Fourcorners Comics offers creative outlet

Art Sanchez was reading one of his brother's Star Wars comic books when he ripped a page. Instead of getting in trouble, his brother bought him one of his own.

It would be Sanchez's first comic book, one that would unravel into 30 years of collecting.

Sanchez recently turned that passion into his own store, Fourcorners Comics, at 42 Baltimore St. in Gettysburg.

"If you look at a map of Maryland and Pennsylvania, there's a big giant hole in this area of comic book stores," Sanchez said.

But with a lot of purchasing ability online, Sanchez knows he can't rely only on his location to draw business and has to differentiate himself from the rest.

With a background in graphic design, Sanchez wants to add that love to his store by setting up drawing tables, art supplies and crafts for customers to embrace their creativity, he said. He also hopes to offer lectures and seminars to the community from comic-book professionals.

Fourcorners Comics sells trade paperbacks, action figures, back issues and new issues of comic books, he said, as well as boxes and bags to keep the books in good condition. Ninety percent of Sanchez's inventory is his own collection. Some items come with a personal attachment that makes them hard to sell, he said, but he is content knowing he is in an environment he loves.

"I'm trying to build a job I can be happy at," Sanchez said. "It's a big risk; I'm putting everything I have into this but it's what I'm passionate about."

Cooper Siegel, a college student in Elizabethtown, was exploring Sanchez's collection of comic books with his parents.

He met them halfway in Gettysburg, as Siegel's parents are from Frederick, MD. His father, Scott, expressed curiosity in some of the shelved comic books, as did Siegel, who reads comic books on occasion, he said.

Sanchez is currently in his soft opening of his store. A grand opening will take place after the winter season, he said, and the store will then be open seven days a week.

If you go

What: Fourcorners comics

Where: 42 Baltimore St., Gettysburg

Hours: Friday, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.