Michael Baulderstone, 45, the proprietor of Adelaide Comics Center in Adelaide, Australia, was dressed as Spider-Man for a promotion in his store on Saturday when a customer took the “Free Comic Book Day” event rather too literally and slipped a $150 X-Men Omnibus into his satchel.  Baulderstone saw the customer poach the book from a window display and followed the man around before eventually grabbing the bag and discovering the book.  The incident was captured on store cameras and has become a hit on You Tube where it has been viewed nearly 170,000 times.

According to the UPI, there were about 50 people in the store at the time.  Baulderstone shouted for someone to guard the door and two customers dressed as Jedi Knights obliged by making sure that no one left the store until police arrived to collect the thief.  Baulderstone’s colleague, who was dressed as the Flash, manned the cash register and kept things moving during the incident.

Baulderstone wryly reported that when the police arrived, “they managed to keep a straight face and just hauled him away.”