Columbus loses ‘a giant’ with the passing of Laughing Ogre cofounder Gib Bickel

Laughing Ogre Comics announced on social media that one of the shop’s founders, Gib Bickel, died on Sunday following a 20-month battle with cancer. “He was able to spend his final days in the comfort of his home,” the post read, “surrounded by loving family and fiercely guarded by his little pup.”

In the wake of the news, tributes immediately began pouring in across social media, with Red Velvet Letdown bassist TJ Steppe describing Bickel as “a giant.” “In the probably 30-some years I knew him, I don’t think I ever heard a single person express a bad opinion of the man,” he wrote.

Comic book writer Paul Jenkins (Hellblazer, Inhumans) similarly recounted his three-decade friendship with Bickel on Substack, sharing how Bickel invited him to attend Mid-Ohio Con as a guest of Laughing Ogre at a time when the writer was still a relative unknown in the industry. Jenkins also praised the attitude Bickel brought to the shop, cognizant that the Ogre wasn’t just a comic store but “the epicenter of an entire community.”

“Those early days were magic: Gib and his two friends and partners, Roddy and Daryn, had created something that was just different from most of the stores I saw at the time,” Jenkins wrote. “For one thing, each time a customer entered the store they would see Gib, standing behind the counter. He’d always greet a new arrival but somehow he had this… presence: he’d never be intrusive in any way, he’d just let you know he would be there if you needed him, or he’d simply take your money if that’s what you preferred.”

Years later, Jenkins wrote, the Ogre crew would attend his wedding. “I attended a couple of theirs, too,” he added.

Jenkins wasn’t alone in his praise for what Bickel helped to build and maintain at Laughing Ogre, efforts that led to the shop winning the 2021 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer award – one of the industry’s greatest honors.

Founded in 1994, the Ogre has navigated a handful of sales and transitions in its storied history, as documented in Dan Gearino’s book, Comic Shop, from 2017. Throughout these evolutions, Bickel has been one of the shop’s lone consistents, present from day one save for a five year stretch when he left to sell cars following the first ownership change in 2006. When Bickel returned to the Ogre in 2011, Gearino wrote, he was celebrated as a returning hero by employees and longtime customers. 

This reverence shines through in the way then assistant manager Lauren McAllister talks about Bickel in Gearino’s Comic Shop. “I think he has magical powers,” she said. “I don’t even know how to describe it. He’s like a master salesman, really. He has a way with every single person who comes through the door. … Still to this day, after working with him for three years, I can’t tell you what kind of weird voodoo he’s working.”

“For generations of comics creators, he was someone who provided support and helped to build audiences,” Gearino wrote on Facebook. “For organizations that wanted to spread a love of comics, he was the person who immediately asked, “How can I help?” For his customers, many of whom became his friends, he was one of a kind.”

Douglas Cuckler, aka Wonder Doug, recalled Bickel as a steady presence even in those times when existence could be anything but. “He’s been there for all the phases of my life. The first fiance, the drinking days, losing multiple jobs, the early sober days. … All the while with a booming and caring voice.”

“He was like bartenders are in movies,” Michael Cavender wrote on Facebook, recalling fondly the two years he worked as an assistant manager alongside Bickel. “He’ll … be with me every time I step foot in the Ogre. He didn’t build it on his own, but much of what makes it such a gem was through his dedication.”

In an email, the local comics writer James Moore described Bickel’s cofounding of Laughing Ogre as “one of the most important seeds that grew the Columbus comic community,” noting in particular his early and ongoing support for local, indie, and new comics creators. “I think a lot about how at one point the Ogre was responsible for a third of the sales of 90’s indie crime comic Stray Bullets,” he wrote.

Moore then shared how he visited Bickel not long after he announced the news that he was terminal, and the sense of appreciation that cut even the heavy heartedness of that conversation. “Mostly he expressed how grateful he was for his long marriage, his family, his community,” Moore wrote. “And that he got to spend his life doing what he loved with people that he loved.”

Details about a memorial service for Bickel are forthcoming. In the interim, Bickel’s family is encouraging everyone to talk with their doctors about their colon cancer screening schedule.