ODESSA, Texas — When someone has a passion, they should follow it. You never know where you will end up.
For The HIVE comic shop owner James Laws, he ended up in a comic book.
But before that, he was already living his dream, even if he wasn’t in a comic book yet.
"When I was young I read comics, it helped me learn to read better and comprehend better," Laws said. "From there, I kept reading comics, I sold all my comics and then got back into it about 10 years ago. Started collecting again, [...] I talked to the previous owner and I wanted to open a store in Midland, but he's like, 'Well, I'm going to sell this one. Why don't you just buy this one?' So, we worked it out and that's how I bought it."
Laws has owned The HIVE comic shop in Odessa, TX since November 2019.
The HIVE sells everything from comic books to card games to Funko Pops to posters; chances are if you visit, there’s something for you.
"There's a comic for everyone," Laws said. "There's comics for kids. There's comics for adults. There's one shot comics where there's just one story in one book. There's comics that go on for 350 issues that are just a continuous story."
To Laws, there’s a beauty to comics that you won’t see on the big screen.
"Think about it this way: Superman," he explained. "There's what? 10 movies with Superman, right? Action Comics has, I think close to 1100 comics. So, you have 1100 stories-ish, some of them keep going continue but that's 1100 stories you can tell. So, there's 100 times more stories in just that one run of Superman.
Laws participates in the Permian Basin Comic Con, a day dedicated to what he loves: the interaction of comic fans not just in West Texas, but around the country.
"Comic Con is a great event because you get to surround yourself with people that enjoy having fun," Laws said. "Whether it be comics, Pokemon cards or dressing as a character on TV, it's a great place to enjoy yourself and be who you are."
A rising star in the comic scene even wrote his comic right on one of those chairs.
"Joey Pineda is a local comic writer," Laws said. "And he has two different comics that he has written. And they're both a lot of fun. [..] Like Joey would come and he would write his comic book here. He'd come in, get his laptop, write away, get some great ideas. You walk around the store, go pick up a book. Read through it. Cool. I like the dialogue in this. I like the action sequence. And then he'd just go to writing."
In one of the comics, not only will you see a familiar place, you’ll also see a familiar face.
"It actually has The HIVE in it and the bad guys are the previous owners," he said. "His new comic: Cubicle Wars, he added me to it as one of the characters."
When asked how it felt to be a comic book character, Laws said, "It's crazy. I haven't signed any books yet. So that's good."
Laws has made The HIVE the place to swarm for local comic lovers, having events like the late Power Rangers actor Jason David Frank and the Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics Jim Lee coming to sign customer’s comics.
But even without the big name actors and comic studio royalty, loyal shopgoers still swarm The HIVE on a regular basis.
"We always have some fun stuff to do," Laws said. "We play Pokemon, we play Magic, we play Yu-Gi-Oh. We play games. We have fun here."
It’s a safe place for these people, where they can meet other comic lovers who share the same interests; in a way it’s a place where everyday can be Comic Con.
A safe place, that might not be there for long.
Unfortunately, a few days after NewsWest 9 sat down with Laws, he was hit with some sad news.
"I have been weighing heavily to close the store," Laws said. "The economy's rough right now, and sales are goofy. Financially we just can't keep the store open."
Despite prospering during 2020 and 2021, business has slowed down for The HIVE, causing him to close the store.
"Right now is a tough time because we can feel the ramifications of everything shutting down," Laws said. "And people just don't have the disposable income to buy collectibles, cards, comics and stuff like they did in 2020 and 2021. Those were two great years for sales. But we feel it now that the market kind of is on downturn at the moment."
Even though the store is closing, it doesn’t take away from the memories created in this place: From the now invaluable signatures of Frank and Lee in the comics of everyday Odessans to finally finding that rare comic you’ve been looking for in the catacombs of The HIVE.
Even though it’s closing, the shop will forever live on the comic pages of Trouble Back, how many comic shops can say that?
Because that’s the beauty of comics, no matter how much the real world changes, the art and dialogue drawn on those pages will always live on.
And I think it’s safe to say, the story of James Laws and his comic book journey isn’t quite over yet, so make sure to bookmark this page.
The HIVE is having a 25% sale now through their August 27th closure, as well as events going on at the store until then.