Girl's angry reaction to schoolboy's 'feelings' turned his $100 comic book into a $50,000 viral story

Sometimes the absolute worst-case scenario is exactly what needs to happen to create something legendary. Well, at least for a teenager back in the 1980s named Chance, this turned out to be the case after he made the ultimate mistake of lending out his near-mint condition copies of "Amazing Spider-Man #14" and "Avengers #2" to his friends, Karen and Audra, respectively, as part of a "trust test." While Audra did return his comic unscathed, his complex relationship with Karen, unfortunately, led to something that, though it was tough for Chance, made his comic legendary among collectors, according to the Spider-Man Crawlspace. 

The trio

The root of the story lies in a tight-knit, volatile high school friendship circle between three teenagers, particularly Chance and Karen. One reason why he loaned his comic to her was that he had a crush on her. In fact, both of them were not only great friends but also worked at the same drugstore, with Karen even writing a three-page note in Chance's yearbook filled with inside jokes. Although they had a great bond, things took a sharp turn when Chance decided to convey his feelings to Karen.

The rejection

Given that the feelings weren't mutual, Karen rejected Chance. According to both of them, this marked the beginning of the end of their friendship. From that point on, their accounts diverge. Karen claimed that Chance became obsessed with her after the rejection and even alleged that he cut her hair during a drive to the concert. Whatever the truth may be, the fallout from their deteriorating relationship eventually pushed Karen to take a drastic step to get back at him.

Striking where it hurts

Following this somewhat toxic spiral, Karen decided to strike Chance where it'd hurt most. So, she picked up a permanent marker and scrawled a blunt ultimatum on the cover of the comic. "Chance, go to Hell," she wrote while also mentioning to turn over. That's because on the other side, she had one more message. "I never thought I'd be able to destroy something that meant so much to me – As far as I'm concerned you're dead. In no way am I trying to be noble or anything like that," Karen added. 

Blessing in disguise

Karen's gesture was meant to destroy the comic's value, and she did succeed in that with Chance selling the book, which back then was valued at about $100 for just $20 after this incident to a guy named Mike in 1991. He held onto this comic for three years until showcasing it at Dragon Con in Atlanta. It was there that the people saw it for the first time and remarked on it. However, given that there was no price on it, they assumed it wasn't for sale. Everyone thought, except Dustin Ruff and Shane Hester, who asked how much Mike wanted for it.

He said, "$40." Of course, they didn't think twice before buying, while the others who hesitated regretted not asking the price. Today, although Shane has passed away, Dustin continues to own this legendary comic, despite receiving offers up to $50,000 for it, and seemingly, Dustin isn't letting go of it anytime soon. "I like owning it too much because I get to do this and I get to talk about it, and it just keeps on giving. Every time that it gets put on the Internet, it just becomes more famous," he told Paper Chase Comics. 

Not true for every comic

Nonetheless, while what Karen did to Chance's comic has massively increased its value, more often than not, it's not the case. That is because comics are graded from 0.5 to 10 on the basis of several factors, such as manufacturing defects, missing elements, stains, mold, misprints, odor, marks after printing, and so on, as per We Buy Books. So, if the comic even has the smallest of errors, let alone a whole lot, the value of it will diminish. That's why it's better to keep your comics in mint condition if you want them to stay valuable. 

'A work of art'

That said, Chance's comic continues to impress fans across the globe with a post by @wethehobby explaining the lore of the comic, garnering massive attention. @officialdjkrueger commented, "Heard about this for years... never knew it was real. Marvel should reprint this and sell it. It's a work of art." At the same time, @nl_cards noted, "I wonder where this happened. I had a buddy who had an incredible Spider-Man collection, and his girlfriend, Sherry, wrote in them and cut some of them up. It would be funny if this were her."

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