Bob Bretall has been reading comic books since a very young age. In over 40 years of collecting his passion for the genre has allowed him to amass quite the impressive personal collection… the largest anyone else has showcased on the planet with just under 90,000 unique comics and counting. (not including the duplicates which brings the total far beyond 90,000!)
When Australian resident Brett Chilman previously set the authorized world record for the largest private collection of comics with the Australian “World Record Academy” with 68,000 books, Bretall thought to himself, “Gee, I have at least 20,000 more comics than that guy.” And here began the unplanned journey to authenticate a world record in the eyes of the world…
Far from the almost calculated manner in which world records are acknowledged nowadays, Bob is a purist in every sense of the word. He is the kind of collector that far often stays away from the limelight to simply continue indulging in his love for a craft – and his passion and dedication has over time made him quite the specialist ‘go-to’ expert in the field of comic books and collections. He runs his own website via Comic Spectrum where you can explore anything and everything you ever want to know about comics and Bob’s collection, and you can even get news and reviews about current comics and pop culture. When visiting his home near San Diego in USA, we also admired the countless amounts of incredible comic-themed memorabilia he has also ammassed over the years, and beautifully displayed in a dedicated room in his home.
And on the most precise recent count – the total reached 89,613… and bearing in mind he buys (and reads!) about 120 new comics and 30 back issues per month, this total is rising rapidly. And what makes Bretall’s collection all the more notable is that he wasn’t simply stockpiling books over all these years — he has actually read almost every single one of these in his time on Planet Earth… a potential candidate for a Mastermind appearance on TV we feel.
We were left inspired by Bob’s untarnished sentiments towards both his comics and the impressive memorabilia he has showcased in a special room in his home. He teaches us all that loving what you do is key, with no specific intentions to monetize or gain recognition for the outcomes of your hobby… but eventually if through this love you gain attention, riches or credibility then that’s surely a bonus and a by-product of your passion. Feel free to think about this from a range of perspectives and adapt it to what you love doing.
In the mean time, we salute you Bob!
Video and Photo Credits: #thisisguavo Media
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