Greg Bartholomew, owner of All American Comics in Warren and Boardman Tuesday looks through a box of new inventory that recently came into this Warren store. Both stores are closed during Gov. Mike DeWine's "stay at home" order.

COVID-19 did what Lex Luthor and Thanos couldn’t — it knocked out Superman and the Avengers.

Comic book collectors and readers know Wednesday is the day when new editions arrive at local shops, but for the first time in decades, major publishers such as Marvel and DC didn’t ship their new titles. Marvel, at least for now, won’t release the digital versions of those comics.

It’s no April Fool’s joke.

For local comic book dealers, it’s for the best.

With Gov. Mike DeWine’s stay-at-home order, those nonessential businesses are closed. And because the books didn’t ship, store owners don’t have to pay for product they would have a hard time selling.

“It’s the first time something ever happened like this,” said Patrick Dulay, who manages Rainbow Comics in Boardman and has been a comics dealer for 30 years. “You probably won’t see any new books until the end of the month (April).”

Ron Haines, owner of Dead Dale’s Comics and Custom Ts, moved his shop from Bazetta to downtown Cortland at the beginning of the year.

“Until this order came out a couple weeks ago, prior to that I’d had the best sales I’ve had in a year-and-a-half,” Haines said. “Buzz was picking up, people were excited there was a comics store on Main Street and sales were phenomenal. Then we got hit with this coronavirus, and that just killed it.”

Greg Bartholmew, who owns All American Cards and Comics shops in downtown Warren and Boardman, said, “It’s weird times. I think everyone has to have a plan of attack.”

For Bartholomew that means shifting focus to professionally graded vintage comic books that he can sell online through sites such as eBay.

“I own my own building (in Warren), so I don’t have to pay anything but utilities,” he said. “The other store, paying a month or two in rent isn’t going to kill me … If new issues go away for a while, I’ve got more back issues than anyone in the state. I’ve got a ton of that stuff, and the profit margins are higher.”

Haines and Dulay also said they are shifting their attention to online sales. Haines has been satisfied with the response to his recent auctions, but Dulay said he sees prices starting to drop online.

“It’s an item you really don’t need,” Dulay said. “It’s not an essential. It’s entertainment.”

COMIC CON?

Another part of the business being affected by stay-at-home orders is comic book conventions. Bartholmew said he is leaning toward canceling this year’s Youngstown Comic Con, scheduled for June 27 and 28 at the Covelli Centre. Many spring conventions already have been canceled.

Both comic book sellers and the comic book artists who appear at those events depend upon that revenue stream. In addition to lost sales, Haines said he may lose money from non-refundable hotel reservations and other expenses.

“Conventions are another avenue where I can make some money and put it back into the shop by restocking, buying collections,” Haines said. “A lot of small businesses are going to feel that pinch.”

National stories about the impact of the virus on the comics industry have focused on whether shutdowns will drive consumers away from independent shops to digital comics.

Neither Dulay nor Bartholomew see digital comics as a major threat. Collecting is a big part of the hobby, and many of their customers are adults who have been buying books for decades rather than kids who’ve never lived without smartphones, iPads and laptops.

“I’ve never read a comic book online and never will,” Dulay said.

And Bartholmew said, “I don’t know if guys in their late 50s and 60s are saying, ‘What can I put on my Kindle?’ They want to hold it and collect it.”

Physical comic books traditionally are made available before the digital versions are released, and Haines said he is happy that Marvel plans to continue that policy.

“What Marvel is doing is preserving or saving us a little bit from losing customers altogether,” Haines said.