In last week’s episode of ‘Comic Book Men’, the guys landed on the menu of Readie’s Café in Red Bank, NJ with the Secret Stash Super Hero sandwich. Between episodes, I took a trip from Philly to visit the store and try the sandwich. I can tell you first hand that it was delicious! That apple jam, kids. Let me tell you, that was a great touch. Oh, and while I was in Red Bank, I even dropped in on Mike and Ming as they recorded this week’s ‘I Sell Comics’ and they sent their love to ScienceFiction.com. Many thanks to them for letting me get some mic time in. You can listen to my little appearance on the podcast at Smodcast.com.

But let’s get back into this week’s episode. This week’s haul of items certainly fit the description of “big ticket items” and the first of them could be considered the biggest bulk item. A customer brings an original Asteroids arcade game from 1979 before Walt and Bryan. It’s ready to play and great condition. The customer says that he got it from a hoarder who kept the game for 30 years. He opens negotiations by asking for $1100. Walt says he could just download an app, but Bryan makes a case for the game and calls it a work of art. While the two are negotiating, another customer comes into the fray wanting to buy it after talks go down to around the $900 range. Walt says that he has no problem with that, but proposes 5% of the sale goes to him since the transaction is going on in the Stash. They agree and the two customers settle on $800, with $40 going to The Secret Stash.

The next customer coming in has a collection of classic ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ books. Of the collection, Walt and Mike pick out a few key issues that catch their eye.  Among the lot is the first appearance of Morbius in #101, the death of Gwen Stacy in #121, the first appearance of Punisher in #129, the first appearance of Venom in #300, and the special 9/11 issue written by J. Michael Straczynski featuring art by John Romita, Jr. For the whole lot, the customer is looking for $500. They end up settling on $450, which seems like an excellent deal for both parties. The customer gets pretty close to his asking price and Walt gets some character defining issues that could go for a lot more individually. Quite a good deal, I’d say.

Another guy who looks like the offspring of Bryan Johnson comes in toting G.I. Joe figures from 1982. It’s the complete original set in a vintage carrying case. They even still have the fact cards with them that said things like where they were from or what their favorite foods were. Additionally, he had the Cobra Night Raven S3P vehicle. Ming goes crazy for these because these toys were his childhood. Walt isn’t as impresses as Ming and doesn’t want the figures, but offers $75 for the Night Raven. They settle on $100 and we have another satisfied customer.

Have we found Bryan Johnson’s long lost son?

Finally, while the gang is discussing their favorite crossovers including Archie meets the Punisher, which is a personal Holy Grail for me because of how obscure and ludicrous it is, the last deal of the episode come when a guy comes in with some ‘Star Wars’ ships. To be specific, he had the Imperial Shuttle, the Millennium Falcon, and the Naboo Royal Cruiser. He wants to sell his toys to bring his girlfriend over from England. They’ve been in a long distance relationship for a while and he wants her to meet his family. He’d like $750, but Walt initially offers $250. After one of the more heated transactions I’ve seen on ‘Comic Book Men’ to date, they settle at $500 and the guy is ecstatic. Though to some he may have a tough exterior, Walt Flanagan is a man that makes dreams come true.

In general, this episode seemed a bit like filler. I liked some of the things that they bantered about like H.R. Pufnstuf being “kinda like prison” and the romantic gestures of Walt Flanagan, but the episode as a whole felt disconnected. There wasn’t really a theme this week like there was in the past such as Stan Lee coming to visit or the gang training for a 5k zombie run. I think this episode would have worked better if the order of events were flipped. Since the episode was called ‘Stash-Teroids’, I thought that they’d play up the game and make the episode revolve around other classic games. Despite not having as much direction as other episodes in the past, I still liked bits of it. My favorite part was the discussion about ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #36. That’s such a powerful issue and it’s one of the many reasons why I love Marvel comics, so I’m glad that they took a bit of time to discuss it.

That’s it for this week’s recap of ‘Comic Book Men’. Make sure to check back next week for a new recap of the latest episode. Until then, feel free to go back and check out my past recaps and our other ‘Comic Book Men’ related articles.