Walkingfor Wellness of theMind,BodyandSoul

bythe Washington CountyHealth Department

We’veallhad someonesaythat thereisnobetter exercisethanwalking,butdid youknowthatscienceactually providesevidencethatwalking regularlyimprovesnotjust individualphysicalhealth, butmental healthandoverall communityhealthaswell!

Accordingtothe U.S. DepartmentofHealthand HumanServices,walkingis anexcellentwayformost ofustoincreaseouroverall movement.Itdoesnotrequire specialskills,facilitiesor expensiveequipmentandisan easyphysicalactivitytobeginandmaintain.Ithas alower riskofinjurythanmanyotheractivitiesandcanbeeasily adaptedtofit aperson’stime,needsandabilities.

Thephysical activityofwalkinghelpslowerriskfor heartdisease,stroke,type 2diabetes,depressionand somecancers,accordingtotheCentersforDisease ControlandPrevention(CDC).Regularwalkingcan improvesleep,memoryandtheabilitytothinkandlearn andalsoreducestressandanxietysymptoms.Infact, walkinghasbeenproventopromotehealthyaging–preventingmuscleloss,improvingbalanceandhelping maintainjointmobility -allwhichreducetheriskofinjury duetofalls.Italsolowersriskofhighbloodpressure, reducesarthritissymptomsandpreventsweightgain.

The WalkingtoWellnesscommunity,establishedby localnonprofitPrime Timefor Women –anactivemember ofHealthy WashingtonCounty –offers aweeklywalking activityon Wednesdays,startingatnoon,insidethe Athletic,RecreationandCommunityCenter(ARCC)at

HagerstownCommunityCollege.ForfounderandCEO BernadetteWagner,investinginthisgrowingcommunity wasimportantforthepopulationhealthoftheentire community.

“Positivesocialconnectionsplay agreaterroleindeterminingoverallphysicalhealthandsocialwell-beingthan dietandexercisecombined!”saysBernadette.

Recentneurosciencestudiessuggestthatindividuals withstrongsocialnetworksmaypreservetheirbrain structureandcognitiveperformancetohelpmaintaina healthybrainintolaterlife –perhapsevenpreventing dementia.

Thebenefitsofwalkingdon’tjustapplytoadults, though.With46%ofyouthin WashingtonCountyconsideredoverweightorobese,the Walkingto Wellness communityrecentlyexpandedtoinclude aSaturdayinthe Parkprogramwithintergenerationalwalksandactivities. OneSaturdayamonth, acommunityparkin Washington Countywelcomesparticipantsofallagestojointhelocal effortandmovemore!

Aschedule ofeventsfor Walkingto Wellnessprogramscanbefoundat primetimeforwomen.org orontheorganization’sFacebookpage.Additionalopportunitiesfor walkinginourcommunityareincluded onthe WashingtonCountyHealthDepartment’swebsite- washcohealth.org -andsocialmediapagesandon HealthyWashingtonCounty.com anditsFacebookpage.

Timelessaccents

Forthesetwoprojects,designerCarolinaSeidl ofWishKitchensandBathsincluded apopofcolor ontheislandandaddedwoodaccentstodressup thewhiteKraftmaidcabinets.The resultis atimeless kitchen.Thespacewasfurthercustomizedwithstorage solutions,floatingshelvesandtrims.Ineachcase,the wallrangehoodcreates aboldfocalpoint.

Resources

DRISCOLLINTERIORDESIGN

334Clayton Ave.,Waynesboro,Pennsylvania17268

717-655-5242 • driscollinteriordesign.com info@driscollinteriordesign.com

WISHKITCHENSANDBATHS

114 N. PotomacSt.,Hagerstown,Maryland21740

301-733-9474 • wishkitchenandbaths.com wishkitchens@gmail.com

WOODCREST

11144OldForgeRoad, Waynesboro,Pennsylvania17268

717-869-0874 • woodcrestdev.com

Written by Linda Harkcom

Jon Cohen, owner of Beyond Comics, owns two stores, one located in Gaithersburg which he has had for 26 years and the Frederick, Maryland, store, located at 5632 Buckeystown Pike, which he has had for around 18 years.

“The Frederick location is our flagship store. It is one of the largest in the state with 4,000 sq. ft.,” Cohen says.

The shop sells comics, graphic novels, board games and card games. Cohen adds that they also have the East Coast’s largest supply of high-end resin statues, including those from Sideshow and Dental Giant. In addition, they also sell Hot Toys Collectible action figures of which, Cohen says, they are the largest dealer between New York and Florida.

“When we went out on our own, I wanted to make sure we sold the best stuff,” Cohen says.

Cohen has been in the comic industry since 1981 as an employee at a comic store.

“I came into it because I really liked the characters and the art and the stories. I was the guy at the store that could tell you what I liked, and I would find out what other people like, and I would make recommendations on what they might like.”

Cohen says the characters that got him into comics were Conan the Barbarian and Thor but his all-time favorite comic is Cerebus. Cohen says Cerebus is an independently distributed comic that only had 300 issues, all of which had the same writer. John Mizzer, owner of Comics World, says he has always had an interest in comics over the years. “The art is what attracted me to it. The storylines and the artwork. It’s just like reading a book or watching a movie; it’s a way of escaping,” Mizzer says. “There is a community as well. You get to interact with people of all different backgrounds and get to interact with people you might not otherwise get to interact with and share thoughts and ideas and find a commonality in that.”

Mizzer had been a customer of the store located at 1670 Lincoln Way East in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He said when he lost his job at First Data, during a massive layoff, in 2001, Comics World was available, so he decided to purchase it from the company that owned it.

He says his store sells comic books, graphic novels, action figures art prints of comic characters as well as different types of games like Dungeons and Dragons and Warhammer 40K.

“Our biggest sellers are Marvel and DC Comics, but we do stock a lot of independent publishers as well,” Mizzer says.

For Lori Haberlein at Atomic Comics, it wasn’t her personal love of comics that led her to own and run the store located at 18 W. Franklin St. in Hagerstown, but her love for her husband. Lori’s husband, William (Bill, Billy or Luke depending on how people knew him) Haberlein, was an avid comic book collector. The couple originally opened the store in 1984.

“The artwork is what drew his attention,” Lori Haberlein says. “It started out as a collection and turned into a business. It has now been 40 years.”

When Haberlein’s husband passed away in September 2021, Lori, with the help of their two children, decided to keep the family-run business open to carry on his legacy.

Haberlein describes the store as a comic book and collectible shop.

“We sell both Marvel and DC books. There are a variety of Hot Wheels, posters, Funko Pops and figures,” she says.

All three store owners agree that Spider-Man and Batman are the best-selling or most popular comics out there.

“They are some of the most recognizable with movies, action figures, etc. People recognize them at a very young age from pop culture. SpiderMan has been a more fallible character who makes mistakes, and people can see themselves in him. And Batman, people like the idea of someone who is in a position of wealth and, based on his circumstances, has decided to make the world a better place. He is someone people can look up to,” Mizzer says.

Other popular offerings mentioned included Carnage, Venom, Superman, and the Joker.

When Cohen looks for comics to sell at his store, he said there is one big thing he looks for.

“I ask what is it about this book that will make someone come in and get the next issue,” Cohen says.

Cohen says graphic novels are also very popular.

“A graphic novel is a comic book in long form designed to sell as a traditional book to a traditional book reader. Comics are periodicals that come out regularly, usually monthly,” Cohen says.

Some of the most popular graphic novels at Cohen’s stores are the book series of “Dogman” by Dav Pilkey and “Max Meow” by John Gallagher, as well as “Smile” and “Sisters,” both by Raina Talgamire.

Some of the comics the owners say that are trending right now are “Something Is Killing the Children” by Boom! Studios, “Stranger Things,” Marvel’s “Secret Invasion” and the Masters of the Universe miniseries. Cohen says Spider-Man is also trending due to rumors of speculation of a death of a major character.

Cohen says sometimes the comic book publishers will restart the story of a character from the beginning and that will cause the comic to trend. He says that has happened with both Superman and Green Lantern, and he expects that to happen with Wonder Woman, which is going to restart soon.

Some comics are more valuable than others.

“There are comics that are worth $40 or $50 up to several thousand dollars,” Mizzer says. “Some of the most valuable are Action Comics No. 1, the first appearance of Superman, and

Detective Comics issue No. 27, the first appearance of Batman. Some of the highest-grade copies have sold for several million dollars.”

Mizzer says both editions were printed in the late 1930s.

“Even low-grade copies have sold for thousands because of the age and scarcity,” Mizzer says.

While there are those who collect comics because they enjoy them, others choose to buy them as an investment. Cohen says he doesn’t recommend comics as an investment because of price fluctuations.

“One could be valuable, but then not be worth the same amount of money later. It varies like the stock market. Supply and demand drives the price,” Cohen says.

Haberlein says price guides are put out monthly to help determine how much the comics are worth.

Cohen says that “Blue Chip” comics hold their value better than others, noting that “Blue Chips” usually feature the more iconic the character’s important comic issues such as a first appearance of that character in another story, first issue of that character or an origin story.

While most comic book customers buy comics for the enjoyment, Cohen says, not as an investment, likewise, most comic store owners are in it just because they liked comics.

“Support that local store because that guy did open that store on a dream and a passion for what he is doing, not because he was trying to make a ton of money. We don’t get the margins that Amazon does, and small businesses are fighting for their lives right now,” Cohen says.