Imagine walking into your favorite comic book store to buy a Batman comic, check out the latest Spider-Man issue, maybe indulge in a Funko Pop figure you’ve had your eye on, and have a chat with the shopkeeper… And suddenly, a car crashes into the wall, destroying everything in its path. No, it’s not a horror movie or the plot of a nightmare by Kevin Smith: it’s something that happened to The Comic Shop, an independent store that not even Superman could save.
Crash!
We’re heading to Oswego, a city in the state of New York, about a five-hour drive from Manhattan. On September 21st, a car slammed into the back of the store. The good part? Only the driver got injured, but they’re okay now. The bad part? Shelves stocked with independent comics and comic strips were shattered into a thousand pieces and destroyed.
Of course, the store has to do some repairs and rebuild the wall somehow. They’ve come up with a fantastic idea: selling the bricks that the car destroyed. “Own a piece of The Comic Shop’s history!” they announce. The price? A reasonable 20 dollars, which comes with a certificate of authenticity, just in case you ever find yourself on ‘Pawn Stars’ and they don’t trust what you’re saying.
If you have an extra $5 to spare, you can choose to have your brick personalized, adding your name, a special message, or your favorite line from any comic. Imagine hundreds of bricks proudly displaying “With great power comes great responsibility” all over New York State. Of course, they warn, these bricks are limited edition, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. Unless another crazy driver decides to take their car for a spin through the European comics section, that is.
The curious thing is, in the United States, they seem to be accustomed to cars taking on comic book stores: it has happened in recent years in Alabama, New Jersey, Denver, and a handful of other places. Is it the fanaticism for new Marvel or DC adventures, or perhaps, is this country just more apocalyptic than we think?
