All just a game?
If you are a fan of comic books or the games Warhammer and Warcraft, a new Nicosia shop could be right up your alley
1960: a 10-year-old boy runs out of his house, clutching a single shilling and goes straight to the newsagent on the corner. Two minutes later, he comes out with a smile on his face, finds a quiet place and sits down to read Spiderman’s latest adventures.
2007: a 10-year-old boy runs out of his house, clutching a card and a couple of thin boxes. He walks into the DVD self-service shop, slides the DVDs into the slots and picks up a few more. Spiderman 2 is out and he’s going to watch it.
It can’t have escaped the notice of many that DVD shops are springing up on every corner. Not only does this represent the normal expansion of our contemporary culture but it is also a reflection of the distance we’re creating from a more literary lifestyle and comic books are perhaps a perfect example of the way we have left certain art forms behind. But, before you lose hope, Ant Comics has recently opened in Nicosia.
The small shop is located just off Ledra Street and is difficult to ignore. It’s the first of it’s kind and is packed with everything a comic book fanatic could ever need. Before I sit down to ask Antonis Arestodemou and Antonis Bargilly, owners, the obvious question of why they’ve opened a shop of this kind, I take a look around. Shelves and walls are decorated with endless amounts of comic books while in the centre of the shop three people look extremely busy as they concentrate on a board game. However, this isn’t just any board game; there are miniature figures, cards and paints involved.
“Our interest started at a very young age, just like everybody else who grew up in the late seventies and early eighties, I think,” says Arestodemou. “We would go to the kiosk and buy copies of our favourite comic books and spend hours studying them. It was the only way to escape from reality in those days.” It wasn’t a life-long dream of theirs to open a shop but after a trip to Athens, where Arestodemou spotted a comic book shop, the initial plans for Cyprus’ very own shop were in the works. “We began importing material from the UK, the USA and Greece but wanted to expand our collection and bring in board games, which are accompanied by books on various science fiction themes,” Bargilly explains.
The two owners believe that the field of comic books can develop into a whole world where various methods of playing the roles one reads about in the comics can be realised. “You could play a simple card game or a game of strategy and fantasy or a role game,” they explain. “We have everything one needs to recreate a film with different characters and storylines. With the book and a dice, the storyteller is the leader and you can play for one evening or years. Everything is entirely up to you and you can even choose your setting, be it werewolves, vampires or warlocks.” And just so they can make sure people understand the full extent of excitement one can achieve, the boys have arranged a game club which already seems to be taking off. “You’d be amazed at the amount of interest we’ve had from all ages but it really isn’t surprising if you think about it. Playing games and reading comics sharpen the mind and evolve a character.” The Warhammer and Warcraft games are particularly popular with millions of people around the world, who play and spend hours involved in it. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy edition, combined with miniature characters you can make and paint, seems to have its own fan base while chess takes on a different form as it is played with cards.
So, does all this mean that comic books are still alive and kicking despite being beaten by the movie industry? “Either way it doesn’t matter, to be honest with you,” says Arestodemou. “At the end of the day, both feed each other and the end result is one: you can relate with the characters despite their supernatural abilities and gifts.” Indeed, Spiderman is all about growing up and dealing with responsibilities (with great power, comes great responsibility) while X-men dealt with racism. “There’s always a message in every comic book story and children can identify with it.”
While the shop is adorned with old and new comic books, Arestodemou insists on showing me the various types. The detail and effort put into each page and scene is immense and it’s comforting to know that people still work on this fine form of art and universities carry courses for such interests. This is clearly a place where socialising and creativity are the number one aspects of a game begging you simply, to play!
Ant Comics: Tel: 22 660384 or 99 436873
