Swallow Press, the trade imprint of Ohio University Press, will release Comic Shop:  The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture in October.  Written by Columbus, Ohio business journalist Dan Gearino, also a lifelong comics fan, the book explores the history and present of comic stores, a central factor in modern geek culture. 

Based on over 100 interviews, Gearino begins in the 1960s and covers the history of the channel, and also spends a year following present-day (2015-2016) comic retailers, with a focus on The Laughing Ogre in Columbus.  The book also includes profiles of 40 notable shops in the U.S. and Canada.

Interviews for the book included Steve Geppi (Diamond Comic Distributors); Peter Birkemoe (The Beguiling, Toronto); comics creators Wendy and Richard Pini, Mike Zeck, Jeff Smith and Bryan Lee O’Malley; and other notables such as ICv2 CEO Milton Griepp. 

Longtime comics journalist Tom Spurgeon provides the foreword.

The 264-page hardcover will include 75 illustrations, with a retail price of $26.95.