Jaimie Newbold: "They were only in our store for 26 seconds."

On July 15, two burglars broke into Southern California Comics while a getaway driver stood by outside, less than a mile northwest of the Clairemont Mesa Boulevard/I-163 exit.

"They used one of those firemen pry tools, and it was somebody with strong shoulders because it required a lot of torque," said Jaime Newbold, the owner of the Kearny Mesa store. "They just shredded the metal."

"There's a trail of blood and we see him on camera."

One of the nine back-issue comic book store employees took to Instagram later that Thursday and posted incriminating photos of their decimated, metal entranceway, which once housed the strike plate where the deadbolt would've locked into.

"Based on our surveillance system, we could tell they were only in our store for 26 seconds," Newbold said. He added that the burglars, who wore long sleeves hoodies, gloves, masks, and heavy-looking shoes, approached his two glass showcases and broke them with "the same tool used to break our metal door."

Another comic book store posted photos of the shop's now shattered six-foot showcases, which held the shop's higher-end golden age, silver age, bronze age, and copper age comic books. "If you see a guy offering an Amazing Spider-Man 194, 238, and 300, together, then you [most likely] have my guy," Newbold noted.

"The Amazing Spider-Man 194 with the first appearance of Black Cat, is going for $7500 in a Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) 9.8 condition," Juan H. from South San Diego said. "And Spidey 238 was the first appearance of Hobgoblin and Spidey 300, the first of Venom."

Decimated metal entranceway

I spoke to Juan after he bought and sold comic books at the San Diego Comic Book Show held at the Hilton Garden Inn on July 17.

"The Amazing Spider-Man 238 in 9.8 condition is listed on eBay for $3,500. Here at the show, most of the people I spoke to knew about the store's robbery."

On eBay , a United States-based seller with 942 positive feedbacks, is selling The Amazing Spider-Man number 300 with a CGC 9.8 grade, for $35,000 — but it's not the same issue heisted that early Thursday morning, which was CGC graded at a 9.2.

Then, says Newbold, "that guy cut himself by the shattered glass of the showcases because from that point there's a trail of blood and we see him on camera, he's also taking some graded books off the wall, and he's bleeding until he gets to the door."

Warning from store

"The neighbor behind us heard our alarm go off. He walks around and sees the escape vehicle, a smaller late-model, black Nissan SUV with no plates, racing out of the complex."

Typically, about this time of the year, Newbold would be selling at the Comic-Con International in the San Diego Convention Center. The organizers canceled the annual show last summer and this July because of the pandemic. "I've been doing Comic-Con as a retailer since 1975; I might be the last original San Diegan that still has a booth at the show."

"Aren't you losing money not being able to sell there?"

"Customers worldwide are going to buy back issues off me regardless if there's a virtual Comic-Con or not."

On July 19, the Comic-Con organizers posted on their social media accounts, "PSA: #ComicConAtHome2021 starts this week, and preparing is simple! Subscribe to our YouTube channel and tap the notification bell, so you're set to see panels as soon as they drop. Plus, be sure to stay tuned for special pre-show programming coming up."

"If you have a guy selling an old magazine called House of Horror, number one, and it's CGC graded, you have my guy."

In April, Comic-Con posted on their website, "This fall, we're planning a smaller, supplemental event we're calling Comic-Con Special Edition, taking place on November 26-28, 2021. It is our hope that by that point, conditions will permit in-person public gatherings of this kind. As details are still being finalized, badge cost, attendance capacity, and related information will be forthcoming."

"I think the Con thought that they could project it to November, but then the convention is housing kids that are crossing the border because they needed a place to stay, and this threw a curve to the Con, and they put out an announcement that this could be subject to change."

As this story goes to print, there have been no updates on the stolen comic books.

"If you have a guy selling an old magazine called House of Horror, number one, and it's CGC graded, you have my guy, or he has a Teen-Age Romances number one, you have my guy. They are such oddball golden age stuff, there's [likely] nobody in San Diego that's going to have that, there might only be two copies max out here in California."