Today we’d like to introduce you to Tor Gundersen.
Hi Tor, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been into comic books and toys since I was very young, and started seriously collecting comics in the early 80s. I would ride my bike down to the neighborhood drugstore and buy them off the spinner rack. I mostly collected Marvel and would read and then save everything I bought. Spider-Man was probably my favorite.
Fast forward several decades later, and I have amassed a collection of over 80,000 comics books and countless toys. My love for Marvel continues as I now own almost every Marvel comic printed since the early 1960s. Collecting has been at the core of my being for as long as I can remember. My father collected stamps when I was a child… so maybe that’s where it started?
This was all just a BIG hobby until about a couple years ago, when the owner of my LCS (local comic shop), where I would buy all my weekly books, was contemplating retirement. He had opened the store in East Cobb back in 1993, and it’s been in the same spot in the Piedmont Commons shopping center for over 30 years.
He and I had jokingly talked about me buying the business for a few years, but I was always hesitant. I have a career as a graphic designer and illustrator, and was currently working for Adobe and didn’t feel like I was ready for that big of “side hustle.” The owner became more serious about retiring, and it was hard to ignore the little voice reminding me that I always wanted to own a comic shop. While it was a few years earlier in our family’s “life plan” than we would have liked, I felt like I couldn’t turn this opportunity down.
I purchased Great Escape Comics and Games on May 1, 2024 and officially took over. I finally had a place where I could funnel my passion for comics, and it’s been so much fun. We are family-friendly (I love being part of the reading journey of the younger ones), and our store is well organized. I’ve taken our offerings into new product areas and have grown existing ones. We are small but mighty! We definitely pack in a lot of great product in a small footprint, including new and back issue comics, manga, collectible card games, role-playing games and dice, toys, statues, blind boxes, pins, stickers, supplies, and other assorted collectibles.
Together with my wife, Dina, we have made community involvement a core part of the shop, sponsoring local events, partnering with the YMCA and local schools. We also have big plans for the future, including possibly expanding our square footage. Even though the shop has been in the same spot for 32 years, it is tucked away in the far end of the shopping center and so many people miss us! We are working hard on our social presence and hope to extend out to those who have not yet discovered Great Escape. We often have old friends rediscover us, having been customers when they were young and now becoming customers again as adults. They are so thrilled that the shop is still there after all these years.
I especially love the look on people’s faces when they come in for the first time. Owning a shop like ours is so satisfying because customers can come in and envelop themselves in a bit of nostalgia and escape for a little while.
We have so many amazing plans in the works, and I’m so excited to propel the business forward to serve our community for years to come.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s definitely been a learning experience, and I’m continuing to learn every day. Buying an existing business is a little like jumping onto a moving train. You have to make sure all the things that are working continue to work but then also be able to pinpoint areas for improvement.
I knew a lot about the comic book and toy industries already, but figuring out how to be profitable buying and selling them in a retail environment was a challenge. And still is. Beyond comics, the gaming industry is very different, and learning how and where to get product is an ongoing battle. I’ve taken a particular interest in understanding manga, and have heavily invested in growing our inventory. And of course, trying to keep up with what the young kids are interested in too, as I like to have something for everyone. I guess what I’m saying is, every product category we carry is different in how you source it, market it, and keep up with what’s new.
As I’ve mentioned, we’ve been growing into new product areas and expanding existing ones, so physical space has been an issue. I’m hoping we can expand soon, but it’s been a constant reworking of merchandise layout just trying to fit whatever we can into a small space.
We’ve also instituted a lot of changes in the last year and a half. Beyond expanding our product offering, we’ve also been modernizing the business with new technology, new branding and website (e-commerce in the works) and ramping up our social presence in a major way. Those are longer term initiatives that can be frustrating because they take a tremendous amount of effort and time but you want them done as soon as possible so they can help the business.
And of course I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the challenge of one of the three largest comic distributors, Diamond, declaring bankruptcy and being sold this year. That caused major disruption for all comic book shops, and for me being so new to ownership, it was not something I was prepared for.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have graphic design and illustration degrees from RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology). My dream was always to draw comic books, but I ended up majoring in graphic design instead (though I still draw for fun). I did a lot of branding and print design when I started, but when the internet became a thing in the 90’s, I gravitated to web and digital design. I worked in various agencies and consultancies for almost 25 years, then landed at Adobe, where I work with some of our largest customers to understand the value of our emerging software tools and train them in how to use them. I love being on the forefront of technology and being able to share my knowledge to help others in their work.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Great Escape Comic and Games is NOT even my full time job! But it is a family affair. My wife handles all of the marketing, store signage and community outreach and events, and our daughter Claire (who is in college for music production and songwriting) helps with social and writes original music for our TikTok videos.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://greatescapecomics.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatescapecomics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatEscapeComics
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tor-gundersen/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@greatescapecomics
Image Credits
Dina Gundersen, Hadley Conder
