Local comic book store gearing up for CAPE 4 comic expo

by Daniel A. Kusner of Dallas Voice

“One customer has a shirtless superhero fetish. So at CAPE, he goes from artist to artist and gets them to draw original sketches to add to his collection,” explains Richard Neal, owner of Zeus Toys and Comics.

CAPE is Dallas’ annual comic and pop-culture expo — a three-day festival that unites writers, creators, artists and comic book readers. This weekend, Neal kicks off CAPE 4, and the festival keeps getting bigger, stronger and better.

According to Neal, about 6,000 attended last year’s expo. And this year, there are some changes. First of all, Zeus relocated from its old Turtle Creek Village location, where CAPE would set up a huge tent in the strip mall’s parking lot. The new Lemmon Avenue store is bigger, and down the street, the tent is going up at Craddock Park for the Saturday blowout.

The grassy setting should appeal to pet owners, and that’s why this year’s theme, “CAPE’S Best Friend,” features a white pooch with a superhero emblem on his chest.

CAPE definitely has a family- and kid-friendly vibe, but Neal always has a special brunch for his gay brothers and sisters.

Queer storylines are nothing new for comics. Not only are Wonder Woman’s TV adventures famously campy, her roots also are laced with lesbian overtones, including her favorite exclamation, “Suffering Sappho!”

“You’ve got to check this out,” Neal says while reaching for DC Comics’ new May 8, 2008 installment “Expatriate Part 1: That Wears the Crown.” Diana of the Gray Eyes (a.k.a. Wonder Woman) visits Nemesis in the hospital, and when she leaves his room, autograph seekers surround her. One fan says, “I just want to say as a gay man that I miss the heels on your boots.”

That story was co-written by Gail Simone, one of CAPE’s featured guests who’ll be attending the gay brunch. So will Marc Andreyko, who writes for Manhunter, which features the gay character Creote, a former KGB agent who is secretly in love with his master.

When it comes to satisfying his clients, Neal knows what he’s doing. Instead of a crummy basement where the owner insults his customers — like Comic Book Guy from “The Simpsons” — Neal is spry, adorable and super-helpful. In 2006, Zeus won the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award — the first Texas store to win in the Eisner’s 14-year history.

The Zeus store bursts with color: The floors are stained concrete, the lighting has gallery vibe, and on one recent afternoon, the sound system was playing dulcet tones of Belle & Sebastian. Neal pulls out a drawing — the design for the CAPE 4 T-shirt, a creepy-cool hand-drawn image of Batman with a magnificent cape illustrated by James O’Barr, the creator of “The Crow” who now lives in Dallas.

“The comic book audience has matured. They don’t want some place with crappy carpet — they want something prettier,” he explains.