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Old school is cool in comic culture

Superheroes, gaming, make comeback in new generation

Every other Saturday, a group of people gathers in the back of Big Pete’s Comic and Collectibles in Lower Lonsdale. They’re here to talk ogres and elves, Batman, Storm and Settlers of Catan.

Some arrive with sheets in hand, ready to play a few hours of Dungeons and Dragons, a role-playing game that was once condemned in the 1970s for being Satanic and has recently enjoyed a renewed surge in popularity.

In fact in recent years, the gamers, the geeks and the comic book readers have been a growing force on the North Shore.

As ‘dungeon master’ Matthew Seagle puts it, “old school is cool” again.

Seagle started played Dungeons and Dragons nearly 20 years ago with his wife and friends.

“I wanted a hobby that could be social, be creative and I could drink beer,” he said. “You don’t have to be a mathematician to play and that’s the appeal.”

New versions of the games are more accessible than they used to be, said Seagle. The ‘no girls allowed’ mentality of the past has gone, for instance, he said.

At Big Pete’s, the D&D crowd often shares space with others who show up to play Magic: The Gathering. It’s only the tipping point of what’s become a more mainstream and socially acceptable pastime: to read comic books, play games or a combination of the two.

“I consider this now the golden age of gaming,” said Seagle.

It’s not just games that are enjoying an upswing in popularity.

The authors of the 1938 Superman debut in Action Comics #1 most likely never suspected that 76 years later it would become the highest priced comic ever sold, at $3.2 million US.

But last August, that’s exactly what happened at the end of an online eBay auction for a pristine edition.

Yet 20 years ago, comic book stores were struggling to make ends meet. It was on the heels of a string of movies that bombed at the box office — movies like Batman Forever, Batman & Robin and The Phantom to name a few.

The films relied on gimmicks and the comics being put out at the time did so as well, according to Peter Turcotte, owner of Big Pete’s.

One of the big turning points, said Turcotte, came with the TV show, The Big Bang Theory.

“That’s really what allowed closeted nerds to come out. There was a 20 per cent increase in our solid customer base.”

The popularity of that show paired well with comic-book-based movies — including Batman Begins, X-Men and The Avengers — taking a darker, more serious approach that led to success at the box office.

Comic books followed suit.

Not only did the major publishing houses Marvel and DC begin campaigns to re-launch their most well known titles — including Thor’s recent re-imagining as a woman — but independent comic books have since taken off as well.

Image has released roaring successes such as The Wicked + The Divine, Saga, Rat Queens — a Vancouver-based series — and Sex Criminals. The company has attracted some of the industry’s top talent in artists and writers, who have more creative control over the final product.

Most people don’t realize how many products are out there, said Turcotte. “There’s all these great indie books. They don’t look at it like a comic, they look at it like a novel just with pictures.”

The independent comic book series are the antidote for those who want to read graphic novels but aren’t into superheroes — and they’re filling the gap as the comic book audience has evolved, according to Turcotte.

The more serious story lines based on characters that would fall off the pages of traditional novels are keeping the aging comic book reading audience interested.

And it also helps that the people walking into Turcotte’s store grew up watching these movies and TV shows — unlike his generation whose parents didn’t see the value in comic books, alternative board games or collectibles.

“But now you’ve got kids who grew up with GI Joe and (Teenage Mutant Ninja) Turtles and they bring in their own kids. All of a suddenly it’s not, ‘You don’t need that crap.’ It’s, ‘You can’t have Luke without Leia.’”

For the 35 years Turcotte’s been in business, his clientele has evolved from an all-male crowd to one that also includes young families, more women and a variety of different backgrounds.

“That brings huge buying power to the store,” he said. “All of a sudden the parent is a lawyer making tons of money and says to his kid, ‘Sure, we can buy that game,’ or, ‘No, you can’t just have the one comic book, you’ll have to read the whole set.’”

Turcotte said trade paperbacks — or larger graphic novels — have become more popular than ever before.

Jenna Oliver, who works at Big Pete’s, said at least half of the clientele is now women.

“When I was younger I was really into Spiderman and Batman,” she said. “Those were really my two big things. I’d wake up every morning and watch Batman animated series, but it was definitely seen as a boy’s show.”

“Every time I was watching Batman, my dad would be like, ‘Why are you watching that?’”

Oliver fell out of comics for a long time until she started cosplaying — dressing up as your favourite fictional character — and attending some of the 10 conventions that now occur in the Lower Mainland every year.

Then four years ago, she found her way back into reading Batman comics.

“I’m more of an independent comic book person now over DC or Marvel,” she added. “It’s definitely changed a lot.

“There are still the stereotypes that comics are for guys . . . but a lot of women come in regularly buying comics, and they’re of all ages. We have young girls getting animated ninja turtles and Adventure Time.”

Comic book publishers across the board have been putting out more titles with strong female leads — particularly Batwoman in the New 52 by DC; Rat Queens, which is about a group of women in a Dungeons and Dragons-like setting; and the recently released series Ms. Marvel, who’s the first-ever Muslim girl superhero.

As comic books are evolving with their readers, tabletop games with figurines are starting to see a steady base, as well.

That’s what Mike Tong, owner of the one-year-old shop Hammertime Hobbies, has been able to survive off of since first opening his doors on Third Street West, near Lonsdale Avenue.
Hammertime focuses on selling figurines to assemble and paint for the Warhammer 40,000 game, which uses small figures on a table that combat, using dice rolls, for supremacy. The game is a mix of chess and Risk, according to Tong.
“A lot of people get into tabletop (games) for different reasons,” he said. “There are people who enjoy the hobby and modeling aspect. There’s people who enjoy just collecting the miniatures and there people who are really into the gaming aspect of it.”
Tong got into the tabletop games when he started to play Dungeons and Dragons at age 16.  
“I’ve actually been working in toy stores and game stores since like ’99,” he said. “My first job out of high school was working in one.”
So far, his business has been steady and he’s focusing on creating a space where his clients can get their models, play and have a workbench to paint them.
“Another reason why I chose this spot is because just down the street is the Eagle’s Club and the Chop gaming club meets out of there,” he said. “They’re a miniature gaming club and they concentrate mostly on Warhammer fantasy.”
The club grew out of regulars who used to go to the Park Royal Games Workshop (Warhammer) store until it closed in 2012.
“My role in the community I feel, is to have a place for them to buy stuff to get their miniature fix, and get their supplies without having to travel across several cities,” he added. “And also to provide a place for new people to get started.
“Miniature gaming has always been really niche. I’d like to grow it.”
Another new business that’s gaining traction in North Vancouver in the realm of “geek” is Plan B Production House, which is an animation studio.
The studio is releasing Goblins, three mischievous characters named after tea — Earl, Herbert and Peeko — whose stories unfold on different platforms from a 3D-animated TV/web series, an iOS Game/App and graphic novels.
Aron Robinson, Plan B’s CEO and producer, said he and his partner formed the studio to take their love of being artists to the next level.
Through a successful Kickstarter campaign, Plan B was able to secure funding to launch the first of a series of 110-page graphic novels, which will have shelf space at Big Pete’s when they’re out in the next few months.
“I definitely see a lot of similarities in personalities in the animation industry as a lot of us are comic book collectors,” he said. “Every comic book day we take our lunch hour and go check out the new selection.”
Robinson said the trend he’s seeing is multi-platform franchises as consumers become more sophisticated.
“The ability to take a creation of your own and be able to bring it to fruition, it’s pretty liberating,” he said.
“And I think it starts to speak to a younger audience and give them a lot of hope to push themselves in a career they may not have thought they’d have a chance in otherwise.”
Computer software has a come a long way for graphic design for comics, games and animation, Robinson noted.
“So having the ability to create that stuff quickly and efficiently at a really, really high quality and being able to spit that stuff out, send it off and with a little hard work you can get this thing printed and on the shelf,” he said. “It’s a really promising thing for kids these days.”