Stephanie Colletti and her son Walter Allikas started their comic book collection when Allikas, who is now 25, was still in high school. In 2015 Colletti bought a house in Cranbury that became the first location for Dr. Wonder Comics and Collectibles, one of the largest collections of old comics in the area.
“We bought a house on the corner of [North] Main Street and Park Place East which would make it possible to have a store in the house because it was a separate entrance,” Colletti said. The previous occupant had been the Cranbury Bookworm, a used bookstore that had been there for 42 years.
They have since moved Dr. Wonder across the street to 33 North Main, a spot with a big glass storefront window full of lifesized R2-D2, Laura Croft, and Spiderman cardboard cutouts.
Colletti explains that when they moved to their new location locals started walking into the store because they saw that there weren’t only comics, but also toys.
The store is broken up into multiple sections including records and music, general toys and collectibles, old comics, rare comics, a dollar comic section, video games, graphic novels, and more.
When asked if locals are a main part of their business, Alikas said, “The town of Cranbury itself accounts for a very small portion of our business. It’s mostly people from out of town who are the [regulars].”
One of these regulars is Rich Treichler, who has been coming to the comic store for about two years. Treichler said of his reasoning for coming to this store, “I think it’s a really eclectic mix of stuff here. Other stores you go to it’s either all new stuff or a very limited selection, where here… I’ve bought a Batman pennant from the 1960s TV show, and Big Bang Theory figures in Star Trek uniforms.”
Treichler added, “I would highly recommend it to anybody. Anybody to come in that might be looking for something vintage, something old… I really enjoy coming here.”
Colletti says they plan to expand their offerings with more events like Dungeons and Dragons sessions, Pokémon tournaments, and book readings.
Asked about the future of Dr. Wonder, Colletti said, “I could never sell the store because people would be heartbroken.”
