A Major Break in the Case of a $1.4 Million Comic Book Theft
- by Michael Stillman
Mugshot of alleged comic book thief Phillip Weisbauer.
Police got a major break in a large comic book theft case in Palm Beach, Florida, when a man walked into a comic book shop near Phoenix with four of the almost 450 missing comics. Sometime between Nov. 28, 2018, and January 8, 2019, the large collection of comics was stolen from the storage unit of Randy Lawrence of Palm Beach. Lawrence had been collecting them for a lifetime. They were both a love and a retirement nest egg. Then, when he recently checked the unit, he found they were gone. The locks were intact, but evidently the thief had entered the unit from above.
This was not an ordinary collection. It included early Batman and other highly valuable comics. The collection has been estimated to be worth $1.4 million.
The man who walked in to the Phoenix area comic book shop was Phillip Weisbauer (or Philipp Wiesbauer) of Royal Palm Beach, Florida. His residence being in close proximity to the missing comic collection, despite attempting to sell them in Mesa, Arizona, is not believed to be a coincidence by authorities. Rather, they believe he probably thought that selling stolen comics so far away from where they were taken would make it unlikely anyone would realize the connection. If so, he was wrong.
Comic book sellers, like those who sell regular books, have a network of contacts and look out for each other. While ordinary comics, like ordinary books, might readily pass through shops without anyone knowing the difference, valuable ones cannot. They are rare, and a comic book dealer, on being offered one, will immediately inquire about its background. If it comes from a known collector, or someone involved in the field, the dealer may be confident in its history. If, as here, an unknown 30-year-old man carrying a duffel beg comes in with four comics valued at almost $100,000, the warning lights are going to start flashing. This was not someone who bought these comics when he was young, nor did he have the appearance of a person likely to legitimately own such comics. One of the owners of Gotham City Comics of Mesa reached out to his contacts in the business, who informed him the four Batman comics Weisbauer was offering had indeed been stolen from Palm Beach.
This is not the type of sale one concludes on the spot, so when Weisbauer returned a few days later to haggle on the price, Gotham City was ready for him. Police were informed, and they followed Weisbauer back to a residence in nearby Fountain Hills. He was arrested and placed in custody. Weisbauer later raised bail.
This is not yet the conclusion of the story. There are still 445 comics valued at $1.3 million missing. Lawrence expressed a willingness to be forgiving toward Weisbauer, but only if the remaining missing comics are returned. Weisbauer obtained those four comics somewhere, and undoubtedly has an idea where the others can be found. It's time for a conversation.
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Galileo Galilei. Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico, e copernicano. Firenze, 1632
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Saverio Manetti. Storia naturale degli uccelli. Firenze, 1771-76
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Fortunato Depero. Depero futurista. Rovereto, 1927
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Nicolas Visscher. Atlas minor sive totius orbis terrarum contracta delineat ex conatibus. Amsterdam, circa 1649-95
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Andreas Vesalius. Anatomia. Addita nunc. Antiquorum Anatome. Venezia, 1604
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Tristan Tzara and Salvador Dalì. Grains et Issues. Parigi, 1935
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950
Sotheby's Book Week 2 June - 9 July
Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.
