] His powers
are somewhat limited,

and they grow with time.

-What the hell is that?
-[Mark] Superman movie

with Christopher Reeve
came out in 1978.

-I've got you.
-You, you've got me.
Who's got you?

[Mark]
He's going everywhere.

With my X-ray vision,

I can see the harm cigarettes do
inside people's bodies.

That's why I never say "yes"
to a cigarette.

[Mark]
You see him in magazines
all the time,

celebrating at parades
with people dressed up
as Superman.

[man]
Just which is the biggest
balloon of them all? Superman.

Robert Garcia tweeted,
"Will be proudly sworn

into Congress
on the US Constitution.

Underneath the Constitution
will be three items

that mean a lot to me
personally.

A photo of my parents,
who I lost to Covid,

my citizenship certificate,

and the original SupermanNo. 1

from the Library of Congress."

[dramatic music]

[thud]

I've never felt
this level of numbness

or, or, or,
or just helplessness.

Um, I--- [stutters] I just,
I'm-- I'm having trouble--
hard time speaking,

um, because
I'm just not used to,

um, being this vulnerable,

uh, to something outside
of my control like this and,

and not being able to cover it.

You know, people don't realize
how... unbelievably fragile,

um, these books are.

[laughing] I mean,
it's been on earth longer

than anyone, uh,
making this film.

And, um, you know,
one little tick,

one little corner bend,

one little scuff on a,
on, on a page

can take their grade down
a full grade.

You could go from a 7 to a 6.

T-- this can't be fixed.
I can't throw resources at it,

I can't throw time at it.
[sniffles]

Um, I can't call for help. I...

...I'm gonna be really upset
if something is wrong
with that book.

[somber music]

[Stephen]
There's something
about super strength

and super abilities,

and I think
it mesmerized people.

Because in a world where
a lot of people are powerless,

to an extent to affect
the world around them,

even today, it,
it is fascinating

that there could be a person
of unlimited ability.

[Chris]
You are inviting people
to think about what they value.

So people get a chance
to examine themselves

and see what is
their relationship,
uh, to their things,

and, and a special category
of things.

Uh, these things that are
charged with associations

that have to do
with our childhood

and with these mythological,
almost, figures.

So there's, there's a lot
hanging on the, the topics

in the fields
that you're dealing with here.

[birds chirping]

[Brian]
It was my senior year
in high school.

I got into a car accident.

And so, I basically sold
my first collection

at an absolute crazy low price,

so I could have the money
to pay this lady

to not call the insurance
and not call my parents.

But I was desperate.

I had a lot of key issues,

and for a high school kid,
I had a crazy collection.

I mean, it was,
it was impressive.

So, my heroes at that time
were able to protect my pride.

So that's then.

So then, we skip about
maybe five, six years,

you know,
and I started another collection

and I needed, uh,
an engagement ring,

So bought an engagement ring.

As it turns out,
that didn't work out either.

So, second
comic book collection gone.

By the end of that,
I can't watch Marvel movies,

I can't look at toys,
I can't think about comic--

it hurt,
and I know it sounds silly,

but this is actually
sort of common.

Like, with people
that sell out of dire straits,

it's like--
it hurts to look back.

It's just, like,
it was the biggest mista--

two biggest mistakes
I ever made.

Like, nope.

-[loud creaking]
-All right.

-I got varying condition,
but I think you'll enjoy that.
-All right. Okay.

I mean, I'll be honest,

I was scared
to get involved with it at first

because I'm like,
"I can't look at books,
man." Like, I just--

I can't look at them. You know,
and I never said that to him,

but that's what I was thinking,
internally, I'm like,

"I don't even wanna see
these, man," like--

and then, we moved
that collection

a-- and, and, um,
you know, it was boom.

It was boom, and it just hit me
like a ton of bricks,
I was back in.

[sighs] There's been some times
where I felt like this,

this filming has gotten
a little out of control,

little, um, kind of loose

and just, uh,
maybe a little bit invasive,

either on me and my wife,
um, family's life.

[sniffles]
So I'm gonna look at this book,

and, uh, all I can say is that
I've had a mix of feelings.

Um, and, uh, we're gonna see
what it looks like.

[deeply inhales
and sharply exhales]

I immediately see two spots...

...right here on the top.

And then, where I guess
it took the first impact,
maybe right here,

so it must have impacted
and then fallen forward
or something.

[deeply inhales]

I'll get the real story.

Mm, but, I mean,
just handling this thing...

...is pretty nerve-racking.

So, um--

God, what a gorgeous book.

I mean,
the colors on this thing.

What a really,
really gorgeous book.

[light melancholic music]

[Adam]
So, the case is cracked
in multiple places,

but we can't really tell
if the crack has sent
plastic into an edge

or the drop tweaked
a corner of the book.

And we won't know for sure
until that book is opened up

from the plastic case.

But you don't open
a plastic case,
especially on this book.

The moment you do,
the grade is nullified.

But you also can't sell
a $4 millionSuperman
in a cracked case.

So this book, for now,
goes back into hiding.

We don't tell anyone
about the drop,

the crack does not exist.

But we all know
that at some point,

we'll have to take it
to CGC and reveal the truth.

[door closes]

And all of this
has Darren questioning

how he's handling
the whole collection.

[Darren]
There's a certain respect to,
you know, again,

my, my father's
relentless pursuit

of, of acquiring
these collectibles.

And, um, I just feel
that they've been moving
pretty fast.

-[Adam] Yeah. Um--
-[Darren] So I just
don't know, I mean--

you know, I have been seeing
some things that, uh,

have been leaving
the collection that I'm like,

"Oh, man, you know, we may not
have another one of those,"

or, "Wow, that might be
in a really special condition."

[music continues]

So we have a couple collectors
and, and a couple of dealers

that ar-- are taking things
a little bit faster
than maybe I'd like at times.

Um, I, I have control
over pulling some of that back.

I hope that I'm going
in the right direction.

You know, I certainly
don't wanna turn into,
um, a, a hoarder myself,

and someone that, uh,
you know, is infected
with the fever of collecting.

[gentle music]

I imagine he's getting pressured
from people who wanna buy,
right?

Maybe dealers, collectors,
buy, buy, buy.

And, uh, there's
a pressure there.

That's how I lost my X-Men1.
A friend of mine

found out I had it, right?
And he just kept

on it and on it and on it
until finally,

on a bad day, I sold it to him.

Would I have sold
that book today? Absolutely not.

[Mark]
You know, when you have
a huge, huge collection,

the vultures will come out.
Now, I kind of learned this

as being the son
of a used car dealer.

I did not like
the business of comics,

I really didn't. Did not like.

I do not like
the cutthroat aspect.

-[man] $100,000 he says.
-[Mark] I hated that.

And I have pulled away,
uh, from that.

-[indistinct chatter]
-[Chuck] When you think
about the ethics

of buying and selling,

any time that you're
in a transactional business,

you're gonna have people
that are gonna try
and take advantage of you.

And there's an expression
that I use actually.

I say that comic book retailing,

and I, I guess I mean
collectibles retailing
of all kind,

is full-contact capitalism.

You'd better have
your eyes wide open.

You always hear people,
even today, who are like,

"Oh, I have 50 copies of,
you know, Potato Man.

And they, they were
never read." It's, like,

that's not the point
of comic books.

[laughing] Like,
you bought stuff to,

to try to cash in and it di--
it didn't work. It's, uh, it--

not even speculation, it was
a gamble, and a bad one.

There's two kinds of investors.
There's one that they're just in
it for the money, right?

Like a commodity, like a stock.

They're gonna hold it
for a while and sell it.

But there's others
who are investors

who really are
passionate about it.

I think most of the guys
that are successful collectors

or dealers are guys
that have the passion.

In other words,
if the market took a drop

and tomorrow the comics
weren't worth anything,

I'd still collect them.

I'd still read them.

[Dale Chrisman]
So it's gotten better as the,

as the, as the times progressed

'cause we've had more,
more books to throw in.

-Yeah.
-[Josh] It's the joke that
when we go to comic shows,

if he walks away from the table,
I'll sell more than
when he's sitting

-at the table.
-[Dale Chrisman] That is true.
That is true.

Yeah. He's, uh, just a--
he's a natural personality

when it comes to just talking
to people in general
and just outgoing.

[light melancholic music]

I've got a bilateral
dislocated hips.

Bilateral being on,
uh, both sides of my body.

When I was growing up,
I was also, uh,
failure to thrive,

which means I didn't take in
all the nutrients
I was supposed to.

Most of that had to do with my,
uh, uh, kidney disease,

I've a chronic k--
kidney disease from,
well, from birth.

Um, I've had
three kidney transplants,

I'm-- n-- no,
two kidney transplants.

I'm going on my th-- third.

I just, you know, go to dialysis
three days a week

and whatever days
I don't have dialysis,

I put work into the business.

I drive Josh every Monday,
Wednesday, Friday,
three times a week.

It takes us about an hour
and 15 there, hour and 15 back.

Family is, was,
and always has been
the most important thing.

You know, when you see
your child struggling
for every breath,

like Josh and like my son did
before he passed,

you look at things
a little differently.

You know, money is--

yeah, it's important
because you gotta pay the bills

and everything else, but...

...it's not really
as important as it was

before those things happened.

I said, "You have to have
these life experiences, I think,

and then you kind of get
things in perspective."

[birds chirping]

[Darren]
If you wanna know
the absolute truth,

the only thing
that's kind of, um,

pulling me out
of this Superman sadness

is the bang and the hype
around the label.

[clicking]

[upbeat electronic music]

You know, we were so fortunate
to get this opportunity,

which we had no idea
that we were gonna get.

CGC is announcing
that a Provenance Collection

is going to be given
its own custom label.

This is a great idea
because this is-- it's, it's--

you know, we've given
Provenances before

-but never with a custom label.
-[man] Yeah.

And so this is a first for us
in that regard.

So I think it's an exciting
concept, not just for us,

but for really the,
the hobby as a whole.

[Adam]
CGC adds paper labels

inside a comic books'
plastic case.

It has on it the grade,
the name of the book,

and sometimes will add
a collection name on the label

for collections of significance,

be this a Provenance Collection

or a Pedigree Collection,
like Mile High collection.

But never has CGC
allowed a collection

to design their own paper label.

Darren's will be the first,
telling its own visual story

of the history
of the collection
and his family.

And of course, will reference
the holy grail
of the collection,

theSuperman No. 1...

[light suspenseful music]

...the verySuperman No.1

that nobody knows is cracked.

Not CGC, not any dealer.

It's secret. Dead secret.

But with the label already
announced and in process,
there is no turning back.

And Darren has to take
theSuperman to CGC
to get the new label,

which means
we'll see for certain
ifSuperman is damaged.

Thankfully, en route to CDC,
Superman will have company,

he'll be protected
by some other incredible heroes.

EvenBatman.

[clicking]

-CGC is announcing that a...
-You have announcements by CGC.

-You have write-ups by Heritage.
-[indistinct chatter]

[Darren]
The whole YouTube
influencer community.

-This was a massive collection.
-[Darren] There's a point
of no return

-where it's, like, people are
gonna start expecting more.
-...any more Ghost Riders...

[Darren] It's a little
concerning that way, where
people are gonna start saying,

"What else you got?
Hey, are you ready to sell this?
Are you ready to sell this?"

If you had that Supermangraded
comic, would you sell it?

[Adam]
And I know
the dramatic black briefcase

might seem like overkill,

like a drug dealer
or staged for the film,

but it is holding
over $6 million of value.

And on previous flights,
books have fallen.

[thudding]

But that doesn't make
any of us feel any better
about having crackedSuperman.

[high-pitched ringing]

-[sighs] Hey, Matt.
How you doing?
-Hey. How's it--

-Good. How you doing?
-[laughing] Fine. It's--

-Big day, man. This is, uh--
-Oh.

-This case is getting
a little heavy.
-Oh, yeah, I bet.

-I gotta be careful. [laughs]
-[Darren] Yes.

[Matt]
The holder, as, as well
as it protects the book,

it is a reminder that things
can still happen to the holder
that can affect the books.

-[Darren] Right.
-[Matt] It's-- yeah, just,
just because it's in plastic

doesn't mean it can't get hurt.

[suspenseful music]

-Let me get this book out first.
[indistinct mumbling]
-Of-- yeah, yeah, please.

[clacking]

[Matt]
There you go.
Outer holder's open now.

That was the easy part.

[softly] Okay.

Didn't see
all these little shards

that come out
with the plastic here.

This is the part
that makes people nervous, so.

All right. [sighs]

Better look away on this one.

Scissors just millimeters away
from the edge of the book.

[soft clicks]

Yeah.

-Oh, my God.
-[Matt] Yeah, just right.

Let me go ahead and just open
the seal up a little bit more
on this side here.

It usually takes me
seconds to do this,

but I wanna be really,
really careful

that I don't mess this up.

Okay.

[music continues]

[softly] Voilà. There it is.

[in normal voice] I mean, yeah,
I-- you know, I, I do think
the grade is accurate.

-I do. Yeah.
-[Darren] Okay.

[Matt]
Same grade,
same everything, yeah.

We're just gonna
print up a new label.

[laughs] Everybody
can breathe again.

-[man] People can breathe.
-[laughs]

It's great to see this again.
What a book.

It's, uh-- Yeah, it's, it's
always a pleasure to hold them

-and s-- yeah,
smell them. [sniffs]
-[Darren] Mm-hmm.

-You know. Uh... [chuckles]
-[Darren] Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

...but, yeah, we don't--
and, and the opportunities
are getting fewer and fewer,

uh, because obviously they're
all ending up in holders.

-There's the coupon. [laughs]
-There's the coupon.

[inspirational music]

You know,
I have been stewing on the fact

that there was a crack
in that case

and that he would say anything,

and just thinking about it
and preparing

and thinking about it
and worrying and causing myself

physical pain at times--

it's just kind of
hit me, you know,
when we were doing this

and he was like,
"Wow, this is really okay."

Like, everything is okay.
And, and...

...how much time did I waste,

you know,
just absolutely in, in turmoil?

And how many times
do I do that in other places?

So I don't know,
I-- I don't know.

[Adam speaking]

God, where do I
not worry about stuff
that shouldn't be worried?

I mean, that'd be
a better question.

So I really have to learn
from this and, and other things.

[Erik]
One of my favorite quotes is,
"Life is 10% what happens to you

and 90% of what you do with it."

Learned that one
from Diamond Dallas Page.

[laughs] Professional wrestler.

My hands
are permanently disfigured.

You know, they've got maybe 10%
of their functionality.

I can pretty much just do this.

I can still hold a pencil
and a stylus,

and I can still
move my shoulders,
so I can still draw.

Thanks be to God
for not taking that away.

I never take
any of this for granted.

You know, it's like Tony Stark's
chest piece keeping him alive.

The technology is here
helping me to overcome,
you know, my affliction.

[upbeat music]

So, it's Motor City Comic Con,
and I meet Darren.

We start talking about doing
a custom label for CGC.

It's, it's,
it's incredible that, like,

when those books get graded,
they're gonna have my artwork.

Uh, I mean,
that's just super humbling.

Having him and his family
in the scale of justice,
uh, in the comics.

So I really pushed it
as far as I could,

where you've got,
like, long boxes of comics

weighing down
the scales of justice.

And then you've got him
dangling his candy cane down

to rescue his brother
out of this giant pit.

His mom always thought of it
like a giant pit full of comics

and people
getting sucked into it.

She's reaching down
to try to grab him too,

and that, that part of it
is really special to me

because I think that's what
captures the most emotion

of the whole story,
right then and there.

And that's why
it's in the center here.

It's really kind of,
like, the balance,

the h-- the hinge
for this whole story.

[Darren]
And, uh, when I asked him what,
you know, he wanted to do

with all this stuff, like,
later in his later years,
he would always joke,

he'd say, "Ah, I'm just
gonna shoot into space
and, you know,

-fly around with it."
You know, ha, ha, ha...
-[laughter]

...never wanted to deal
with the real question.

-[Matt] Yeah.
-[Darren] So the UFO is
represented.

-[Matt] Oh, interesting.
-[Darren] And it-- yeah.

Oh, i-- the glasses are
another e-- example of him,

but also the secrecy
and the hidden identity...

-Oh.
-...of, you know,
again, Clark Kent

-and the other heroes
that hide it.
-Mm.

[Darren]
But what the artist did is
he used the image

in the reflection
of the glasses to, um,
say what his perception is.

So you have a,
like, a happy family here.

So, you know, in his eyes,
it was like, "This is normal.

There's nothing wrong here,"
you know. But behind it,

you have this madness going on.

[Matt]
You know, it's,
it's, it's a tragedy,

but it's also-- it's just a--

a-- an amazing story
in general about collecting,

but also how it affects family
and, and, uh,

the ups and downs
that go along with, uh,
a, a collector's mentality

and how they sometimes
lose sight of what's
important to them.

-[deeply inhales and exhales]
-[Matt laughs]

Yeah, I know it's emotional.

-Yeah, it's, uh-- Are you, uh--
-Yeah.

Uh, you-- well, gosh, I guess
eventually when these sell

at some point,
it's, it's gonna be--

I mean, even though
a piece of you and a piece
of the family is gonna be gone,

at least it will carry
your mark with it.

-[sighing] Yeah.
-[Matt] You know, people
always know where it came from

and what it means as they make
their way out into the wild.

-[indistinct mumbling]
-That's very true. You know,
i-- we'll have a tie to it.

[upbeat music]

[clicking]

[Darren]
You know, the most
ideal situation would be

someone identifies
not only with the book,

but with the story.
But I can't pick the buyer.

[Brian]
I've never been a good one
for saying goodbye.

[Darren]
I see my mother, my brother,

feeling the weight
of my father, you know,

having my best friend here.

[Brian]
I love you, Batman.
I'll miss you always. [kisses]

-All right, I got 750.
-[woman] 750.

-Now I need 775.
-[woman] 775.

775. How about $800,000?

I'm at 775,000. I need $800,000.

-Let's go to 800.
I'm at 775,000--
-[woman] 800.

-800,000-- 825.
Let's go 850,000--
-[woman] 825.

-850. 875.
-850-- 875, I have that.

How about $900,000?

-[text alert chiming]
-[man] I have $875,000.

-Do I hear $900,000?
Let's go to 900...
-[text alert chiming]

[tense music]