Most would not look to a superhero for a business model, yet when Gary Buechler took over The Comic Outpost in 2003, he turned the store into a retro kitsch shrine to his favorite crimefighter, Spider-Man.

The collection is just a portion of his personal stash, but it's enough to cover every square inch of the store with memorabilia.

"I'm a men-in-tights store owner," Buechler said. His comic shop on Ocean Avenue specializes in current issues and trade paperbacks. You won't find a lot of manga, or any Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

"My philosophy is sell what you know," Buechler said of his commitment to keeping the store strictly comic-centric.

"I want to be knowledgeable about what I sell, so I'd feel like a fraud [selling anything else]."

Over the past 15 years The Comic Outpost has become a San Francisco institution, but it wasn't until Buechler took it over that it became a colorful museum of action figures and movie props.

The shop, a mere mile-and a-half away from campus, owes a lot to the students of SF State. "If it wasn't for [the students] I'd go out of business," Buechler said.

The store is anticipating an appearance in front of an even larger audience at the end of this month.

WonderCon, the comic book and popular arts convention, returns for its 23rd year in the Bay Area. The convention, held this year at the Moscone Center, has been going strong for two decades. With last year's attendance topping out at over 29,000 people, the celebration of geekdom is bigger than ever.

"WonderCon is a blast," said Sam Bishop, an SF State student. Bishop and his friends have been attending the convention since it moved to San Francisco from Oakland in 2003.

"It's everything we love in one huge building," Bishop said.

WonderCon doesn't get as much attention as its brother convention, the San Diego Comic-Con, but there is still a fair amount of mainstream pop culture to attract the general public.

Celebrities like Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway stopped by last year to discuss their film projects. This year, with movies like "Watchmen", "Star Trek", "Transformers: Rise of the Fallen" and "Land of the Lost" being released, WonderCon is sure to have a wide selection of panels to suit varying tastes.

While the convention has a pop culture infusion, its focus is still comics. The show floor features over 300 booths from a variety of companies, comic publishers, artists, and businesses. The Comic Outpost sets up shop at WonderCon, selling trade paperbacks and current issues of major comics. Japan Town's Kinokuniya Books is a haven for the manga enthusiast, offering a selection of English and Japanese books. Other Local haunts like Al's Comics and The Cartoon Art Museum are all represented.

But comic enthusiasts, or curious newcomers, don't have to wait for WonderCon to get into the comic scene. With so many local shops, there's something for every taste. Each shop has found a niche, creating a personality that makes it unique from the friendly rivals around the city.

Over in Haight Ashbury, Comix Experience has taken a different approach. The owner, Brian Hibbs, has stocked his store with a wide selection of everything that represents comics. The superhero books are there, sure, but so is manga, independent comics, small press books, children's comics, and even adult comics. The entire center display is dedicated to recommended books, offering hundreds of titles ranging from well known to obscure, comedy to nihilistic drama, photorealistic artwork to crude sketches.

While the Comix Experience won't be represented at WonderCon, Hibbs himself will be there.

Hibbs has been running the store for almost two decades. The shop has seen the ups and downs of the industry, and Hibbs has ridden it out.

"I love comics. I love people who love comics. Always have, always will," Hibbs said.

Buechler isn't worried about the economic situation, and is looking forward to 2009.

"Comics are the perfect thing for a bad economy. They help you get away. And for students, the comic shop is like your local family."