This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Chuck's Comics Celebrates 22nd Anniversary in July

Chuck Watson's business reflects his love of pop culture and comics.

Long before there was Captain Jack Sparrow, there was Captain Chuck Watson, and he has the bobblehead replete with a map and a legend of Captain Chuck to prove it.

Johnny Depp - who played Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies - may have a lot of tattoos, but none of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Captain Chuck, on the other hand, has a bobblehead-sized tattoo on his right arm to replicate his “mini me,” bobblehead creation. That’s dedication.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Captain Chuck’s alter ego is Chuck Watson, owner of on Eastern Boulevard. One might argue the store owns him, given that he is  generally there seven days a week.

His fascination with pop culture began with flea market sales in 1989 and that grew into a store on Mace Avenue. He also sells at shows and on eBay.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Watson commissioned the Wacky Wobbler Captain Chuck bobblehead while he still had his store on Mace Avenue, his first storefront location. 

Watson even created a story to go along with his alter ego, which is published on the boxes of the bobbleheads. According to the "Legend of Captain Chuck," the pirate’s galleon, the Heather, sank in the Chesapeake Bay in 1754.

“All of the captain’s treasure was lost,” according to the story.

The map on the back of the bobblehead box then points to that first Mace Avenue comic book store.

An “x” marks the spot where one could hunt for all the treasure that is Chuck’s Comics. The tide shifted, and now those treasures can be found at his current location on Eastern Boulevard.

An old joke among those who sell collectibles is that they set up shop because their own collections have started to spill over so much that they had to find another outlet for collecting. Most turn it into a business.

Watson is no different.

Games, comics, bobbleheads, action figures, lunch boxes and even the stray flamingo or two spill out of the Eastern Boulevard shop.

“Most of my customers are adults,” he said.

A look around the shop at the pop culture references bears that out: swinging kitty tail clocks with eyes that dart to and fro as the pendulum moves, a Bob Marley reggae music bobblehead, South Park figurines and lots of Batman and Superman figurines.

The center aisle is dedicated to individually-wrapped comics in alphabetical order. And if those comics aren’t enough, there are oversized comic collections dedicated to favorite characters.

Watson’s daughter, Heather, helps him out in the store, but the collector gene seems to have bypassed her.

“She’s not a collector, but she could take over for me any day of the week,” Watson said.

Even with the shop, Watson’s home reflects his passion for pop culture and the eccentric. His stone farmhouse features a World War II cannon in the yard. His formal living room is a mixture of old and new that a serious collector would admire.

It’s his library, however, that’s been a special project and getaway spot, according to Watson. The previous owner knocked out the ceiling, so the room includes a loft space with vaulted ceilings. Bookcases line the walls and are filled with rows and rows of comic books and bobbleheads.

The finishing touch?

If Watson wants to read a comic book from an upper shelf, he moves the library ladder across the room. Then he might just crawl up to his loft space for some quiet reading time.

“I’ve been paring down my collection,” he said. Then he added sheepishly, “for the last 20 years.”

He has whittled his personal bobblehead collection down to about 200, and he insists that it was quite a pare down from where he started.

Watson has plenty more in the shop to share with customers. On Saturday, customers can come in to celebrate “Hoo Haa” day, a customer appreciation day that runs from 11 am to 8 pm.

There will be hot dogs, drinks and all of the collectibles will be marked down 22 percent, to mark the store’s 22nd anniversary.

FYI: Chuck’s Comics, 530 Eastern Blvd., 410 574-1496.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Essex-Middle River