I am a part time dealer of classic comic books. I specialize in early Marvel including Superman.in 2010 I received a call from John Manuel Johnson who wanted to sell his father's comic book collection. I made an appointment with Mr. Johnson and he brought over his collection. The collection was in mixed condition with no "Denver High" comic books. Denver High means in nearly pure white condition as originally issued. Some of the comic books had small to large tears, especially the ones that had some decent value. I have been working with comic book collectors for twenty five years, both collectors and sellers. I never once had any problem with any of them working out of the Bay area from my apartment. I do not have a retail store. Buying and selling comics is my hobby as I personally enjoy and collect them myself. Mr. Johnson was very businesslike and had no sense of humor whatsoever which alarmed me for no reason I could think of at that time. I offered him a fair price and he responded by saying no but asked me if I could break up the collection for him and try and get a higher figure by consigning the collection to me. I figured why not try and gave him a receipt for the collection not writing down a specific figure. I also did not list the comics he consigned to me. I had a few sales over a period of five months and sent him cash in an envelope as he had requested. After six months he contacted me and said he wanted to pick up the unsold comics. I made an appointment with him for the next day and that is when I met Satan for the first time in my life. He came in to my apartment and after examining the collection asked me where Superman #1 was! I at first thought he was joking but instead the man went ballistic. I thought I was going to have a heart attack and he kept insisting he had left the most valuable copy of any comic book ever printed with me as part of the consignment. I had to nearly push him out of my apartment to get him to leave. He took the comics I he had left with me and told me I would hear from him or his attorney. A week passed and then he called me threatening to sue me if I did not pay him $5000.00 for his missing Superman comic book. It was then I actually knew I had been set up as $5000 was nothing for a Superman #1 and I told him so. He just laughed at me on the phone and said to me if I did not pay him $5000 he would turn me into the Franchise Tax Board for not having a resale license a question he had asked me when we discussed sales tax on selling his comics. I did not have a resale# and after much heart rendering thoughts agreed it was best to just pay this horrible person off. I made arrangements to meet him and give him $5000 in exchange for a letter holding me harmless from further actions. I now deeply regret doing this and am publishing this report so others do not get hurt by this monster of a person.
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