Comic book stores used to be dusty enclaves for geeks to debate which imaginary super-beings would win in a battle, flip through boxes in search of elusive issues, and indulge in the interplay of words, art and imagination that are comic books.
Then a sort-of market crash forced the comic book store to evolve. Comic books as a medium have been shrinking, but its vast archive of stories and characters have found audiences hungry for fantasy, science fiction and escape. So the comics universe keeps expanding through movies, video games, toys, etc.
That evolution shows in Intergalactic Imports at Del Monte Center.
“Boy has [comics culture] grown,” says owner/operator John Stracuzzi.
Co-owned by his brother Jim, Intergalactic Imports is six weeks old and is a comic book store, for lack of a better term. Although comic books – including Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther, Wonder Woman by Salinas’ Greg Rucka, and Congressman John Lewis’ autobiographical March – were among the last items that found their way onto the meticulous shelves.
First came sparkling Wonder Woman tiaras and bracelets, looking sturdy enough to actually withstand a battle with a nemesis like Cheetah or Ares. There was old-school Batman and Superman action figures – think 1940s – and ’50s-era “dad bod” bulky as opposed to the bodybuilder cut of today.
Those “older action figures” brought Stephen Bradford, 18, of Seaside back into the store one weekday last month, after having stumbled on it the week before. And on this second visit he’s brought his friend Gisele Lopez, 17, also of Seaside, who is a fan of Batman and Harley Quinn and ended up buying a Deadpool comic book/graphic novel.
“I like the store’s layout,” he says. “I like the colors and logos,” she says.
That’s promising. Comic book stores cannot be the dusty and dank dwellings they used to be. Intergalactic Imports is clean and well-lit, with a boutique feel. The atmosphere is more commerce than clubhouse. There is variety, but not vast multiple stock of any one item. It creates a sense of scarcity that may be genuine.
Another customer comes in and hurriedly snatches up two Wonder Woman action figure key chains.
“Do have another one of these?” she says to Stracuzzi. “I have three granddaughters. I need one more.”
Stracuzzi tells her there are only the two on hand. She buys what she has and promises to come back again.
“Superhero movies take themselves too seriously.”
After being an early comic book collector in the ‘70s, in 1986 Stracuzzi and his brother started Adventure Comics and Toys on Cannery Row. Then it was at Del Monte Center, Sherwood Gardens in Salinas, and the American Tin Cannery until 2007. He says his brother is more savvy with finances, while he knows the culture. He’s not attending the Salinas Valley Comic Con this weekend because he’s too busy with the store.
As to competition from internet commerce, he’s confident: “You can’t beat a comic book in your hands.”
That might apply to other whimsical items on display. There are playing cards with the visages of Harry Potter and The Avengers, Pez dispensers in the likeness of My Little Ponies and The Muppets.
Mixing old-school familiarity and new hot commodities, there are board games that merge Monopoly with The Walking Dead, Risk (“The game of strategic conquest”) with Game of Thrones.
There are wallets and purses in logos and color schemes of Wonder Woman, Batman, the Star Wars Alliance. There are The Flash T-shirts and Arkham Asylum hoodies, Yoda coffee mugs, a Darth Vader holiday desk sign reads: “I find your lack of cheer disturbing.”
The comic book is a launching pad, it seems, for characters to find their way to other products and mediums.
Deadpool merch is everywhere.
“He uses comedy to get around things,” Stracuzzi muses. “Superhero movies take themselves too seriously.”
He may not have seen the new Thor movie yet. His favorite superhero movie is still the 1978 Superman. Stracuzzi’s comic book love runs deep.
On the ornate cover of the 1988 Wonder Woman first annual issue, with the Amazonian surrounded by female allies, hidden on a battle axe is the signature of legendary comic artist George Perez and, below that, of the colorist: John Stracuzzi. That was his first cover.
He also worked with Perez on Teen Titans before going over to Marvel to work on Infinity Gauntlet #1, house ads, Marvel Universe cards and posters. He worked for “The Big Two” for seven years before an industry decline forced him out of that line of work.
Still, he is immortalized in print, this humble and pragmatic guy who’s running a comic book store in the mall.