Robert Scott, owner of Comickaze in Liberty Station, described his browsable comic shop as being like a bookstore, only cooler.
“It’s not a library, we don’t want people pulling up a chair and reading,” Scott said. “But yeah, browsing … how are you going to know if it’s something you want to take home and read?”
There are literally thousands of individual items, comics, books, figurines, costumes, posters – you name it, stacked floor-to-ceiling in Scott’s sprawling retail space at 2750 Historic Decatur Road, Suite 101.
The entrepreneur has been in the comics business for 27 years. Having started in Clairemont, he is now branching out.
“We came to Liberty Station looking to expand,” Scott said. “We wanted to get out into the neighborhoods, not force people to drive all the way to Clairemont.”
Scott said Comickaze had a fair amount of customers who lived in the Peninsula area. “We also have friends at IDW Publishing, which opened their comic gallery right across the way,” he said. “So we thought it might be a good collaboration.”
Comickaze moved into Liberty Station, opening on Halloween day 2015.
Comickaze, according to Scott, is actually a full-service bookstore. “Anything you could buy at Amazon, or Barnes & Noble – you can buy here,” he said. “We thought it would be nice for Point Loma to have an alternative bookstore.”
Scott also enjoys “being in the arts district here in Liberty Station among all the artists.” And, if a customer wants something Scott doesn’t have in stock, he’ll special order it.
Strolling through Comickaze, items are organized alphabetically, according to categories. There’s a section for kids age 12 and under with non-violent choices. There’s a huge selection of graphic novels, which Scott noted are actually comic books that have been collected into book form.
The history of American comics dates back to 1842 with the translation of Rodolphe Topffer’s work, “The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck.” But it wasn’t until daily newspapers and comic strips, that the art form really took off. American comics’ historians generally divide 20th-century American comics history into ages: the Golden Age from 1938 (first appearance of Superman) to 1954; the Silver Age from 1956 to early 1970s; the Bronze Age spanning from then until 1986; and the Modern Age, from 1986 until today.
The industry has evolved a lot from where it started.
“Comic books were meant to be a disposable entertainment,” Scott said. “You were supposed to throw them away when you were done with them. They were so cheap. And they were printed on cheap paper. They weren’t meant to last.”
Asked why comics are appealing, Scott said, “It’s visual, something that goes with your senses that you wouldn’t normally get with just a traditional book.”
Comics are also timeless, noted Scott, pointing to his clientele.
“I have parents and grandparents bringing their kids and grandkids in here and getting them started reading.”
They know we have things here that will get them excited about reading.”