With
multi-Platinum rock band System of a Down currently on a hiatus that
might last for several years, drummer John Dolmayan finally has a little
time to devote to his other passion, comic books and collectibles. Dolmayan, who
currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada has officially launched his next endeavor,
Torpedo Comics which already features over 15 million comic books, toys, graphic
novels, trade paperbacks, superhero action figures and other comic book-related
memorabilia, ranging in price from 99-cents to six-figures.
We caught up with John recently, who is also in the recording process of his
next musical project with fellow System of a Down member Daron Malakian which is
called Scars on Broadway, to get his thoughts on finally launching Torpedo
Comics and having a knack for comic book collecting.
"I've been collecting Comics for well over twenty years and at a certain point I
couldn't afford to buy more comics anymore, so I started selling comics you know
to make money to buy new ones. I noticed that I had a knack for it and I enjoyed
it. There is something cool about setting up at a convention, having no
guarantees and you make sales because you're personable and you have the right
prices and the right product. It kind of manifested into a little bit larger
than I thought it would, but at this point we have 15 million books, original
art, huge Silver Surfer statue. You name it, we got it."
Although Dolmayan houses Torpedo Comics' inventory in a just-completed
30,000-square foot warehouse in Las Vegas, NV where he now lives with a staff of
25 people that he employs, he admitted he is already in the process of looking
at bigger warehouses as he looks to expand his collection. So with much of his
time spent in the studio finishing the upcoming Scars on Broadway album, does he
have much time to concentrate on Torpedo Comics?
"It's a labor of love for me, so the more time I spend on it the better I feel.
It is really a lot of fun because you're dealing with comic books, toys,
animation and it's all fun. I come in and I have a lot of great employees who
work with me and it's a team effort. It isn't something that I dread you know. I
wake up happy to go to work. I guess I'm lucky because I have the same
experience in music that I do with Torpedo Comics."
So with the opening of Torpedo Comics, exclusively at http://www.torpedocomics.com,
what are the long term goals of the project?
"We're planning on, when you have 15 million comics, inputting becomes an issue
you know. It'll probably take us another year or so to get everything that we
have in stock represented online. We're starting the company November 1st with a
soft opening of 8 thousand items. So, it'll progress to a hundred thousand items
within a year or so and it's all for sale. You know, there are always going to
be different things coming in, it's just the nature of the business. You buy
stuff, you put it up for sale, somebody buys it and you feel like 'Oh I didn't
want to sell that!' Then you move on to the next thing."
Torpedo Comics already has a stunning collection of memorabilia which includes
such rare items like Sensation Comics issue #1 (the first solo series featuring
Wonder Woman), just about every key issue of Marvel and DC comics including
Marvel Comics' issue #1, multiple copies of Giant Size X-Men #1, plus superhero
action figures from Marvel, X-Men, Superman, and Batman titles. Torpedo Comics
will also offer original comic art, created between the 1940s and the present,
by some 150 different artists, including Jim Lee, Art Adams, Bernie Wrightson,
and Alejandro Gaza. Currently Scars on Broadway have finished recording the
first batch of songs for the album that is due to be released in 2008. Once
again lending his ear and producing skills to the project is master craftsman,
Rick Rubin.
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Source:
artisannews.com
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