Alternate Reality: Where Comic Books Are Just the Start

An avid fan of the television series “Adventures of Superman,” young Davis saw a Superman poster at a drugstore and realized that tales of the superhero he watched on TV were available in comic book form.

“I badgered my grandfather to buy the comic book for me,” Davis said. His love for comic books grew and now, he’s the owner of Alternate Reality, Mt. Greenwood’s source for all things comic.

Davis’ store, which teems with books, posters, t-shirts, action figures and more from wall to wall, opened in 1994 because “the area was being underserved for comic books,” he said. “Oak Lawn had a shop, Alsip had a shop; the South Side of Chicago proper didn’t really have anything.”

Alternate Reality now has customers from toddlers to senior citizens. “Our median age is mid 20s to late 40s,” Davis said. “We cover a lot of bases.”

Davis’ favorite thing about owning a small business in Mt. Greenwood is that “it’s a community of families…It’s important for all businesses in the area to work together and support each other.” Davis is also a  board member on the Mt. Greenwood Chamber of Commerce.

The Good Grades Club is one way of Alternate Reality supporting the community.

“If you have a grade schooler in the Chicagoland area, bring in their report card,” Davis said. Each A earns the student 2 percent off and each B is 1 percent off. The discount, up to 25 percent off, applies for the duration of the year.

With the rise of online comics and an overall decline in the publishing industry, Davis says the tangible nature of comic books works in their favor.

“You should buy comics because you enjoy them, not because you’re going to retire off them,” Davis said. “Magazines and print don’t have that collectible aspect. Comic books aren’t disposable. It may be one of the saving graces.”