Comic Book Men s06e03 Episode Script
Pac-Ming
1 [upbeat rock music.]
If one of you guys got turned into Spider-Man, would you prefer the organic web-shooters that came out of your wrist, or mechanical ones you had to build, like in the comic book? I'd want mechanical.
You can take them off.
I-I mean, what if it's a slow week of crime and you're not shooting out webs? Is it gonna start spontaneously shooting out? No, you're not lactating, like [laughter.]
Like, it doesn't store up.
Why wouldn't it? He's got, like, maternity pants on his wrists.
[laughter.]
Look, are we becoming Spider-Man at our age? Because I'm probably gonna go mechanical then.
I don't know if I could shoot it as far as I used to.
[laughter.]
I mean, as you get older, you're not as spry as you may have been in your twenties I am.
When you could shoot a web from here to Cleveland.
I wouldn't know, gentlemen.
Is that how it works? Yeah, like you're old Spider-Man, you'd blast a criminal, it might take, like, two hours before you can blast another criminal.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Or a couple days.
- What, oh, you're telling me, right here, right now, that your webs are just as strong as they were when you were in your twenties? Just as potent.
- I yeah.
- Let's see it, then.
- [laughs.]
- Yeah.
Get right up here.
Wh I need Wait.
Hold on.
Let me We need someone to compare it I want to see if you can hit that gondola You want you want to - put this to a contest? - Yeah.
I got 10 bucks that says you can't.
I think he can't even fill this cup.
[laughter.]
[heroic music.]
[laughs.]
[funky music.]
Hello, and welcome to another episode of "Comic Book Men," the only show that never treats hunger like a game.
I'm Kevin Smith.
- Bryan Johnson.
- Walt Flanagan.
- Mike Zapcic.
- Ming Chen.
Okay, boys, give the fat man the skinny.
Do you remember that song I mean, I think I don't know if it charted, - but it was "Pac-Man Fever.
" - Oh, yes.
- I've got Pac-Man fever - [laughter.]
Well, we had a bit of an outbreak of Pac-Man Fever at the Stash.
Hey.
How are ya? - Hi, guys.
How you doin' today? - Good.
Uh, you remember when you were, like, 14 years old and you'd hang out at the arcade all day, and then you wished you could bring the game home with you? - Yeah.
- Well, now you can.
This is the Coleco Mini Arcade "Pac-Man" game.
Very mini from the Pac-Man I remember.
- [rock music.]
- I-I remember this one well.
I had one back in the '80s.
I remember the vibe not being exactly the same after you ran out of quarters, and then you'd go home and play this.
[laughter.]
The arcade had a little bit more energy to it.
Yeah, you had to have tiny, little fingers and be very adroit workin' this one.
Yeah, if you came over to my house, I was, like, the man on this.
Relative to your size, this seemed full-size when you played it.
- Yeah.
- It's good.
Yeah, I think it still does.
[laughter.]
Were you allowed in the arcades as a kid? [chuckles.]
No.
I wasn't allowed to go to the mall arcade.
My parents were like, "that's where the tough boys go.
You can't go there.
" [laughs.]
In retrospect, parents were right.
Like, it's a den of scum and villainy.
But now it's more of a nostalgia market.
It's so weird when you see a kid interact with it My kid went to one of the arcades and she was like, "There's a place where they just put all the video games together.
" I'm like - Did you see any tough boys? - [laughter.]
- All right.
- [arcade chiming.]
Get ready for fun.
- [arcade beeping.]
- This is awesome.
Does it bring up childhood memories? - Yeah.
- Yeah? As a parent, I would not want to listen to that.
I would give my kid quarters just to get him out of the house.
[game over music.]
There's a head-to-head mode here.
We can play two players at the same time? Oh, you guys want to go head-to-head? - Can we go one round? - Sure.
[dramatic music.]
I mean, how do you guys even play head-to-head? You guys have to be in the same pair of pants.
I think we're about to see.
[laughter.]
I didn't know that it had a head-to-head mode.
Yeah, this one did.
I guess they decided to throw it in so you could get some head-to-head action with a friend, or you know, with a sibling.
Hey, man, this is something I played as a kid and I think I still had it.
You definitely still have your Pac-Man chops.
What that's worth now, I don't know.
[laughter.]
[arcade chimes.]
- Here we go.
Ready? - [laughter.]
- [arcade chiming.]
- You're going down, old man.
[laughter.]
Try to keep up.
[arcade beeping.]
Ooh.
He's not done.
[laughter.]
It's Ming's youth that has propelled him ahead.
- [laughter.]
- Good thing.
Yeah, you were you were once good, - and not anymore.
- [laughter.]
[dramatic music.]
All right, let's shut her down - so we can negotiate.
- All right.
Am I declared the winner? - Absolutely.
- All right.
You're just you're really rubbing it in now.
[laughter.]
So why now, after all these years, are you selling it? I got so much crap in my basement from over the years.
Y-you just got to unload it once in a while.
It's an interesting negotiating tactic, calling it "crap.
" [laughter.]
All right, so how much you lookin' to get for it? $225.
And that's a special deal for you.
Really? Well, I know what an entrepreneur you are.
How about $160? Nah.
Can't go that low.
- No? - Look, what about this? You're having a Super Bowl party - Okay, and? - Yes? - It's halftime.
- Right.
The Giants are leading the Jets two to nothing.
- Two to nothing? - Right.
- What a game.
- [laughter.]
What, do you want to watch the halftime show? No, you're gonna bring this out, you're gonna have a Pac-Man tournament.
Everybody's gonna have a great time.
They're gonna leave, they're gonna say, "This is the best Super Bowl party I ever went to.
When's the next one?" It's so great.
Why are you selling it? "Nobody ever comes to my Super Bowl parties.
" [laughter.]
All right, how 'bout $200? $180.
I can't go any higher than that.
[tense music.]
I'll take it.
- Right.
- All right, deal.
Sold.
[upbeat rock music.]
$180.
- All right.
- Thank you.
Thanks, guys.
- See you later.
- Mm.
In the the '80s, we had the technology to - midgi-size everything like this.
- Right.
Why don't we do that today? - Yeah, why don't we do that? - Yeah.
[laughter.]
I called about the "Savage Tales" number 1.
Check that out.
First appearance of the Man-Thing.
Anybody like to buy my Beatles Flip Your Wig Game? I've never seen this before.
[upbeat rock music.]
Who do you think has the coolest helmet in comics? I'm gonna go Judge Dredd one of the most iconic helmets in comic book history.
Rocketeer? Amazing designed helmet.
Really cool.
Thor, maybe? It's kind of obvious, um It's kind of plain, though, other than the wings.
Just a little silver beanie.
What about you? I just told you, The Rocketeer.
Are you gonna bother me about this all day? [laughter.]
- Hey.
How you doing? - Hey.
Uh, my name's Dave.
I called about the "Savage Tales" - number 1.
- Got it.
First appearance of the Man-Thing.
Mm-hmm.
Put it aside for you, my friend.
- Hey.
- Mm? Check that out.
That's nice.
- - [upbeat rock music.]
You want to take it out of the bag? I do, I do.
And I, uh I don't know how many issues this ran, not that many though.
Ran 11 total.
It was so poorly received, - it took two years - Yes.
For the rest of the series to start coming out.
Great, uh, painting by John Buscema on the front.
And the book is in really nice shape though.
Here's here's what I'm going for though.
- Yeah.
- The Man-Thing.
- That's what I'm gon - That's right, it's also This guy's first appearance.
Also, predates Swamp Thing by a couple months.
Are you a Man-Thing guy, or a Swamp Thing guy? I have everything Swamp Thing already, and now I'm turning my attention to the Man-Thing.
You more a Man-Thing guy, or Swamp Thing guy? I love Swamp Thing because Man-Thing never had his breakout moment in my world.
- You? - Swamp thing had the greatest comic book stories, maybe, ever told, but He went to Hell to save his love.
Like, ahh, it was amazing.
But Man-Thing had some really good stories too.
He had that one power that I always thought was so creepy, was like, if you got scared of the Man-Thing and and if the Man-Thing touched you, you would burst into flames.
"Whatsoever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch.
" It's also given comic-dom one of it's greatest, easiest jokes.
Like, "Hey, do you have a giant-sized Man-Thing?" [laughter.]
We get so much mileage out of that at the Stash, daily.
- [laughter.]
- That's why it's one of my favorite books for that reason.
I collect the mucky creatures; the Swamp Things, the Man-Things.
I could really identify with that as a kid because I tried to be, like, the smart kid, but I was always the knuckle-dragging mouth-breather because that's just what I look like, so - Go on.
- I'm pretty Cro-Magnony.
- I get it.
- You're really down on A little down.
That's what these mucky monster swamp creatures were.
You know, he feels emotions.
The Man-Thing feels emotions.
- The Swamp Thing - Yeah.
He's got, you know, all this intellect and he wants to help the world, and all people see is this crusty monster.
- Dude, I - No, I mean I feel their pain too.
I never thought of it that way.
I know, I'm with you guys, and, like, I see a bunch of guys that have been judged by their covers, I think.
- So "Savage Tales" number 1.
- Yeah.
We're selling this book today for the low, low price of $200.
Key issue, hard to find, and the first appearance of the Man-Thing.
I mean, there's some flaws.
Yeah, it's not high-grade, but it's still in very nice shape.
Got, uh, some spine nicks here and flaking on the cover there.
It's hard to find though.
I was thinking more $125.
$125? I couldn't do $125.
How 'bout I meet you in the middle? $150.
Hmm.
[quizzical music.]
I need it.
It's like therapy for me.
- 1 $150.
- $150.
- Deal.
- Deal.
I told you.
Comics can be better than therapy.
We'll see in, like, six months when he comes back.
[laughter.]
$160.
And your change, my friend.
Pleasure doing business with you.
- Thank you very much, guys.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
- Enjoy.
Oh, I will.
All right, guys, that's a nice guy.
What why would he be so down on himself? Right? People see him as a monster.
- [laughs.]
- I mean Ooh, numero uno, huh? - Yeah, pretty key.
- "Justice League" 1.
Mm.
Look at that cover, man.
Beatles, are they the greatest band? - Absolutely.
- They are not.
How can you say that? [British accent.]
My name is Paul McCartney, you know.
I'd have written five million songs, you know.
I'm still not convinced.
Which game were you best at as a kid? My game when I was a kid was "Centipede.
" They had it at Cumberland Farms, right down the street, so I was always sent to come home "Go get milk.
Go get bread.
" Always "Go get 'Entermann's.
'" And when I was there, once they put in a "Centipede game, I'd use the change and play a game.
And I got, like, on the board.
I wasn't, like, top five, but I was in their top ten on the board.
Got your name on the game, huh? KEV, son, he made his mark.
- [laughter.]
- 'Cause I spent a lot of time, but it was also "Centipede" was also responsible for, like, one of my darkest moments in my life where I actually robbed my mother's purse for money to go play "Centipede.
" And then she found out, and she was like, "I'm missing money.
" And I was like, "Oh, I don't know.
Maybe ask Donald.
" I threw my brother under the bus so I could play "Centipede" at Cumberland Farms.
That was the dirtiest money I've ever spent in my life, man, I still carry guilt over that.
Still haven't told my mother.
She gonna watch this and be like, "I knew it, Tiger! You stole from the little Hawaii change purse!" You should have just played and put "DON" every time you [laughter.]
Sorry, Don.
[upbeat rock music.]
You guys remember, Flash Gordon was actually a football player; played for the New York Jets.
- In the movie? - In the movie, yeah.
I already know the answer, but what athlete today become 2016 version of Flash Gordon? Who is it? Without a doubt, Tom Brady.
T-Tom Brady? If Tom Brady was catapulted into outer space Okay.
And forced to battle - an evil space tyrant - [laughs.]
Check off another ring for Mr.
Brady.
He's got the muscles, he's got the good looks, and he never loses.
Well, he's got to cheat to win.
But he's also in outer space.
Muscles don't count because of gravity.
The good looks, I mean, is he Kirk, like, he's gonna be banging alien chicks? - [laughs.]
- I think Tom Brady out-Kirks Kirk even.
- Oh, yeah? - It's nothing he doesn't nothin' he can't beat or bed.
[laughter.]
Who else would there be that could even hang with Tom Brady? Where good looks and bedding women, for some reason, is what the the skills you need, I'm going with Tiger Woods.
[laughter.]
[upbeat rock music.]
What's going on? How you doing? I have a pretty key issue of "The Justice League" here.
Which one you got? Ooh, numero uno, huh? - That's pretty key.
- "Justice League" 1.
Mm, look at that cover, man.
- We'll take it.
- [laughter.]
- - [upbeat rock music.]
In the realm of, uh, key issues and number ones, where do you rank this one? Surprisingly, not that high.
While this is "Justice League" number 1, it's not actually the first appearance of the Justice League of America.
No, you're right.
"Brave and the Bold" 28 was the first Justice League appearance.
It's still very sought after, don't get me wrong, but if you're looking for the numero uno Justice League book, it's "Brave and the Bold" 28.
You are in the presence of two above-average comic book fans.
[laughter.]
This is the fourth appearance of the Justice League of America.
That's right.
The first appearance of Justice League of America in "Brave and the Bold" is the very famous cover of the thing coming up out of the earth - Starro.
- Starro.
Starro, that's right.
And they're all fighting it at the same time.
DC was like, "We're not sure "if this Justice League of America is gonna work out.
We don't want to give them their own title.
" Wow.
You're kidding.
But they had that idea, like, "well, if kids love these characters "in their own title, "well, they'll really love 'em "if we put 'em all together and they fight menaces that are worthy of, you know, these big guns.
" You guys got a favorite Justice Leaguer? He's not one of the original seven, but Firestorm.
I love this guy.
- That's the vi - [laughter.]
Oh, he's the bad guy? He's the bad guy.
That's Despero.
The Justice League doesn't even beat Despero.
Snapper Carr ends up beating him.
Remember Snapper Carr? - Snapper Carr was - I don't.
a 16-year-old boy almost like a superhero groupie.
Justice League kind of took him on as an unofficial mascot.
You kind of remind me a little bit of Snapper Carr.
You're kind of like our me and Mike's little groupie.
You look like a 16-year-old boy too.
[laughter.]
Snapper Ming.
[laughter.]
All right, why are you here to sell it? My wife and I, we just, uh, welcomed our firstborn.
- Oh, congrats.
- Yeah, thanks.
Maybe put some money away for him college, or Well, this is definitely a book that, uh, we'd love to have on the wall.
I mean, with the Justice League of America movie coming out, definitely wall book material.
What are you looking to get for it? I'm looking to get about $1,200.
$1,200.
What do you think, Mike? - Right off the bat - Yeah.
At the top, there's, uh, some significant damage up here, some creasing, uh, spine damage over here.
I'm sure there's some discoloration of the pages.
And there is.
Got a chip missing right down there.
- Looks is that tape? - Oh.
- There's some tape there.
- Yeah, a little bit of tape there.
I mean, $1,200 is I mean, if we're lucky, - that's what we'd get for it.
- Yeah.
If we're lucky.
After hearing Mike give his evaluation, uh, I'm prepared to offer you today $700.
[sighs.]
Your kid can buy one book for college.
[laughter.]
Any way you could do 11? $1,100? I could do $800.
I'll go down to $1,000, that's my bottom.
I pretty pretty stuck on the $800.
- I don't think I can go higher than that.
- Okay.
Yeah, no.
I understand.
Thanks for, uh, taking a look at it though.
- Thanks for bringing it in.
- Appreciate it.
Um, - all right, thanks.
- Thanks.
See you around.
[vocalizing.]
Ahh! Oy-oy-oy-oy-oy.
[upbeat rock music.]
Hey.
How's it going today? Hey.
How are ya? Anybody like to buy my Beatles 1964 Flip Your Wig Game? A Beatles game? I've never seen this before.
- - [upbeat rock music.]
Beatles; are they the world's greatest band? That's right.
Absolutely.
- You think so? - They are not.
- No? - No.
How can you say that? [British accent.]
My name is Paul McCartney, you know.
I'd have written five million songs, you know.
I'm still not convinced.
[laughter.]
Who else can you do? That was a great Paul.
Oh, the other Beatles and many others.
Let me hear let me hear some.
[as George.]
Hi, this is George Harrison, you know.
Hey, there.
I'm the quiet one.
That's Ringo Starr on me drums there.
[nasally voice.]
Thank you very much, everybody.
It's John.
Can even do Yoko, believe it or not.
Let me hear some Yoko.
[vocalizing.]
Ahh! [laughter.]
Oy-oy-oy-oy-oy.
That sounded like Mike.
[laughter.]
You've got to give them some credit though.
I mean, they changed music forever.
I'll give 'em "Helter Skelter.
" Okay.
I'll give 'em "While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
" Okay.
I'll give 'em "Across the Universe.
" Let's give you're giving them a lot, so - Yeah.
- I'll give 'em three.
[laughter.]
- Big Beatles fan? - Yeah, of course.
Nothing but respect for the Beatles.
Even, like, the early stuff, before they got very inventive and creative.
One of my favorite things to do in a car is listen to "Strawberry Fields," and it's got that wall of sound mix, and you know how in the car you have a fader so you could put the speakers to the left or to the right If you turn it all the way to the left, you just hear the vocal tracks and it sounds like he's singing it acapella.
It's a really cool way to listen to the song.
Really? I thought, maybe, you were gonna tell me you could hear some backward masking - or some sort of, like - I'm listening for Hidden messages.
Yeah, there instead of "Paul is dead," it's like, "pay attention to the road.
" [laughter.]
So where'd you get the game at? I got it through the mail from some lady in the Midwest in the in the 1990s, and I have another one at home, so I'm trying to sell this one to get some extra cash.
Oh, you - you a big Beatles collector? - At one time, yeah.
It looks like barbed wire around the wig.
- What yeah, what is that? - It's flippin'.
- You're flippin'.
- You're flippin' your wig.
There you go.
Is that a new conspiracy theory? All four of them wore wigs? [laughs.]
No.
[laughter.]
Can I open it? Sure, right ahead.
- Oh.
Wow.
- Take some of this out.
Look at that.
Paul.
Um, George dead or alive? - Dead.
- Dead.
Not living.
John well, we know John.
Won't have to ask.
How old were you when the Beatles invaded? I was five years old.
And in the same era, I did toy commercials.
Really? What toy commercials did you do? Uh, Blippo.
Remco Toys 1965.
G.
I.
Joe, Capsule, '79.
Why'd you stop doing the, uh, the commercial gig? Oh, it's so long ago, I don't even remember.
Are you sure you weren't doing a little bit of Beatle shrooms and, uh uh uh are you sure you were really on commercials? You know you're not really George Harrison.
[laughter.]
[as George.]
Well, you never know, you know.
Hey.
Can I take out the, uh, the board? Yeah, go right ahead.
Right, there's some beautiful artwork on this, I'm gonna guess.
Something really psychedelic and crazy and out there.
- Oh, well.
- Yeah.
- [laughs.]
- They're not that handsome.
- No, they weren't.
- Oh, come on.
I feel like in 1960 I could have been in a boy band.
[laughter.]
All right, how much you want for this? - $125.
- Pfft.
Get out of here.
- [laughter.]
- I looked at it online.
$125, are you crazy? - No.
- Come on.
Throw me out a more realistic number.
- More realistic number? - Yeah.
Okay.
Gimme $80 and it's done.
[tense music.]
$60.
That's it.
I can't do any better than $60.
How about $65? Ah, I can't - I can't haggle over five bucks, - Come on.
so $65.
- Done.
- Done.
Sold.
All right.
$65.
- Thank you, sir.
- Thank you.
Been a pleasure talking to you guys.
I always thought of us, you know, when Ming's around, as the Fab Four of the of the comic book - retailing world.
Yeah.
- Yeah? So you got Walter, shy the one, Mike, the funny one, Ming, the cute one, and me, the one that still lives with his parents, and is grossly overweight.
Was that a thing? That was a 50-year-old.
[laughter.]
Didn't see the munchies.
All good things must come to an end, just like the episode of this show.
For "Comic Book Men," I'm Kevin Smith.
- Bryan Johnson.
- Walt Flanagan.
- Mike Zapcic.
- Ming Chen.
Where are we going? Planet Ten.
When are we going? Real soon.
Good night.
If one of you guys got turned into Spider-Man, would you prefer the organic web-shooters that came out of your wrist, or mechanical ones you had to build, like in the comic book? I'd want mechanical.
You can take them off.
I-I mean, what if it's a slow week of crime and you're not shooting out webs? Is it gonna start spontaneously shooting out? No, you're not lactating, like [laughter.]
Like, it doesn't store up.
Why wouldn't it? He's got, like, maternity pants on his wrists.
[laughter.]
Look, are we becoming Spider-Man at our age? Because I'm probably gonna go mechanical then.
I don't know if I could shoot it as far as I used to.
[laughter.]
I mean, as you get older, you're not as spry as you may have been in your twenties I am.
When you could shoot a web from here to Cleveland.
I wouldn't know, gentlemen.
Is that how it works? Yeah, like you're old Spider-Man, you'd blast a criminal, it might take, like, two hours before you can blast another criminal.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Or a couple days.
- What, oh, you're telling me, right here, right now, that your webs are just as strong as they were when you were in your twenties? Just as potent.
- I yeah.
- Let's see it, then.
- [laughs.]
- Yeah.
Get right up here.
Wh I need Wait.
Hold on.
Let me We need someone to compare it I want to see if you can hit that gondola You want you want to - put this to a contest? - Yeah.
I got 10 bucks that says you can't.
I think he can't even fill this cup.
[laughter.]
[heroic music.]
[laughs.]
[funky music.]
Hello, and welcome to another episode of "Comic Book Men," the only show that never treats hunger like a game.
I'm Kevin Smith.
- Bryan Johnson.
- Walt Flanagan.
- Mike Zapcic.
- Ming Chen.
Okay, boys, give the fat man the skinny.
Do you remember that song I mean, I think I don't know if it charted, - but it was "Pac-Man Fever.
" - Oh, yes.
- I've got Pac-Man fever - [laughter.]
Well, we had a bit of an outbreak of Pac-Man Fever at the Stash.
Hey.
How are ya? - Hi, guys.
How you doin' today? - Good.
Uh, you remember when you were, like, 14 years old and you'd hang out at the arcade all day, and then you wished you could bring the game home with you? - Yeah.
- Well, now you can.
This is the Coleco Mini Arcade "Pac-Man" game.
Very mini from the Pac-Man I remember.
- [rock music.]
- I-I remember this one well.
I had one back in the '80s.
I remember the vibe not being exactly the same after you ran out of quarters, and then you'd go home and play this.
[laughter.]
The arcade had a little bit more energy to it.
Yeah, you had to have tiny, little fingers and be very adroit workin' this one.
Yeah, if you came over to my house, I was, like, the man on this.
Relative to your size, this seemed full-size when you played it.
- Yeah.
- It's good.
Yeah, I think it still does.
[laughter.]
Were you allowed in the arcades as a kid? [chuckles.]
No.
I wasn't allowed to go to the mall arcade.
My parents were like, "that's where the tough boys go.
You can't go there.
" [laughs.]
In retrospect, parents were right.
Like, it's a den of scum and villainy.
But now it's more of a nostalgia market.
It's so weird when you see a kid interact with it My kid went to one of the arcades and she was like, "There's a place where they just put all the video games together.
" I'm like - Did you see any tough boys? - [laughter.]
- All right.
- [arcade chiming.]
Get ready for fun.
- [arcade beeping.]
- This is awesome.
Does it bring up childhood memories? - Yeah.
- Yeah? As a parent, I would not want to listen to that.
I would give my kid quarters just to get him out of the house.
[game over music.]
There's a head-to-head mode here.
We can play two players at the same time? Oh, you guys want to go head-to-head? - Can we go one round? - Sure.
[dramatic music.]
I mean, how do you guys even play head-to-head? You guys have to be in the same pair of pants.
I think we're about to see.
[laughter.]
I didn't know that it had a head-to-head mode.
Yeah, this one did.
I guess they decided to throw it in so you could get some head-to-head action with a friend, or you know, with a sibling.
Hey, man, this is something I played as a kid and I think I still had it.
You definitely still have your Pac-Man chops.
What that's worth now, I don't know.
[laughter.]
[arcade chimes.]
- Here we go.
Ready? - [laughter.]
- [arcade chiming.]
- You're going down, old man.
[laughter.]
Try to keep up.
[arcade beeping.]
Ooh.
He's not done.
[laughter.]
It's Ming's youth that has propelled him ahead.
- [laughter.]
- Good thing.
Yeah, you were you were once good, - and not anymore.
- [laughter.]
[dramatic music.]
All right, let's shut her down - so we can negotiate.
- All right.
Am I declared the winner? - Absolutely.
- All right.
You're just you're really rubbing it in now.
[laughter.]
So why now, after all these years, are you selling it? I got so much crap in my basement from over the years.
Y-you just got to unload it once in a while.
It's an interesting negotiating tactic, calling it "crap.
" [laughter.]
All right, so how much you lookin' to get for it? $225.
And that's a special deal for you.
Really? Well, I know what an entrepreneur you are.
How about $160? Nah.
Can't go that low.
- No? - Look, what about this? You're having a Super Bowl party - Okay, and? - Yes? - It's halftime.
- Right.
The Giants are leading the Jets two to nothing.
- Two to nothing? - Right.
- What a game.
- [laughter.]
What, do you want to watch the halftime show? No, you're gonna bring this out, you're gonna have a Pac-Man tournament.
Everybody's gonna have a great time.
They're gonna leave, they're gonna say, "This is the best Super Bowl party I ever went to.
When's the next one?" It's so great.
Why are you selling it? "Nobody ever comes to my Super Bowl parties.
" [laughter.]
All right, how 'bout $200? $180.
I can't go any higher than that.
[tense music.]
I'll take it.
- Right.
- All right, deal.
Sold.
[upbeat rock music.]
$180.
- All right.
- Thank you.
Thanks, guys.
- See you later.
- Mm.
In the the '80s, we had the technology to - midgi-size everything like this.
- Right.
Why don't we do that today? - Yeah, why don't we do that? - Yeah.
[laughter.]
I called about the "Savage Tales" number 1.
Check that out.
First appearance of the Man-Thing.
Anybody like to buy my Beatles Flip Your Wig Game? I've never seen this before.
[upbeat rock music.]
Who do you think has the coolest helmet in comics? I'm gonna go Judge Dredd one of the most iconic helmets in comic book history.
Rocketeer? Amazing designed helmet.
Really cool.
Thor, maybe? It's kind of obvious, um It's kind of plain, though, other than the wings.
Just a little silver beanie.
What about you? I just told you, The Rocketeer.
Are you gonna bother me about this all day? [laughter.]
- Hey.
How you doing? - Hey.
Uh, my name's Dave.
I called about the "Savage Tales" - number 1.
- Got it.
First appearance of the Man-Thing.
Mm-hmm.
Put it aside for you, my friend.
- Hey.
- Mm? Check that out.
That's nice.
- - [upbeat rock music.]
You want to take it out of the bag? I do, I do.
And I, uh I don't know how many issues this ran, not that many though.
Ran 11 total.
It was so poorly received, - it took two years - Yes.
For the rest of the series to start coming out.
Great, uh, painting by John Buscema on the front.
And the book is in really nice shape though.
Here's here's what I'm going for though.
- Yeah.
- The Man-Thing.
- That's what I'm gon - That's right, it's also This guy's first appearance.
Also, predates Swamp Thing by a couple months.
Are you a Man-Thing guy, or a Swamp Thing guy? I have everything Swamp Thing already, and now I'm turning my attention to the Man-Thing.
You more a Man-Thing guy, or Swamp Thing guy? I love Swamp Thing because Man-Thing never had his breakout moment in my world.
- You? - Swamp thing had the greatest comic book stories, maybe, ever told, but He went to Hell to save his love.
Like, ahh, it was amazing.
But Man-Thing had some really good stories too.
He had that one power that I always thought was so creepy, was like, if you got scared of the Man-Thing and and if the Man-Thing touched you, you would burst into flames.
"Whatsoever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch.
" It's also given comic-dom one of it's greatest, easiest jokes.
Like, "Hey, do you have a giant-sized Man-Thing?" [laughter.]
We get so much mileage out of that at the Stash, daily.
- [laughter.]
- That's why it's one of my favorite books for that reason.
I collect the mucky creatures; the Swamp Things, the Man-Things.
I could really identify with that as a kid because I tried to be, like, the smart kid, but I was always the knuckle-dragging mouth-breather because that's just what I look like, so - Go on.
- I'm pretty Cro-Magnony.
- I get it.
- You're really down on A little down.
That's what these mucky monster swamp creatures were.
You know, he feels emotions.
The Man-Thing feels emotions.
- The Swamp Thing - Yeah.
He's got, you know, all this intellect and he wants to help the world, and all people see is this crusty monster.
- Dude, I - No, I mean I feel their pain too.
I never thought of it that way.
I know, I'm with you guys, and, like, I see a bunch of guys that have been judged by their covers, I think.
- So "Savage Tales" number 1.
- Yeah.
We're selling this book today for the low, low price of $200.
Key issue, hard to find, and the first appearance of the Man-Thing.
I mean, there's some flaws.
Yeah, it's not high-grade, but it's still in very nice shape.
Got, uh, some spine nicks here and flaking on the cover there.
It's hard to find though.
I was thinking more $125.
$125? I couldn't do $125.
How 'bout I meet you in the middle? $150.
Hmm.
[quizzical music.]
I need it.
It's like therapy for me.
- 1 $150.
- $150.
- Deal.
- Deal.
I told you.
Comics can be better than therapy.
We'll see in, like, six months when he comes back.
[laughter.]
$160.
And your change, my friend.
Pleasure doing business with you.
- Thank you very much, guys.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
- Enjoy.
Oh, I will.
All right, guys, that's a nice guy.
What why would he be so down on himself? Right? People see him as a monster.
- [laughs.]
- I mean Ooh, numero uno, huh? - Yeah, pretty key.
- "Justice League" 1.
Mm.
Look at that cover, man.
Beatles, are they the greatest band? - Absolutely.
- They are not.
How can you say that? [British accent.]
My name is Paul McCartney, you know.
I'd have written five million songs, you know.
I'm still not convinced.
Which game were you best at as a kid? My game when I was a kid was "Centipede.
" They had it at Cumberland Farms, right down the street, so I was always sent to come home "Go get milk.
Go get bread.
" Always "Go get 'Entermann's.
'" And when I was there, once they put in a "Centipede game, I'd use the change and play a game.
And I got, like, on the board.
I wasn't, like, top five, but I was in their top ten on the board.
Got your name on the game, huh? KEV, son, he made his mark.
- [laughter.]
- 'Cause I spent a lot of time, but it was also "Centipede" was also responsible for, like, one of my darkest moments in my life where I actually robbed my mother's purse for money to go play "Centipede.
" And then she found out, and she was like, "I'm missing money.
" And I was like, "Oh, I don't know.
Maybe ask Donald.
" I threw my brother under the bus so I could play "Centipede" at Cumberland Farms.
That was the dirtiest money I've ever spent in my life, man, I still carry guilt over that.
Still haven't told my mother.
She gonna watch this and be like, "I knew it, Tiger! You stole from the little Hawaii change purse!" You should have just played and put "DON" every time you [laughter.]
Sorry, Don.
[upbeat rock music.]
You guys remember, Flash Gordon was actually a football player; played for the New York Jets.
- In the movie? - In the movie, yeah.
I already know the answer, but what athlete today become 2016 version of Flash Gordon? Who is it? Without a doubt, Tom Brady.
T-Tom Brady? If Tom Brady was catapulted into outer space Okay.
And forced to battle - an evil space tyrant - [laughs.]
Check off another ring for Mr.
Brady.
He's got the muscles, he's got the good looks, and he never loses.
Well, he's got to cheat to win.
But he's also in outer space.
Muscles don't count because of gravity.
The good looks, I mean, is he Kirk, like, he's gonna be banging alien chicks? - [laughs.]
- I think Tom Brady out-Kirks Kirk even.
- Oh, yeah? - It's nothing he doesn't nothin' he can't beat or bed.
[laughter.]
Who else would there be that could even hang with Tom Brady? Where good looks and bedding women, for some reason, is what the the skills you need, I'm going with Tiger Woods.
[laughter.]
[upbeat rock music.]
What's going on? How you doing? I have a pretty key issue of "The Justice League" here.
Which one you got? Ooh, numero uno, huh? - That's pretty key.
- "Justice League" 1.
Mm, look at that cover, man.
- We'll take it.
- [laughter.]
- - [upbeat rock music.]
In the realm of, uh, key issues and number ones, where do you rank this one? Surprisingly, not that high.
While this is "Justice League" number 1, it's not actually the first appearance of the Justice League of America.
No, you're right.
"Brave and the Bold" 28 was the first Justice League appearance.
It's still very sought after, don't get me wrong, but if you're looking for the numero uno Justice League book, it's "Brave and the Bold" 28.
You are in the presence of two above-average comic book fans.
[laughter.]
This is the fourth appearance of the Justice League of America.
That's right.
The first appearance of Justice League of America in "Brave and the Bold" is the very famous cover of the thing coming up out of the earth - Starro.
- Starro.
Starro, that's right.
And they're all fighting it at the same time.
DC was like, "We're not sure "if this Justice League of America is gonna work out.
We don't want to give them their own title.
" Wow.
You're kidding.
But they had that idea, like, "well, if kids love these characters "in their own title, "well, they'll really love 'em "if we put 'em all together and they fight menaces that are worthy of, you know, these big guns.
" You guys got a favorite Justice Leaguer? He's not one of the original seven, but Firestorm.
I love this guy.
- That's the vi - [laughter.]
Oh, he's the bad guy? He's the bad guy.
That's Despero.
The Justice League doesn't even beat Despero.
Snapper Carr ends up beating him.
Remember Snapper Carr? - Snapper Carr was - I don't.
a 16-year-old boy almost like a superhero groupie.
Justice League kind of took him on as an unofficial mascot.
You kind of remind me a little bit of Snapper Carr.
You're kind of like our me and Mike's little groupie.
You look like a 16-year-old boy too.
[laughter.]
Snapper Ming.
[laughter.]
All right, why are you here to sell it? My wife and I, we just, uh, welcomed our firstborn.
- Oh, congrats.
- Yeah, thanks.
Maybe put some money away for him college, or Well, this is definitely a book that, uh, we'd love to have on the wall.
I mean, with the Justice League of America movie coming out, definitely wall book material.
What are you looking to get for it? I'm looking to get about $1,200.
$1,200.
What do you think, Mike? - Right off the bat - Yeah.
At the top, there's, uh, some significant damage up here, some creasing, uh, spine damage over here.
I'm sure there's some discoloration of the pages.
And there is.
Got a chip missing right down there.
- Looks is that tape? - Oh.
- There's some tape there.
- Yeah, a little bit of tape there.
I mean, $1,200 is I mean, if we're lucky, - that's what we'd get for it.
- Yeah.
If we're lucky.
After hearing Mike give his evaluation, uh, I'm prepared to offer you today $700.
[sighs.]
Your kid can buy one book for college.
[laughter.]
Any way you could do 11? $1,100? I could do $800.
I'll go down to $1,000, that's my bottom.
I pretty pretty stuck on the $800.
- I don't think I can go higher than that.
- Okay.
Yeah, no.
I understand.
Thanks for, uh, taking a look at it though.
- Thanks for bringing it in.
- Appreciate it.
Um, - all right, thanks.
- Thanks.
See you around.
[vocalizing.]
Ahh! Oy-oy-oy-oy-oy.
[upbeat rock music.]
Hey.
How's it going today? Hey.
How are ya? Anybody like to buy my Beatles 1964 Flip Your Wig Game? A Beatles game? I've never seen this before.
- - [upbeat rock music.]
Beatles; are they the world's greatest band? That's right.
Absolutely.
- You think so? - They are not.
- No? - No.
How can you say that? [British accent.]
My name is Paul McCartney, you know.
I'd have written five million songs, you know.
I'm still not convinced.
[laughter.]
Who else can you do? That was a great Paul.
Oh, the other Beatles and many others.
Let me hear let me hear some.
[as George.]
Hi, this is George Harrison, you know.
Hey, there.
I'm the quiet one.
That's Ringo Starr on me drums there.
[nasally voice.]
Thank you very much, everybody.
It's John.
Can even do Yoko, believe it or not.
Let me hear some Yoko.
[vocalizing.]
Ahh! [laughter.]
Oy-oy-oy-oy-oy.
That sounded like Mike.
[laughter.]
You've got to give them some credit though.
I mean, they changed music forever.
I'll give 'em "Helter Skelter.
" Okay.
I'll give 'em "While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
" Okay.
I'll give 'em "Across the Universe.
" Let's give you're giving them a lot, so - Yeah.
- I'll give 'em three.
[laughter.]
- Big Beatles fan? - Yeah, of course.
Nothing but respect for the Beatles.
Even, like, the early stuff, before they got very inventive and creative.
One of my favorite things to do in a car is listen to "Strawberry Fields," and it's got that wall of sound mix, and you know how in the car you have a fader so you could put the speakers to the left or to the right If you turn it all the way to the left, you just hear the vocal tracks and it sounds like he's singing it acapella.
It's a really cool way to listen to the song.
Really? I thought, maybe, you were gonna tell me you could hear some backward masking - or some sort of, like - I'm listening for Hidden messages.
Yeah, there instead of "Paul is dead," it's like, "pay attention to the road.
" [laughter.]
So where'd you get the game at? I got it through the mail from some lady in the Midwest in the in the 1990s, and I have another one at home, so I'm trying to sell this one to get some extra cash.
Oh, you - you a big Beatles collector? - At one time, yeah.
It looks like barbed wire around the wig.
- What yeah, what is that? - It's flippin'.
- You're flippin'.
- You're flippin' your wig.
There you go.
Is that a new conspiracy theory? All four of them wore wigs? [laughs.]
No.
[laughter.]
Can I open it? Sure, right ahead.
- Oh.
Wow.
- Take some of this out.
Look at that.
Paul.
Um, George dead or alive? - Dead.
- Dead.
Not living.
John well, we know John.
Won't have to ask.
How old were you when the Beatles invaded? I was five years old.
And in the same era, I did toy commercials.
Really? What toy commercials did you do? Uh, Blippo.
Remco Toys 1965.
G.
I.
Joe, Capsule, '79.
Why'd you stop doing the, uh, the commercial gig? Oh, it's so long ago, I don't even remember.
Are you sure you weren't doing a little bit of Beatle shrooms and, uh uh uh are you sure you were really on commercials? You know you're not really George Harrison.
[laughter.]
[as George.]
Well, you never know, you know.
Hey.
Can I take out the, uh, the board? Yeah, go right ahead.
Right, there's some beautiful artwork on this, I'm gonna guess.
Something really psychedelic and crazy and out there.
- Oh, well.
- Yeah.
- [laughs.]
- They're not that handsome.
- No, they weren't.
- Oh, come on.
I feel like in 1960 I could have been in a boy band.
[laughter.]
All right, how much you want for this? - $125.
- Pfft.
Get out of here.
- [laughter.]
- I looked at it online.
$125, are you crazy? - No.
- Come on.
Throw me out a more realistic number.
- More realistic number? - Yeah.
Okay.
Gimme $80 and it's done.
[tense music.]
$60.
That's it.
I can't do any better than $60.
How about $65? Ah, I can't - I can't haggle over five bucks, - Come on.
so $65.
- Done.
- Done.
Sold.
All right.
$65.
- Thank you, sir.
- Thank you.
Been a pleasure talking to you guys.
I always thought of us, you know, when Ming's around, as the Fab Four of the of the comic book - retailing world.
Yeah.
- Yeah? So you got Walter, shy the one, Mike, the funny one, Ming, the cute one, and me, the one that still lives with his parents, and is grossly overweight.
Was that a thing? That was a 50-year-old.
[laughter.]
Didn't see the munchies.
All good things must come to an end, just like the episode of this show.
For "Comic Book Men," I'm Kevin Smith.
- Bryan Johnson.
- Walt Flanagan.
- Mike Zapcic.
- Ming Chen.
Where are we going? Planet Ten.
When are we going? Real soon.
Good night.