Alternate Reality

I've been hitting up local comic shops for years!  In doing so, I've developed relationships with some local shop owners, and it is my pleasure today to bring you my interview with one of those shop owners: Tim Davis.

Me: I'm here with Tim Davis, owner of Alternate Reality Comics located on 111th and Kedzie in Downtown Mt. Greenwood in Chicago Il...my favorite comic shop!  Hey, Tim!  So how and why did you get into the business of owning a comic book store?

Tim: Real work sucked, and I always wanted to own my own business.  I managed the Comic Book Emporium from 1978 to 1983.  I was planning on buying the store, but things didn't quite work out with the owner, so I went to college, drifted for ten years with the intention of opening up a store, but I also wanted to get a degree.  I got a BA in visual arts and opened up Alternate Reality in 1994.

Tim Davis in his Fortress of Solitude

Me: Where do you get your passion for this type of merchandise?

Tim: Well, I grew up reading comics.  I remember my first comic.  My grandfather walked me up to a drugstore, and there were comic books hanging on the wall on a clipboard.  I saw a Superman comic, asked him to buy it for me, and he did to keep me quiet, and I fell in love with it from that point on.

Me: So, we have these conversations quite a bit, but can you tell me two or three things that you would like comic shop customers to know about coming into a comic book store?  Any questions you get too much? 

Tim: If you are a regular customer, go to the website because I put my shipping up there days early so you know what's coming out that Wednesday.

Me: So, do your research?

Tim: Well, do some research, yeah.  To some customers, this stuff becomes the most important thing to them from the minute they walk across my threshold to the minute they leave.  They don't care about it otherwise.  Or they don't care to because they don't put anything into it.  People will come in at 5:00 PM on a Wednesday and get upset that a hot book is sold out. "Did you save me one?"  Did you ask me to save you one?  Because I would have.  "I didn't know it was coming out!"  That gets us back to the website.

Me: Do your research...

Tim: Yes, back to doing your research.

Me: What else do you wish you could tell customers?

Tim: Buy what you like, not what you think is going to make money unless you are in the business of speculating.  If you buy with the sole purpose to flip stuff.  Fine.  But if you are a collector, and buy Spider-Man each month because you love Spider-Man, don't get drawn into "I need to get this 1/25 or 1/50 cover" even though I'd love to take your money for it unless you are going to dump it right away, it's probably not going to keep its value.  Most stuff that's hot this week, will not be hot a month and a half from now.

Me: That's good advice.

Tim: Some people walk in the door and say "I haven't read comics since...I used to read the X-Men, but I haven't read them since 1992.  What's been going on with them?"  It's like...I have no idea!  I told one guy.  There's this great tool to answer all of your questions.  It's called Wikipedia.

Me: Going along with that, I guess the follow up would be, can you recall the strangest question or request you've ever had?

Tim: Most of it revolves around people wanting the hottest book a while after it's been out.

Me: When Walking Dead was blowing up when the first issue was going for like $2,000.00, were people coming in here asking if you had it?

Tim: Oh, sure.  And I always tell them, if you are looking for the story, I have the trade paperbacks.  "What about the first issue?"  Well, it's going for about $1,500.00 on eBay right now.

Me: They probably want the trade.  They just don't know they want the trade.

Tim: Yeah, at some point, you have to steer them into that.

Me: Especially people that don't come into comic book stores very often.  Have we seen anything that has had the power of a show or movie to buying comics like Walking Dead?

Tim: Black Panther.  When the movie came out it drove people into comic book stores looking for Black Panther comics for a while.

Me: Last question, Tim.  Hollywood is going to make a movie about this store and you.  You get to pick the musician that does the soundtrack of Alternate Reality.  Who are you picking?

Tim: (no hesitation) Bruce Springsteen.  Working-class.

Me: I like that answer.  That makes sense.

 

I'd like to thank Tim Davis for his time.  If you are ever in the Chicagoland area, try to stop by Alternate Reality located on 111th and Kedzie in Chicago.  Support local businesses!  You can check out the store at myalternatereality.com.

Happy collecting!

Eric

@comics_teacher