Comic Heaven in Willoughby will change hands this year after longtime owner Jim Williams retires. Located at 4847 Robinhood Drive, Williams opened the store in 1994 and will retire on March 30. “I am selling it,” he said. “I do have somebody who’s going to buy it. He’s a good guy and he’ s known me for a lot of years. He knows comics and he’s got a warehouse full of them, and lives in the area. I’m going to help him probably for the first month with a couple order forms so he gets comfortable with that stuff.” Jim Williams opened Comic Heaven in Willoughby in 1994. The business will change hands this year after Williams retires. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Jim Williams opened Comic Heaven in Willoughby in 1994. The business will change hands this year after Williams retires. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Located at 4847 Robinhood Drive in Willoughby, Comic Heaven has served all age demographics since opening and has carried a variety of comic books. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Located at 4847 Robinhood Drive in Willoughby, Comic Heaven has served all age demographics since opening and has carried a variety of comic books. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Located at 4847 Robinhood Drive in Willoughby, Comic Heaven has served all age demographics since opening and has carried a variety of comic books. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Show Caption1 of 5Jim Williams opened Comic Heaven in Willoughby in 1994. The business will change hands this year after Williams retires. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Expand Williams recalls when he went to his first comic book show in 1973. “I was still in high school and I fell in love,” he said. “What ended up happening was it became more popular. One day, I walked into a drugstore in Mayfield Heights and they had Marvel comics for the first time.” Related Articles Local News | Children’s use of e-bikes raises safety concerns | Editorial Local News | Painesville to consider amending solar grant agreement after federal uncertainty Local News | Fairport Harbor approves tree rebate program Local News | Mentor Public Library to offer four free computer classes in April Local News | Lake County PERI taking reservations for next meeting Williams also recalls a Superman comic that sparked his interest in the industry. “He didn’t have superpowers and somebody else who did found him,” Williams said. “He was using similar powers he had. Distribution was pretty mediocre, so it got better and I started going from there. It’s strange because when I was growing up, ‘Don’t worry. You’ll outgrow this.’ I don’t know why. I enjoy this stuff and I saw the whole industry grow.” Over the years, Williams found himself getting more involved with companies and people in the comic industry. “It just worked out well,” he said. “I met a gentleman and started doing shows with him. He helped me in a lot of ways and I helped him because I was the guy carrying all the books. I watched other people do stores and fail. I paid attention to what they were doing wrong.” Williams also credits the years he spent working at a bowling alley as the owner taught him how to do and think about things. “He helped me immensely,” he said. “I realized that I was doing all the work and not reaping the rewards. I saved some money and I met other people in the industry. I’ve been in this plaza the whole time.” Williams said Comic Heaven has served all age demographics since opening. “I always try to make everybody feel comfortable,” he said. “I’m as big of a geek as anybody else in the world, so I understand it.” New books for the store are ordered on a monthly basis in addition to back issues and collections Williams has in his inventory. “Amazing Spiderman” and Marvel comics are among the most popular, he said. “I always tell people read what you like,” Williams said. “If you like it, continue. If you don’t, put it away and try something else. Right now, they do final order cutoff, which in my opinion, saved the industry. At one time, we were ordering three months ahead of time and now, we’re down to six weeks.” Williams has always paid attention to what’s selling and what’s not in order to decide what inventory to have at the store. “That’s what you have to pay attention to,” he said. “If you don’t, you’re not going to last very long.” Williams has enjoyed seeing the industry grow and has made many new friends throughout the years. “I have a lot of people who bring their families in,” he said. “The generation goes on and that’s one of the things I’m really happy with. There isn’t a stigma anymore with comics because of all the great Marvel and DC movies now and the TV shows. That has made a big difference.” Although he does not have children, Williams encourages Archie Comics books to get kids to start reading. “There’s plenty of stuff you can go to,” he said. ...read more read less