This might not be the best time to set up a physical bookstore but here is one that has come up in Mumbai India that is being hailed as the country’s first comic book store, The Indian Express reported. Hamza Sayyad, the owner of the store said the primary impetus to set up the store has been to fill up a void that he himself had to endure during his growing up days, that of a store from where he could buy comic books.

“When I was growing up, there were no comic book stores around me. So, instead of waiting for someone else to set up a specialized bookstore, I chose to do it myself,” said Hamza Sayyad.

Ironically, it was an online store that Hamza started out with for selling comic books. It has been a modest start with just a single computer and a small capital as he supplied the comic books from his own living room. Demand spiked during the pandemic with orders coming in from all over the country. That was when the idea of opening a physical store first hit him. The online store also continues to be operational.

The store which started operation in March this year now has a large collection covering almost all genres, which include adventure, horror, sci-fi, and so on. The collection of course wouldn’t have been complete without Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics, and Indie comics. In fact, the store has three of its walls that depict these, with each wall covering a specific genre. Then there are rare pieces as well, which are relegated to the top shelves and also include those that have been signed by prominent comic book creators Stan Lee and Alex Ross.

Hamza said all of the comic books sold via his store are authentic that have been bought straight off the distributors. He also said the comic books have been priced reasonably with say The Avengers, Power Rangers, and True Believers coming for Rs 99, which is a little over a USD. Other more popular novels such as Batman: The Killing Joke, Watchmen (the international edition), Deathnote, and such have been priced around Rs 1,000, which comes to about $12.5.

Hamza also opened a company by the same name – The Comic Book Store – and has plans to introduce a subscription service soon which he believes will let him cater to those who don’t have access to the store. He also has plans to open another store in Bangalore within the next few months as well.

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