Longtime Brandon comic book shop owner retiring; Eye Opener Book Store changing hands

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This article was published 17/07/2017 (3181 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The longtime keeper of Brandon’s comic book culture, Ray Baker, is stepping down.

Even so, comic book fans don’t need to worry too hard. A new owner, Scott Bradley, is taking over Eye Opener Book Store and intends on keeping new comic books flowing in the Wheat City.

Now 80 years of age, Baker said that now felt like the right time to step down.

“I’m tired,” he said with a friendly chuckle. “It’s time to retire.”

Ray joined wife Phyllis in purchasing what was then a paperback exchange bookstore in 1981.

Accompanying their purchase of paperbacks was a collection of used comic books, which ushered in wave after wave of kids keen on trading in their comics for ones they hadn’t read.

Kids soon began asking the Bakers to carry new comics, which they began doing by the mid-1980s, around which time the business shifted a couple buildings over to their current space at 314 10th St.

Since then, not much has changed at the comic book and paperback shop, where comic book fans gather during “New Comic Book Wednesday” every other week to read about the latest exploits of caped crusaders and super-powered heroes.

In addition to day-to-day one-off sales, Baker sets aside subscriptions for approximately 150 customers to ensure they don’t miss an issue.

Whereas Phyllis was a regular fixture at the comic book and paperback shop during its early days, Ray has been the more frequent friendly face behind the register during recent years after retiring as partner of the local Meyers Norris Penny several years ago.

During the couple’s decades-long run at Eye Opener Book Store, Ray said that he has seen various local comic book stores open and shutter.

He said that it hasn’t been a big money-maker, but has both provided him with something to do in recent years and a community of comic book fans to keep happy with a steady supply of titles.

The new owner takes over the shop on Aug. 1, and Baker said that he planned on sticking around for a while to help the new owner ease into the position, but that afterward it’ll be out of his hands.

While he’s leaving with a heavy heart, he said that it’s the right thing to do at this time.

He doesn’t have any immediate plans for his second, and finally complete, retirement, other than spending some quality time at home with his wife.

Bradley said he has been a lifelong comic book fan and past frequenter of Eye Opener Book Store, and that when he saw it was up for sale he simply knew he had to buy it.

“It’s important that every town has a local comic book shop, so I just want to keep it and grow it,” he said.

Already a full-time comic book salesman via online outlets eBay and Amazon, Bradley also sells his own unique comic book bags under the brand name Aegis Guru, which he has manufactured in China to include a resealable strip on the back that eliminates the need for tape.

He said that he doesn’t plan on changing Eye Opener Book Store too much to begin with, but that into the longer term he hopes to expand both the store’s comic book and paperback selection, as well as introduce more “nerd culture” material.

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB