Filmed and edited by Lisha Arino
lishaarino [at] gmail.com
1) - Bulletproof Comics has been giving Brooklyn comic book geeks their fix since 1992. Find out why the employees and regulars think the store is so special and see what Bulletproof is like on ones of its busiest days.
2) - For the staff and regulars at Bulletproof Comics, one word gets echoed a lot when talking about the store: community. Employees know customers by name, and many from around the neighborhood come in to hang out.
The store, located on Nostrand Avenue near Brooklyn College, has been giving comic book geeks their fix since 1992. Since then, the store has expanded into video games, collectible cards and skateboard equipment, a move said owner Hank Kwon, that has kept the store going all these years. He said that comic books today are fighting a losing battle against video games and the Internet for kids’ attention spans.
Still, Wednesdays – the day comics are released – are still one of Bulletproof’s busiest days. Customers pop in throughout the day, eager to get their hands on the latest issues of their favorite titles. But many linger. Predictably, they talk about story arcs and characters, but many simply hang out to chat about life, play a video games or to catch a glimpse of what’s playing on one of the two flatscreen TVs in the main area of the store.
Watch the video above, and step into the store to see what a typical Wednesday afternoon looks like.
3) - a compelling headline and subhead that are SEO optimized plus at least 5 tags
4) - Deryck Nimblett: I started coming here, the same reason I wanted to work here: comic books. I love comic books.
It's very family-ish. It's like a brotherhood almost. Guys that work here almost seem the same as guys that don't work here, 'cause everyone's just --
Customer: [Interrupting] I don't know what he's talking about!
Deryck: pals around the entire time.
Will Caban: I recently moved from the Bronx to Brooklyn two years ago and ever since that time, I just casually happened to be walking by to get the bus, and I said "Oh! It's a haven for me. It's an actual real comic book store here.
The staff is very friendly. They know me by name, that's a very, very good thing to say about them.
Chris: You know, have you read that first "Hulk" book?
Will: Yea
Chris: That looks good.
Will: I don't know where they're going with Banner's direction
Chris: I like it!
Will: He look like a mad scientist, man! He's like [gestures]
Will [interview]: They recognize their customers and their selection is very broad.
Hank Kwon: Ya know, women watch soap operas. Men like to read comic books because that's their soap opera. And they all gather to comic book stores on Wednesday to buy the comics and they just geek out.
Adam Penza: I myself, I've been working here for about two and a half years. I can definitely say that a lot of people, as soon as they walk in, they start smiling and stuff. It's a place to get your mind off things. It's a really cool environment.
Deryck: No one's not nerdy enough or too nerdy to come to the store. If you don't know something, we're happy to tell you or explain it to you. But there's none of that elitist attitude that you get in some places. Everyone's welcome.
5) - at least three suitable links to the subject, story or theme from other sources
Bulletproof Comic's website:
bulletproofcomix.com/
Comic Book Resources: comicbookresources.com/
The Comics Reporter:
comicsreporter.com/
The Beat: The News Blog of Comic Book Culture:
comicsbeat.com/
6) - One of the biggest challenges during filming was gathering all the customer interactions. At the store's busiest points in the day, multiple conversations went on at once, making it hard to focus on one conversation, sound-wise. The volume of the TV screens in the front and the buses that rolled by outside didn't make the task easier (even if I closed the door!).
As a result, I missed one of the coolest things I've heard in a long time: a customer used two of his comic books to buy a house.
He said that it was a first issue of Superman and Fantastic Four. Because of their value -- another copy of the Superman issue set a world record when it was sold at auction for $1.5 million in 2010 -- he paid a pretty penny for those books. But in time, their value accrued and when the bank asked for collateral, he showed them those two issues, and he got a new home.
Isn't that incredible?! Where can I get me one of those?