A widow was heartbroken after discovering her late husband’s rare comic book collection, passed down in his family for generations, had been stolen from her home.
Amy Williams’ husband, Johnny Williams, died of a heart attack in 2022, just two years after their son, Makari, came into the world, KVVU-TV reported. report.
“He just wanted to love me forever,” she told the outlet. “I didn’t get eternity, but I’m glad I was able to give it to him.”
Johnny left behind two boxes full of comic books which he said not only were rare and in pristine condition, but also held greater sentimental value as part of his legacy.
Last month, while Williams was out of town, someone broke into her home and stole two boxes containing about 400 comic books.
“I went to go into my closet and I was like, ‘Oh no, it’s gone,'” she told the outlet.
They had been passed down through four generations of her husband’s family and had been used by him as a child to learn to read and write as he was dyslexic.
He was so passionate about his collection that he even had a YouTube channel where he talked about his love for comic books.
Before her death, she often found her husband engrossed in reading comic books from his own collection or reading comic books aloud to their young son.
Williams said losing the comic books had left his son feeling disconnected from his father, and that Johnny had intended to pass them on to Macari when he was older.
“He wanted that to be passed down to my son and his children,” Williams explained.
“Your actions have traumatized my children and traumatized my family,” Williams said of the thieves.
Despite the financial difficulties she has faced since her husband’s death, she has never considered selling her collection.
“You can’t put a price on that,” she said.
His grieving widow said even recovering one comic book from the collection would mean the world to her, giving her son something to remember his father by.
Williams hopes that trying to sell the comics will help find the culprits because her husband has had some of the books authenticated and his name will be attached to the books if they are sold.
She hopes comic book stores, online resellers and buyers will continue to seek out Johnny’s comics.
