User:VincentCS104/sandbox1

Sandbox 1

Heroes Comics is a comic book retail store operating in London, Ontario, Canada. The store won a Harry Kremer comics retailer award at the 2013 Joe Shuster Awards ceremony.

About the store
The business is the biggest comic book store in southwestern Ontario and is cited as one of the most successful retail interests in London's downtown core area. It sells comic books (Mainstream, manga and alternative) including graphic novels and trade paperbacks (60% of sales), sports cards (15%) and toys (especially action figures) and genre collectibles (25%).

The store was founded in 1991 by the Robinson family. It is currently owned by Brahm Wiseman (who was hired on in 1998) since 2000 when the store had two outlets: one in the downtown core of the city and a smaller one in White Oaks Mall in the southern part of the city. Later, Wiseman closed the mall outlet. In 2008, the store moved to a nearby larger location at 186 Dundas St.

Considering the city's size, London has an unusually large number of equivalent retailers in close proximity because of the city's large post-secondary student population (Which includes that of the University of Western Ontario, whose main library includes a 10,000+ comic book collection in its materials ) and technology workers. The store works closely with its retail competitors on Free Comic Book Day with local cross-promotions.

In addition to its regular business operations, the business is deeply committed to public affairs, such as being a board member of local organizations such as the London Downtown Business Association and Mainstreet London. The store participates with the London Public Library on events to encourage youth literacy through comics, such as Comic Jam which is held during March Break. Furthermore, Wiseman has held lectures at the Thames Valley District School Board's professional development seminars about the use of the comics medium in education.

In 2013, the store was presented with the Harry Kremer Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Retailer, as part of the Joe Shuster Awards in Toronto.