State College has a new destination for comic books.
Comic Cove will hold its grand opening from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 20, in its new space at the Westerly Parkway Plaza, next to NovaCare Rehabilitation.
The shop will offer new and vintage comic books, Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering trading cards and more, said State College resident Justin Behrens, who co-owns the store with his wife, Liza.
Saturday’s grand opening will feature deals, giveaways and appearances by artists Kevin Conrad, who has worked on titles such as “X-Force,” “Spawn,” and “Kiss: Psycho Circus,” and Chris Ring, who has created and worked an a number of series. Conrad and Ring will be available to do sketches and sign comic books that they’ve inked, Behrens said.
An Army veteran, Behrens became a comic book enthusiast while serving in Iraq, when his family sent him “Iron Man” comics. From there, he began seeking out other titles he found interesting.
He said he wanted to open a store as a way to make comic books accessible and affordable for everyone.
“There’s not a place around here to get older comics or vintage comics and I wanted an opportunity to get them into the hands of people,” Behrens said. “Alan Moore is one of my favorite writers in comics, and he made a comment in an interview one time that comic books are no longer for the middle class; they’re for the rich because the prices are going so high. So I want to get them back in the hands of the middle class.
“I want the younger kids to get back into comics and people that said ‘You know I really wanted that fancy No. 1 ‘Iron Man’ but I can’t spend that exorbitant amount of money,’ I want to make sure I can give the opportunity for them to get it at an affordable price.”
The store will also offer a “subscription” service.
“Back in the day when we were kids you could order subscriptions and the comics would be mailed to you,” Behrens said. “What I’m doing is, people would come in, they’d tell me they want a ‘subscription’ for ‘Iron Man’ and I would then make sure I have the ‘Iron Man’ available for them every single month and it would be at the store so that they could pick it up.”
Comic Cove will have a membership club with incentives and discounts, and each month members who spend $100 will be entered in a raffle to win a free “slab,” or professionally graded comic.
Behrens also said he has a network of comics dealers he will work with to help customers get specific books they are looking for.
Community outreach will be a big part of Comic Cove, Behrens said.
Next year, he is looking to have an exclusive cover created to benefit Penn State’s THON.
“I have an artist that has done multiple different famous comics,” Behrens said. “He’ll choose one of the comics for that month and do an exclusive cover for THON and we’ll donate the proceeds for that.”
Comic books can help with literacy skills, and Behrens is hoping to work with the school district to provide them for students who might be struggling to read. He also plans to provide opportunities for students from the nearby State College Area High School to be able to spend time in the store exploring comics and card games.
Behrens selected the Westerly Parkway location, he said, in part because it would be accessible for students and to help revitalize the shopping center.
“I’m looking to do a whole bunch of other things and community outreach than just be a comic books store,” Behrens said. “It sounds weird, but I’m not looking to make a profit off of this. I’m looking to build the community to a better place. If I can use comic books, which is a hobby of mine, to do that then that’s awesome.”
Comic Cove will be open noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
For information on the store’s subscription service, availabilities and more, visit Comic Cove’s website and Facebook page, where you’ll also find the shop’s artist-illustrated superhero pug mascot, based on the Behrens’ family’s own dog, Noah.
