William (Bill) Haas, 35 years old, grew up around comics with his dad being a collector, and recalls that he probably knew who Batman was before he knew who a religious figure was because in a sense superheros and comics were kind of like his church.
Way back in 2014, Bill’s wife Miranda Haas was tasked within her department at Rutgers Camden to create a Comic Con at the University. So for about three years they ran Camden Comic Con which went from 200 kids to at their height about 4,000 attendees, ending this year due to covid.
In 2015 Bill lost his job and started selling all of his comics and toys that he had accumulated over the years out of necessity. As he continued to sell his collectibles he was also accumulating new items in return, and running shows. In May of 2017 by the time Bill and Miranda had opened their first store they had plenty of merchandise to put into it. Today, you’ll find Bill and Miranda’s store, Secret Origins Comics & More tucked away at the end of Haddon Ave in Collingswood, NJ.
While Bill fills more of the management position within the store, working with the orders and customers day to day, Miranda is behind the website which she designed, and other creative aspects such as: finding different aesthetics of the store, merchandise displays, planning events, and helping out with their weekly Facebook live videos, AKA “the nerdy QVC.”
When I asked Bill his favorite part of the store he answered with the community immediately. What he enjoys the most is the diversity, getting to know individuals, what brought them into the industry, and what keeps them in it.
“Some people might be just collectors, they want to buy a book and flip it, they like the thrill of the hunt, the gambling aspect, and you get other people who just love the stories, they want to talk to their kids about it, they love reading it, they’ve been reading it since they were kids, and then you have people who may never care about superhero books but they love the indie stuff. There’s something different for every person that comes in here, and I think it’s generally just the ability to connect with people and to find them something in here.”
Secret Origins Comics & More’s mission is simply focusing on the diversity and accessibility of comics and collecting. Bill feels it’s of the utmost importantance to try and make the store accessible for all ages and walks of life, so they do not cater to just one customer but all genders, races, and ethnicities; while also trying to genuinely get to know each person and their likes and dislikes.
“You’re not going to be treated badly if you’re a man and like My Little Pony, that’s not a problem here. If you’re a young woman and you like Star Treck, it’s not a great seller, but guess what I’ll get it for you, absolutely you could like whatever you want. We’re here to find something for people to read and welcome in the community, it’s not about gatekeeping. That’s another thing we tried to do away with, we’re not keepers of the hobby, we’re trying to bring new members in.”
Listen below to hear Haas talk more about the mission behind Secret Origins Comics & More and his personal favorite moment.
Thanks for listening!
The Geek Stop 