TOLEDO, Ohio — Truth. Justice. The American Way. These are some of the values that are found throughout the comic book universe, and Freedom Comics has about 40,000 such issues in which you can find all three. Started by Misty and Loren Smith, Freedom Comics is a local comic shop located on West Sylvania Avenue that pairs a love of comics with an appreciation for the military.
This shop is a new addition in the DeVeaux district as it has only been open for about four months now. The grand opening happened back on Aug. 16.
Misty Smith, the owner of Freedom Comics, said she didn’t know much about comics until she met her husband, Loren Smith. He is a physician assistant who has a passion for comic books. After Loren’s patients would come for their checkups, he would often hand them comic books.
“He gave them a comic book. He didn’t give he a sticker or a sucker, he gave them a comic book and I just thought it was the neatest thing ever I never heard of someone doing that,” Misty said.
Right now, Misty's husband is on contract in Baghdad, Iraq, as a physician assistant, and despite the distance they opened up Freedom Comics together.
“We did start it together and build it together, and she's learned a lot and she's good at running it. She's great. I count on her all the time, and I couldn’t have a better partner in business or life,” Loren said.
One thing that make the comics store so special is the size of its offerings. Freedom Comics has over 40,000 comics out for sale.
“We have a very large selection of back issues, and we have keys we send in and get stuff graded through CGC. I don’t know anybody around here that does that per se,” Misty Smith said.
Every Wednesday, Freedom gets a new shipment of comic books and for those in the military, there is a discount for you any day of the week.
“We are also very military oriented, we love our first responders and our military. We do offer a 10 percent discount in the entire store for our military,” Misty added.
So if you're looking for comics or action figures to add to your collection, check out Freedom Comics.
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