Coffee shop owner (and superhero super fan) pours himself into the pages of Darkmoon Comics

Mike Gladney might not be living in the Marvel or DC universes, but he is dwelling within the realm of his own dream world surrounded by comic books, he shared.

Gladney — and his wife, Vania — own Comic Coffeehouse in Olathe, and now he’s also the editor-in-chief for Kansas City-based Darkmoon Comics.

“I’m doing something I love, so I wake up every day with a smile on my face,” he explained.

Two years ago, Gladney quit his job in sales and started a business with his wife, who he calls the best teammate.

“My wife loves coffee,” he continued. “I love comic books and superheroes, anime, and all the stuff like that. We wanted to open a coffee shop, but she had no idea how she wanted to design it.”

“She asked me to put my personality on it,” Gladney added, “so I said, ‘It’s going to look like a comic book store.’”

Comic Coffeehouse — which opened in March 2022 in a shopping center across from Garmin — features a wall lined with comic books that are for sale (all $10 or less, Gladney noted) and a corner to play video games, plus offers seasonal specialty drinks named after superheroes, including the Poison Ivy (a honey lavender matcha) and Groot (white chocolate and brown sugar latte). 

“I just love this stuff,” Gladney said. “I want people to realize that there’s more than just Marvel and DC and big comic names out there. The wall is a huge selection of different types of comics, so there’s something for everybody.”

On top of caffeine and comics, he noted, the coffee shop also offers community. Comic Coffeehouse — which is planning a special event May 4 for Free Comic Book Day — hosts trivia and game nights and pop-ups for local comic book artists, as well as other artists.

“I allow any artists to come in and display their work here free of charge,” he explained. “You don’t have to pay me anything to do it.”

“We’re both really huge on community, especially my wife,” Gladney continued, noting his wife helped students at neighboring Olathe South High School with on-site training for their own coffee shop, Falcon Brew.

In turn, Gladney noted, the Olathe community has embraced them. On opening day, the line was out the door.

“The community support has been amazing,” he added.

An accent wall at Comic Coffeehouse in Olathe features comic book imagery; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Origin story

Gladney has always been enthralled by superheroes, anime, and comic books, he shared. One of his sisters was into comic books and he used to sneak into her room and steal them.

“I was the kid that was in the back of class reading comic books, on the bus reading comic books,” he explained. “I just fell in love with them. I started writing stories as a little kid and I just never stopped.”

Although his sister was into dark comics — like Swamp Thing — he was introduced to Superman in one of her comics and he quickly found his hero, he said.

“I know it’s cliche,” Gladney added. “He’s the No. 1 hero, but to me, he’s the greatest superhero ever.”

As a three-sport athlete growing up, Gladney’s love of comics even played out on the field, he noted.

“I would honestly score touchdowns and try to emulate a superhero pose,” he explained. “The socks under my football equipment were Superman with capes on them and my undershirt was a Superman shirt. I tried to be the superhero.”

Brandon Calloway, founder of Darkmoon Comics, speaks with entrepreneur Geoff Geist during an event at Comic Coffeehouse in Olathe; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Filling in the panel

About a year and a half ago, Gladney met Darkmoon Comics founder Brandon Calloway at a pop-up event for local comic book writers and  the two just clicked, Gladney said.

A selection of Darkmoon Comics titles for sale at Comic Coffeehouse in Olathe; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“We realized we had a lot of things in common when it comes to comic books and comic book writing,” he explained. “So he gave me a couple projects to work on for Darkmoon.”

Shortly after, Gladney noted, Calloway offered him the editor-in-chief position.

“It was like a dream come true to me,” he continued. “I jumped on it. There was no hesitation. And so far it’s been an amazing ride. I love working with artists and different writers. It brings me so much joy.”

Calloway — who also founded the YouTube channel Blerd TV and co-founded the non-profit Kansas City G.I.F.T., which provides grant funding to local Black-owned businesses — launched the independent publisher Darkmoon Comics in 2020 with the flagship “Black Spartans Manga” series.

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“I’ve met a lot of people along this journey of publishing comics and I have yet to meet anyone with the burning passion and creativity that Mike brings to the table,” Calloway said. “He also understands what it takes to launch and grow a successful business. In order for Darkmoon Comics to really reach the heights it deserves, I need to evolve from a one-man band and he was a no-brainer to add to the team in a leadership role.”

Gladney — who has helped to build out the Darkmoon Comics universe since he joined the team — loves that the world is extremely diverse, he shared.

“There’s characters for everybody out there in our world,” he explained. “There weren’t a lot of characters that looked like me growing up. We did have few — for some reason, they all had electric powers.”

“With Darkmoon, we want to represent everybody, so it’s a very diverse universe,” he continued. “Now I get to write characters that look like me, so it’s fun to me. I enjoy every moment.”

Comic creator and author Aaron Conaway speaks with entrepreneur Shea Geist during an event at Comic Coffeehouse in Olathe; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

KC speech balloons

One of the new series in the Darkmoon Comics universe — “Prometheus” — is written by local writer Aaron Conaway, who joined the Darkmoon team in 2021.

Comic creator and author Aaron Conaway during an event at Comic Coffeehouse in Olathe; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“I talked with Brandon and, later, Mike in his role as editor-in-chief, and I helped where I could as a storyteller to bounce ideas off of as they built the Darkmoon Comics universe they envisioned,” he said.

“It’s exciting to watch what Brandon and Mike are trying to do with Darkmoon Comics,” Conaway continued. “It’s a diverse world of fiction: characters running the gamut of heroes, villains, saints, and sinners, with a focus that skews local — both in front of and behind the ‘camera.’ Yes, you may know superheroes, but these might fight battles that take place in our own Kansas City neighborhoods.”

Conaway — who is the co-creator and co-founder of the New Vision Comics Collective, where his Harrowed Earth series lives — is an experienced writer and comic book super fan, Calloway noted. 

“Darkmoon benefits greatly from his industry knowledge and limitless creativity,” he added.

Like Gladney, Conaway is a lifelong fan of comic books and he loves the artform, he shared. 

“It’s a great way to tell a story, somewhere between watching a movie and reading a novel,” he explained. “It’s as equally compelling as both and can also fit any genre.”