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Cashman's Comics / Collectibles
John Cashman with many of the
collectibles at Cashman's Comics
Review Photo By Mark Leffler
by Mark R. Leffler
John Cashman, owner of Bay City's Cashman's Comics, located at 1018
Madison, is not your average comic store owner, if such a thing even
exists. Unlike most other comic storeowners who got into the business
after a childhood collecting Spiderman, Batman and X-Men, John was a
superhero toy collector as a lad. The 1970's MEGO action figures were his
first love.
In the past four years Cashman has taken that passion for collectibles and
forged a business that is the only remaining comic shop in Bay City after
the boom and glut years of the late 80's and early 90's. His shop is a
funky mix of comics, action figures, trading cards, and the usual
assortment of
comic and card collector paraphernalia, with a few lava lamps and a pinball
machine thrown into the mix.
Recalling those childhood years collecting MEGO action figures still brings
a smile.
"I still remember being in Kresge's and seeing them", he says. He began
collecting action figures and Cashman's Comics stocks a variety of current
action figures ranging from WCW characters to promotions for this summer's
blockbuster X-Men movie.
The trend of collecting as an investment saddens him a little. Kids buying
Pokemon cards or Sammy Sosa rookie cards and sealing them in a bank vault
is not his idea of having fun with your hobby. "I'm a firm believer that
you should play with your toys. The investment thing is sickening."
He also points out that most kids today don't buy comics... they're more
apt to stop in to buy candy, Pokemon merchandise or trading and role
playing cards.
"I was a reader and a collector before I became a retailer and I try to
remember that. How did I want to be treated?" Cashman credits that
sensibility for allowing him to outlast other comics shops that opened
during the boom years of the mid-90's.
"When I opened as Cashman's Comics in 1996 there were five other shops in
Bay City. Now I'm the only one." Part of the success he credits to having a
father who worked in retail. His father was an international buyer for
K-Mart in the 1970's.
It was his father's globetrotting lifestyle that found John in Hong Kong
at 13, playing drums in a bar band and having experiences that could make
Keith Richards blush. A drummer since the age of seven, he still loves
playing, and is currently active with three bands, including Round and a
Distant Few and Sticky Fingers (a Rolling Stones retrospective show).
Cashman worked for three years for Doug Stefaniak, who started the business
that is now Cashman's Comics. In 1996, with a new bride Susanne, a baby
girl Savannah, and having recently bought a house, he completed a "total
life change" by buying the comic shop.
One of the changes he made was to shrink the workforce. "There were four or
five people working here before I bought the shop. When I started I was
here every day. And I still am. 98% of the time when you come to my shop
you're dealing with the owner and operator."
And as a businessman he learned how to part with cherished items from his
own collections. "I don't fall in love with this stuff the way I used
to." He usually offers customers a twenty percent discount from book value
on collectors items. "I want customers to walk out happy."
Online since 1998, the internet has opened up a new world of possibilities.
He has his own web site (email him for the link) and has sold comics via
the web to collectors from Paris, France to Vincovci, Croatia. Collectors
can email him at: cashmanscomics@aol.com.
Back when the store was known as #1 Comics they began buying and selling
used CDs, which Cashman's Comics continues to carry. Used CDs bring between
$2-4, but he prefers customers to trade two of their used CDs in good
condition for one of his. While he doesn't buy vinyl records, he will look
at "almost anything".
Like most other comics shops there is a variety of merchandise for sale
beyond the thousands of back issues of comics. A glance around the shop
reveals t-shirts (Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Marvel and DC characters),various
TV and movie tie-ins (Star Trek, Aliens, Yellow Submarine), trading cards,
magazines and protective sleeves for storing comics and magazines.
"It's still fun seeing kids experience things for the first time. I watch
them grow up. Some of them started as freshmen reading "Spiderman" and now
they're reading more mature comics like "Preacher".
His inventory is divided into separate areas: a superhero section with
mostly DC and Marvel titles, a section above the reach of little ones with
more mature, non-hero comics and TV and movie adaptations (Insane Clown
Posse has a comic that comes with a CD) and a section featuring comics
related to TV cartoons, especially those found on Cartoon Network (Johnny
Bravo,
Powerpuff Girls, Space Ghost).
Baby boomers who grew up playing pinball will be thrilled by the working
machine in a corner of the store. Harry's Amusements provides the machines,
rotating them every so often. Recently a vintage William's "Police Force"
game was in the store, offering up three balls per game, a quarter a game.
With the clatter of the bumpers and the flickering lights, even non-Pinball
Wizards can have a blast from the past.
Cashman's Comics, 1018 South Madison, Bay City, MI. Hours: Monday through
Friday Noon until 7 p.m., Saturday 11 am until 7 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. until 3
p.m. Phone: (517) 895-1113
Email: CASHMANSCOMICS@aol.com
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