(Photo by Gwen Sour) Asylum Comics features comics for every generation, including an entire corner dedicated to young comic fans.

Nearly 20 years ago, Jordan Lowe decided to turn his lifelong passion for comics into a business that would fill a gap he’d felt growing up in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

“I grew up here as a comic book fan and had limited options where to find stuff,” Lowe said. “Back in those days, there were a few little shops around here in Vienna and in the region. Then I went to college in Columbus, and I lived up there for five years, where there’s just amazing stores every couple miles. And I moved back home, and I thought, I’m really missing that. I thought, ‘Well, why not me?’ I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and I thought I’m young enough to take a chance. That’s what I want to see in my hometown. So I just went and did it.”

Lowe opened Asylum Comics in September 2005. The store first operated on Second Street in downtown Marietta, where it also rented videos before shifting focus solely to comics.

“When we first opened up, we were just right across the block on Second Street,” he said. “We rented videos as well. So I needed a much bigger space right downtown, I thought, and then that sort of dried up almost immediately. I thought, all right, let’s just focus on comics. So I moved up to Muskingum Drive, a little bit smaller location, and then this place opened up again, back closer to — I wanted to be closer to downtown. And I thought, ‘this is great.'”

Lowe said that comics attract readers of all ages and interests.

(Photo by Gwen Sour) Jordan Lowe organizes comics behind the register of Asylum Comics in Marietta on Wednesday.

“People conflate a lot of times comics and superheroes, and they’re not,” he said. “There’s every genre of comics. There’s sci-fi, horror, kids’ books, romance, anything you can imagine. There’s comics — slice of life, comedy, fantasy, anything. So anything you enjoy in pop culture, there’s something in comic books for you.”

He added that many comics build upon stories people already love.

“Comics expand the stuff you love,” Lowe said. “Like Buffy — it only ran seven seasons, but they’ve been making comics for years and years to expand the stories that people already love. So yeah, I always feel like there’s something for everybody. And obviously, it appeals to kids. So if you read them as a kid, you’re still gonna have the nostalgia as you grow up.”

Lowe said his customers come “from every walk of life.”

“I’ve got a little — he’s probably 5 years old — has a pull list and comes in every week and gets his Sonic the Hedgehog and his favorite books,” he said. “I’ve got retirees. I’ve got everybody in between.”

(Photo by Gwen Sour) Asylum Comics carries not only big-name comic brands like DC and Marvel, the shop carries image comics, Boom! Studios comics and several independent comic brands.

He said one of the best parts of running the shop has been connecting with local artists and writers.

“That’s one of the coolest things about this, is meeting people who are into making stuff as well,” Lowe said. “So I’ve actually been a writer myself and met artist friends who’ve helped me put out these books. We got a whole rack here of locally made items.”

(Photo by Gwen Sour) Asylum Comics has changed locations over the years; today, it sits on Third Street in downtown Marietta.