Alliance Comics Provides Childhood Favorites for All

Wolverine, Bart Simpson, Donald Duck, and Spock are few of the residents at 8317 Fenton St. in downtown Silver Spring.

Owned by Gerry and Amy McNeal, Alliance Comics and Games was originally known as Geppi’s Comic World for about 30 years, according to store manager David Dean. A second store, located in Baltimore, opened in 2009.

Since Geppi’s, Alliance has expanded to include t-shirts, action figures, graphic novels and toys to “cater more to pop culture as a whole than just comic books,” said Dean, who first started shopping here as a child in 1994.

With only three employees, including Dean, the store has two levels. A majority of the merchandise is on the main floor, and everything downstairs is discounted. Customers can find a variety of older comic books for $1 or graphic novels for 50 percent off.  

Cameron Miles of Washington, D.C. , often takes advantage of the lounge area downstairs to get his comic book fix. After Fantom Comics in Tenleytown closed in May 2009, Miles, 20, began traveling three stops on the Metro after school to catch up on favorites such as Static Shock and Spiderman.

“I love comic books and all, so that’s why I like coming here,” he said, adding that the comics selection in public libraries is too small.

Although Alliance is the only comic book store in Silver Spring, the store does have competition: Barbarian Comics in Wheaton and Big Planet Comics in Bethesda. However, Dean doesn’t consider them a threat.

 “We’re all fan boys. We’re all in it for the same thing,” he said.

Alliance customers range in age from 7 to 60. However, a majority of the clientele are men in their 30s and 40s, according to Dean.

“Comics have sort of grown with their audience,” he said. “In that time, they were catered more towards kids, and from that point, they just gradually started growing.”

Alliance carries a small selection for children, including The Muppets and The Powerpuff Girls, but the best sellers are seen with X-Men, The Avengers, Spiderman, Batman, and due to television influence, The Walking Dead, according to Dean.

To make sure that customers don’t miss their latest favorite comics, Alliance provides a free subscription system. Customers are assigned numbered boxes. When new books come on Wednesdays, they’re dropped into the boxes so customers are ensured a copy.

John Yankowski of Burtonsville is one of almost 150 people who uses the subscription service. “This is the closet comic bookstore to where we live, and I get the same comics every month – Batman and Nightwing – so it’s just easier for them to pull it off the shelf and walk up, grab it and go,” he said.

 “[Alliance is] great!” Yankowski, a customer of almost nine months, continued. “Every time we come here, they have what we want. I like it a lot.”