A comic book store in Nevada caught fire. Everyone thought it was a freak accident, until four more comic shops in the state went up in flame. Police were looking for an arsonist. The suspect went across Nevada into Arizona, where seven more stores became color panel infernos. The paper product, unfortunately, made it all too easy.

The police caught up with him as he was lighting up his first California store. His statement, rumored in the comic shops, goes something like this:

“I bought the the issue where Superman died; I bought all the variant covers of X-Men #1; I got each week’s new series from Image Comics; I bought the issue where Superman returned. They were all shiny, plastic wrapped, limited editions, and still absolutely worthless.

“I went into my local comic shop with boxes upon boxes of comics, suitcase packed, ready to sell and move to Tahiti. But I couldn’t even get store credit. It was unfair. They were worth more. I was worth more.

“So, I decided I needed to create my own rarity.”