Pete Gumbinger has been in the business of comic books for several decades. Only recently has he discovered how to use his love for comics to help members of the U.S. military half a world away, as part of his involvement with a nonprofit organization called Books for Soldiers Inc.
"I liked the idea of reading," said Gumbinger, who is managing partner of NOVA Comics, a comic, games and collectibles store in Springfield Plaza next to The Roadhouse restaurant
on Old Keene Mill Road.
"If I send these comics, you know they're going to be passed around."
Gumbinger's brother owned and operated Burke Comics and Books for years, and Gumbinger helped with that, and he opened NOVA along with business partner Gary John in late August. Not long after the store opened, Gumbinger ran across the Books for Soldiers Web site, www.Booksforsoldiers.com.
"This is something I can do," he said.
The Web site, which requires a free membership with username and password, is strictly monitored by moderators. According to Andrea Solarz of Arlington, one of eight moderators with the site, the site has over 13,000 registered members, although 582 of them have posted more than 10 times. Soldiers can post requests directly on the Web site, or contact one of the moderators by e-mail, for specific titles, or simply genres like action, fantasy or Western, along with contact information.
Solarz said she believed the site had increased in requests from soldiers dramatically since it started in the summer of 2003, despite the current Department of Defense moratorium on sending packages to soldiers overseas.
"I think a lot of it is really word of mouth. We'll get a rash of requests from a lot of people in the same unit, and then we know they've just heard about us," she said.
Gumbinger found a request from a soldier who was looking for comic books, snagged some from his back room, and soon the package was on its way. Gumbinger said in the two months he's been involved with Books for Soldiers, he has sent 10 packages, with subject matter ranging from classic Archie comics to superheroes like Batman or X-Men.
"It's a great program. It's incredibly rewarding," said Caterina Tarver of Alexandria. In her three months of involvement with the organization, Tarver estimated she has sent more than 100 packages to soldiers overseas. Some packages contain books, and others simply have goodies like cookies, candy or even socks.
"I get e-mails and letters every day," she said. "You send off a little thing, and what you get back is the most incredible reward."
For Gumbinger, who said he has a massive backstock of comics, pulling some comics and slipping them in an envelope is an easy way to provide some relief for soldiers in the Iraqi war zone.
"You've got these soldiers out there doing their job, and they kind of need an escape," he said.
TARVER SAID she purchases used paperback books from libraries, or even from Goodwill stores. Among the most frequent requests are action thrillers like those from Tom Clancy or science fiction and fantasy.
What matters more than the reading material, she said, was the knowledge that the soldiers are thought of back home.
"It really breaks your heart, in the sense that they sit there and say, 'I thought I had been forgotten,'" she said. "I can't tell you how many times I've read, 'It's nice to know somebody cares.'"
Tarver is hoping to create a Northern Virginia extension of the Web site, where locals who are interested in sending books overseas can meet to discuss their common experiences. Gumbinger has offered his store as a meeting place. He also encourages those wanting to do their own mailing to stop by.
"If people are sending care packages and they do need a comic, they can come here, and I'll find something for them," he said.