Marple Comics
In the mid 1980's, after I had directed "Rage", I decided to open up a comic book store. I had collected comics since the mid 60's and New Brunsick, New Jersey didn't have a store. It had the perfect market with thousands of Rutger's students and I was able to get a small space next to a pet store. A tech student, Jim DeRugeris, who had worked on my special effects for "Rage" wanted to work there and he wanted to sell newspapers and magazines and I said he could. We worked on a computer program called Comax that would eventually create subscriptions for comic book collectors and after it's sixth year we had nearly 1,000 subscribers who picked up weekly at our two stores (I opened another Marple Comics in Princeton several years after our initial opening).
We had various tours come through with artists and comic creators such as former Marvel Comics Editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, artist phenom Jim Lee and the Killer Instinct Tour with Marc Silvestri among others.
Appearing on The Comic Book Show I released info on my comic book, The Key, which I published as an ashcan version for the New York Times Book Fair! Look soon for a digital version of "The Key!
