Today we’d like to introduce you to Jorg Hohmann.
Hi Jorg, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been a collector of comics and toys for most of my life, and knew about Heroes & Dragons for many years before I moved to Columbia, and would make special trips often to come shop with them, so naturally when I did move up here I started going to the store a lot more, and it wasn’t too long before I became well aquainted with the staff and then eventually, the owner. Some time after that, he learned of my interest in vintage comics and toys, and my background in sales, and asked me if I’d like to start going to various comic conventions with him to help run the booths. Of course I emphatically said yes, and thus began a many years adventure traveling all over the east coast and becoming a regular part of the greater industry throughout. Fast forwarding about a decade and I had moved down to the coast for a few years and was just moving back to Columbia when the original owner announced that the store would be beginning a going out of business sale after 34 years. Recognizing that he would probably have a lot of things that needed moving, I took the opportunity to stop by and reconnect with my old friend. Little did I realize though that over the next several weeks of being around to help with store operations, while I looked for a job elsewhere, that I would end up becoming so moved by people’s stories of their 34 year old associations with the store and how much it had meant to them over all those years, that one day at lunch I would end up proposing that the original owner sell me the name and the fixtures once all the merchandise had been sold off, and he agreed. So after two months of reorganizing the place and restocking it from my own vast collection, Heroes & Dragons V2 opened it’s doors on January 21st 2017, and now nearly ten years on is still Columbia’s premier destination for comics and toys.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Anything but smooth. I’d never owned a business before, so the learning curve was steep the first few years, and just as I was feeling like I was getting the hang of things and attaining some solid ground under my feet, Covid came, and I had to completely reinvent what owning a retail outlet looked like. Included in that process were nearly 6 months that we couldn’t have people in the store, but thankfully over that summer another friend of mine had a piece of property that was overgrown with bamboo. So I spent those many months with a chainsaw in hand, so that I could keep the bills paid and the new product coming so that we’d be ready once things got back to normal. Since then, thankfully, life and the store have leveled off and I think it’s safe to say now that I know what I’m doing and we’re better prepared for unforseen circumstances arrising.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As I said before, we specialize in vintage comics and toys from all eras, and that is what has made Heroes & Dragons an industry wide destination store for over 40 years.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’m a fairly massive science nerd, and sometimes I like to run through the woods collecting insects to display.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heroesanddragonssc.com
- Instagram: heroesanddragonssc
- Facebook: Heroes & Dragons
