Year of the Creative brings arts and culture events to Fulton Comic Shop By Laura I. Winn
Art receptions and book discussions, live models and live podcasts, movie nights with family-friendly flicks and after-hours stand-up with strictly adult content–as part of its Year of the Creative, Empire’s Comics Vault has opened its doors to an array of arts and culture events. “If I could, I’d have an event every night,” says owner Ben Schwartz, 41, as he sits on one of his store’s plush sofas while his two pugs, Rolly Polly and Captain Dylan Hunt (named after Kevin Sorbo’s character in the sci-fi show Andromeda), wrestle nearby. It’s an hour before the store will open for another Saturday dedicated to Sacramento creatives. In the afternoon, author and art historian Kristine Balog will lecture about 16th century painter Caravaggio, and in the evening, August’s gallery artist Nate Flamm will chat about his displayed work. This typical day at the job is one a young Schwartz never imagined. Although he grew up with a love of comics, starting with the X-Men he bought as a kid at Safeway and continuing
with his own stories that filled his binder as a teen, a career as a comic store owner wasn’t the plan. Then an opportunity to buy an existing stock presented itself while he was studying business at Sacramento State. With no retail experience to speak of, he made the leap. With his wife Jennifer’s help, he opened Empire’s Comics Vault in 2003, moving to the current location at 1120 Fulton Avenue Suite K five years ago. The Fulton store is filled with new releases on the walls and on the displays that roll away for larger event nights. Then there’s the long row of boxes storing over 100,000 back issues. A dedicated kid’s section displays books appropriate for children as young as 5 to pick out on their own. Since the release of the new Wonder Woman movie, the shop has seen a wave of little girls stopping by to learn more about Diana Prince. In the last eight or nine years, Schwartz says, the number of new comic fans has grown in part due to the popularity of comic-book movies, but more so because of independent presses like Image, which provide story lines for “people who don’t want to read about capes and tights.”
So, what’s your style? An urban loft Downtown where you can walk to the cafes? A home in a good school district with beautiful parks nearby? A lifestyle along the river where you can get out on your bicycle and breeze along the parkway every day? Tell me. Tell me what you want. It’s here. What you want is here in Sacramento.
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Photos courtesy of Ben Schwartz
Listening to first-time readers interests and making recommendations is part of Schwartz’s expertise. “Our goal is to promote the enjoyment of reading,” he says. “I want people to buy a book, sit down in the lounge to read, relax and meet other customers and become friends.” The lounge–a large, open area dotted with sofas, ottomans and coffee tables– is the space that makes the busy calendar of events possible. Thursday evenings from 5 to 8, the lounge is a dedicated writing space for comic artists and Sac State students alike. Every second Thursday, a graphic novel discussion group meets. Customers are invited to be
the live audience for a comic-book podcast every second Friday. On second Saturdays, a live cosplay model (a model in costume as a particular character) poses for artists to sketch. Freshly popped popcorn is passed out on third Friday movie nights. Then there’s the special events. In October, the store will again host the Creative Women Mini-Con, which showcases local artists of all mediums, including sculpture, crafts and paint. The biggest of all is Free Comic Book Day, a nation-wide event the first Saturday in May. At Empire’s, it’s not just a day but a festival with music, face painting, balloon animals, raffles, cosplayers,
a slew of comic artists plus local Supreme Pro Wrestlers on a real wrestling ring in the middle of the parking lot. This past May, the store gave out 20,000 free comics to fans who waited in line for hours. All these events plus normal retail duties keep Schwartz at the store about 60 hours a week, but he says, “It doesn’t feel like it. I like being here. I’m excited to wake up. I get to bring my dogs to work every day and be surrounded by people who love comic books. At the end of the day, I’m surrounded by the things I love.” Empire’s calendar of events is available at empirescomics. com.
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