The Comic Book Club at Packrat Comics in Marysville meets every Wednesday to discuss whatever is going on in the comic book world. Members started three weeks ago and are looking for ways to involve the community more, like getting together to review comics or having a movie night.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Jacob Runnels)
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Who would win in a fight? Wolverine or the Hulk? And would Wolverine be able to pierce the Hulk’s skin with his adamantium claws?
Topics like these and other “nerd culture” topics are discussed at the Comic Book Club at Packrat Comics in Marysville. The club’s founders, Jonathan Fraker and Chet Reams, created the club to get more people in the community interested in comic books.
“There needs to be a place (in Marysville) where people can discuss comics, comic movies and stuff like that,” Reams said.
They started the club three weeks ago and began by distributing fliers around Marysville and keeping a social media presence. They collaborated with the store’s owners to be able to organize their meetings.
“Topics are chosen based on something that’s happened in (the comic book) universe, such as if a writer has died or if there’s an upcoming movie,” Fraker said.
The club discusses things Fraker and Reams said are within the realm of pop culture, but centered to nerd interests. They said they’re open to talking about anything, ranging from what’s going on in the Marvel universe, to Star Wars and Harry Potter.
They said the meetings are ways to get people to start talking about their interests in comic books, much like a book store would offer an environment for people to talk about their favorite books and writers.
“It’s a way for everyone to get together and talk about what’s going on in the comic (book) universe,” said Teresa Colegrove, one of the owners of the Hilliard Packrat Comics. “It’s a way to share your passion and your enjoyment of comics and the cinematic world with other fans.”
Reams and Colegrove said the meetings are ways to get people “out of their comfort zones” when discussing these topics by moving the conversation from the internet to the real world. They said, often, there is more incentive online to be less sincere and to adopt a “troll” behavior, discouraging others from participating in a conversation.
Fraker and Reams said they want to invite more of the community to join the meetings, but their attendance has been usually around three members per meeting.
Fraker said he’s working on ways to increase advertising, and Reams said he’s working on organizing a movie night and to get people to review comic books with them.
Reams said they chose to meet on Wednesdays, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., because that’s when the shop receives its new orders of comic books.
For the future, they said they want to expand their club to the Hilliard Packrat Comics location as well as grow their numbers.