After 5: Action! Comedy! Adventure!

So, he traded his chocolate cake for the comic book and, “It just snowballed from there,” says the 43-year-old video producer at Missouri State University.

Rowland is one of many avid comic book collectors among the local professional ranks. At his peak, Rowland owned several thousand issues. He’s sold some issues, however, in the last two years to begin collecting original comic artwork, of which he now has about 25 pieces.

“The art actually always interested me at least as much as the stories,” says Dennis Budd, another of Springfield’s big-time collectors.

Budd is a Springfield municipal court judge by day and comic book fan by night.

Budd’s collection of 10,000 comic books includes issues dating from the 1940s. The 59-year-old began reading comics as a 5-year-old living on a rural Missouri farm, buying Disney, Looney Tunes and Tarzan comics from drug stores and five-and-dimes. At age 8, he had a subscription to Tom and Jerry, and by fifth grade, he was following the adventures of Batman, Superman, Flash and Green Lantern.

Budd’s interest in comic books even led him to open a store in the 1970s in Springfield called Duckburg Books and Comics, named for the fictional hometown of his favorite character, Disney’s Uncle Scrooge.

Comic books have a universal appeal, says Jordan Trombetta, owner of two Games Comics Etc. stores, 2746 S. Campbell Ave. and 1615 W. Highway 76 in Branson. Trombetta’s prototypical customer is a 26-year-old male, but he sells comics to young and old alike.

He also says nearly half of his business comes from professionals, including business owners, architects and corporate administrators.

“It’s not something for poor people or rich people,” Trombetta says. “It cuts across both lines. People who love the industry are in all walks of life.”

Games Comics Etc., established in 2002, gets a couple hundred titles in each week, and Trombetta says that comics account for half of his store’s sales. Most current comics have a $2.50 to $3.50 cover price, though discounts are available for subscribers.

DC Comics’ Countdown to Final Crisis and Marvel Publishing’s World War Hulk are two popular current titles, Trombetta says.

While most of Games Comics Etc.’s sales come from new comics, Trombetta also deals in vintage comics.

Meanwhile, both Budd and Rowland continue to add to their vintage collections.

Budd says about 75 percent of his collection is from the 1950s and 1960s, and he’s seeking comics predating 1955 through eBay.

Rowland’s most-prized comic is The Avengers No. 1, an issue that cost 12 cents to buy off the newsstand in 1963 and is now worth $8,000 to $20,000, depending on condition, according to www.comicspriceguide.com.

Value aside, neither Rowland nor Budd collect for financial gain.

Rowland says he enjoys comics because “conflicts are resolved in a clear manner. It’s one of the last things where you can clearly identify who the good person is and who the bad person is. … It’s a good mixture of life-lesson and action.”[[In-content Ad]]