With student loans lingering and a second daughter due, a Vancouver Island comic fan is reluctantly relinquishing his collection of Spider-Man comics – including every starring role and crossover appearance the web-slinger ever made.
Gareth Gaudin, co-owner of Legends Comics and Books in Victoria, B.C., spent 20 years building his coveted collection. At one point he was sure he'd pass it down to his daughter Enid.
She was born in December 2008, the same day The Amazing Spider-Man #580 was published. Gaudin wrote a letter to the editor, asking they print her photo in an upcoming issue.
"When she's old enough, Enid will probably sell [my comic collection] off for beer money," it read. "Perhaps if she appears within the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man she'll think twice before selling off my hard work."
And appear she did. But Gaudin's wife Bronwyn is expecting again, and he's learned that with raising a family comes great responsibility. The time has come to make tough choices.
"It hurts. It's the one collection that I've kept throughout the years and I love it," he told ctvbc.ca. "But if it pays off my loans and allows me to get a down payment on a house, then so be it."
Of roughly 2,500 appearances, Spidey's first 100 are the most valuable – including his debut in Amazing Fantasy #15, which has sold for nearly $100,000. Gaudin's entire collection is valued at roughly $250,000.
If he finds a buyer for the whole set, Gaudin says he won't lament the loss. "I'll just have the fun of collecting them all over again," he said.
Interested buyers can contact Legends Comics and Books.
