Ryan Richard is co-owner of Comic Book Warehouse. (Submitted photo/Ryan Richard)

By Teena Monteleone

Great inspiration

Pop culture more than just comics and collectibles for man with troubled past

Jun 3, 2023 | 8:00 AM

As a young boy, Ryan Richard would often escape his own life by diving into the world of comics. He spent hours reading and collecting.

“Some of my sketches even hung on the walls of the old Tramps comic bookstore in downtown Prince Albert.”

But as a Métis man growing up with lighter coloured skin, Richard struggled with his identity.

“I felt too ‘white’ to be Métis and not dark enough to be Indigenous.”

Support from family during his adolescence wasn’t always there. Generational trauma meant they were dealing with their own issues including alcohol addiction. As his identity problem grew, so did his desire to fit in and a willingness to do whatever it took to feel accepted. By Grade 6 he had started committing crimes and eventually became an addict himself.

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“I spent two years less a day in jail plus three years probation and had a restitution order for like $120,000,” Richard said.

The turning point in his life came during his sentencing when an elderly woman, whose house he had robbed, read her victim impact statement.

“She said she had raised kids in that house, her husband died in that house and because of me she no longer felt safe and had to sell that home. It just hit me so hard. All I could think of was my family…my grandma and grandpa… and it was the first time I really made a connection with how my actions affected people.”

Over time, Richard turned his life around. At the age of 33, he went back to school to complete his Grade 12 education. He is currently in university and said he carries an overall grade average of 84 per cent despite being formally diagnosed with dyslexia. And the one thing that let him escape his life in a good way as a youth, is now one thing that helps him make a living as part owner of the Comic Book Warehouse in Saskatoon.

“About 10 years ago, I started to get back into pop culture and comics and its really helped me getting past all of the old negative feelings I have inside, because I am perpetually around things and people that inspire me and allow me to escape in a good way and feel good,” he said.

“In the pop culture and collectible world, I have good friends in my life and no longer feel like an outsider. I feel like I have a place and I hope anyone struggling can find their place too.”

Later this month on June 17, Richard’s business is sponsoring The Prairie Pop Culture Celebration taking place during the Prince Albert Downtown Street Fair. It’s a celebration of comics, toys, anime, collectibles, and art and will be located at 925 Central Avenue.

The pop culture event is also a deeply meaningful opportunity for Richard. His ability to come home and sponsor an event with his own business is a complete turnaround from where he used to be in life. He sees it as a celebration of stories, regardless of one’s culture or past.

“We all have stories. Stories inspire, teach us morals and ethics and distract us from loss or stress and can lift us up when we are at our lowest,” said Richard. “Pop Culture and collecting in general is about the symbols of those stories that made us feel something. So that’s why I think people should check it out. Put aside judgement and just be a person who loves a certain movie, video game, board game or whatever it may be. I think you will be surprised to meet another who shares your interests.”

While Richard still likes to escape from time to time with a good comic, he also finds real life motivation within the pages. Just like the Superheroes in the books, he continues to be inspired to right more wrongs and represent goodness triumphing over evil.

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teena.monteleone@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertNOW