The owner of a local comic book store is asking for help to identify two men believed to have stolen a rare and valuable comic over the weekend.
In a post on Facebook Thursday, the owner of The Comic Shop said the two suspects came in, and said they wanted to sell some comic books.
The post says one of the two kept the owner distracted, while the other was “casing the place” – finally stealing a rare comic book from a shelf.
Owner Patrick Boudreau said he didn’t notice the book was missing until Wednesday. So he looked back at surveillance footage.
Video of the incident shows the man taking the comic book off the shelf, before stepping behind a display – when he steps back into view, the comic book is no longer visible.
“I think that the biggest feeling I had was disappointment,” Boudreau said. “I was really disappointed.”
The comic book is a special edition Deadpool #50, with a unique sketch by artist, Reilly Brown. The owner told CTV News the book is worth about $400.
“It’s a graded comic book which means it’s been inspected by a company in the States, and they had gathered it was a 9.8 on a scale of 1-10, so it was the nearest to perfection as it can be,” Boudreau said.
"It was a one of a kind book."
Boudreau said a store owner in Red Deer had contacted him, saying someone had attempted to sell him the stolen comic book on Monday.
“The guys had showed up in the store, the following day, with the book, trying to sell it to him,” Boudreau said.
Boudreau said he also contacted police. An Edmonton Police Service spokesperson said the Facebook post with the images and video had already helped investigators.
“We’ve received several tips as a result of the Facebook post done by the business, which has been very helpful to us,” EPS spokesperson Carolin Maran said.
Boudreau said he’s hopeful police will track down the suspects and recover the comic book. But if he gets it back, he said he probably wouldn’t sell it – he’d frame it, and hang it on the wall in his shop.
With files from Bill Fortier
