PORTLAND — Fanaticism is a funny thing. It can push the limits of reason, test the bonds of friendship and drive people to acts of madness and destruction.

Then again, it can also cause you to open up your own comic shop during an economy that has claimed many a business.

So, you know, it could go either way.

That applies to Gerald von Stoddard and Antoine Malaab, owners of the recently opened Coast City Comics.

Since "The Economy" never seems to pose quite the same threat to Metropolis or Gotham City as supervillains hellbent on chaos, maybe Coast City is safe.

But it wouldn't matter if it were boom times or the end of days for the duo, who were looking to create a space that's equal parts lounge, gallery and fun house.

"I'm hoping our store is also about inspiring kids or people in their 40s to draw or write and draw back the veil from comics," von Stoddard said.

Coast City started as a conversation and series of "what if's" between Malaab and von Stoddard, both of whom had worked in comics shops.

One of the appeals of comic book shops is that for fans, who can at times lead an isolated existence, stores offer a de facto clubhouse, a place for them to meet up with people who speak the same language, Malaab said.

Coast City in a way offers a two-for-one deal, because it shares space with The Fun Box Monster Emporium. When von Stoddard and Malaab found the space at 656 Congress St., they approached Tristan Gallagher, owner of the Fun Box, about becoming neighbors. The one-of-a-kind repository of comic and pop culture collectibles, from books to action figures and everything in between, soon relocated from High Street.

Look around Coast City and you'll see the typical rows of new comics featuring Batman, Superman, Iron Man and Captain America as well as T-shirts and statuettes.

But you'll also find things like a small reading lounge, a used graphic-novel lending library and ample wall space devoted to comic art.

Yes, that's right, comic art. Just like anyone else who starts with a blank canvas, comic artists deserve to be celebrated, von Stoddard said.

And here in Maine, there are more than a few comic artists working under the radar, he said.

"I think people are excited knowing there are comic book artists living around the corner," he said.

That includes people such as Ben Bishop, who published the comic "Nathan the Caveman," the love story of a young couple in Portland.

Bishop got connected to von Stoddard through a friend, and has been providing illustrations for Coast City's advertising and Web site.

Bishop said Maine is an attractive place to so many comic writers and artists because it can offer the seclusion necessary to work at times.

But unlike other artists, people who work in comics may not have access to galleries or museums to show their achievements, he said.

As Bishop sees it, having more comic book shops is just like more music venues – it's good for the artists and the fans.

"I think this will be good for comic books, good for Portland and good for the people who are into them and people who make them," he said.

Just as Portland and Maine get more notice for their bands and art, Bishop hopes the comic book scene can also be put on the map.

In the meantime, Malaab and von Stoddard are trying to go slowly, despite their enthusiasm.

"The original vision was huge," von Stoddard said. "I was pitching a coffee house, comic shop and half pipe."

"I was like whoa, let's slow down," Malaab said.

Malaab and von Stoddard point out that in some ways, there's no better time than now to open a comic shop. At the moment, comic book characters are box office gold, comic creators can be found working in TV, and a new generation of independent comics is showing that the medium is more than tights and fights.

For the time being, the duo...