2017.09.15 Little Monsters Games & Comics Facebook Post(s)

Some days you have to be quick on the computer to get information about our main man Ken "Whit" Whitman.

Fortunately we have folks who appreciate the work we've been doing and feed is intel, because let's face it: Not Another Dime (For Ken Whitman) is a small operation run by a small cadre of dedicated volunteers. While we try our best we have to assume some scams, or more importantly what we would personally consider (i.e. our opinions) scams, slip by us.

Somebody sent us a screen shot today from Facebook. Evidently Jolly Blackburn got in a little burn on an older post. We tried to find the OP, but we cannot, so just go ahead and assume this screenshot is fake:

We've already figured out the COA is fake, and this post over at Tenkar's Tavern has an email from the real-world authentication company. (Picture stolen borrowed from Tenkar's Tavern and here only for documentation purposes):

Now we already new as much from our original "investigation" into the COA that was posted on the Little Monster Games & Comics Facebook page.

Before we go any further we need to point out our assumption that in the please-assume-this-is-fake-Facebook-post-because-we-cannot-provide-a-reference burn from Mr. Blackburn, that he isn't stating Ken "Whit" Whitman provided the fake COA, but that there is a possibility that whatever item is being discussed could be as fake as the COA. Again, this is an assumption, but presumably the item being discussed is a Walking Dead item.

Because of this assumption, we started digging a little bit into the Little Monster Games & Comics Facebook posts, using September 15th as a reference point. We found this little gem:

"So a guy comes in my store last week, says hes a big Walking Dead Fan, if you ever get something good call.

Today, guy comes in with #1 9.9 CGC graded Walking Dead, along with a prototype Negan bat, and a bunch of scripts signed by the cast and kirkmen himself.

The call is made, 15 minutes later they are talking very intensly as I watch them jocky for position.

They haggel over 3 or 4 of these collectors items, including TWD #1. The owner of the collectables wanted 11k for three items, the buyers only wants to spend 10k.

So... they decide to flip a coin, if the owner wins its 12k, if the buyer wins its 10k. And so I witnessed a 2k coin flip.

If you want to know how it ended... well thats a story I finish telling only in person."

So we want to point out a couple points here:
1) Guy comes in to the store with Walking Dead items to include "a bunch of scripts signed by the cast and kirkman himself"

2) Ken "Whit" Whitman calls another person who comes to the store (we've already established this was in the store) "15 minutes later" and Ken "Whit" Whitman observes the discussion 1st hand "as I watch them jocky for position"

3) The two determine a method for settling their haggling during a sale, which is witnessed again by Ken "Whit" Whitman "And so I witnessed a 2k coin flip."

We want to recap a bit here before we continue....Ken "Whit" Whitman, proprietor of the establishment known as Little Monsters Games & Comics helped broker a large sale between two private sellers in his establishment. He was present for the negotiations and witnessed the conclusion of the methodology used to reach an agreement as to price. By his own admittance he feels that this story is worth telling in person at his store.

Do you feel fully aware of the details of this story? We hope so.

The very 1st comment is from Ken "Whit" Whitman's mentor (?) Marcus King, who as near as we can tell, somehow sold the store to Ken "Whit" Whitman. We think it can be reasonably inferred from our previous posts and a quick perusal of Mr. Kings Facebook page, that Mr. King is an experienced local businessman when it comes to running a game and comic book store. In that very 1st post, Mr. King publicly advises Ken "Whit" Whitman about an aspect of the transaction that this Facebook post was all about:

" So, someone sold $10K of stuff in your store. You do realize YOU are on the hook for $600 sales tax, right?

True story."

Now we see how quickly the story changes....

"The guys left after the coin flip. I never saw any money. :-/

Hope they are responsable enough to pay their taxes!"

Of course he didn't see any money....who carries that kind of cash around. Regardless it seems clear that a financial transaction occurred in Little Monsters Games & Comics. Ken "Whit" Whitman bragged about it in the post and Mr. King made his commentary after reading the exact words you, dear reader, just read. If this wasn't a financial transaction then there would be no reason for Ken "Whit" Whitman to be present for "a 2k coin flip".

But wait! There's more!

"However, for brokering the Deal, I will be selling off the Sellers 50k Walking Dead collection and taking a commission. And you bet your ass I will be paying state taz on everything sold to anyone who lives and or does business at my store!"

Wait a minute........if Kenny wasn't there for the deal...the deal that didn't happen in the store as his story started out....then how could he immediately state, "for brokering the deal"? We especially like the public comment about paying the "taz" on deals brokered in his store.....but clearly not this this one deal in his store he was present for but definitely did not happen.

*wink* *wink*

via GIPHY

So at this point we're beating a dead horse but something doesn't sit right with us and it isn't the deal/no deal at the heart of this Facebook post. Did you notice it too? If you did, please leave us a comment after the post....

.....ok, if you didn't see what we did, we'll catch you up. Ken "Whit" Whitman is selling this Walking Dead collection that is "50k"....that's a big collection, but not nearly as big as the $100K collection referenced in the screen capture of the COA burn. So on the 15th of September, the collection is worth $100K and by the 17th the collection is worth $50K? What happened? Did Ken "Whit" Whitman sell $50k in two days? Did he devalue the collection by 50%....if so, how?

If Ken "Whit" Whitman is such a good businessman that he can turn around $50K of inventory in two days then we think he should be able to broker a deal (obviously not on the property of Little Monsters Games & Comics) to get at least one of his Kickstarters fulfilled.

If Ken "Whit" Whitman is such a bad businessman that he can lose $50K of inventory in two days then how the hell is his store still open some three(ish) weeks later? In retail inventory loss is generally attributed to three sources: Internal theft, external theft, and shoddy management (poor paperwork, letting product "spoil", etc.)

We have our own theory.....

Warning: This video is painful to watch..turn down your audio 1st (trust us). Worth checking out at about the -1:32:56 Point (or 36' into the video)



"But I'm gonna tell you this. I actually have a lot of Walking Dead in there an in about two weeks I'm gonna be selling Walking Dead. Not just talking about POPs. I actually, in my store, have Michonne's shoes. I have sss, I have signed scripts. I have uh Andrew Lincoln's script from pilot 1 signed by him. I have a ton of wonderful Walking Dead stuff that I am gonna be selling here."

Skipping ahead a bit (transcribing this is a bit painful) to the -1:32:06
"I'm one of Neegan's Saviors, so I do have a lot of connections in that area. So if you need some Walking Dead, just PM me, I'll help you out."

This video was from September 21st and makes it appear, at least to us, that Ken "Whit" Whitman is attempting to sell Walking Dead memorabilia off of the books. 1st we have the deal-that-isn't-a-deal on "last week", which would have been the week of September 10th to the 16th.

On the 15th of September this collection is worth $100K. That is via an unverified post so that does poke a bit of a hole in our theory, but we'll continue on as Jolly Blackburn does seem to read this blog and post comments here. (Editor note....he did) In September 17th the collection is now worth $50K, which we've noted seems to be quite the devaluation in such a short time. Four days later Ken "Whit" Whitman comments on a live Facebook video feed that he basically has the hookup for people wanting some Walking Dead memorabilia, the details of which can only be obtained by direct messaging him on Facebook.

We know he had the boots which we cannot confirm are fake, but we can confirm, through this video, that Ken "Whit" Whitman had on September 21st. Fast forward to the Facebook post (we referenced on Monday, October 2nd) from September 24th, showing the boots and the fake Certificate of Authenticity (CoA or COA). In that Little Monster Games & Comics post, which has since been removed, Ken "Whit" Whitman remarked, "There are no pruce tags on these, so dont be asking prices if money is an issue!"

Our theory, based on what we've seen with these posts, is that Ken "Whit" Whitman is using the Little Monsters Games & Comics to sell, off the books, Walking Dead memorabilia. Between the deal that isn't a deal, but really is a deal, the wild fluctuation in alleged value, along with no actual item prices, and the need to conduct that business in private, but still through the store (or at least the store's Facebook account) leads us to what we think is a natural conclusion. This is, and should be taken as, complete conjecture on our part. Like always, we encourage our readers to not rely on our speculations, but to do their best to pull on the many internet threads we've done our best to document and to make up your own conclusions.