More Than Comics, East Dearborn Store Sells Community

If you go into on a whim, you’ll probably walk out with a purchase in hand–comic book fan or not.

It’s something the east Dearborn store’s owners, husband-and-wife team Dan and Katie Merritt, bank on to draw in new customers who may just be one-time buyers, or who could turn into lifelong comic book lovers–and loyal customers.

“We get a lot of walk-ins, and that’s kind of the butter on the bread,” Dan says. “We’re constantly reaching out and doing outside promotions and events to bring in more casual customers, because we find that the more casual customers don’t necessarily look at the periodical comics. They’re more interested in single purchase graphic novels. It’s something that we’ve always tried to push.”

In one such push, Green Brain will copresent their annual Comic Jam in conjunction with the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit at MOCAD’s downtown space at 4454 Woodward Ave. this Friday from 4-7 p.m.

This event invites anyone and everyone to take part in an of-the-moment creation of comics alongside Pittsburgh-based guest illustrator and cartoonist Jim Rugg, who will round out the event with a talk about his work.

It’s a perfect example of what Green Brain has been all about in the 11 years since the Merritts purchased the 1985-founded Dearborn store, subsequently renaming it in 2001 and moving it a half-mile down Michigan Avenue the following year.

Their goals, more than just making a profit, are supporting the community, promoting the art and fostering a continued love of comics for the pure enjoyment of the media.

The latter is a lofty goal, with many competitors focusing on selling back issues to complete buyers’ collections, or supporting actual comics with heavy sales of toys and figurines.

“We just want the books to be the main focus, and we’re going to strive toward that,” Katie explains. “We’ve actually been adding to our art book section to stay with the book theme, but still expand our product line without diverging into toys and all that stuff.”

And while other local stores may do things differently than Green Brain, there’s a mutual respect within the business, and all stores find themselves referring customers to each other.

“It’s better to have each store have its own niche market,” Katie adds. “Then it’s not direct competition. Every store can carry the newest issue of Spiderman, but you have to do something to set yourself apart from all the other ones.”

Green Brain hasn’t had a problem with that, winning multiple best-of awards from Metro Times and The Detroit News, as well as recognition from the city of Dearborn, for being a thriving, long-standing small business that doesn’t compromise its values to make a sale.

Instead, they’ve taken interest in the community around them, believing that the survival of east downtown Dearborn as a whole is crucial to their longevity as a singular business.

Dan currently serves as co-chair of the and helps the organization put together events that he says bring together several businesses in the area.

One of the big events is Free Comic Book Day, which is put together by the comic industry, but that the Merritts turn into a promotion of east Dearborn. This year, they even plan to hand out coupon books put together by the EDDDA with coupons for local businesses. This event happens May 7.

“I’ve lived and worked in Dearborn since 1989,” Dan says of his relationship with the city. “I feel really, really connected here, and consequently now in the east downtown district, I’ve really gotten involved.”

That’s not to say Green Brain doesn’t stand out on its own–from the Merritts' philosophies, to the store’s easily recognizable bright green awning. Dan also credits the city’s support of small businesses to Green Brain's success.

“I think a great asset of this community is that we’re able to stand up and shine just as brightly as the big corporations,” he says. “We’re just a little mom-and- pop organization. We’ve got three part-time employees and we work our fingers to the bone.”

But it’s not all business, as the Merritts expend much of their energy making sure that as many people as possible make it into the store to discover a love of comics, even if they just stopped in to kill some time.

They don’t act elitist, and nothing is kept in plastic packaging or behind glass cases. Autographed editions of graphic novels sit beside slow-selling basic comics. Prices are never marked up for high-demand books, and they don’t hate on big-name bookstores, Dan stresses–a point showcased by his on the closure, which centered more around the sadness of losing another Dearborn business, not happiness over a dying competitor.

Comic book retailers, he says, appreciate bookstores like Borders.

“To our store, they are kind of the entryway to people accepting comics and working past the stereotypes,” he explains. “People go to a mall store, they get a coffee, and they check out some comic books. It’s unfortunate that our direct comic retailer stereotype has kept people from coming in. We’re constantly working against that.”

Luckily, it’s a job both Katie and Dan love to do.