The world of comic books has become big business. Comics that used to cost less than a dollar are now million dollar collector items.
Comic book character-based movies are grossing millions of dollars world wide. Even events like Comic-Con have become huge international conventions, while gatherings like the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention are growing in popularity.One lady who has taken her love for comic books and turned it into a business is Ariell Johnson, founder of Philadelphia-based, Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse. We recently chatted with her and this is what she had to say:
How did your love for comic books begin and what is it about them that interests you till this day?
I have always loved fantasy. He-Man, She-Ra and Thundercats were mainstays for me growing up. And it was a cartoon that would launch me into the world of comic books.
The 90’s X-men cartoon that aired on Fox introduced me to Storm, the first Black woman superhero I ever saw, and it was an experience that stayed with me.
She was such a powerful and interesting character and I wanted to learn more about her. I knew she originated in comic books so I figured if I really wanted to know more about her I would need to start reading them.
A friend in high school was also a huge X-men fan and a comic book collector, so my comic reading started there with his collection. I started buying my own comics a little later when I was in college.