By Alyssa Ramsfield
At the corner of 4th Avenue and Columbia Street stands an Olympia landmark. The prominent speech bubble sign says, “Danger Room” giving insight from the street of what can be found within. Peering through the windows, a passerby can identify the contents of the storefront: racks upon racks of vibrant comic books.
Among the numerous panels at Danger Room Comics stand Casey Bruce and Frank Hussey who have co-owned Danger Room Comics since September of 2010. “We had both worked here previously,” explains Bruce. “While working here I had mentioned that owning a comic store would be great, but I had no idea that Danger Room would be going up for sale in the near future.”
Reality set in quickly when the previous owner inquired about interest to the own the store. “We had moved on to different jobs. I was actually working in Seattle when the old owner sent me an e-mail. The e-mail explained that he was looking to sell the shop and wanted to know if I was interested. I contacted Frank and he had received the same e-mail. After talking over the idea with our significant others we came to the conclusion that we could make it work as co-owners of the shop.”
Getting started as business owners wasn’t easy. “We bought a business that was operating in the red and turned it into a success,” describes Hussey. “If we had not turned it around, we would have paid a lot of money for a business only to see it fold. Luckily, things improved even in our very first month of ownership.”
Their success is thanks to the mission of Danger Room Comics to focus the needs of customers. “We want to help customers discover comics,” says Bruce. “It is always fun to meet an open-minded person who has never been to the store before and has no interest in comics. We like to help those people find their first comic. We also enjoy helping long-time comic fans find new comics from a variety of genres. Our goal is to get everyone interested in comics. There is something out there for everyone.”
“Our motto is: Everyone should read comics. No exceptions! We are always willing to match the right comic with the right person. Going above and beyond to introduce comics to our customers is our first priority.”
The diverse selection found at Danger Room Comics is obvious. From big name super heroes to local, first time artists, the shelves are stacked. The back comics are displayed alphabetically like pristine vinyl in a record store just waiting to be explored.
Danger Room Comics sets itself apart from other stores in many ways. “Our shop has incredible variety and selection,” states Hussey. “This is something visiting cartoonists often praise us for. Most comics shops are nearly single genre (super heroes) and collectibles stores, while we are full range. We are very proud of having large sections of non-fiction and LGBTQ comics, for example, but every genre available is included in our shop. To accomplish this, we order from multiple distributors, direct from various publishers, and even from the creators themselves at times. Most comic shops only order from a single distributor.”
The co-owners are proud of their dynamic store. “I’m really proud of our all-ages section,” explains Hussey. “Before we bought the shop, this section didn’t exist. There’s a reason why it’s the first area a customer sees if they look in the door. It’s one of our areas of highest growth and brings in a lot of our favorite customers. Access to quality all-ages comics has shot up in recent years not only due to an increase in new all-ages comics, but also due to reprinting of classics (Little Lulu, Uncle Scrooge, etc.) and importing of the best international work (Moomin, Hilda, Tintin etc.). A lot of our favorite customers are now families where every member of the family is reading comics.”
The community is a strong focus for Danger Room Comics. “We always try to participate in local events,” explains Bruce. “Danger Room is always a part of the Olympia Comics Festival, passing out free comics on Halloween, and offering in-store meet and greets with authors or illustrators. Reaching out to comic fans is really important and we try to do it whenever possible.”
Whether you are a long-time fan or newcomer to the comic world, Danger Room Comics welcomes all community members with open doors and cartoon panels.
Danger Room Comics
201 4th Ave West in downtown Olympia
Hours: Monday-Saturday from 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Sunday from 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
