Director Steven Olsen
Steven Olsen has been reading comics since the age of eight. When Steve was old enough he decided to open up his own shop. In 1995 during some lean times in the comic industry, throw in a distribution war and learning the comic business fast and furiously A Little Shop of Comics was born. Over the years Steve has attended trade shows in both the Comic and Gaming industries, which have helped in evolving the store into its new location. Steven also works in labor relations. With that experience, he has used it to work with publishers and distributors alike to resolve issues that arise in our industry.
Director John Dudas
John Dudas started working in a comic book shop when he was eleven years old. In 1990, at the age of 17, he opened up Carol and John’s Comic Book Shop as a partnership with his mother Carol, who is now retired from the business. CNJComics is a 2,000 sq ft storefront located in Cleveland, Ohio, the hometown of Siegel and Shuster and arguably the birthplace of the modern super hero. CNJComics is predominantly a comic book and graphic novel shop, with an emphasis on events and community building. As a result, in 2015 CNJComics won the Diamond BPA for best Halloween Comic Fest. Also that year Yelp selected CNJ’s as one of the top 100 business of any kind, even though they have never paid them for any advertising. In 2016 CNJComics was selected by Facebook for their Small Business Council, an honor only 40 business out of 70 million on FB have been selected for. They continue to serve on this council today, beta testing and consulting on new innovations. CNJComics’s Free Comic Book Day has been listed in the book “100 Things to Do In Cleveland Before You Die”, with an annual attendance of over 3,000 people, and incorporating over 50 local artists. CNJComics is also the vendor for over 50 libraries in the surrounding county, and John consults with branches to create a diverse selection of periodicals. John has been a member of CPro for over ten years and has attended the last six meetings. He has given lectures on Social Media and Marketing at both CPro’s yearly meeting and the Diamond Retailer Summit. He loves to travel, and he loves to visit comic shops while he’s doing it. John is married with two daughters, which dramatically changed his perspective on the business. CNJComics looks very different than it did when they opened, and John suspects it will look very different at the end. (It’s a comment on adaptability.)
Director Tim Stoltzfus
Tim Stoltzfus has been involved in comics since he was a kid and involved in the business side of comics since he was...a slightly older kid. Tim opened his first store in 1992 at the age of 17 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, running that for two years until a little while after graduating high school. While that didn't work out, the entrpreneurial bug wasn't going anywhere. Tim worked from 1998 until 2003 in the distribution side of the industry, working for a company that dealt with comic and trading card stores worldwide. In 2003, Tim opened the first More Fun Comics and Games in Lancaster, Texas, quickly followed by the acquisition of a store in Denton, Texas that same year. Today, More Fun Comics and Games consists of three storefronts in the Downtown Denton area. Tim spends his days running the stores, working in local community groups in Denton in a variety of interests, and also is one of the members of the Local Comic Shop Day Committee for ComicsPRO.
Staff
Executive Director, Marco Davanzo
Marco is the owner of Alakazam Comics in Irvine. He has been involved in comic book retailing since 1999. In a previous career, Marco was a business loan officer and a stock broker for a top 5 bank. Marco has an MBA from U.C. Irvine and a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University. He has been Executive Director since December 2014.
About ComicsPRO as an association
ComicsPRO is a not for profit trade
organization dedicated to the progress of direct market comic book
retailers. While we as an organization value our individual members and
work diligantly in promoting industry issues, no individual retailer or
board member is authorized to speak on behalf of the ComicsPRO
organization. Only the Executive Director and/or the President can speak for or take action on behalf of ComicsPRO.
It is the policy of ComicsPRO to abide by and follow both the letter and the spirit of all U.S. and International Antitrust and Competition laws. ComicsPRO does not advocate or sanction any agreement or understanding with respect to group or collective purchasing, pricing, or refusals to deal with any supplier, vendor, retail chain participant, customer or groups of customers. Members of ComicsPRO may decide unilaterally to sell to or to buy from whomever they wish and ComicsPRO takes no position with respect to our members' individually considered business decisions. ComicsPRO also does not take any position with respect to the terms and conditions that its members establish or agree to when contracting with suppliers, vendors, or retail chain participants. The decision to enter into a business relationship or contract, and the terms under which the relationship shall be governed, is an individual decision for each member. It is ComicsPRO's position that all such contracts should be reviewed carefully and if any member has concerns or questions, they should seek guidance from their independent counsel.