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Photo courtesy Black Dog Collectibles

The Fan welcomes a new nerd culture destination with the opening of Black Dog Collectables this month at 1616 W. Main St. The store, selling comics, trading cards and other memorabilia, is the brainchild of Mark Overby, a seasoned collector and familiar face at Richmond’s fan conventions. 

“Fifteen years ago, I was scrolling through Craigslist looking for patio furniture, and I ended up stumbling upon a comic collection. That’s where it all started,” Overby says.

From there, his comic and memorabilia collection grew to fill five storage units, though it remained a hobby and side business alongside his day job as owner of Home Team Grill, the restaurant and sports bar on the same block as the shop’s new storefront.  

When the owner of the neighboring building offered the property for rent earlier this year, Overby jumped at the chance. “At first, I just saw it as a warehouse space,” Overby admits. “I figured I’d finally have a place to organize everything — 300,000 comics worth of space.” Eventually, Overby gave in, settling on a different kind of retail model. “I’m not opening with consistent hours,” he explains. “For now, I’ll open one weekend a month with a big sale, kind of like a pop-up shop but in a permanent space.” 

The shop kicked off sales earlier this month. Going forward, “I hope people will come in, browse and even bring in their own collections to sell,” Overby says. “I want it to be an adventure for everyone who walks through the door.”