Comic books and comic book characters are all of the rage these days. With a major comic book film coming out at least once a year since the turn of the century–Faust: Love of the Damned in 2001, Spider-Man in 2002, Hulk in 2003, Hellboy in 2004, Batman Begins in 2005, V for Vendetta in 2006, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in 2007, Iron Man in 2008, Watchmen in 2009, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in 2010 and Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011, serving as examples–the popularity of comic books is on the rise again. Chuck Feldman, owner of Garden of Earthly Delights, said now could not be a better time to own a comic book store.
“They [comic books] were hot in the 1980s and they’re hot again,” Feldman said. “I came into the right business when I started this over 30 years ago.”
He, however, did not originally want to own a comic book store. Feldman opened an ice cream parlor in a building he owned on Castor Avenue in 1977. It was across from a movie theater, which he said seemed like a perfect fit for customers, but within a few years, it and the surrounding theaters closed, forcing him to make a tough decision.
“It was either pack it up or think of something else to do,” Feldman said. “I had an employee that was interested in comics, so I figured that would be a logical choice.”
Feldman began letting his employee sell comic books in the corner of his parlor. To compliment them, he sold and traded sports cards and collectibles. A few years later, the comic book and sports card business boomed and Feldman slowly converted his parlor into a pure comic book, sports card and collectible store.
A disagreement between Feldman and his employee over fair business, however, later caused the joint endeavor to close.
Feldman was able to survive the “comic crash” of the 1990s with the sales of a variety of products and moved his store to 7907 Bustleton Ave., where it is located today.
Of the success of his store, he said he is not surprised.
“It [the comic book, sports card and collectible business] is really competitive and the comics and collectibles are expensive to maintain,” Feldman said. “We’re doing really well, though. By selling so many things at the prices we have, we’ve been able to stay open for a long time.”
Justin Robinson, a new customer of Garden of Earthly Delights, is pleased with the store’s products.
“Today was my first day visiting the store and I am so impressed,” Robinson said. “They [the store] have all of the latest comics and at great prices.”
“I’ll definitely be back.”
With similar customer reviews constantly pouring in, Feldman said he expects each year–including 2012, with the summer release of The Avengers film–to be bigger and more successful than the last.
Be the first to comment