Superheroes Are Everywhere, And That's Fine By This Newtown Comic Shop

NEWTOWN, CT — Comic shop owners are starting to feel like they were born under a red sun.

Superheroes, the mainstay of comic books since the art form first took shape in the 1930s, have become inescapable, no matter what screen you are watching. That particular superpower has meant big money for motion picture studios and streaming services that is only now starting to trickle into the comic shop cash registers.

Matt Bania, owner of Cave Comics in Newtown, told Patch the release of a new film or TV series featuring a comics-based character isn't a guarantee he'll immediately start selling more copies of that character's book, but it certainly has been helping. Sometimes the screen versions of the superheroes' exploits drive new comic book readers to his shop. Other times, old customers succumb to the hype and pick up Hollywood-favorite characters they ignored the first time.

Bania has made that an easy proposition. Along with the weekly new releases, his shop stocks more than 3,000 books from DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, IDW, Boom and other publishers, dating back to comics' "Silver Age."

Business is up across the board, but there's not one single reason why, Bania said. Even COVID-19 has helped. Although sales retreated with each new wave of infection, they also bounced back higher each time the hospitalization rate receded.

Although comic books are its bread and butter, Cave Comics stocks a wide selection of ancillary nerd gear. Bania said the pandemic lock-down culture drove a new clientele to board, role playing and miniatures games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer 40K, and the interest in these has not waned alongside the coronavirus positivity rate.

That interest will be keen this Saturday, when Cave Comics celebrates Free Comic Book Day, a first Saturday-in-May tradition that was sidelined the last two years by COVID.

Just how much of a savings is "free?" Bania quoted $3.99 as the average price for a 2022 comic book.

Free Comic Book Day is a joint promotion between the comic book retailers and the publishers, who split the cost of the "free" books between them. It's money well-spent, according to Bania. Most of the comic book n00bs "tend to come back" and buy more books, he said, and almost all who will walk in the door Saturday to glom a free comic won't leave before buying more books or other merchandise that catches their eye.

Leaving nothing to chance, Bania has recruited legendary (and local) artist Jerry Ordway, famed for his work on "The Death of Superman" and "Crisis on Infinite Earths." Ordway will be signing at Cave Comics from 1 - 3 p.m. on Free Comic Book Day.

Bania told Patch the legacy warhorses like Batman, Spider-Man and the Hulk are Cave Comics' most popular titles, but Marvel's Moon Knight has recently seen a sales uptick, likely because of the new Disney+ series.

Cave Comics, entering its 33rd year in business at 57 Church Hill Road in Newtown, is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.