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Zone Comics & Games plans grand reopening to mark rejuvenation

The former Zone Comics at 18107 Dixie Highway in Homewood has two new owners, a new word in the name and a new approach to the business. Co-owners Joe Bullaro and Alex Stritar renamed the store Zone Comics & Games. They plan to have a grand reopening Saturday, Nov. 12, and Sunday, Nov. 13.

  Zone Comics & Games co-owner Joe Bullaro waits on a 
  customer recently. He and his partner, Alex Stritar, are 
  planning a grand reopening celebration at the store 

  this weekend. (Photo by Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
 

The former Zone Comics at 18107 Dixie Highway in Homewood has two new owners, a new word in the name and a new approach to the business.

Co-owners Joe Bullaro and Alex Stritar bought the business in mid-September, renamed it Zone Comics & Games and have been working since to update the comic book offerings and add games into the mix.

The two plan to hold a grand reopening event at the store, 18107 Dixie Highway, Saturday, Nov. 12, and Sunday, Nov. 13, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days, with discounts on products and a comic book signing session.

Bullaro, who has a degree in physics and holds down a day job as an economic analyst, described a vision to make the place as part community center, part store. He said there will soon be new opportunities to use the store as a gathering place, a place to play. 

“We want this to be a community place, a place where people can just come, play games and hang out, where children can do crafts,” he said. “This is a business, obviously, and we’re going to run it as a business, but we also want it to be a place that people enjoy being.”

A Dungeons & Dragons group met at the store a few times, and Bullaro said he hopes the store can provide a dungeon master for episodic games: two-hour self-contained events that won’t require players to show up every week necessarily.

“A lot of people don’t have a group. They don’t have a dungeon master,” he said. “They just want a place where they can go.”

Bullaro said his passion is games, like Pokemon, Force of Will and Yu-Gi-Oh! He said he knows people who drive to New Lenox to play Yu-Gi-Oh!

“We want people coming here for that,” he said.

The owners are in the process of getting in new inventory and plan to diversify the stock. There will be a new emphasis on independent comics, especially those published by Image Comics and Valiant Comics.

He and Stritar also want to support local artists. Unshaven Comics artists Marc Alan Fishman, Matt Wright and Kyle Gnepper will be at the grand reopening event Sunday at noon to talk to fans and sign their work.

The store is planning to carry Unshaven Comics products, Bullaro said.

“I met them at a convention last year, and I really liked what they did,” he said.

He plans to look for more opportunities to feature local artists and to collaborate with other local businesses. Zone’s owners are excited to be in the heart of Homewood just as the downtown area is seeing a boom in new small businesses.

“We’re trying to revitalize this store as homewood’s getting revitalized,” he said. 

Changing the store’s focus has been a big challenge, but he and Stritar have had help from local comics and games enthusiasts.

“We’ve had huge help from the people who come to the store. We couldn’t have been successful without their support,” he said. “They want this to be a place for them to hang out. They want it to succeed.”

  Customers play a game in the back part of the store. 
  Co-owner Joe Bullaro said regular customers have been
  a great help in getting the comic book store rejuvenated.

  

 

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