People sometimes ask me, “Rick, where do you get all your crazy story ideas from?” To be honest, most of the time I have no clue. Usually it’s a random confluence of events and impressions that come together without my knowledge until one day, BOOM!, a story concept just drops into my lap.

There are a few occasions, however, when I can pinpoint the exact moment a story came together and the inspirations that helped usher it along. “The Collector” is one such occasion.

The first glimmer of inspiration came while I was reading an account by Chuck Rozanski, owner of the famous Mile High Comics, about his discovery of the Edgar Church Collection–a huge cache of gem-condition Golden Age Comics–in the basement of an old house in Denver, Colorado, way back in 1977.

If you haven’t read about the Church Collection before, its discovery is an amazing true story about a struggling young comics dealer who stumbles upon a treasure that changes not only his life, but the very hobby of comic collecting itself.

But don’t take my word for it. Read Chuck’s account for yourself HERE.

I was so gripped by the story that I read all 13 chapters in rapid succession then immediately fired off an email to tell Chuck how much I loved his story. Gracious guy that he is, Chuck sent me a thoughtful response the next day, wishing me luck with my own career in comics. Maybe one of these days I’ll meet him in person and shake his hand.

As for the Church Collection, people had never seen anything like it–a collection of such magnitude and in such unparalleled condition that in today’s collecting world it would fetch tens of millions of dollars, though in the late 70’s and early 80’s Chuck managed to get far less.

Many credit Chuck’s find, and the way he used its proceeds to build his comics empire, with not only creating the Golden Age Comics market that we know today, but helping to keep the market for comics in general alive through several market busts that threatened the industry as a whole.

But it was the story of the discovery of the Church Collection that got me thinking: What would I do if I discovered such a collection today? I’ve heard plenty of stories over the years about people finding stacks of valuable comics in the attics and basements of old houses. But it would be silly of me to think that, over 30 years after Chuck’s discovery, anything resembling the Church Collection would still be out there. Wouldn’t it?

Next week’s Soapbox: An amazing find rocks the contemporary comics world.

See you Monday!