Steve Geppi built a fortune through his love of comics, and I really admire him for making a living from something he loves. He also brought Baltimore a museum that honors Superman and the other heroes of the medium. Now, though, there are signs of financial pressure on his business interests, and his 19th Century mansion Cliffeholme (eight bedrooms and nine fireplaces) is headed for a foreclosure auction today, more than two years after he put it up for sale for $7.7 million.

The biggest threat on his comics distribution business: the iPad. Previous e-readers such as the Kindle and nook are not built for full-color graphic displays. But the iPad's clear, sharp display offers comic book fans a new way to feed their habit. that's why Marvel has developed an iPad app -- and why Apple features it on its iPad app page. Now that consumers can buy digital versions directly from the creators, middlemen like Geppi get squeezed.

As Sun business columnist Jay Hancock notes on his blog, some in the comics industry may not fully recognize the threat. "Comics are special," an industry executive told the recent ComicsPRO confab. "It's not something that can easily translate into other media."

Until now.