Retail Therapy: Five Years This Comic Book Day

Steve Anderson writes;

5 years ago, my wife and I were two kids barely in our mid-20s who dreamed of opening a comic book store. And, we did — on Free Comic Book Day 2008.

5 years later — and our dream has grown in ways we could've never guessed.

My name is Steve Anderson, and I'm the owner and founder of Third Eye Comics, along with my wife Trish. We've watched as our humble comic shop has gone from a tiny operation into one of the premiere comic book stores in the world.

In the last five years, we've gone from a tiny 800sqf storefront to a multi-store operation with our Annapolis, MD store expanding into a 5,000+sqf space just last year.

We've watched rising star talents like Kurtis J. Wiebe, Jerry & Penelope Gaylord, Joe Keatinge, Riley Rossmo, Charles Soule, Gerry Duggan, Kevin Mellon, Justin Jordan, Tradd Moore, Joe Harris, Sam Humphries, Jim Zub, and countless others go through our doors as they've launched exciting new projects at Third Eye.

We've brought comic and media superstars like Brian Posehn, Blair Butler, Tim Seeley, Nick Spencer and many others through the store to celebrate their projects.

Our stores and our staff have expanded as the years have gone by, and I'm confident when I say we have one of the best teams working with us in comics retail. We've worked hard to find our crew that share the passion and vision for comics and retail that we do, and I'm proud of each of them.

Now, as I'm officially stepping into my 30s, and the store hits it's landmark 5th anniversary, I can only say this: nothing makes me happier than waking up in the morning and turning someone onto their next favorite series. It's the same feeling I had when I worked the counter in a shop growing up, it's the same feeling I had when I first opened Third Eye, and I'm proud to say it's as strong as ever.

So, why am I writing this? I want you to visit my stores.

I want you to stop by the Third Eye booth at a convention, and say hi.

I want to meet people from all over the world who're passionate enough about comics that they take the time to follow them as closely as the readership on our favorite blogs and sites do.

I want to share the magic of community and discovery that you can only find in the walls of your favorite local comic shop.

And, this Saturday, is the perfect chance to see what Third Eye can do: Free Comic Book Day 2013 x Five Years of Third Eye.

If you're even remotely close to the DC/MD/VA area, pop by, and see us. :)

We've got a ton of fun stuff happening, and an all-star roster of creator guests, including our special guest GAIL SIMONE.