This is another place six-pac likes to visit every once in a while. I have been collecting comics since 1985.
My family went on a trip out west and I bought 6 comic books somewhere along the way to read during the long boring parts of the ride. The one I remember was Web of Spiderman #6 "Gold Rush". It was such a low issue number that I decided to get the other 5 issues and then I started collecting them.
About a year or so later I found myself in downtown South Portland, Maine visiting a comic shop looking for more Spiderman issues. A strange comic caught my eye by tugging on my other interest, the Marshal Arts.
This comic was a one-shot called "Leonardo - What Goes Around... ...Comes Around!". It featured a mutated turtle brandishing two katana blades. I leafed through the pages and was captivated by the simple black & white presentation of a snow covered battlefield in the heart of New York City. There were almost no words through out the entire story, but each box so artistically delivered the tale and pulled me into this weird world that I bought it that day and immediately set about collecting all the back issues I could find and buying each new issue as soon as it came out. I also started collecting other similar themed comics like Cerebus, Usagi Yojimbo, Critters, and even a few Albedo issues.
TMNT #1 first printing was the hard one to find, but I finally bought a copy in 1989 for $400. Unfortunately, it was right around that time that I had to have my wisdom teeth removed and I was desperate for cash since I had no insurance and I had to pay for the
procedure myself.
I sheepishly returned to the comic store a few weeks later and asked if I could sell it back. The savvy comic pirate agreed to buy the issue, but would only give me $300. I needed that money, so I took the loss. I have kicked myself over and over for that transaction. Last April (2021) a #1 TMNT first printing sold for $88,000.
It gets worse. Just last month (Sep. 2021) a copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 CGC 9.8 sold for a record-pulverizing $245,000.
I had my wisdom teeth removed and got a whole heap of life wisdom in return.
So
be careful when you look for this cache! One wrong turn and you could find yourself hooked on yet another crazy hobby!