Superman Through the Ages! Forum

It's Meyer's starry-eyed worship of Superman, protector of the world as it should be, that makes the theft from his home two weeks ago seem particularly cruel.

Meyer was tricked out of about 1,800 of his favorite Superman comic books, some dating to the 1950s. He also lost many of his favorite collector's items: lunch boxes, an old-time radio, a Monopoly game and television set — all Superman-themed. The loot is worth about $4,000 to $5,000 in total, according to a friend who also collects.

The back bedroom of Meyer's house used to have nearly 100 Superman figurines tacked to the walls. Now, those walls are bare.

GRANITE CITY -- Paging the Superfriends: Comic fans are flying to help a Granite City man who was robbed of his lifelong Superman collection a few weeks ago.

Mike Meyer is a restaurant worker who has a mental disability, but he lives independently in his Granite City house surrounded by images of his personal hero: DC Comics' Superman, friends said.

He had thousands of comic books, figurines and memorabilia, at least until he was robbed a few weeks ago by someone he thought was his friend. He told media outlets that he showed his collection to the friend, who distracted him with a movie and quietly cleaned out his collection behind his back. Unfortunately, he could not remember the man's last name.

Granite City police say they have nabbed the man who robbed a vulnerable Superman collector of many of his favorite items.

The accused thief, Gerry A. Armbruster, 37, of the 2200 block of Iowa Street in Granite City, was charged today after police said they caught him on Thursday forcibly robbing an elderly male of jewelry and money.

Police said their investigation of that more recent incident allowed them to link Armbruster to the Superman theft, which occurred two weeks ago and quickly captured attention across the country, and even the world.