World Without Heroes

Growing up in Firebaugh, the local grocery store’s spinner rack was my gateway to comics. They were the 4k upgrade to the 1080p offered by the books at school. Sprinkled in those comics were ads for entire stores devoted to the art of the comic book in far away places like Denver and New York. Could there be anything like that in Fresno? Lucky for me there was Heroes Comics. It was the early 90s and I remember my dad pulling up to the front on one of our many trips to Fresno and letting me go in by myself to check out the “funny books” as he called them. That’s where I met Dave Allread. The irony of the last name didn’t register with me until years down the road, but once it clicked, I couldn’t think of a more fitting name. When I would return home from the 45 minute drive from to Heroes, I wouldn’t go to sleep until every book was all read at least 3 times over. For the past 30 years Heroes Comics has been an institution in Fresno, and upon hearing the news this week that it would closing its doors after being such a big part of my life was tough to process. Unlike in the comics, the ultimate villain known as time is insurmountable and there’s no coming back 6 months from now in a 24-part crossover event, so best to be smart about how we spend the short amount of time we have here. As much as it sucks for Fresno, and selfishly for myself, if anyone deserves a break, it’s Dave. <a href="https://medium.com/@brodiemash/world-without-heroes-b2ff349694c8">Click Here</a>