Before getting a chance to sit down and talk with Dean Haspiel (American Splendor, The Quitter, Billy Dogma) at the Alternative Press Expo, I met him at the Isotope Comics Lounge on the eve of APE weekend for a pre-APE Isotope in-store bash. Currently, Haspiel is but one artist that is part of a larger collective of storytellers at ACT-I-VATE.

Recently, October saw the recent release of The ACT-I-VATE Primer by IDW Publishing, featuring new and original stories. While at the Isotope, I discovered Haspiel is as gracious and as nice as I could have imagined just sitting and talking with him as he signed and sketched a head shot of Harvey Pekar in my copy of The Quitter.

That night talking generally about the unique positivity that courses through the comic industry, Haspiel signs my Pekar sketch advising me to “never quit.” It’s good advice.

Needless to say, I was excited to sit down and talk with Haspiel again on Sunday as APE was coming to a close.

Joey Pangilinan: How did you come to start working with Harvey?

Dean Haspiel: Here’s a long answer to a simple question. I grew up reading superhero comics. My dream was to become a penciler and draw for Marvel. I didn’t know there were other comics that could be non-superhero or not published by DC and Marvel. I started to expand my horizons and got hungrier for the medium.

In the early ‘80s, I discovered American Splendor, at a place called Soho Zat in lower Manhattan, which had a lot of alternative and underground comics, and I discovered a whole bunch of different types of works.

So, there I am reading the Fantastic Four, and suddenly I come across semi-autobiographical comics and stuff like Yummy Fur by Chester Brown, and it just blew my mind. I started out being a fan, like most people are, of Harvey Pekar, or whoever else they admire.

I’ve known James Sime for several years now. What I’ve learned about the proprietor of San Francisco’s Isotope Comics Lounge and his staff is that they always strive to make Isotope quite different from your average comic book store. Currently, James and his staff are preparing for some big upcoming events.

On October 17th and 18th at the Concourse is the annual Alternative Press Expo (APE), and for the seventh year, James and his staff will be handing out the Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics at their 8th annual APE Aftermath on the 17th. But this year, James is also having comic artist-extraordinaire Dean Haspiel for an in-store event on Friday the 16th, the night before APE is officially underway. Recently, I had a short talk with Sime about these events, his store, and well, comics.

Joey Pangilinan: What makes selling comics so fun for you?

James Sime: Well, it’s the greatest job in the universe. I love comics, and I love people. And I love that every time someone comes into the store,  I instantly have something in common with them. Even if they don’t already read comics, they’re interested in reading comics.

They’re like “Well, that looks neat, I’ll go in the front door of that place.” I love that I have that instant connection with people through comics. But I was freaked out that first day. It was terrifying. I was terrified the first three years.

JP: When did you know you had a good grasp on how to run the store?

JS: I always thought that long before I owned a comic book store, that what I wanted to do with a comic book store would be awesome. I always thought comic book stores should have an art gallery, it should have a lounge, they should throw events, they should have tons of community stuff to support. If you make some little book in your basement, they should be excited to see it. I always thought one of the big problems about comic stores is that I thought they were kind of unfriendly to new readers and women.

I’m from the bar industry, and the old bar adage anywhere there is five women twenty-five men will find them. And I was like “Why isn’t somebody making a comic book store for women? Women love to read. They love comics. What’s wrong with them?” So I made a comic book store for girls, and boys, too.

JP: Is that the biggest carry-over lesson you learned from life as a bartender to now as a comic store owner?