Hits and Misses features comic retailers sharing what’s working in their shop as well as the roadblocks they’ve been running into.
In some ways, Lima, Ohio’s Alter Ego Comics is a pretty typical comic shop. According to the shop’s owner, Marc Bowker, their top product lines are new comics, graphic novels, comic supplies, back issues, and manga, and it’s a formula he continues to find success with, as sales were up 20% in 2025. But Alter Ego is unique in that they’re more than just a comic shop; they’re a retail destination.
The 2,200 square foot shop resides in a three-story building owned by Bowker and his wife Angie, one they’ve turned into a multi-use retail space that also includes a tattoo parlor, recording studio, and bourbon bar. The hope wasn’t just to build a comic shop but a home for like-minded businesses, one where the showcase piece was Alter Ego, a store designed to welcome readers of all varieties.
They’ve succeeded in that mission, but it’s been a long journey in getting there, one that started back in 2003 with an online store, AlterEgoComics.com. Bowker originally sold comics and collectibles there and he managed it while working as the marketing director of Lima’s Chamber of Commerce. After 18 months of growth, Bowker decided to focus on the business full-time while expanding into a brick-and-mortar store, one with a greater emphasis on comics, as he’s a lifelong fan of the medium. It opened in June 2005, and for the past 21 years, Alter Ego has been the community’s only comic shop.
The formula isn’t much different today than it was when the brick-and-mortar store first opened, even if its location changed when they bought the building it resides in now. While the online store is still a core part of the business, as it maintains its focus on high-end collectibles like Hot Toys, Bowker’s heart is in the shop, just like it has been since they first opened.
Bowker loves what he does and has found success in the two-plus decades the shop has existed, but he readily admits that run has come with its fair share of hits and misses.
Hit: Buying, Not Renting
When Alter Ego first opened its brick-and-mortar location, it was in an 800-square-foot rental with a basement that offered space for back issues, gaming, and inventory, amongst other things. It was a nice start but given that they operated both the physical and online sides out of it, they quickly ran into challenges.
“We had a very narrow hallway that connected the store floor to our back room, and there were days that the hallway was just jam packed with action figures that we had to ship out,” Bowker said. “We figured out pretty quickly that we were outgrowing the space.”
Alter Ego needed a new home, and this time, Bowker wanted something more permanent.
“The idea was that this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life, so it made more sense to buy a building and have control over my own destiny,” Bowker said.
He needed something that didn’t just offer a retail space but enough room for the online store’s shipping and receiving efforts. They found it in a three-story building on Lima’s main street, and ownership has given them the control they might not have had otherwise.
“Rather than renting and having to renegotiate leases or maybe having to move, we’ve been in the same location for 16 years,” Bowker said.
It’s allowed Alter Ego to become an anchor of Lima’s downtown area, especially as they brought in other businesses to make the building even more appealing.
“If you can have a mixed-use space, it creates a cool vibe and people are coming to you not only as a destination for comics, but as a retail destination,” Bowker said.
Ownership comes with its own challenges. If there’s a leak or a pipe bursts, it’s on the owner to fix that. But it’s proven to be worth it, as it’s allowed Bowker to turn Alter Ego into the comic shop of his dreams.
Hit/Miss: Not Wanting More
A few years after Alter Ego’s physical location debuted, Bowker expanded by opening a kiosk at Lima’s mall during the holiday season, one he manned entirely on his own.
“It was a disaster,” Bowker said. “It was such a waste, but more a waste of time than a waste of money.”
It was such a negative experience that it turned Bowker against the idea of ever expanding, even if he still daydreams about opening other locations in underserved areas of Ohio. There’s a part of him that feels selfish for not wanting more for Alter Ego. But he’s pragmatic about it, as he recognizes the challenges that would come with expansion.
“Who’s going to have to open that store and run that store in the beginning? Me,” Bowker said. “And having the dot com site plus the brick-and-mortar store is almost like having two different locations because we’re dealing with two different types of products.”
That’s why this is both a hit and a miss for Bowker. He recognizes that another Alter Ego location could bring more profit, but the kiosk experience helped him realize it isn’t for him.
“Many people excel at multiple locations, Bowker said. “But I am happy making my single location the best location I can make it.”
Another plus is it has allowed him to maintain a healthier work-life balance, something many retailers struggle with.
“When we opened in 2005, my kids were six and four. My youngest wasn’t even born yet,” Bowker said. “As they got a little older, I would think about the time opening a second location would take away from them. That wasn’t a price that I was willing to pay.”
Miss: Knowing What to Sell
While Alter Ego is first and foremost a comic book shop, Bowker has experimented with many other products, including board games, Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon cards, HeroClix, Dungeons & Dragons, and more.
“We’ve tried lots of different product lines in the past,” Bowker said. “And many of them have been misses.”
Determining which products to carry has been an ongoing struggle for Bowker, as many lines have come and gone during the shop’s run. While some miss for reasons outside their control, like when a game store opened in Lima and siphoned that side of the business away, the limiting factors were often much more mysterious.
“Probably the biggest miss was LEGO,” Bowker said. “We carried LEGO for two years. The margins are garbage, and it still took months to move at 50% off. I don’t know what I did wrong with that, but that was a big miss.”
Part of that may have been competition, as Bowker recognizes that big-box stores carry those products at lower prices. But it isn’t always other businesses operating in similar spaces that limit products.
“I know other stores have done well with Squishables, so we tried them for the first time back in 2012. We were way too early on it and phased them out,” Bowker said. “We tried it again probably in 2022, but they’re just not worth the space.”
While there are occasional success stories, like Blokees, which are LEGO-like action figures that strangely have outsold both LEGO and action figures in the store, knowing which additional products to carry has been a consistent challenge. But it’s also helped Bowker find a formula that works.
“Leaning into what you do instead of trying to find the next big thing has served me well, especially the last two years with the introduction of the Absolute line and DC Compact Comics,” Bowker said. “We’re seeing more younger customers come in and having a better selection of comics is better than bringing in all these sidelines that eat up inventory and cash flow.”
Hit: Building a Community
“The way to build a shop that stands the test of time is to do lots of community events,” Bowker said.
That’s one of his core beliefs, and something he’s built Alter Ego around from the beginning. It’s even why Bowker bought a building just four blocks from the shop’s original location, as he wanted to keep Alter Ego nearby, helping customers and fellow businesses recognize it as a key part of Lima’s downtown.
“You go to most downtowns, and you’ve got most things that you need within walking distance,” Bowker said. “That was very appealing to me.”
Once they moved into their permanent location on Main Street, Bowker leaned into that appeal by inviting neighboring businesses to participate in Free Comic Book Day, even shutting down the block they’re on to make it feel bigger.
“We were collaborating with other businesses,” Bowker said. “That was just a game changer.”
It made Free Comic Book Day an event for the entire town, bringing in customers that might have missed it otherwise. Alter Ego even made sure it was worth it for other businesses by stuffing every Free Comic Book Day bag with a map that guided customers to participating locations, including a diner that offered free scoops of Superman ice cream and a restaurant that had a superhero-themed martini flight.
“There’s a lot of potential in having other businesses within walking distance that you can collaborate with,” Bowker said.
While Free Comic Book Day hasn’t been as significant since the pandemic, Bowker continues to team up with his neighbors, including acting as the local library’s resource for manga and previously hosting monthly geek trivia nights at the bar next door. Building a community has been essential to the shop’s success, and it’s helped Alter Ego become a staple for shoppers in downtown Lima.
Miss: Keeping Your Eye on the Ball
At its peak, Alter Ego had three full-time employees and a couple part-timers, which was important because Bowker has always tried to make it to his kids’ after-school activities. Trusting those employees to handle their work allowed him to do that, but it also taught him an important lesson.
“I had to have people in the shop if I wasn’t here, so I started delegating some responsibilities, like ordering,” Bowker said. “I thought that we were on the same page, but we were not on the same page, and it took a little while for me to catch these things.”
That includes when Alter Ego still carried board games and an employee ordered far too much inventory, much of which they struggled to sell. While they were doing what they thought was right, they broke a cardinal rule of ordering in Bowker’s mind.
“You learn as a comic shop owner to separate what you love from what’s actually selling,” Bowker said. “But the guy that was ordering got a little carried away and was bringing stuff in that he shouldn’t have been ordering.”
There are other examples, including a staff member who Bowker believed was a hard worker, and they were, but unfortunately, they were using a store computer to work hard at an entirely different job. It’s been difficult to find the right balance, but as much as he wants to trust his staff, these experiences made him realize something important.
“Don’t take your eye off the ball as a store owner. Everybody needs oversight,” Bowker said. “You’re not there to be friends with your staff. You’re there to make sure that your business is showing a profit and is going to be around 10 years from now.”
Hit: Engaging With Your Peers
Every comic shop has its own customers and its own way of doing things, but Bowker has long believed retailers can, and should, learn from one another.
“Being able to interact and ask questions and get advice really helps,” Bowker said.
Connecting with other retailers has helped Alter Ego, as Bowker has leaned on his peers when he needs advice and even turned to other shops when a customer is looking for something he doesn’t have in stock. That’s why he believes ComicsPRO is an organization that every new store should join, although you might expect him to say that given that he’s on its current board. He promises it isn’t bias that’s fueling that recommendation, though.
“Being part of an organization like ComicsPRO and being able to meet face to face and develop friendships with other retailers has been a game changer,” Bowker said. “Right now, ComicsPRO is the best way to network with other retailers and find resources and information.”
Those types of organizations have evolved over the years, as Bowker said retailers used to commiserate on the Delphi Forums as part of the Comic Book Industry Alliance or at Diamond Comic Distributors’ retailer conferences. There have long been places for comic shop owners to connect with one another, if they so desire. But no matter if the connection is made at an event, in an organization, online, or while you’re traveling, Bowker believes engaging with your peers is crucial to figuring out how to become a better comic shop, and that most retailers are willing to help.
“The lion’s share of the people that I’ve met in comics retail are good people. They want you to succeed. They’re not afraid to share what works for them and what hasn’t worked for them. It’s not gatekeep-y,” Bowker said. “We’re all in this together to make the strongest industry that we can.”
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