At Dreamland Comics in Libertyville, regular customers are trickling into the shop and stacking their weekly purchases together.
Both customers and employees at the store, 105 W. Rockland Road, say the comic book industry is a growing one, a change that can at least partially be attributed to the wildly popular and profitable movies based on Marvel and DC comics.
Marvel’s latest film, “Doctor Strange,” has made more than $600 million globally in its first month of release, according to box office numbers. That success is not an anomaly, as films based on comic books have been regularly topping the box office charts in recent years.
Lon Rovner, a customer at the store, said he has been reading comics since he was seven years old, an interest that began with Saturday morning cartoons. He was immersed in what was considered a niche hobby then.
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“People are collectively starting to see comics as an American art, like jazz or something. It isn’t something to be thrown away,” Rovner said.
While new viewers are watching the movies and sometimes buying the books, they aren’t necessarily going to be long-time fans, Rovner and fellow customer Jim Csribner said. However, the hobby is now getting the credit it deserves, they say, and is captivating young people again.
Csribner said 30 years ago, you might get someone asking you what the logo means on your t-shirt. That likely isn’t the case anymore. He now sees people wearing shirts or buying merchandise who do not read comics.
Charlie Balicki, a manger at the store, helped promote the films years ago when the first of the newer hero movies like “Spider-Man” and “X-Men” debuted. The store was invited to area theaters and was even allowed to sell comics at times.
Balicki said the stores are less associated with the movies now that the films have proven successful, but he still enjoys watching the movies and talking about them with fans while working.
Daniel Rodriguez, of Jay’s Comics in Grayslake, said in recent years he has seen more women and girls in the shop than ever before.
“It’s more accepted now. It’s no longer the geeky kids by themselves and introverts,” Rodriguez said. “We have everybody from professionals to sports fans – people who since I’ve started collecting, wouldn’t be the ones reading comics.”
And with a growing fan base, he said sales have not only increased but diversified. Traditionally, the bulk of sales included major publishers like DC and Marvel. Now, Rodriguez says independent labels make up nearly half of the inventory because younger fans appreciate the varying storylines.
“We have superheroes now that are openly gay,” he said. “It’s a little harder for the older people to accept, while for the younger people, they think of it as more normal often times.”
And while the hobby is changing, old-school readers teach the new fans about the origins and the comics they grew up reading.
Balicki laughs with the customers and strolls behind the glass counter where there are first issues of old comics and animated toys right next to them.
“The nerds will inherit the earth,” he proclaims.
Rodriguez said as media began its transition to digital platforms, it was a scary time to work in a print store. He understands the downside of digital media, too. In a comic, you have to zoom in and out too often if you are reading digitally. Print may continue arguably to an extent because fans can get their digital fix on the big screens.
“The books proved the test of time that people like to have that physical paper in their hand,” Rodriguez said. “They like to put it away and keep it in good shape, they like to re-read it.”
The hobby is growing but continuing, Rovner says. It is the same passion that is drawing new audiences.
“Once you get past the capes and the super powers, it’s really about your daily, moral issues that happen everyday,” Rodriguez said. “No matter how young or old or rich or poor, I think we can all find that common ground and that’s in comics.”
Tom Ackerman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.