People walk into a Northridge comics store to witness a masked vigilante's war on crime, the life of a witty vampire slayer, or the genesis of a man with almost indestructible claws.
The creator of Wolverine says nonchalantly to the cashier, "So I've been nominated for an Eisner Award." A customer asks to know his identity.
Len Wein, who during the 1970s introduced Colossus and Nightcrawler to a static X-Men series, asks, "Who am I?"
But the mutants would not have sold as well as they did without the promotion of the store's founder, the late William "Bill" Liebowitz.
As Golden Apple Comics on Reseda Boulevard celebrates its 25th year, the store's staff and regulars reflect on a loved one, a friend, a nice guy who as a hobby utilized his retail acumen to make superhero lore sell.
Police cars and helicopters once encircled the Northridge store, his wife Sharon Liebowitz said. But The Joker was not hiding there. And the smiling faces that formed a line extending several blocks were not exposed to laughing gas.
They were waiting to meet comic book artist Jim Lee, renowned for the stylish redesign of costumed characters such as Catwoman and Jean Grey, who was as eager to meet all his fans."Tell them to keep circling," Sharon Leibowitz remembers Lee saying about the police, who asked her husband to cancel the event to prevent a riot. Instead, William Liebowitz promised half the crowd signed copies of Lee's comic books if they returned the next day.
"He always did things like that for the fans," Sharon Liebowtiz said. The decision made perfect business sense to Liebowitz, who organized appearances for novice or famous comics writers and artists to help promote their craft and his stores, his wife said.
In 1974, William Liebowitz was not content working as a vice president for a Canadian real estate firm, so he decided to sell comics after attending a science fiction convention - that's what comic book conventions were called then - in Brooklyn, N.Y., his wife said.
"I thought it was a bad idea because we had two sons to think about," Sharon Liebowitz said. "I'm happy to say that I was wrong."
Five years later, the Conan the Barbarian fan was selling comic books in the back of a smoke shop on 7711 Melrose Avenue, 13 blocks from its current location. Back then, comics were sold in boxes on the floor in "tiny, awful stores," Sharon Liebowitz said.
His wife said patrons took home their tobacco and comics in plastic bags labeled "Golden Apple," the name of the smoke shop, and later the name of four comic book shops, one on Melrose Avenue, a short-lived store one on Pico Boulevard and the store in Northridge.
Golden Apple Comics in Northridge was first established on Reseda Boulevard in what is currently an alleyway next to a discount store. When the lease expired, William Leibowitz moved the store across the street to a burned down beauty salon.
Comics writers such as Marv Wolfman, the creator of New Teen Titans members Starfire, Raven and Cyborg, would come to William Liebowitz's stores, and he would promote their work to customers, his wife said. Even Archie from fictional Riverdale would stop by.
Rather, writer George Gladeer thanked his friend by featuring him in Archies Comics, including his store and family, Sharon Liebowitz said. In one issue, William Liebowitz advises Archie to Xerox copies of his drawings on paper so that Golden Apple could sell them.
Wolfman, who created Blade while working on the Tomb of Dracula series, was already established as a comic book writer when he met Liebowitz. Nevertheless, the retailer set up signings, parties with different professionals and other events to publicize his work, Wolfman said.
"Bill was very outgoing and friendly ... knowledgeable about the business," Wolfman said. "He helped give a sense of professionalism to retailers. Many were only fans who decided to open a shop. He helped make it a business where they could actually have a career."
His daughter-in-law Kendra Liebowitz, who works the register three days a week at the Northridge store, said, "He could never say no to anyone who asked for help. He would treat you as an equal, and he would talk to you even if you just walked in for the first time."
This was also the case with female customers who buy Japanese manga, said Warren Jaycox, manager of the Northridge store.
"He was always trying to reach out to new demographics to improve business," Jaycox said. "He's one guy who really got that."
Sharon Liebowitz said her husband saw the comic book industry as "plastic" because it could always expand in its reach and appeal.
Pam Auditore, a customer with a background in special effects, said she once helped him toward that end by explaining to him why hobbits were considered heroes.
"He didn't get it," Auditore said. "He was about 6'4, so he liked those muscled-up take charge hero types."
He liked Conan the Barbarian so much that he commissioned paintings to give to his two sons Ryan and Damon of them standing next to the fictional warrior, his wife said.
"They now hang in his grandkids' rooms," Sharon Liebowitz said about the two gifts.
Although he did not carry a sword, William Liebowitz delighted children with yo-yos he sold in his stores and the tricks that made him a state and national champion, Jaycox said.
Though William Liebowitz was nice, he was firm as well. His daughter-in-law said she once witnessed him catch a shoplifter at the Melrose store.
"He yelled, 'What the hell are you doing?' He was a big man, and wide, with a howling voice.'" Kendra Liebowitz said. "I knew then I never wanted to get on his bad side."
Jaycox said William Liebowitz hired him five years ago, matching his past salary at a major book retailer, sans benefits and 401 (k) plan. The Northridge manager said it was worth working for a boss who gave him freedom to implement his ideas.
An idea Jaycox said he implemented was to replace the store's wooden racks that "Bill still had from the old store" with new black wire racks.
"He was a good boss," Jaycox said about Liebowitz. "Whenever I messed up, he'd tell me. But he'd also tell me if I did a good job."
Jaycox works the register as a line comprised of fans starts inside the Northridge store, extending past wall art of a smiling Wolverine bearing claws and along Reseda Boulevard on New Comics Day. Len Wein's childhood friend Marv Wolfman walks in through the back door.
Though Wolfman's creations have been adapted into major Hollywood movies and a successful animated series, Jaycox says, "He didn't think anyone would show."
Wolfman signs copies of Raven, a five-issue series about the empath Teen Titan he created with artist George Perez to revamp the teenage superhero team one year after William Liebowitz's first Golden Apple Comics store on Melrose Avenue opened its doors.
"Bill and I weren't friends who spent a lot of time schmoozing, but we did find the time to talk," Wolfman said. "I enjoyed his company."
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