SL_PeopleDept_0519FINALregion2_Dept 5 / 14 / 19 4 : 32 PM Page 3 billion and $ 820 million , re - people spectively . For those who mull over who was selling books online . the name of Drucker’s business I said , ‘ This guy seems pretty and look for a tie - in to some smart . I’m going to see if I can obscure Marvel or DC refer - sell these [ comic books ] on - ence , they’re going to struggle line . ’ ” to find one . He taught himself how to “ In the biography of George program , built a website , and Eastman , the founder of Kodak , secured a domain name . The he talks about the lengths he site went live on Jan . 1 , 2000 , went to come up with a name at 12 : 01 a.m . He got three or - for Kodak , ” Drucker says . “ He ders the first day . found that K is the least used letter of the al - Over the past 15 years or so , block - “ I was in shock , ” he recalls . “ One order phabet , so a name with the letter K is more busters featuring heroes and villains that was from Laramie , Wyo . , one was from memorable . … There are also three words first came to prominence in comic books Sydney , Australia , and one was from Manhattan . that stick : new , free , and sex . So , that’s have lit up the box office . The most recent , I thought : There is something to this . ” where the name NewKadia came from . ” Avengers : Endgame , made more than $ 2.5 Drucker started with an initial inventory Although John Donaldson hasn’t yet billion in global ticket sales in less than a of approximately 500 comic books and logged on to NewKadia.com , he definitely month in theaters , putting it within spitting slowly expanded from there . His business sees the value in such a site . distance of the all - time record holder , grew along with it . Today , his inventory “ I always liked the hunt , physically going Avatar’s $ 2.9 billion . exceeds 720,000 comic books , including through stacks of comic books and looking While casual observers of the genre those from the so - called Golden Age of for a hidden gem , ” he says . “ At the same might dismiss the audience for comic comic books , circa the 1930s to 1950s . time , there’s something to be said for know - books — and the movies they inspired — as The 66 - year - old Drucker says the business ing exactly what you’re looking for , and legions of nerdy white males , the appeal is has grown every year for the past 18 years . then going out and getting what you want much broader . Last year’s Black Panther , “ The movies have helped , ” he says , re - with a few clicks of the button . That seems featuring a mostly African - American cast , ferring to the spate of big - budget action films to be the way the world is moving . ” earned more than $ 1.3 billion in global featuring beloved characters plucked from If he ever wants to seek out the vintage ticket sales and a Best Picture nomination . the Marvel and DC universes . “ I’d say our horror and sci - fi comic books of his youth Also , Captain Marvel ( 2019 ) and Wonder market is split , but a lot of it comes from to rebuild his old collection , now he knows Woman ( 2017 ) , each film featuring a female people who would say , ‘ I’m trying to recreate ? exactly where to point and click . lead , netted ticket sales of more than $ 1 the collection my mother threw out . ’ ” SUBURBANLIFEMAGAZINE.COM MAY 2019 76 |