From Spider-Man to Maus, Amazing Fantasy Keeps Tinley Reading

is a dream come true for comic book fans.

Shelves filled with comic books line each wall of the store. Bins and boxes at capacity with comic titles occupy the store’s middle space. The remaining free areas are filled with T-shirts, action figures, board games, belt buckles, collectable statues and everything comic-related.

While some big-chain bookstores are closing, A-F Books is seeing an increase in their customer base, store manager Garrett Anderson said.

“We have seen a surge among very young readers since Marvel has begun making feature films based on popular characters. We’ve seen an increase in 5 and 6-year-old kids who get the comics and kind of make- up their own stories along with it,” Anderson said. “(The store is also seeing) people who are returning to comics who’ve enjoyed them as kids and want to know what’s going on now.”

Country Club Hills resident Terrance Jones visits the store at least once a month to buy comics for his 12-year-old son.

“I was into it when I was younger and now I started my son,” Jones, 35, said. “I stay in the loop with what’s going on through him.”

Their customers range in age from 5 to 65 plus. And if you think you have an idea of what the average comic book reader looks like, you may be in for a surprise. 

“The range of people that come in here is pretty remarkable,” Anderson said. “There’s a wide range in age, in ethnicities ... anything. You’ll see any and every sort of person here. There are a lot of women now as well. A lot of teenage girls get into Japanese comics and they are kind of staying with comics as they’re getting older.”

A-F Books caters to this range of customers with a wide variety of comics, a depth of comic book history and an array of subject matters. Customers can find comics that date back to the 1940s and 1950s.

“While most stores go to the top 20 comics we go to the top 4000,” Anderson said. “We have American, Japanese, French and Belgium comics.”

Not only are super heroes and classic villains readily available in the store but customers will find Pulitzer prize winning comic books like Maus (a memoir recounting author Art Spiegelman’s father’s time in a concentration camp during World War II) to French comic author David Beauchard’s Epileptic (a comic that deals with the author’s brother growing up with epilepsy and their childhood). Comics that have been made into television series like The Walking Dead on AMC also have a home at A-F Books. 

The store has four locations, including 15948 S. Harlem in Tinley Park.

“We just specialize in one thing as our base and we are really knowledgeable on it. The customers appreciate that,” Anderson said. “We have a pretty good rapport with our customers and we offer individual service that I don’t think a chain really could.” 

For the avid fan or someone looking to start your journey, all four A-F Book locations are hosting Free Comic Book Day on May 1. Your chance to explore the world of comics awaits.