SYSTEM OF A DOWN Drummer Talks TORPEDO COMICS

November 8, 2007

With multi-platinum rock band SYSTEM OF A DOWN currently on hiatus and his SCARS ON BROADWAY project with SOAD's Daron Malakian in the early stages, drummer John Dolmayan has fulfilled his other passion of comic books and collectibles by launching Torpedo Comics, an exclusively Internet-based retail store. Torpedo Comics went live on November 1, and boasts some 15-million items — comic books, toys, graphic novels, trade paperbacks, superhero action figures and other comic book-related memorabilia, ranging in price from 99 cents to six figures.

"I've been collecting comics for well over twenty years and at a certain point I couldn't afford to buy more comics anymore, so I started selling comics, you know, to make money to buy new ones," Dolmayan told the Artisan News Service. "I noticed that I had a knack for it and I enjoyed it. There is something cool about setting up at a convention, having no guarantees and you make sales because you're personable and you have the right prices and the right product. It kind of manifested into a little bit larger than I thought it would, but at this point we have 15 million books, original art, huge Silver Surfer statue. You name it, we got it."

He added, "It's a labor of love for me, so the more time I spend on it the better I feel. It is really a lot of fun because you're dealing with comic books, toys, animation and it's all fun. I come in and I have a lot of great employees who work with me and it's a team effort. It isn't something that I dread, you know. I wake up happy to go to work. I guess I'm lucky because I have the same experience in music that I do with Torpedo Comics."

Regarding the long-term goals of the project, Dolmayan said, "We're planning on, when you have 15 million comics, inputting becomes an issue, you know. It'll probably take us another year or so to get everything that we have in stock represented online. We're starting the company November 1st with a soft opening of 8 thousand items. So, it'll progress to a hundred thousand items within a year or so and it's all for sale. You know, there are always going to be different things coming in, it's just the nature of the business. You buy stuff, you put it up for sale, somebody buys it and you feel like 'Oh I didn't want to sell that!' Then you move on to the next thing."

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).