How a Napkin at Denny's Built a Pop Culture Empire

Most kids grow out of comics. Ramsey Ramirez turned them into an empire. Late one night at a Denny's in McAllen, his wife Marla and his friend Chris Ponce told him, "Dude, you love comics — open a comic store." Fifteen years later that napkin idea is KaBOOM Comics, the anime store Anime Boom, the boba shop Boba Bomb, South Texas Comic Con (grown from 3,500 attendees to 17,000), and now his own comic book launching on Kickstarter.   #LifeCurrency #KaBOOMComics #SouthTexasComicCon #ComicBookStore #PopCulture #SmallBusinessStory #RGV #McAllen   Life Currency sits down with Ramsey Ramirez, founder of KaBOOM Comics and Collectibles, for the unfiltered version of how a kid raised on an isolated Sullivan City ranch built one of South Texas's quietest pop culture empires. Ramsey walks through the late-night Denny's conversation that started it all in July 2010, the pre-algorithm Facebook hack that built the store, why he says "you have to be a little delusional to be an entrepreneur," what really happened at Horror Con 2012 with Danny Trejo and the zombie walks, how South Texas Comic Con grew from 3,500 to 17,000 attendees, the Boba Bomb pandemic pivot and why employees kept stealing his recipes, and his blunt advice on the food business: "just don't get into it." He also shares the show-and-tell story behind LeBron's Sports Illustrated and a Tim Duncan 2-of-10, why Conor McGregor cards hold value while the rest of UFC doesn't, and the Kickstarter launch of his own comic book "My Ordinary World" — drawn alongside his best friend Jess's lucha libre / zombies title "Fantasmo."   0:00 Intro 2:24 Opening KaBOOM in 2010 — From Magazine X to Comics 3:06 The Denny's Napkin That Started It All 5:11 "You Have to Be a Little Delusional" 6:10 The F&P x Comic Con Partnership (Gus Fring Stories) 11:07 The Pre-Algorithm Facebook Hack That Built the Store 20:00 Family Business — Marla, Miranda, and Letting Go 22:23 Horror Con 2012: Danny Trejo and the Genre Ceiling 33:00 South Texas Comic Con: 3,500 to 17,000 Attendees 40:15 Show & Tell: LeBron's Sports Illustrated and Tim Duncan 2-of-10 1:00:06 Anime Boom, Boba Bomb, and the Pandemic Pivot 1:02:18 "Just Don't Get Into Food" — Lessons From Boba 1:07:35 Growing Up on a Sullivan City Ranch 1:08:12 Launching His Own Comic on Kickstarter 1:13:09 Outro   About Ramsey Ramirez: Founder of KaBOOM Comics and Collectibles, opened in McAllen, TX in July 2010. Also owns Anime Boom, Boba Bomb, and runs South Texas Comic Con, Horror Con (2012–2014), and the All-Star Card Show. Comic creator and lifelong collector. His debut comic book "My Ordinary World" launches on Kickstarter alongside Jess's "Fantasmo."