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Selling comics and hunting ghosts
Meet local businessman Eddie Price
Alan Rogers
Eddie Price is owner of Time Tunnel Comics and Toys, with stores in Hickory and Boone.
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Published: September 22, 2008
HICKORY - Eddie Price spends his days surrounded by some pretty impressive folks, including Daredevil, Superman, the Fantastic Four and Thor. The walls of his comic shop are lined with some of the most colorful and iconic examples of American mythology ever invented.
It all started in 1985, when he went with his dad to a used bookstore in Raleigh, where Price used to get old comics for a quarter. At first he liked the drawings then the characters caught his attention — especially Daredevil.
A blind crime fighter with all the faults and stresses of a regular person appealed to the young Price.
"All of Daredevil's villains are objectively stronger than he is. It's sort of the opposite of Superman," explained Price.
The first comic he ever spent more than a quarter on was a copy of Amazing Spider-Man No. 20 — the first appearance of Scorpion. He found it at a convention.
As Price's interest in the hobby grew, his father began collecting, too. Together, father and son began attending comic book shows as a vendor, where they set up a table and sold comics as a way to support their hobby.
"I've been a comic book dealer since I was a kid," Price said.
He's been able to transform comic books from a childhood hobby into a full-time career. He's owned Time Tunnel Comics and Toys in Hickory since 2001 and he expanded with a store in Boone in 2006.
"It's hard to have a hobby and have that hobby be your business," said Price, explaining that his personal comic collection has dwindled over the years.
Price isn't just interested in comics. "I've collected meteorites since the '90's," he said. If he gets a good-sized one, Price uses a specialty saw blade to cut it into thin slices that he sells in his shop.
When he's not working with chunks of space debris or communing with the greatest heroes in the universe, Price spends his time hunting ghosts.
He was always interested in ghosts and hauntings as entertainment, but his interest in hunting ghosts surfaced when he decided that, rather than just inviting a few renowned ghost hunters and experts to his annual comic convention, he'd start Haunted Hickory and have the country's top paranormal experts come to their very own convention.
Having forged relationships with several ghost hunters, Price and some friends decided to found the Hickory Paranormal Society in October 2007. They have 10 members so far.
"We have tons of people who want to join but we've capped our membership," said Price.
The group is composed of specialists in cameras, sensors, computers, historical research and data compilation. Price's specialty is logistics and he serves as a lead investigator and case manager.
The group works to eliminate all other possibilities before they determine that what they're investigating is actually a paranormal phenomenon. Some of the members are true believers, but Price said, "I'm pretty skeptical about most things."
The Hickory Paranormal Society does not charge for their services. Price says they're motivations are altruistic.
"We'd like to help people out and we're really looking for some credible evidence of the paranormal," Price said.
"We've had plenty of people call, often we can resolve issue before we show up. Sometimes that involves advising them to call a plumber."
If Price and his hunters show up and they encounter a force that seems evil or dangerous, they back off and call in the experts.
"I have the phone number for the number-one exorcist in the country on my cell phone," Price said.
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