Keene Equinox

Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Patrick Mcney / Photo Editor Cory Millotte stands in his store, Comic Boom!

BOOM! POW! ZAP! KABLOOEY! CURSES! Pardon the graphic language, but exciting explosions, powerhouse punches and vexed villains are just part of the colorful life of Keene's Cory Millotte.

No, no, he's not a superhero. He's Keene's local comic book guy and he'd probably tell you it's the "best job EVER."

Much like the superheroes in the comics he sells, Millotte was destined for his current profession. Walking home from school one afternoon, he found a tattered Batman comic on the street.

Just as young Bruce Wayne took the first steps towards his true calling while those street goons killed his parents in front of him, the first step of Cory's path was paved with pages telling the tale of the Dark Knight.

"I still have that comic," said Millotte. "It's well-read."

Pair this deus ex machina with an illness at summer camp (radioactive spider bite, anyone?) that kept him indoors with a stack of "Rom The Spaceknight" comics and you can see how Cory got himself into the business.

"I'm trying to make the comic book store I always wanted as a kid," said Millotte.

After running the show at used music shop Turn It Up!, Millotte was well prepared for a transition to his dream job.

He took over Keene's only comic book store with a bang. Actually, with a boom! He called the store Comic Boom! to give it that exciting feel like it just leapt off the page. Now he spends his days swimming in stacks of Spiderman and meting out mounds of Magic.

Of course, with great power comes great responsibility and Millotte wields his with a stern but fair hand.

Want to come and play "War Machine" with your miniature war-gaming buddies? No problem. Want to take that copy of Radioactive Man #1 out of its protective plastic case? Not so fast.

Everyone in the superhero biz needs a nemesis. The X-Men have the menacing mutant Magneto. The Flash had his twin brother Cobalt Blue. The Hulk had to deal with ill-fitting pants and shirts.

For Cory Millotte, and legions of comic-sellers worldwide, there is a less tangible threat, an electronic monster that one cannot see or touch.

"My biggest competition is the Internet," says Millotte.

Comic Boom! delivers that personal touch that you can't find on the World Wide Web.

Come in on the right afternoon and you might find Cory visiting with his daughter Troia ("She's named after Wonder Girl," said Millotte) as she tears a Superman comic in half, or dipping into his personal stash of Indiana Jones Legos to recreate a scene from "Last Crusade."

Or maybe you'll find him sorting through one of the seemingly endless boxes of comics that need to be organized and put on the shelves. No matter what, you'll find him, surrounded by what he loves.

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