Comic book geekdom

Bobby Andrews walks out of Comic Quest Megamall, a plastic bag tucked under his arm, the smile of a satisfied customer painted on his face. Hey, even ex-T.G.I.S. members need their occasional fix of graphic novels, don’t they?

It is four in the afternoon of a Friday and pimply kids in school uniforms and yuppies on an early punch-out start flocking Megamall. The din of commerce begins. The sales ladies of Comic Quest smooth out their uniforms and lick their lips as they prepare for Friday’s usual influx of customers.

And it’s no mystery why customers are drawn in. As the casual observer passes by Megamall’s basement level walkway, he is rudely greeted by the handsome shop windows of Comic Quest, candy-store shop windows that burst and throb with vibrant Superman reds, Gothic Batman blues and Day-Glo Robin yellows. Magical little storefront peepshows that tease you with action figures so gorgeous you want to touch them, Alex Ross posters so beautiful you want to eat them.

Vin Simbulan, 33, the proud owner of Comic Quest, sits on a Monobloc chair behind one of the store’s display glass shelves. The Colourfield’s Thinking of You and other post-punk songs from the ‘80s squeak out of his computer’s external speakers. He takes a drag from his menthol cigarette and says as Bobby Andrews exits the doorway, "It’s funny that celebrities do some of their shopping here. There’s Francis Magalona and Andrew E. Jericho Rosales and Dingdong Dantes regularly come here to check out the toys, and a year ago, Sandara Park bought this hideously cool Gollum plush toy."

Now nearing it 20th year in the comic book retail business, Comic Quest had its humble beginnings as a family business in a small arcade in BF Homes, Parañaque on November1985, roughly five years after the distinguished competition, Filbar’s, set up shop. The business proved lucrative and hence two more branches were established: one at the Gold Crest arcade in Makati, and another at Shoppesville, Greenhills. At present, it has consolidated into three working branches: SM Megamall, SM North EDSA, and the Festival Mall in Alabang.

As a kid, Vin would spend countless hours reading issues of Legion of Superheroes, Chris Claremont’s X-Men and DC Comics’ House of Secrets, but never in his wildest dreams did he realize he would be soon manning a comic book shop. "To go back to the start, I was only 13 years old when we began. It was more of a hobby, actually. It was my parents’ idea to turn it into a business," Vin says. A Psychology major from the University of the Philippines, Vin knew diddlysquat about the ins and outs of the retail business. Fortunately, his father, who was a businessman, helped him in setting up the store’s operations.

Now that Hollywood and televisions has brought comic books into the mainstream, business has been tough for direct market retailers like Vin, since competitive superstore-bookstores now also carry graphic novels on their spinner racks, a phenomenon which was only a pipe dream before the great slew of superhero movies such as X-Men and Spider-Man topped the box-office. But Vin doesn’t sweat a brow; in fact, he is happy that comic books are now reaching a broader audience, no small thanks to these bookstores. But he backpedals a bit and says, "You can buy a comic book from these huge stores that have novels, magazines, coffee-table books and graphic novels under one roof, but nothing beats getting your comic books from a store where the clerks themselves are geeks like you. It adds a little more drama to your shopping experience."

Vin is happy to note that the store has a wide demographic. Because the success of Warner Bros.’ Saturday morning cartoons like Justice League and Teen Titans, kids who are barely in their teens come to the shop to buy the comic book equivalents of their favorite shows. Young adults, tweens, teenagers, and twentysomethings splurge their allowances on mainstream superhero books from Marvel and DC. Doctors, lawyers, and other professionals who are in their thirties and forties often come on paydays and their tastes lean more towards the mature titles of DC’s Vertigo Comics. Teenage girls and women in their professions also drop by the store.

Girls? Women? "Yes, we actually do have a lot of female customers who come here, but they often like the Manga titles, whose stories are more of the romance and comedy genres."

Despite the fact that the distinguished competition, Filbar’s, has expanded its merchandise to select foreign and local magazines, Comic Quest has stuck to comic books and related products such as magazines, posters, role-playing games, action figures, trading cards and anime DVDs through the years. Keeping it real, as they say in Ebonics. Vin explains, "From the start, we envisioned the store as a comic book specialty shop, so one of the things we wanted to do was not to dilute (our merchandise) with other products."

For a guy who lives and breathes comic books, Vin is glad that he is in this line of work. He explains the reason behind his passion, "I love comic books because it is a great melding of words and pictures. I really like the synergy that happens when a good story is coupled with good visuals. If the words and the pictures don’t actually mesh that well, you end up with a very bad product. How would you picture a Grant Morrison-written, Jim Lee-drawn title? On the other hand, if the story and the art complement each other, you will be having a great time." Vin beams and wraps up, "Comic books are a unique medium on its own; it provides this certain of wonder, this certain sense of intelligence that no other medium can provide."

Bored, beat, heat-stroked this summer? Drop by Comic Quest. Vin doesn’t bite.

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Praises, tomatoes, and whatnot are welcome. Kindly send them to wincy_ong@yahoo.com.