Stepping into a Time Machine at Dreamwell Comics in Carson City
Stepping into Dreamwell Comics in Carson City, feels like stepping into a time machine — or for the comic book community a rather nostalgic flashback.
“It couldn't be more necessary with everything going on in the world. It’s a good escape. I think it is very important,” Timothy Karter says.
Karter and his brother Robert, co-owners of Dreamwell Comics, opened this location on Cochise Street 16 years ago to share a love of storytelling.
“I loved comics as a kid back in the 60s, and I started collecting and getting into it. And, I always wanted to open up some kind of a comic book store or something related to that,” Timothy says.
Originally opening his first store in Las Vegas in 1987, Timothy and his brother put their entire personal comic book collection into their new business. “I had a tremendous collection that I decided, well, I'll just pull all my comics into the store, and we'll just commit to the whole thing and see if we can make it work.”
In the 1980s, the comic book industry was at its highest peak of popularity, meaning the brothers’ business proved to be extremely successful.
As a new reader, I decided to step into the world of comics myself and see what this new community has to offer. Timothy and Robert were nothing but thrilled to show their passion to a newcomer.
While mixing passion and business can sometimes be a very daunting task, Timothy never saw it that way, but rather more like a dream and a privilege. “I enjoy comics, I enjoy the art form. I enjoy the writing and the stories and the characters. And I never lost interest in that. So I figured, hey, if I could make it a living and have my own business and sell comics, I'd be content. And 30-some years later, I'm still doing it,” he says.
Although the golden age of comic books has come and gone, that doesn’t mean that they won't have a comeback, as so many 80s trends do these days. In a digital age where most people get their entertainment from a screen, comic books can offer a unique and “new” outlet for entertainment and artistic expression.
“People that were young 30 years ago now have money. So they're coming in and buying what they could've been buying,” Robert explains. “We see generations of families, fathers, have brought their kids in and now they're bringing their kids in. We've actually seen third generations of people now. A lot of the people have met here actually got married because of the comic book shop. Genre reaches everybody. So all walks of life, all economic places, it's pretty good, it's pretty wild.”
“Every generation discovers comics on their own,” Timothy adds. “We get kids that have never been in a comic store before, and they get interested and they are interested in a character or a title, and then they're hooked,” He urges. “Younger people are still interested in comics. They say that, no, they're not. They're interested in video games, and they're on their phones and they're, you know, but they still like comics. They're physical comics.”
With recent internet trends, like BookTok and recent viral book-to-show adaptations, like Heated Rivalry and Bridgerton, it’s refreshing to see that not all physical media has gone out of style. This being said, overall comic books have declined in popularity, threatening small businesses such as this one.
“Well, you know, if you like to read, if you like movies, if you like the superhero movies and the other horror movies that are out there, try comics, come into a shop like this and take a look around and see what catches your eye. And then sample it. Try it. You might get interested in it. It's easy to get hooked,” Timothy concluded.
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