\n a friendly one, but the city hasn\u2019t always been a friend to comic
\n book shops. Earlier this year, on Feb. 3, the
\n Sacramento City
\n Council<\/a> repealed a
\n 1949 ordinance that limited the selling and distribution of comic
\n books to minors. The ordinance, Section 9.12.010, specifically
\n referred to comics featuring crimes, which cut off most of that
\n era\u2019s most popular series, including Action Comics (home of
\n Superman), Detective Comics (Batman), Wonder Woman and many
\n others.\n<\/p>\n
\n The ordinance hadn\u2019t been
\n actively enforced in decades and is now officially off the books,
\n leaving Sacramento\u2019s children and teens free to peruse the aisles
\n of superhero comics at local stores like Empire\u2019s Comics Vault,
\n Comics & Collectibles and JLA Comics. But local shop owners and
\n artists say that there are still plenty of challenges in the
\n comic world.\n<\/p>\n
\n One comic shop owner in \n \u200b \n JLA Comics owner Lecho Lopez reads a copy of \u201cGeiger,\u201d at the \n \u201cOne of the things I think people \n Schwartz says one of the biggest \n \u201cIf people come in and they \n One of the biggest changes shops Related:\u00a0Is This the \n \u201cThey were the only game in town, \n Pam Farley, owner of Photos: Not Just a Hobby: Amid a \n In the near 30 years since, Building a community \n In terms of what comics are \n Schwartz of Empire\u2019s Comics Vault \n \u201cThe girls seem to be reading \n \n Comics and longboxes on display at JLA Comics.(Photo by Jacob \n Independent titles and those \n \u201cThere\u2019ve been a couple of new \n Beyond selling books and Related:\u00a0Pop \n Farley says that in addition to \n This relationship goes two ways \n \u201cMy husband was always surprised Collaborating with \n Comic book stores also create a \n \u201cThe guy who owns that spot, Joe \n Schwartz of Empire\u2019s Comics Vault \n \u201cWhen I finally opened the shop,
\n Sacramento who is very familiar with these realities is Ben C.
\n Schwartz, who opened his Arden Arcade store, Empire\u2019s Comics
\n Vault<\/a>, in 2003. While
\n he\u2019s a lifelong comic fan and loves his work, he says that it\u2019s
\n not something to be taken on lightly.\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_2580.jpg\" "\\"JLA")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n main counter, 374 Florin Road. (Photo by Jacob Peterson)\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n don\u2019t understand is that there\u2019s a romanticized version of what
\n it\u2019s like to run a comic book store,\u201d Schwartz says. \u201cAt the end
\n of the day, it\u2019s still a job, and it\u2019s actually more than just a
\n job because you own your own business.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n challenges to running the store was keeping people engaged,
\n getting them in the store and getting them to come back. Arguably
\n the most difficult aspect is managing his store\u2019s inventory to
\n meet customer demands.\n<\/p>\n
\n consistently can never find what they\u2019re looking for, then
\n they\u2019re going to go somewhere else,\u201d Schwartz says. \u201cAnd if they
\n go to the other shop and they find it, they might not come back
\n here.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n worldwide have had to deal with came when major publishers like
\n Marvel, DC and Image chose to stop working with Diamond Comic
\n Distributors in 2020. JLA Comics owner Lecho Lopez, who opened
\n his store in the Pocket-Greenhaven neighborhood in 2024, says
\n that while it was more work to deal with multiple distributors,
\n it was still an improvement compared to his experience with
\n Diamond.\n<\/p>\n
\n Last DVD Rental Store in the Sacramento Region?<\/a><\/p>\n
\n so when we let them know, \u2018The 1-in-50\u2019s messed up, the
\n 1-in-100\u2019s messed up,\u2019 they would say, \u2018Here\u2019s a refund for it,\u2019
\n but we would still have a customer who requested them here,\u201d
\n Lopez says, referring to the variant copies that retailers can
\n request for 1 or 2 percent of their order, usually featuring
\n alternate covers done by different artists. \u201cWhen I had the
\n chance to work with someone other than Diamond, I took it
\n because, yeah, they were a little more expensive, but all my
\n books were getting here on time.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Comics &
\n Collectibles<\/a>, says her
\n shop has had to routinely make adjustments to its offerings.
\n Comics & Collectibles originally opened in 1986, but Farley and
\n her husband, Gene, who died in 2023, took ownership in
\n 1998.\n<\/p>\n
\n surge in card collecting, a few shops still survive in the
\n Capital Region<\/a><\/p>\n
\n Farley says they\u2019ve survived by making the necessary changes when
\n times get tough. \u201cWhen we first bought the store, Beanie Babies
\n and Pogs were still around,\u201d Farley says. \u201cYou have to go with
\n the needs of the marketplace, go with the opportunities that are
\n open to you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n around comics<\/p>\n
\n selling, all three owners noted that one of biggest changes in
\n recent years has been what books are being bought and who is
\n buying them.\n<\/p>\n
\n says that while the majority of readers he sees are in their 30s,
\n he recently noticed an uptick in younger readers. He credits this
\n to parents who read comics sharing them with their kids and notes
\n that nearly 75 percent of these young readers are girls.\n<\/p>\n
\n more,\u201d he says. \u201cSome of it is superhero stuff too, but a lot of
\n it is just slice-of-life, which a lot of them gravitate
\n to.\u201d\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_2563.jpg\" "\\"Comics")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n Peterson)\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n outside of the superhero genre have also seen an increased
\n presence on store shelves. Farley of Comics & Collectibles says
\n that while Marvel books still make up the biggest portion of her
\n store\u2019s book sales, independent titles are selling very
\n well.\n<\/p>\n
\n books this month from Image that sold out instantly, \u2018White Sky\u2019
\n and \u2018D\u2019Orc,\u2019\u201d Farley says. \u201cIt sounds funny, but it came out
\n yesterday, and I went to reorder it, and it had already gone to a
\n second printing the day it came out.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n merchandise, Farley, Schwartz and Lopez each say they want to
\n build a community around their stores that feels welcoming to
\n anyone who steps inside.\n<\/p>\n
\n Culture Cons Fight for Attention in the Capital Region<\/a><\/p>\n
\n hosting events, she has also reached out to local schools about
\n donations and fundraisers. \u201cWe\u2019ve kind of evolved into a third
\n space for the community, which is something that has been really
\n important to us,\u201d she says. \u201cWe love our neighborhood, we grew up
\n here, and want to be a part of and give back to this
\n community.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n as well. When Farley\u2019s late husband was struggling with cancer
\n before his death, she says it meant a lot to both of them when
\n their customers came together to support the couple during the
\n difficult time.\n<\/p>\n
\n that people were sending him letters,\u201d she says, remembering that
\n he said, \u201c\u2018I just thought I was the comic book guy.\u2019 He was here
\n six days a week for a million years, and he built a community and
\n he built a legacy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n creators<\/p>\n
\n place for writers and illustrators of the future to find their
\n path. Manuel Martinez, a freelance illustrator who moved to
\n Sacramento in 2020, says he first realized he could become a
\n professional artist by going to his local comic book shop,
\n Atlantis Fantasyworld in Santa Cruz.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ferrera, I can officially call him a friend,\u201d Martinez says.
\n \u201cYears later, when I wanted to be an artist, that same guy took
\n me around to different editors that he knew because he had been
\n in the business so long.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n has also collaborated with various creators who\u2019ve come to his
\n store, publishing comics through his own publishing label,
\n Continuum Press. He says it was after opening the store that he
\n was inspired to pursue creating comics.\n<\/p>\n
\n I met a ton of people, there were local artists and writers,\u201d
\n Schwartz says. \u201cI was like, \u2018Why am I not doing this now, why are
\n we not putting this together?\u2019 And so I hooked up with a bunch of
\n writers and artists, and we started building something.\u201d\n<\/p>\n