Heroes Comics is a

comic book store The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of: * four major comic distributors: ** Luna ...

operating in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The store won a Harry Kremer comics retailer award at the 2013 Joe Shuster Awards ceremony.

About the store

The store, which is the biggest comic book store in southwestern

, is cited as one of the most successful current retail interests in London's downtown core area. Sixty percent of the store's sales comes from selling comic books, including mainstream,

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s, and

trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...

s. The next largest portion of sales comes from genre collectibles and toys such as

action figure An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...

s, which together account for 25% of sales. The final 15% of sales comes from sports cards. The store's history dates back to 1991, when it was founded by the Robinson family. Ownership changed hands in 2000 when Brahm Wiseman, who was hired as an employee in 1998, took over the company. At the time of the takeover, the store had two outlets: one in the downtown core of the city and a smaller one in White Oaks Mall in the southern part of the city. Wiseman later closed the mall outlet, and in 2008, the remaining store moved to a nearby larger location at 186 Dundas Street. Furthermore, in defiance of the decline of retail businesses in the downtown core, Heroes renovated internally in 2016 to expand with a second floor of retail space in the back. The city has an unusually large number of equivalent retailers in close proximity, due in part to the city's large post-secondary student population including students from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

(whose main library includes a 10,000+ comic book collection in its materials). The competing comic book retailers and the London Public Library collaborate on Free Comic Book Day with local cross-promotions which has grown to become a major popular event for the city downtown's core. In addition to its regular business operations, the business is committed to public affairs. The store is involved in organizations such as London Downtown Business Association and Mainstreet London. The store also participates individually with the London Public Library on events to encourage youth

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

through comics, such as Comic Jam, which is held during March Break. Furthermore, Wiseman has held lectures at the Thames Valley District School Board's

professional development Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning Informal learning is characterized "by a low degree of planning and ...

seminars about the use of the comics medium in education. In 2013, the store was presented with the Harry Kremer Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Retailer, as part of the Joe Shuster Awards in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

References

External links

Official website
Comics retailers in Canada Companies based in London, Ontario {{Canadian-comics-stub