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Comic Sandwiches offers unique superhero gadgets and props

December 10, 2019

While he was a student, Grayson Burgess started to design superhero gadgets and props. In 2015, he established Comic Sandwiches and began creating selling his collection for superhero fans.

Comic Sandwiches creates authentic, life-size prop replicas and collectibles for cosplay and superhero fans. Every piece is handcrafted and made to order. The company also provides design and manufacturing for custom props and items tailored to individual clients, whether they are comic related, or not.

The phrase “Comic Sandwiches” comes from frames Burgess designed for displaying comic books. The frames would sandwich the comic book in between glass and were the first product that he designed and sold.

However, after having little success selling the comic book frames, Burgess shifted to selling Captain America shields along with other superhero replicas and props.

Today, the company sells a large variety of products—wall art, shields, watches and prop replica and t-shirts—on its website, ranging from $15 to $950.

Grayson recently went through the fifth cohort of CYstarters, an 11-week program that provides students with financial support, professional resources and educational workshops for startups.

“CYstarters was extremely helpful for me. I never initially had the intention of turning this into a business, just making a little money off it,” said Burgess. “The program helped me step back and organized what I was building into an actual business and figure out how to grow it a little more properly.”

In October, Burgess was named the Collegiate Entrepreneur of the Year at the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Org Global Conference.

Going forward, Burgess hopes to streamline the custom aspects of the business to make it a quicker and more cost-effect option for customers. He also says he wants to work with comic book artists to make custom done artwork for Comic Sandwiches to sell in various formats.

Previous coverage

Fifteen companies pitch their ideas at CYstarters Demo Day -Aug. 2, 2019

Comic Sandwiches offers unique superhero gadgets and props | Clay & Milk

A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.

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