3,000 comic books stolen from storage unit

LAS VEGAS (CNN) – Police in Las Vegas are searching for thieves who got away with $100,000 worth of stolen goods.

Their target? Rare comic books.

Late Wednesday night, two suspects broke into Life Storage on West Warm Springs Road. They sawed through a storage unit and stole comic books and collectibles. Video caught one of their faces on camera.

Daniel Ballard said many of the 3,000 comics that were “stolen were a part of his personal collection.”

He said, “The crown jewel was the Amazing Spider Man. I have, or had, the entire run 1 to 700 volume. i had a lot of other key issues, the first appearance of venom death, Captain Stacy, the first appearance of Punisher.”

But, some of the comic books belonged to a charity called Critical Care Comics. “We deliver comic books to kids in schools while dressed as superheroes,” Ballard said.

Steven Riddle, also known as Riddler, is the owner of Velvet Underground Comics in Las Vegas. He said, “This book would run anywhere from $400 up to about $2,500 or $3,000, depending if it’s grated or not.”

Riddle said any comic book collector would die to get their hands on some of the issues that the crooks stole. “I feel bad for him that he had put those in the warehouse because it’s not the safest place. By the looks of the hole in the warehouse store, it looks like people knew that those were in there.”

Ballard spent more than 20 years collecting comics and said he planned to hand them down to his son.

He said, “This does not affect only me and my son, but it did have an impact on my charity as well.”

“I just want my books back. Can you give me my books back, that’d be awesome? I’ll let it go. I don’t know if police will.”